This was my first time reading Adyashanti, though I’ve been curious about his work for quite a while. Despite having read about him extensively, I hadn’t picked up one of his actual books until now.

At first glance, the book felt too brief to offer any real depth on meditation. But I was proven wrong very quickly once I started reading. Adyashanti’s writing is simple, direct, and incredibly intentional - each word carries weight and meaning, with nothing wasted.

I found his approach deeply resonant, especially his emphasis on allowing things to unfold naturally during meditation rather than trying to force an experience. It’s a perspective I want to incorporate into my own practice.

My only critique is the absence of a guided meditation script, which would have made the book feel more complete.

I have received a free copy of this book from NetGalley. This doesn't impact my opinion in any way.

I’ve been meditating for a couple of years and this book has helped me reshape my relationship with it - life happens, I get stressed, I stop meditating (exactly when I should keep at it, basically). I found True Meditation excellent, with so much helpful information; reading, then putting into practice what I learned has been helping me reach a better place with my meditating.

This is a title I’ll be getting for myself and will definitely read more books by the author.



Thank you to Sounds True and NetGalley for the DRC

True Meditation by Adyashanti presents the author’s journey of understanding how to approach meditation.

It’s a struggle for most of us to quiet the mind, and when we try to do it we manipulate the mind to be quiet and that doesn’t work. The author explains why it doesn’t work and how we need to approach it in order to get to that effortless place of meditating.

Some of the techniques of controlling mind that are taught: focusing on the breath or various parts of the body, saying mantra, or doing visualization.

Those are good techniques in order to get us through the first step, bringing the mind to the present, but once we find our groove of that present state, then we need to let go of focusing on those techniques because they obscure our natural state of consciousness.

Many meditators end up with what is simply a discipline because they focus for example on their breath-work for years, never getting to that natural state. Thus, creating separateness from unity, and that’s exactly opposite of what the goal of mediation is. That’s why it’s so important to let go of the techniques as soon as possible, and getting into that state when we wonder what happens when we allow everything to be as it is. And that’s when we start to transition from control of mind into True Meditation.

The second part goes into meditative self-inquiry where we allow everything to be as it is. In the self-inquiry we ask questions to receive answers which lead us to the state of awareness. Spiritual questions point us back to ourselves in which process we discover oneness. We’re one with the source. It’s about looking inward, not outward. It goes also into ego-personality, coming into harmony and peace, going into awareness to recognize who we are. So we can see that existence is simply a manifestation of spirit. And that’s when you’re true spiritual journey begins.

The True Meditation is in a form of a booklet or a small book. For those who are into meditation, this is a very valuable lesson, and worth reading to understand what meditation truly is about. For those who are already familiar with meditation this should be fairly graspable.

I initially sat down to read this like a text book, but soon realised most of the short chapters are actually perfect meditation prompts. While I didn't see Adya's methods as very radical I found them very useful, both for reminding me of things I already know, and taking my meditation and awareness journey into a deeper level. It's also a very inclusive and heartfelt way to meditate.
I'm not sure about the edition of this book. i received a free PDF copy from NetGalley, which appears to be the original edition, from 2006 and references a CD. Obviously the PDF I received didn't have a CD, but I can't imagine that a paper book would either, or than many people still have a way to play CDs. Minor point. I would love a paper copy of this book to browse through and sit with the ideas presented.