'Inside Meditation' - Book Review

Joanne Sarah Avison on Inside Meditation

There are many books about things. They contain ideas from the author or wonderfully woven stories of fiction and inspiration. Others might list facts and instructions, or present information visually and intellectually – about their subject.

There are fewer books that can actually cause the reader to change how they see themselves and the world around them – and fewer still that can provide the tools to sustain that change. Inside Meditation is one of those rare pieces of writing that simply changes you. The paradox innate to its genius – is that, once animated by you, it can ultimately lead you to discovering that which is not subject to change, within yourself.

It has been a privilege to be a close friend of Alex over many years and watch him in action, developing and expanding his unique ability to express this work. To see it encapsulated in such clear and beautiful language is like holding treasure. For a thirsty being, the gift of a fruit and the taste of a sweet juice is heaven sent. This book is an orchard of fruit trees that has an endless supply of sweet juice – if only we take the care to pick it...and taste it and – literally and symbolically – juice it.

Inside Meditation has life within its pages. The author has lived the life of the work himself over many years of dedication and it is the concentrated essence of that experience. It is a body of work that is presented with clarity – while it contains some of the deepest mysteries about the being of human beings. You, the reader, are invited to join in with this experience and become part of that body of work. It is not an intellectual “download” to be read and learned. It is a profoundly beautiful invitation to walk an authentic path to your Self – while you live your life. Indeed, it deepens and expands the experience of every day life itself. Eventually that becomes the teacher.

Inside Meditation is also a lot of fun! It is written with a lightness of heart despite the very serious nature of the work. That is what makes it so delightful to be in the classroom with Alex. There is as much laughter as there is quiet, inexorable change – accumulating gently over time. This book is like that, if you allow yourself the time to read a little here and a little

there and engage in the exercises. It will not do it for you – it can – and does – provide an authentic and safely lit pathway to walk for yourself, to the point that you choose to travel.

That pathway glows with Grace – and this book is a grace field that will expand with you as you work with it. The true magic lies in the questions it invites you to ask, the observations it encourages you to make and the experiences it invites you to accumulate. The rest just happens as it does.

My profound gratitude to you Alex for the treasure your work has been in my life – and for the difference it has made to me. That means the difference it has made directly and indirectly to all those I have worked with. In Native American wisdom, the Spider is the bringer of writing, of words expressed on a page, like a web woven in an exquisite matrix. May the Grace and elegance with which you have woven these threads inspire many people to see and treasure the jewels at every connection – and share them in the same spirit.

Thank you, with love, Joanne Sarah