Thoughts Are Not the Enemy: An Innovative Approach to Meditation Practice

Within many schools of meditation, thoughts are treated at best as roadblocks that either distract or detour practitioners from the path of enlightenment. Clarifying and building upon his previous work Unlearning Meditation, Siff offers a vastly different approach: thoughts can become the same focus for meditative observation in the same way as the breath or sensations of the body serve as focal point. Through his Recollective Awareness technique, practitioners remain with—rather than dismissing—their thoughts while meditating in order to reflect on the memories and emotions they contain. As a result, practitioners develop the skills to be present with emotional and mental states whether they are inconsequential or strenuous, effectively gaining the ability to actively cope with the mind. Though Siff emphasizes open and unstructured exploration, some instructions veer toward technical, which may leave inexperienced meditators behind. Meditation scenarios, in which he presents fictionalized accounts of practitioners using different methods, often serve as awkward detours in this otherwise excellent work. Unafraid to go against the grain, Siff teaches readers how to adequately approach conceptual thought, the everyday state of existence, in all of its messiness. (Oct.)