Henny Penny Farmette

The mailman caught me by surprise yesterday. Standing and smiling at my gate, he hoisted up a box and balanced it on the wrought iron. I stopped painting the trellis supporting the bougainvillea clambering up the side of the house. I put the lid on the paint, laid aside my brush, and trotted over.

I actually welcomed a break; I’d been feeling a little stressed from the heat and wasp activity around a nest I’d pried from the porch ceiling. Opening the box, I examined the contents.

Cover of my just-released book

Tucked inside were copies of my new book from Adams Media/Simon & Schuster. The first thing I noticed was the silky-soft, lovely lavender cover. Like a cherished devotional book, the size of MY POCKET MEDITATIONS is just right . . . it will fit into almost any purse, briefcase, or lunch bag.

There’s a handy little elastic page marker, too, to indicate where you left off reading or to easily find a favorite guided meditation. Nice touch. I made a mental note to thank the design team.

Thumbing through the opening text on meditation, I smiled as I recalled having to restrain myself during the writing of the book. I’d been tempted to include aspects of my personal journey into meditation. However, I had kept the opening simple. Here, though, a glimpse of my background might be appropriate.

In my early twenties, I made a trip alone to India where I learned about meditation through intense practice–many hours each day under the tutelage of a holy man, who had a follower who spoke English. By then, I’d left Missouri farm life and college to live for a time in Hollywood (actually, I rented a place not far from the Self Realization Fellowship temple that was established in 1942 by the Indian saint Paramahansa Yogananda).

The hospital where I worked was within walking distance of my home and took me right by the temple. I liked walking past that quiet temple–an oasis in the bustling city–but otherwise, for a country girl like me, Hollywood in myriad ways was a culture shock.

A year later, I moved to Northern California and began a new job with a large county hospital, put down new roots, and made new friends. I joined a meditation group where I met someone who had recently returned from India. Seeing his pictures of that country and of a holy man he’d met ignited a spark  of longing in me to go there. I wanted to see firsthand that land of intense colors, ancient architecture, cultural and religious diversity, and to meet that saintly person.

Within six months, I booked my trip. As lost as I felt in the city of Mumbai (formerly, Bombay) teeming with people, I found myself right at home in Gujarat (not a coastal town like Porbandar where Mohandas Gandhi was born but rather) in a farming village. There I learned meditation from the elderly Indian whom many locals considered an enlightened master of Kundalini Maha Yoga.

My yearning for spiritual awakening and evolution perhaps will resonate with others who similarly share a desire for self-exploration, whether their journey takes them out into our incredible world of diverse people, beliefs, and cultures or inward to the quiet places of the Self.

Meditation helps you focus, gain clarity, and generates many health benefits, too. Believing as I do that what blesses one blesses all, it is my sincerest desire for you to use this little book as a tool to find peace and serenity in your life.

To see more, click here: http://tinyurl.com/y9vfw2t9