I've been meditating for more than thirty years and have read a ton of books on meditation. This book is at the top of my list.

Simple, clear, and down to earth, "The Joy Within" is far and away the best book on meditation I've ever read.

To quote the authors:

"The goal of meditation is to reach the thought-free place within. When we're able to reach this place of inner silence, our joy expands because there's nothing to stop it--no concepts, no worries, no fears.

"When your thoughts don't get in the way, your inner joy wells up inside giving you an incredible feeling of wholeness and happiness."

That's meditation in a nutshell.

If you're at all interested in learning how to meditate, GET THIS BOOK!

After purchasing numerous how-to meditation books (none of which inspired me particularly), this small book is the one that finally got me going. It's a very simple, hands-on book presenting a step-by-step, four-week program for gradually incorporating meditation into your life. Week one requests that you devote 15 minutes to meditation and presents a meditative exercise for each day. This method continues week after week. By the time you're at week four, you've progressed to 30 minutes of meditation.

Unlike many meditation books, there's a casual, easygoing quality to this book -- nothing esoteric or heavy. Short, simple meditation exercises are peppered throughout this inspiring yet practical book. Thanks to the authors, I had numerous opportunities to see which forms of meditation were the most compatible for my personality. I discovered I do better with tactile or visual focusing than I do with mantras or breathing. Though the end result is the same (quieting the mind), it helps to have a form of meditation that inspires you!

I am writing more as a reviewer of Dr. Goldstein herself than of the book, as I have had the pleasure of being one of her students. Dr. Goldstein is a lucid and intelligent woman, who is genuinely interested in conveying her knowledge to her readers, in text, and students, in person. Both the book and its author have been celebrated for the contribution "Demanding Clean Food and Water" has made to the pursuit of human rights. If you are seeking understanding as well as information, I highly recommend you read her work.