The Meditative Path: A Gentle Way to Awareness, Concentration, and Serenity John Cianciosi Foreword by Jack Kornfield 268 pages 5 1/2 x 7 1/2 $19.95 paper 978-0-8356-0796-4

Once, the Mula Nasruden was searching the ground under a street lamp. "Can I help?" asked a friend. "I lost my key in the house," said Nasruden. "But then why look out here?" "Because the light is better in the street," came the reply.

Nasruden is a great fool in Middle Eastern folklore. Only by turning on the light inside his house -- his inner psyche --will he find the key. John Cianciosi shows us how to do just that.

Directly from the heart, this practical, nonreligious book guides the reader of any faith to reduce stress, increase health, and achieve inner peace. It clearly explains the meditative process and offers very simple exercises to balance theory and practice. Each chapter includes Q&A sections based on the average reader's experience and crafted from the author's twenty-four years of teaching, first as a Buddhist monk and now in lay life. Of all primers on meditation, this one excels in showing how to slow down life in the fast lane.

In the November 2002 issue of Yoga Journal, John Cianciosi contributes to the monthly Guided Meditation column with an article he has written on walking meditation called, "One Step at a Time: Learning to establish awareness during walking meditation helps to develop mindfulness during the activities of your daily life."

The author was featured in Yoga Journal, Nov. 2002, with an article on walking meditation.


John Cianciosi was born in Italy and educated in Australia. In 1972, he was ordained a Buddhist monk in Thailand and trained under one of that country’s most gifted and influential meditation masters, the late Venerable Ajahn Chah.


Other titles by the author:

• Discovering the Path of Least Resistance (CD)
• Meditative Path (CD)
• Practice and Inner Journey (CD)
• Practice and Inner Journey (DVD)
• Tales and Reflections:
  My Ten Years As A Buddhist (CD)
• We Don't Have to Live With Anger (CD)
• What Is Enlightenment? (CD)
• What Is Enlightenment? (DVD)
• The World of Religious Beliefs & Practices:
  Buddhism (DVD)

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