"A valuable work as both a practice guide and a reference manual."---Guy Armstrong, insight meditation teacher --Book Jacket.
Shaila Catherine Books
Shaila Catherine is a deeply experienced meditation teacher whose practice spans decades and encompasses a profound understanding of contemplative paths. Her teachings emphasize the cultivation of concentration and insight, with a specific focus on exploring states of profound calm and developing loving-kindness (metta). Catherine has dedicated years to intensive silent retreats and has studied with masters across India, Nepal, and Thailand, gaining insights she now shares globally. Her approach is grounded in extensive personal practice, offering a rich resource for those seeking inner development.
Focused and Fearless
- 275 pages
- 10 hours of reading
With this accesssible guide, meditators (and non-meditators) can understand how to attain extraordinary states with relative ease. Blended with contemporary examples and pragmatic "how to" instructions that anyone can try, Focused and Fearless provides a wealth of tools to cultivate non-distracted attention in daily life and on retreat. Shaila Catherine has a friendly, wise approach to the meditative states ( jhanas ) that lead to liberating insight.Focused and Fearless is about much more than merely meditation or concentration. It offers a complete path towards bliss, fearlessness, and true awakening.
Introduction: Lost in Thought -- 1. Knowing Your Own Mind: Many Kinds of Thoughts -- 2. Thoughts That Help and Thoughts That Hurt: What Intentions Do You Nurture? -- 3. Antidotes and Alternatives: Strategy #1: Replace Unwholesome Thoughts with Wholesome Thoughts -- 4. Weighing the Costs: Strategy #2: Examine the Dangers of Distracting Thoughts -- 5. Withdrawing the Fuel: Strategy #3: Avoid It, Ignore It, Forget It -- 6. Unravelling the Causes: Strategy #4: Investigate the Causes of Distraction -- 7. Saying No and Meaning It!: Strategy #5: Apply Determination and Resolve -- 8. Applying the Five Strategies: A Complete Training Sequence -- 9. Mastering Your Mind: Moving Toward Liberation -- Appendix 1: Dvedhāvitakka Sutta: Two Kinds of Thought --Appendix 2: Vitakkasaṇṭhāna Sutta: The Removal of Distracting Thoughts -- Acknowledgments -- List of Abbreviations -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index of Exercises -- General Index -- About the Author.
The Jhanas is about much more than mere meditation or concentration. It offers a complete path toward bliss, fearlessness, and true awakening.With this accessible guide, meditators (and non-meditators) can understand how to attain extraordinary states with relative ease. Blended with contemporary examples and pragmatic "how to" instructions that anyone can try, The Jhanas provides a wealth of tools to cultivate non-distracted attention in daily life and on retreat. Shaila Catherine has a friendly, wise approach to the meditative states ( jhanas ) that lead to liberating insight. Previously published as Focused and Fearless , this new edition clarifies crucial points and offers twenty-one additional exercises, making this a great book for both those new to jhana practice and those looking to deepen their practice.