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As I mentioned in my [previous blog post](https://hive.blog/meditation/@ericvancewalton/lemons-give-you-lemonade) today I’m going to start publishing my 2017 meditation book here on Hive for you to read, free of charge. It makes me happy to think that this book will, theoretically, live here on the blockchain long after I'm gone, despite what Amazon or any other mainstream platform might do with it. 

As you read the installments in the next few weeks, if you have any questions please feel free to pose them in the comments section and I’ll try my best to get to all of them. 

I’m going to begin with the front matter of the book to share with you some of my backstory and reasons for writing the book. Chapter one will begin in the next blog post. 

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# <center> Prologue </center> #

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 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 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 challenges unfold 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 begin 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 have only seen small glimpses of before. Meditation is your chance to join the ranks of the awakened. 

Whether you 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. 


*The Greatest of Secrets*

You languish, awash in worry
that time is slipping by
and all that once was
has long gone down the road
never to pass your way again. 

They tell you you’re a sinner
and you remember
when your innocence
wouldn’t allow you to believe
but time and their wicked words
have so deliberately whittled you away.

It is they who tell you to keep coming back,
dangling the hope of salvation
just beyond your fervor’s grasp.

But there are a few things
that they have failed to tell you
you are miraculous, you are divinity’s spark
the power of your soul is a sleeping giant, long exiled.

If you only knew the power that you possess
your eyes would stream tears of joy as if awakened
from a terrible nightmare to realize the greatest of secrets...
you are an emperor in beggars clothes indeed.



All for now. 
 
With Gratitude,
 
Eric Vance Walton

 
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[Link to purchase The Perfect Pause](https://www.amazon.com/Perfect-Pause-Meditating-Your-Ultimate/dp/154708295X)


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<center> [![alt text](https://i.imgur.com/HxpLgqSl.jpg)](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095HXB8WQ) </center>

Poetry should move us, it should change us, it should glitch our brains, shift our moods to another frequency. Poetry should evoke feelings of melancholy, whimsy, it should remind us what it feels like to be in love, or cause us to think about something in a completely different way. I view poetry, and all art really, as a temporary and fragile bridge between our world and a more pure and refined one. This is a world we could bring into creation if enough of us believed in it. This book is ephemera, destined to end up forgotten, lingering on some dusty shelf or tucked away in a dark attic. Yet the words, they will live on in memory. I hope these words become a part of you, bubble up into your memory when you least expect them to and make you feel a little more alive. 

[Pick up a copy of Ephemera today on Amazon.](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B095HXB8WQ)  



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<center> [![alt text](https://i.imgur.com/b5U8dqm.jpg?1)](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PJPWK2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1) </center>

Most of us have experienced a moment of perfect peace at least once in our lives. In these moments we lose ourselves and feel connected to everything. I call these mindful moments. Words can’t describe how complete they make us feel. 

These moments are usually fragile, evaporating in seconds. What if there was a way to train your mind to experience more of them? It’s deceptively easy and requires nothing more than a subtle shift in mindset. My new book, [Mindful Moments](https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08PJPWK2W/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1), will teach you to be much more content despite the chaos and imperfect circumstances continuing to unfold around you. Upgrade your life experience today for only $15.99 on Amazon.com. 



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# <center> Let’s Keep In Touch </center> #

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