I can say this in humility because in an important sense this is not my method of meditation at all. It is simply my presentation of principles and practices which are themselves age-old. in every culture there have been men and women who would find familiar what I present in the following pages. But different epochs have different needs, and our own times – the tumultuous end of the twentieth century, the crisis of the industrial age – cry out for universality. “though we call it by different names.” The method of meditation presented here can be followed equally well in any religion or in none. I think that is the real secret of its appeal. It belongs to no movement, asks for no change of beliefs: it simply allows you to take the ideals you respond to and gradually, gracefully, make them part of your character and your life.

At the same time, although there are no new truths in these pages, I feel deeply gratified to get letters every week telling me that this little book speaks to people’s hearts in a way that nothing else has. It is doubly gratifying to learn of new applications: this method of meditation is being used in health education and twelve-step recovery groups, recommended by therapists, even made the basis of programs for teenagers. These developments are fulfilling one of my most ardent dreams: that over the years I might be able to extend to millions this precious skill that has such power to transform one’s everyday life.