Concentration: An Approach to Meditation (Quest Books)

"I have been unable to sleep lately and this book has been helpful. Every time I started reading it I became so bored that I fell asleep.

To be fair, I bought this book to compare Concentration Meditation with Mindfulness Meditation. I really was not interested in actually practicing either at this point. I should probably re-read this book and follow all of the painstakingly detailed instructions if I ever decide to use the Concentration method.

With exception to the conclusion, I am not impressed with Ernest Wood's writing skills. I found myself wondering if this book was really meant to teach anybody anything or if the author was padding words to make a pamphlet into a 154 page book.

Unless you have already made your mind up that you want to learn how to meditate using the Concentration approach, I would recommend that you pass on this book and read Jon Kabat-Zinn's Mindfulness meditation books instead. You won't be sorry."
~ Written on 2008-01-25

"Having practice concentration from several other resources, I find this to be my favorite. Most other methods of concentration require a lot of willpower to sharpen mental focus. While this might work, in my experience, it doesn't work very well. As soon a you stop training, you're mind will quickly resort back to its old wandering ways.

The method taught by Dr. Woods on the other hand, is more gental, and over time gets your mind into the habit of staying with a single thought until you're no longer interested in it. In essence you are able to control your mind. I highly recommend this work, though for most people, in order to see effective results a lot of daily practice is required, far more than what the author suggests."
~ Written on 2006-12-18

"This book is written for those who want to gain success from such books. Great attention was made to details which in turn gives the reader a very thorough explanation of meditation. There is so much in this book that I find more and more after each time I read it."
~ Written on 2006-03-20

"I first read this almost twenty years ago, and cannot overstate how valuable it was to me then. The methods Mr. Wood taught in the book have given me focus in my academic, business, and personal life, and helped me to achieve many goals. Year's back, I gave away about a dozen copies to friends. I just promised to loan it to another, picking it up after a ten-year absence. Re-reading the first chapter was like hearing from an old friend. In the end I decided to buy another copy to give to the friend, rather than part with mine. Do the exercises: they work."
~ Written on 2003-07-14

"I have read other books on concentration and meditation but this one is different. It teaches you how to train your mind as a willing and happy student as opposed to whipping your mind into shape as a master over a slave. The methods work and my concentration has improved greatly as a result."
~ Written on 1999-01-25