THE VEIL OF ENTANGLEMENT

A manual offers a blueprint for liberating people through a deeper understanding of their inner selves.

In a prolonged and detailed call for his readers to experience the freedom of becoming the best versions of themselves, Nicholson seeks to take some of the core meditation and self-examination practices of Buddhism and distill them into descriptions of self-calming and interior focus methods. If practiced faithfully, the techniques will empower every reader to be “both a gentle caretaker of and a fierce advocate for the being you are.” The author begins his gradual approach with the basics of the human body, fundamental concerns like posture, breath control, and mass distribution, then moves on to more advanced conceptual matters, such as how to tame distraction during meditation. “If your eyes are looking at something with any sense of visual recognition—the floor in front of you, for instance,” he writes, “no matter how disengaged you may be in that looking, your attention is at best divided between the object of concentration and the looking at the floor.” Nicholson confesses to being aware of his position as a Westerner writing about these Eastern practices and mentions that “the only conscionable stance I can adopt is an ironic one.” The bulk of the guide is written with a palpable sincerity. As in many Eastern meditation books, that quality becomes a much-needed refuge from the element of obscurity that enters this account early on. “Once you can bring the object of concentration into a stable flow of momentariness, momentary events eventing,” goes one passage, “you will have come to an excellent place from which to consolidate everything you have experienced in practice so far.” Still, this thoughtful book will appeal to readers who are already adept at meditation and seek further insights.

An earnest, comprehensive, if somewhat hazy, guide to the principles and practices of inner calming.