Book Review
The Warrior’s Meditation
by Richard L. Haight
Published by Shinkaikan Body, Mind, Spirit LLC
198 Pages
Published: December 2021

 

 

“To get a picture of the Warrior’s Meditation, imagine a battlefield scenario with a single Samurai stands surrounded by multiple opponents. A novice’s attention would jump from opponent to opponent in an anxious attempt to defend himself. Such a strategy soon tires the warrior, who will be defeated. An expert warrior will spread his attention evenly in all directions but still experience anxiety as he mentally plans his strategy. His thought and anxiety may be his downfall if his opponents are truly skilled. A master’s attention, like the expert’s, is spread evenly, but he remains as calm as the surface of a still lake. With no predetermined idea of what his actions might be, his body takes the right action without a single thought…”

The Warrior’s Meditation by Richard L. Haight is separated into five (5) parts and twenty-three (23) chapters. The Warrior’s Meditation is a technique that evolved from Mr. Haight’s martial arts training in Japan and his creation of a specific meditation technique, the Total Embodiment Methodology or TEM method. The goal is one of allowing the individual to “blend meditation into your daily life, so that you are no longer held back by the requirements of a quiet space, specific
body postures, and dogmas…”

Towards this end the reader is guided through the meditation practice of TEM as well as providing a close inspection of the more traditional approaches towards meditation.

Part 1: Principles of Meditation provides the reader with a concise overview of the components of meditation and how each form of meditation expresses these in alignment with their specific focus.

“What is meditation? Many people tend to equate meditation with a certain disciplined practice that entails sitting cross-legged in silence, with eyes closed. Readers might be surprised to find that there are many ways to tap into the vibrant awareness of meditation, and they are not all equally efficient…”

Mr. Haight takes the reader through the process of concentration, brainwave states and their relevance to meditative practice and an interesting technique called “vagal breathing” as a means of shifting from beta to alpha brain states.

Part II: Natural Meditation Portals takes the reader on an exploration of engaging the senses in the meditation practice as a means of entering into a whole-body experience. Chapters such as Conscious Sight (Ch. 6), Conscious Hearing (Ch. 7), Conscious Olfaction (Ch. 8), Conscious Tasting (Ch. 9), Conscious Feeling (Ch. 10) and a conclusory Chapter 11: Final Thoughts on Portals of the Senses that brings it all together.

Parts III: Basic TEM Practice introduces the meat of the Warrior’s Meditation. Having laid the necessary foundations in the previous sections, the reader is now ready to explore the Total Embodiment Methodology created by Mr. Haight.

“Once we explore the Warrior’s Meditation, we will learn the proper mindset of meditation, how to deal with mental resistance, and how to become ever more flexible with the practice, so that we can begin to integrate TEM more thoroughly into our active daily lives…”

The chapters of this section guide the reader step-by-step through the TEM technique. The overall feel is one that encourages and has similar dynamics to those that would be accessible if the reader were in the presence of an instructor.

The final offering—Ready Reference—provides the reader with a concise and broad overview of the topics and practices Mr. Haight has presented.

Would I Recommend:

The Warrior’s Meditation by Richard L. Haight is definitely a different perspective on meditation practice. Where most contemplative practices strive to insulate the meditator, Mr. Haight’s TEM practice allows the reader to fully engage the sensorial modalities, immediately fully immersing the individual in an alert and more fully present state. The fast-paced nature of our society and resultant anxieties, stress and fears pulls us into the nexus of upheaval and instability. The Warrior’s Meditation provides a much needed tool to combat this state and with intentional practice and daily commitment, the reader will find solace and comfort in the midst of the fray and be able to navigate anything that provides challenge. I will be trying this technique routinely and sharing the contents of this book for some time to come.

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Richard L. Haight is the founder of the Total Embodiment Method (TEM), which is an awareness training system designed to integrate meditation into one’s daily life. Richard is the author of The Unbound Soul and The Warrior’s Meditation and a master-level instructor of martial, meditation and healing arts.

