Be the Change: How Meditation Can Transform You and the World

This is by far a stellar book.... truthfully, one that anyone can relate to! Something I would like to share with others readers who might be considering this purchase... you will be pleased! Why do I say this? Well, first of all, it is put together very well and the stories and advice really stick because they are presented in such a harmonious layout. The eyes never get tired from reading this book, as my experience with many books has been, that they tend to tax our vision. Having said that, it is obvious that authors were mindful of this, thats why it has been so fun and easy to read. It is a page turner of insights and methods... things that we can do for ourselves, and more importantly, without sacrificing our own personal beliefs! At the same time, there is so much helpul information, and it is presented so elegantly, I love it. Thank you and bless you both for writing such a inspiring and motivating book!

Be The Change is an inspirational compilation of teachings from many different perspectives. I particularly appreciated the sections on sound and walking meditations. The authors worked hard to weave the individual perspectives into complete sections that transcend religious background and demonstrate that meditation is a key in our conscious awakening. I highly recommend it!

This book has truly been life changing. The biggest thing I love about this book is the diversity. Ed and Deb have brought together people from all different backgrounds and have collected their stories and views on meditation and presented them in such a way that is easy to understand and feel. If you're new to meditation or not, you will get something out of this book, and you will learn from all of the amazing stories. I am so thankful this book has found me.

I've read many books on meditation and yours is so warm, human and accessible that it makes me smile. Meditation is more of a character in your book than the subject of it! ... Meditation is the magic carpet that carries all the people telling their stories, on a journey that transforms them from whatever they were before to something better after. ... as the reader I get to be along for the ride. Thank you Ed and Deb Shapiro!

Let me start this review by recounting an amazing coincidence. His Holiness the Dalai Lama wrote one of the two forewords to this book, and I read it during a break. Only a few minutes after I finished reading it, I received a phone call. My company sells electronic translators; the caller phoned from the U.K. to ask about a Tibetan-English electronic translator. She said she was buying it for someone else, and would be taking it to India with her. "Uh, would that be northwest India?" I recalled that was the home of Tibetan refugees. She said that was her destination and she was there often. I asked her if she'd ever seen HH the Dalai Lama, perhaps in one of his public appearances. She replied that she was looking for an electronic translator for a man on HH's staff and if it worked for him then others in the office might be interested. He was trying to learn English and she had been helping him but they thought an electronic dictionary would speed up his learning significantly. HH's staff? Let's see, by the Kevin Bacon principle did that make me one degree away from HH or two? I later went online to look at our Italian and German translators, figuring that would trigger a call from someone at the Vatican (but that didn't happen). Anyhow, in our conversation she conveyed to me the essence of the book I was about to read even though I had not mentioned anything about the book. The subtitle describes not a wish but an ongoing project and it's one in which this pleasant lady is heavily involved. What are the odds.... She was obviously well-grounded and purposeful. And she was moving in circles I had merely read about, yet she was open with me and entirely there during the conversation. To paraphrase HH, I'm just a simple wonk. In the Midwest USA. Yet, I get a phone call like that. I felt elevated and humbled at the same time. When I next returned to the book, I read the foreword by Bob Thurman (named one of the 25 most influential Americans by Time Magazine). Mr. Thurman could easily be a braggart, considering his many accomplishments. But instead, he is genuinely humble. This came through in what he said in the foreword he wrote. After my experience that morning, I read Mr. Thurman's thoughts and concluded there is something powerful already at work between this book and me. I chose to read it carefully. Many people in mainstream western culture doubt the power of meditation. I studied martial arts for many years, and what I learned under girds a way of life for me. I am known for "having a way with animals." The key is to become very calm inside, to relax totally, and empty your mind of all thoughts except just being present. When you do this, even wild animals will come very close to check you out. I mean very close. Once, a ferruginous hawk landed within grabbing distance from me and calmly observed me for several minutes before flying away. Try getting close to a large predatory bird sometime. That "transform the world" part isn't ho