Meditation is like a love affair with your innermost self. At times it can be ecstatic and entrancing, other times simple and still and sometimes you might not even feel its profound effects until later.

Now with "Meditation for the Love of It, " Sally Kempton shares practical secrets to help us turn meditation into an unconditional embrace of the fullness of our experience on and off the meditation cushion. With the gentle wisdom and compassion of one who understands the nuances of practice, she opens us to the joy of exploring the deep and mysterious inner landscape of the heart, mind, and body.

Drawing on her 40 years as a teacher and a fellow meditator, Sally teaches us how we can connect to our inner longings and creative shakti energy to allow the transformative gifts and blessings of meditation to unfold. With playfulness and devotion two key attitudes in sustaining a daily practice she shares indispensable guidance for this voyage of self-discovery, including:

How to tune in to your own meditation channel, a bandwidth of tranquillity, energy, and joy

Why you don t need a quiet mind to meditate

How the force known as Kundalini can fuel your practice

Connecting to your ever-present Inner Beloved to let go of conditioned ideas about yourself and make space for the True Self to come forth

Ripening your practice beyond technique into the sweet mysterious expanse of spontaneous meditation

More than 20 practices for bringing the peace and insight of meditation into your daily life

Remember: what you seek in meditation is your own Beloved, your own inner intelligence, your own Awareness, and your own Truth, teaches Sally. "Meditation for the Love of It" points us back to our own intimate heart of hearts, our own deepest experience, and the bliss of existence itself.

Contents

Introduction: Awakening to Meditation

Chapter One: The Lure of Meditation

Chapter Two: How Do We Experience the Inner Self?

Chapter Three: Preparing for Practice

Chapter Four: Choosing the Right Doorway

Chapter Five: Moving Inward: The Practice of Oneness

Chapter Six: Working with the Mind, Part I: Navigating the Thought-Stream

Chapter Seven: Working with the Mind, Part II: Liberating Your Thoughts

Chapter Eight: Letting the Shakti Land

Chapter Nine: Where Do You Find Yourself? A Road Map to the Meditation Journey

Chapter Ten: Coming Out of Meditation: Contemplation, Recollection, and Journal Writing

Chapter Eleven: The Daily Life of a Meditator: Holding Inner Attention

Chapter Twelve: The Three-Week Breakthrough Program

Chapter Thirteen: The Process of Ripening

Epilogue: Let the Inner Dance Unfold

How do you live a life of spiritual awakening as well as outer abundance, inner freedom as well as deep intimacy? How do you serve the world selflessly, yet passionately celebrate your life? The sages of Tantra have known for centuries that when you follow the path of Shakti-the sacred feminine principle personified by the goddesses of yoga-these gifts can manifest spontaneously. Yet most of us, women as well as men, have yet to experience the full potential of our inner feminine energies. When you know these powers for what they are, they heighten your capacity to open spiritually, love more deeply and fearlessly, create with greater mastery, and move through the world with skill and delight. In Awakening Shakti, you will learn how to recognize and invite: Kali, bringer of strength, fierce love, and untamed freedom * Lakshmi, who confers prosperity and beauty * Saraswati, for clarity of communication and intuition * Radha, who carries the divine energy of spiritual longing * Bhuvaneshvari, who creates the space for sacred transformation * Parvati, to awaken creativity and the capacity to love With a wealth of meditations, visualizations, mantras, teachings, and beautifully told stories, Awakening Shakti provides a practical guide for activating the currents of the divine feminine in every aspect of your life.