Richard began formal martial arts training at age 12 and moved to Japan at the age of 24 to advance his training with masters of the sword, staff, and aiki-jujutsu. During his 15 years in Japan, Richard was awarded masters licenses in fours samurai arts as well as a traditional healing art called sotai-ho. Richard is one of the world’s foremost experts in the traditional Japanese martial arts. Through his
books, his meditation, and martial arts seminar, Richard Haight is helping to ignite a world-wide movement for personal transformation that is free of all constraints and open to anyone of any level. He now lives and teaches in southern Oregon, U.S.A. Find out more at www.richardlhaight.com

 

The Warrior’s Meditation on Amazon

 

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About the author:

Robin Fennelly is an Elder within The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel Tradition and serves as High Priestess of Coven of the Mystic Path, the 12th Coven within the Assembly of the Sacred Wheel Tradition. She teaches and facilitates classes for the Pagan Experience Study Group that serves as foundation for membership within Coven of the Mystic Path.  

Her spiritual journey is strongly rooted in both Eastern philosophy and the Western Magickal systems from which she has formed a core foundation that is diverse in knowledge and rich in spiritual practice.  A life-long learner, her practice has evolved from the classical and philosophical teachings of books, practical experience and enrichment of this knowledge base by attending workshops of various spiritual traditions presented by master teachers.

Robin formally came to the Wiccan path in 1994. Following a practice as a solitary for 2 years, she dedicated to Oak and Willow Coven of The Assembly of the Sacred Wheel Tradition in November of 1996. She received her 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Elder) degrees within the Assembly Tradition and has served as High Priestess of two ASW covens since Samhain of 2001 and the Winter Solstice of 2015.

As a teacher of esoteric and magickal studies she uses Energetic Anatomy, Tarot, Astrology, Hermetic Qabala, Eastern Philosophy, and Numerology as the foundations of her diverse selection of workshops and writings for more than 25 years. Exploration of varied energetic protocol has been the focus of her work for some time now and the information gained through direct experience informs all of her magickal and spiritual work.

Robin’s writings have been featured online, and in print Internationally.  She has authored several books incorporating her unique style of writing making use of poetry, prose and pathworking to enhance the concepts presented.  She has taught extensively throughout the Pagan community, including Sacred Space Conference, Spring Magick, Between the Worlds Interfaith Conference and Free Spirit Gathering Festival. Her most recent projects include a channel on youtube: A Journey to the Inner Chamber. She also shares audio pathworkings and ritual on her bandcamp site: Teachings on the Path with Robin.

Robin is the owner of Holistic Embrace providing services for mind, body and spirit such as Tarot readings, Astrology reports, Spiritual Guidance and other related offerings.  She lives in Eastern Pennsylvania and her life is blessed by a 40+- year marriage, five children and the opportunity to work in the field of public education.

Robin’s Website: www.robinfennelly.com

Coven of the Mystic Path, ASW: www.covenofthemysticpath.org

Her books can be found on Amazon or purchased directly through her website:

For more info: http://www.robinfennelly.com/books.html

The Inner Chamber, Vol. 1 It’s Written in the Stars-Astrology

The Inner Chamber, Vol. 2 Poetry of the Spheres-Qabalah

The Inner Chamber, Vol. 3 Awakening the Paths-Qabalah

The Light of SELF: Consciousness, Spiritual Practice and Learning to Breathe

Magickal Verse: A Collection of Poetry and Prose

A Year of Gaia: The Eternal Cord

The Elemental Year: Aligning the Elements of SELF

Temple of the Sun and Moon: Luminous Devotions

Sleeping with the Goddess: Nights of Devotion

A Weekly Reflection: Musings for the Year

The Magickal Pen: A Collection of Esoteric Writings

The Enchanted Gate: Musings on the Magick of the Natural World

The Temple of the Sun: An Astrological Solar Year

Writings in the Shadow: An Exploration of the Shadow Nature