If You Can Breathe, You Can Meditate: A Practical, Secular How-To Guide to Meditation is an indispensable new book that demystifies the practice of meditation, stripping away religious and philosophical associations that have been ascribed to this timeless and universal activity. It brings clarity and focus to something that is entirely normal, completely human, and positively habit-forming. Meditation is not magic, nor is it a religion. It will not allow you to break the laws of physics and levitate or visit astral realms. Meditation is simply a process of focused objective attention--a mental exercise, nothing more and nothing less. While it is often lumped together with mysticism or appropriated by New Age believers alongside their chakras, crystals, and auras, meditation is in fact a straight-forward, secular practice that can help to improve your health and quality of life. Among the potential benefits of meditation are relief from stress, anxiety, and depression, lowered blood pressure, reduction in cholesterol levels, effective pain management, improved sleeping patterns, increased energy, and enhanced creativity and intuition. A skeptic by nature and a scientist by training, author Morgan D. Rosenberg brings a refreshingly direct and pragmatic perspective to this plain and practical instruction manual for those interested in meditation. Broken down into a series of step-by-step chapters, If You Can Breathe, You Can Meditate guides the reader through the various aspects of meditation, providing convenient, easily referenced resources including a section addressing frequently asked questions and a comprehensive bibliography that will assist with further investigation and reading on the subject. Dispel your misconceptions and discover the realities of meditation and mindfulness, as this thoughtful and insightful guide presents a practical way to engage in a beneficial routine of mental exercise rooted in the fundamental, reasonable principles of meditation.

Due to the recent recession, interest in Ayn Rand's Objectivism is greater than ever, and in the past two decades, interest in Eastern philosophies has reignited in the West. There are also many books on the market that cover Objectivism, such as The Six Pillars of Self-Esteem, My Years with Ayn Rand and The Art of Living Consciously, all by Nathaniel Branden. However, although Branden took Objectivist practices and gave them some flexibility, he stopped long before reaching the concepts of "enlightenment" or, at least, the personal serenity found in the Eastern philosophies. Similarly, Buddhism Plain and Simple by Steve Hagen, Buddhism for Dummies, and The 8 Minute Meditation by Victor N. Davich are examples of excellent books on Zen Buddhism and Meditation, but that's where they stop. There has never been any attempt to apply philosophies and other practices to the "real world" of the self, until Morgan D. Rosenberg wrote Dark Buddhism: Integrating Zen Buddhism and Objectivism, where he merges Objectivism with traditional Zen Buddhism. On the surface, these two philosophies seem to contradict each other, with Ayn Rand's principles of self-focus and the Buddha's principles of selflessness, but the author argues that each of them has logical inconsistencies, which once weeded out, means the philosophies can be blended into a cohesive whole. In his book, which is aimed at professionals as well as readers who seek a self-help guide, chapters range from Zen Buddhism Basics and Reintegrating the Self into Buddhism, to Living Consciously and Mindfully and The Dark Buddhist Lifestyle. Although most of this book has been directed towards thoughts and consciousness, which are functions of the mind, the author stresses the importance of always remembering that the body supports the mind. "When you have a feeling, which originates in your mind," he says, "your body responds to it." The connection between self, consciousness, happiness, and the body has been long recognized. To quote the Buddha, "Your body is precious. It is our vehicle for awakening. Treat it with care." The mind-body connection is a very real thing and also part of our modern world. An entirely fresh and highly original philosophy, Dark Buddhism offers a series of practices that will cultivate strong self-worth, bring about inner peace and harmony, help with personal growth, and improve physical health.