Self help books (FAIL!) and meditation (PASS!)

This is the book that I am reading right now:

 

Pretty deep, huh? I'm only about 15 pages into it right now, but so far it's...terrible. Tedious and confusing and very hard to read (even though it is written in like size 18 font with double spaces). I stumbled across it when I was looking for this book:

Which is actually suppose to be a really good book for what I am trying to do (you know - my self awareness campaign?). Notice they are by the same author - Cheri Huber, who is a well respected Zen teacher. This book is about how to break bad habits (such as smoking, avoiding, not being honest with yourself, etc) and start good habits (such as exercising, self awareness/introspection, inner peace, etc) which is of course something that I need help with, and who can resist a good self-help book? It includes a 30-day program of meditation, contemplation and journaling and I felt like it was right up my alley (some of you already now that I have started to take an interest in yoga, including meditation), so I decided to check it out. I found it on Amazon, and you could get it bundled with the first book I told you about -" There is nothing wrong with you. Going beyond self-hate" and another book of hers called "Be the person you want to find. Relationship and self-discovery", for a really good price. So I bought all 3. And I am barely into the first one and I hate it. I'll power through it and keep you posted, but so far it is definitely a FAIL. Hopefully the second book (the one that I initially sought out), works out better.  For the record - I felt like a complete lunatic when these books showed up at my door. It seemed like such a good idea when I ordered them, but when they came I had to shove them into the closet so that nobody could see them. I have since come to terms with it.

But on a lighter note - I am really enjoying learning meditation. It is sometimes difficult for me because I can't sit still for very long without my back starting to hurt (which is one of the many reasons to practice Hatha Yoga - the yoga we think of today that includes stretching and bending - because it helps physically train your body for meditation by improving your strength, posture and flexibility), but totally worth it. The more I've read about meditation, the more benefits I find - most of them scientifically proven! Here are just a handful of things that caught my attention/interest:

• Calms emotions
• Relaxes the mind
• Sharpens reasoning
• Develop an attitude of mindfulness that can help you see negative patterns of behavior and change them
• Reduces negative emotions such as anger, fear, anxiety, greed and depression
• Decreases metabolic rate
• Lowers heart rate
• Reduces stres
• Lowers blood pressure
• Slows aging process of the brain
• Self awareness and spiritual realization

Pretty cool huh? I'll stop shoving this stuff down your throat, but this is me sharing with you and keeping you posted on what is going on! Yay! You are welcome.