Published: 17th April 2002
Incorporate meditation into your daily routine: from walking to work to washing dishes.

Journalists, relax! Modem life is extremely stressful and even people who appear to be successful and popular are often dissatisfied and needled by self-doubt. Unless time is made to explore these feelings and make the necessary changes, peace and calm will elude you.

For thousands of years, meditation has been utilised by many world religions to unlock the healing powers of the mind. Different cultures and faiths incorporate varying types of meditation as stepping stones along the road to inner peace, tranquility and enlightenment.

In Creating Calm, expert practitioner Gill Farrer-Halls gives the history, attributes and practices of these different meditations: from Hindu Kundalini Yoga Chakra to Buddhist chanting and writing haiku poetry. Each chapter details the historical and geographical beginnings of a particular type of meditative practice, following this with exercises which can be done at home. Appropriate postures and breathing methods are given as well as more active meditations such as sufi dancing and tai chi.

The final section of the book, "devotional practice and ritual", offers a fascinating insight into the link between sacred spaces, meditation and prayer in Judaism, Christianity and Islam, as well as giving a list of meditation centres and organizations. The book is beautifully illustrated both with photos and paintings. Perhaps most importantly. Gill Farrer-Halls suggests ways of incorporating meditation into everyday activities: there are chapters on eating as a form of meditation, cleaning, driving and washing-up, in the workplace and conflict resolution. Whether you are interested in finding ways to reduce and manage stress, or are simply curious about the spiritual context. Creating Calm is an essential guide to meditation. It could revolutionise your life.

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