![](https://s18.postimg.org/t5zjxsfyh/unnamed-1.jpg) ![](https://s14.postimg.org/llrwmq9g1/fancyline600png1.png) ## Did you miss the first post about my book launch? If so, you can [Click Here](https://steemit.com/story/@ericvancewalton/announcing-my-new-book-the-perfect-pause-meditating-your-way-to-the-ultimate-you) to read it. ## ![](https://s14.postimg.org/llrwmq9g1/fancyline600png1.png) **T**oday was a special day. I actually held in my hands a copy of this book that encapsulates so many years of life. I’m more than pleased and still awestruck by how well the project all came together. After finally seeing the book for the first time with my own eyes I can say [Lubosh Cech](https://luboshcech.com/), the book designer, is undoubtedly a master of his craft. With this second of three posts I wanted to explain to you a little bit more about the book and my motivations for writing it. I felt nothing could accomplish this better than the book’s prologue. # Prologue # I discovered the power of meditation at an extremely low point in my life. I was overweight, not exercising, and living a very unhealthy lifestyle. At my worst I was barely functioning. I struggled to leave the house for fear of crippling panic attacks. After a while it felt as though I wasn’t even living. I was no longer in control of my life and I absolutely hated that feeling. The worst part of this for me was the shame. I knew I had more potential and that I wasn’t living my best life and that feeling of limitation frustrated me. The fear of the anxiety caused me to construct my entire life around a routine that kept me feeling safe and secure. As a temporary escape from my misery, each weekend I would force myself to get out of the house and would drive to a local bookstore. I spent hours reading about anything that interested me. One afternoon a tiny blue meditation book called, *Metaphysical Meditations* caught my eye so I brought it home, read it, and began to meditate. I then read, [*Autobiography of a Yogi*](https://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Reprint-Philosophical-library-First/dp/1565892127/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HGP9XTQT3GW20VC4Y332) by Paramahansa Yogananada, these two books were the spark that began to transform my life. After a few months of practicing meditation something miraculous began to happen. I began to notice that I was starting to slowly heal from the inside out. I felt more relaxed, I began to eat healthier, had better concentration, and was flooded with a general sense of well-being. In 1991, about a year after I started my regular practice, I enrolled in a three year course in advanced meditation. I was so excited about the benefits I experienced through my practice I began to believe that meditation had the power to change our entire world for the better, one person at a time. At that moment I vowed to one day teach others. Only in the past year, more than twenty years after I first began, do I feel even remotely qualified enough to teach and share this life-changing practice of meditation with others. My goal was to fill this book only with honest, simple, and actionable methods and concepts that have worked for me personally. Getting to know your true self through meditation takes courage and it takes work. Each meditation session is like charging your cell phone battery. If you don’t meditate just a few minutes every day the benefits you receive will soon be depleted and you’ll be back at the same place you started. Life in this world will never be perfect but despite what unfolds around us but you will learn through your practice that it’s nearly always possible to remain peaceful, hopeful, and happy. The negative moods of those around you don’t have to spill over into your own consciousness. You don’t have to impose any limits on your life due to fear, anxiety or anything else. At the end of most chapters there is a section called, *Put It Into Practice*, these are simple ways to incorporate the methods presented in the book in your own life. Also at the end of each chapter you’ll find a *Notes* page to jot down thoughts and ideas. If you’re reading the eBook version of The Perfect Pause on a mobile phone or tablet simply place your finger on the Notes page and “long press” your screen to activate the Notes feature in the Kindle app. Use this notes feature to document your observations and results. I’m convinced that this simple practice has the potential to heal the world one person at a time. As I sit here today putting the finishing touches on this book I’m reflecting on how completely my life has been transformed by this true miracle. Meditation is the greatest gift you can give yourself. Practicing it is the greatest gift you can give to the world. No matter where your life stands today, it’s never too late to begin your practice. Each year more and more people are waking up to the fact that this life is an incredible gift. Life gives us the opportunity to learn, to love, and to grow beyond our wildest imaginations. When you began to treat life as the gift that it is an amazing new reality will open up to you. It’s a world that you may’ve only seen small glimpses of before. Meditation is your chance to join the ranks of the awakened. Whether you currently realize it or not, you are miraculous, you deserve love, you deserve a life of happiness and fulfillment, above all you deserve to be the best version of yourself. Remember this now and for the rest of your days. ![](https://s14.postimg.org/llrwmq9g1/fancyline600png1.png) ## Please join me here on Sunday, June 18th (my birthday) for the final kick-off of The Perfect Pause! ## ![](https://s14.postimg.org/llrwmq9g1/fancyline600png1.png) *I am an American novelist, poet, traveler, and crypto-enthusiast. 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