Stay Woke: A Meditation Guide for the Rest of Us

Musician Williams offers in his impressive debut a meditation practice that acknowledges the consequences of discrimination and carves a path for discovering “the Self” untouched by the traumas of oppression. To that end, Williams’s “Freedom Meditation” is meant to engage the entirety of a practitioner’s life in order to “stay woke.” Wokeness, for Williams, is both a call to action and an expression of gratitude for the struggles of one’s predecessors. He designs meditations specifically to address disillusionment, “self-sabotaging programming,” social justice concerns, and struggles with bigotry (including racism, sexism, and homophobia). Rather than restricting meditation to a formal sitting practice, he establishes his meditation framework in the book’s first half: articulate a vision, identify self-sabotaging patterns, work with mantras, and develop everyday ritual commitments. In the second half, Williams offers a “grab-and-go meditation buffet,” where readers will find inspirational personal stories, practice instructions, mantras, and journal prompts for many situations. While he provides a helpful, ambitious meditation style that acknowledges the detrimental effects of oppression, Williams’s decision not to engage with a critique of the systems that impose such oppression softens the power of his message. However, for those interested in combining meditation and social justice, this will be an uplifting, motivating companion. (Feb.)