The Healing Power of Mind: Simple Meditation Exercises for Health, Well-Being, and Enlightenment (Buddhayana)

It sounds like science fiction, but more and more people are tapping into the healing power of the mind. Bill Moyers brought this topic to light in a big way with his best-selling Healing and the Mind, but that was just an overview. For step-by-step instructions, you can turn to Tulku Thondup's The Healing Power of the Mind. Thondup, Tibetan Buddhist monk since the age of five and Harvard scholar, says that in the Tibetan tradition the mind is the key to health and that "mental grasping" is often the cause of our physical undoing. A cosmic counsellor of sorts, Thondup guides us first through simple exercises in relaxation and accepting present circumstances. His healing method centres on visualisation, beginning with emotions and moving on to the body. With breathing and sound as part of the package, the meditator creates a sense of well-being and compassion that is ideally carried over mindfully into everyday activities. The accelerated pupil can move on to more complex Buddhist imagery, but no matter how far you go, trusting the healing power of the mind is the first step. --Brian Bruya