Why Meditate?: The Essential Book about How Meditation Can Enrich Your Life

Why Meditate? The Essential Book About How Meditation Can Enrich Your Life asks what this ancient spiritual practice has to do with daily living. The essay collection is compiled by Clint Willis, editor of Avalon's Adrenaline outdoor adventure series. Seventeen writers, including Annie Dillard, Peter Matthiessen, Alan Watts, Sogyal Rinpoche and Shunryu Suzuki offer answers to the question posed in the title. Some meditate to better manage their lives; basketball coach and player Phil Jackson has used the concept of ""mindful basketball"" to coach stars like Shaquille O'Neal, and other writers describe using the practice to better cope with grief or anxieties. Clinical psychologist John Welwood describes the ways it can complement the process of psychotherapy. But ultimately, as Willis observes in his introduction, the practice of meditation is its own reward. ( Aug.)