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Praise for Mental Resilience
“This book successfully integrates the lessons learned from thousands of years of Eastern meditation tradition with the latest findings of Western science. For novices and experts alike, it will broaden and deepen your understanding. I have meditated in the peace and quiet of a mountain retreat and as a combat soldier in trenches. Meditation is a powerful tool to develop focus, peace, and clarity. This is the best book on meditation I have ever read.”
— John Gibbons, practicing psychologist for forty years
“At a time when work life is getting faster and more complex, we all need to clear our minds and develop focus. It is an absolute must for high-performance work environments. This book makes building mental resilience easy. It has helped me as a mother, a partner, and an executive.”
— Elizabeth Broderick, partner, Blake Dawson Waldron
“This book gets to the crux of how to clear your mind and develop mental focus. This technique has been an inspiration for many executives in developing their mental resilience and levels of peace to reduce stress and function at their peak.”
— Les Fallick, CEO, Principle Advisory Services
“It is said that our lives are determined not by the things that happen to us but by how we react to them. This is true both professionally and personally. Being able to focus clearly, by clearing our increasingly cluttered mind, is a prerequisite for success. Kamal teaches easy-to-use and practical techniques to obtain mental resilience. I have found his teachings incredibly useful in just about all aspects of my life.”
— Rob Prugue, managing director, Lazard Asset Management, Asia Pacific division
“Athletes are taught not only how to train but also to rest their physical bodies so that they can recuperate after periods of intense competition. In corporate life we continually make intense mental demands of our staff without always taking the appropriate measures to truly assist them in resting their minds. The Mental Resilience Training techniques described in this book allow us all to maintain peak mental performance so that we can thrive rather than get bogged down with the stresses of modern work life.”
— Colin Pitt, general manager for Learning and Performance, St. George Bank
“Developing mental flexibility is extremely important in corporate life. This book is full of insights into a most-perplexing contemporary dilemma: how to keep your most precious asset, your mind, in its naturally resilient state.”
— Kate Mulligan, managing director, Advance Funds Management
“Truly fulfilled people must have mental resilience. Leaders at any level must have clarity and focus. The technique and skills taught in this book and audio have transformed my life. These techniques are relevant for any part of your life, in the bedroom or the boardroom.”
— Dan Dumitrescu, global head of technology, Edward W. Kelly & Partners
“For those of us with busy lives, our greatest regret may be that of failing to seize the moment and truly be present to the reality of our lives as it unfolds. Constantly being somewhere else mentally is one of the major causes of stress and exhaustion. The tools in this book can help all people be truly present to their lives so they can thrive rather than just exist.”
— Bettina Pidcock, director of marketing, Asgard Wealth Solutions
mental resilience
Copyright © 2008 by Kamal Sarma
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, or other — without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
The material in this book is intended for education. It is not meant to take the place of diagnosis and treatment by a qualified medical practitioner or therapist. No expressed or implied guarantee as to the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given, nor can liability be taken.
Text design by Tona Pearce Myers
Author photograph by David Starr
“Eating Mindfully” exercise on page 166 used with permission from www.MindfulEating.org, copyright © 2004 by DayOne Publishing. All rights reserved.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sarma, Kamal, 1967–
Mental resilience : the power of clarity : how to develop the focus of a warrior and the peace of a monk / Kamal Sarma.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-1-57731-625-1 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Meditation. I. Title.
BL627.S372 2008
| 158.1’2—dc22 | 2007050765 |
First printing, March 2008
ISBN: 978-1-57731-625-1
Printed in the United States on 50% postconsumer-waste recycled paper
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New World Library is a proud member of the Green Press Initiative. |
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To all the warrior monks who stand up against oppression and violence with only their focus, peace, and compassion. To those who fight not with arms but with alms.
contents
Introduction: From Monastery to Management
CHAPTER 1: Meditation — Why Bother?
CHAPTER 2: Common Misconceptions about Meditation
CHAPTER 3: Meditation Metaphors and Models
CHAPTER 4: A Model of the Mind
Part Two: Practice
CHAPTER 5: Getting Started
CHAPTER 6: The Stages of Meditation
CHAPTER 7: Developing a Relaxed State of Mind
CHAPTER 8: Becoming Deeply Calm
CHAPTER 9: Developing Emotional Tranquility
CHAPTER 10: Developing Insight
CHAPTER 11: Cultivating Wisdom
CHAPTER 12: Bringing It All Together
Gratitude
Notes
Index
About the Author