Getting To Where You Are

by Steven Harrison

A penetrating and wide-ranging journey through contemporary spirituality, meditation technology, and post-modern culture, Getting to Where You Are challenges the very basis of contemporary spirituality and the consumer society that created it. Harrison's book, Doing Nothing, which Utne Reader called a caustic exploration of our psychospiritual obsessions established him as one of the most insightful and provocative authors in the arena of spiritual inquiry. Yoga Journal characterized Harrison's voice as uncompromising honesty and New Age Journal calls his writing persuasive. Getting to Where You Are is a far-reaching investigation of our ideas about life and our spirituality, in which Harrison challenges the notions of enlightenment as a way to happiness, zero-coupon bonds as the way to security, and Stephen Hawking as the final arbiter of scientific reality.

What does all of this have to do with meditation? Everything. Because meditation is about everything. Harrison suggests that the only meditation that does not produce more mind clutter than it removes is the active exploration of life--as it is--free from the restraints of doctrine, religious belief, and technique-oriented practices. And free from the embedded conceptual framework of our culture. Getting To Where You Are explores what meditation actually is and, more important, what it is not and how it got that way. In a series of interlinked essays, filled with humor and insight, Harrison investigates the fabric of life as the very expression of our spirituality.

Getting to Where You Are speaks both to the novice and the long-time meditation practitioner, as well as to all of us who care deeply about exploring and expanding our spiritual practices and our lives. This one-of-a-kind spirituality book invites us all along for the ride--the twists and turns and the final collision with life itself.

"One thing the world definitely does not need is another book on how to meditate," claims author Steven Harrison. He's right, of course, which is exactly why this book is such a valuable contribution to the genre of meditation books. Instead of offering advice on how to "Om" with meaning or making promises of enlightenment, Harrison devotes himself to deconstructing the beliefs that surround contemporary meditation. Don't seek specific outcomes--such as wealth, peace, and health--says Harrison. Better to unclutter the act of meditation by letting go of agendas and results. He goes on to offer a compelling alternative, one that dispels meditation gurus and authorities and emphasizes presence, awareness, and living in the moment.

Anyone seeking easy answers will be disappointed in this intelligent and provocative book. Those who want a fresh, accessible, and empowering book that frees meditation from doctrine, promises, and rules will be greatly satisfied. --Gail Hudson --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author:

Steven Harrison has studied a wide variety of meditation and spiritual practices and is an international speaker on spirituality and the conscious life. He is a founder of All Together Now International, a charitable organization that provides aid to street children and the destitute in South Asia, and The Living School, a learning community in Boulder, Colorado.