Relax and Be Aware: Mindfulness Meditations for Clarity, Confidence, and Wisdom

by Sayadaw U. Tejaniya, Doug McGill (Editor)

A lucid, practical guide to develop relaxation, awareness, mental clarity, and spiritual insight in your daily life.

Since mindfulness is known to be so physically, mentally, and spiritually beneficial, why not practice it right now? Why not in every moment? Burmese Buddhist master Sayadaw U Tejaniya writes that we can indeed practice in this way, and the key is not forceful effort but rather a continuous gentle remembering of our intention to renew our awareness. Thirty-one short chapters--"A Month of Daily Life Meditations"--show precisely how to build a daily life meditation practice that steadily develops relaxation, refreshment, and enlightenment.

"The right time to meditate is all day long, from the moment we wake up and open our eyes, until the moment we fall asleep at night," writes U Tejaniya. "If you are practicing correctly with right effort, it will definitely bring peace and joy."

Genres: Meditation, Buddhism, Nonfiction, Self Help, Book Club

152 pages, Paperback

Published December 10, 2019

Reviews

[Arunothia Marappan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I usually steer away from reading about Buddhism other than what's taught by S.N Goenka ji and his way of Vipassana. This mainly stems from my strong belief that eating meat is against dhamma and practices where this is not emphasized bothers me so much that I don't want to listen beyond that. I'm glad I didn't do that with this book and grateful to my friend who recommended it to me.

Growing in wisdom is a life time process and it is so easy to get stuck in some intellectual game where we rationally conclude from wrong premises. I'm grateful to be aware (to an extent) of how limited my knowledge is and how much I lack in wisdom. In fact, only recently I have clearly started seeing the difference between knowledge and wisdom!

Appreciating awareness and having gratitude towards awareness (even a tiny bit of it) is the key to create the required momentum of interest and curiosity.

I loved this book and grateful to have read it. I recommend it to anyone who has learnt Vipassana and has a good share of experience trying to get better at it :)


My notes from reading -

(1) When pain becomes just nature, then it is no longer painful.
(2) This is just nature, this is just a process.

The watched mind brings happiness
(1) Right Effort - Persevere in a relaxed way.
(2) Right View - The mind is nature, not "me"
(3) Right Attitude - Observe Experience just as it is

Let what happens happen!

Every moment that we bring awareness to life weakens the darkness of delusion.

Keep awareness, not objects, continuous.

Confidence, Energy, Mindfulness, Stability of Mind and Wisdom

Meditation should be very interesting and joyful because you are learning about yourself

When we don't understand, then we have to imagine, and we can only imagine with our limited understanding. You don't see something just because you want to see it. It's only when you are able to see it that you can see it.

Light awareness and continuity is the key.

Appreciate Awareness!

Having a desire to truly understand what is going on is much more important than just trying to be aware.

A mind with wisdom takes reality as its object. It sees both concepts and underlying reality, and it isn't fooled by how concepts try to present themselves as reality itself.

Investigate Suffering - When interest is present, wisdom is already present in the mind and beginning it's work of understanding and letting go.

Meditate when happy, it gives the strength to meditate when unhappy.

Putting in a lot of effort for a short period of time in the hope of getting some reward is greed. Wisdom looks at the long term.

[Chee · Rating 5 out of 5]

It’s such an insightful book with practical guidelines on how to live life with awareness and wisdom. I have read a lot of spiritual books giving me the wonderful effects but lacking the know-how to go about doing it. But this book is amazingly simple and practical because it guides us all the way on how to bring about the joy and understanding that makes living life possible in the midst of strife and discord. Indeed, it’s a precious gem and not to be missed by anyone (regardless of any faith) who wishes to walk the path to freedom.

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manual, and this teacher, advocates a sort of unusual approach to meditation and cultivating attention in that informal, continuous awareness is emphasized, not formal meditation. As well, the usual approach of resting the attention on a single focal object and bringing it back again and again is not Sayadaw U Tejaniya's approach. Instead, he advises meditators to let the mind open and take in multiple objects at the same time, as they naturally present themselves. In this way, Sayadaw U Tejaniya emphasizes natural awareness. The book is a manual of sorts, but it's based around talks that the teacher gave (I guess on different occasions), so each chapter is marked as a day (it's structured around a chapter-a-day reading schedule) and has a distinct area of practice it addresses. As with open awareness practices in other traditions (I'm especially thinking of shikantaza in Soto Zen), U Tejaniya's approach might be a little difficult in that there's no concrete advice on what your object should be, or what to do if the mind wanders. On the other hand, it's definitely refreshing how U Tejaniya's approach encourages a freedom of mind that ironically seems lacking in other meditative traditions, which typically emphasize retreats and meditative quiescence. This is an interesting and pretty short meditation manual.

[Claudia Blanton · Rating 4 out of 5]

A refreshing take on meditation that highlights that there is a lot more to this practice than spending time, sitting in silence. Well written, it takes the fear away from beginning a meditation practice and opens up the readers' eyes to the beauty of mindfulness and awareness.

[Lucinda Porter · Rating 5 out of 5]

indispensable

I have read this book several times and will continue to read it. I read a little bit every day, and when I am finished, I start again. I have a bookshelf filled with meditation books. This is the one that speaks to me.

[Meghan Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

58 highlights while reading on Kindle. That’s it. That’s my review. 🤪☺️

[Albert Ferkl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Focused on meditating all the time, in normal daily activities. Not a manual for how to do that, but a lovely guide and companion for a life dedicated to that.

[Johanna Rhodes · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's a good overview of mindfulness and meditation and there are numerous things that I'll take away from this and incorporate into my practice. But at times I found it very confusing and needed a few days just to get my head around one simple concept (like 'attitude').

[Rome Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think I've got U Tejaniya's message by now, but I really like this book for its arrangement of quotes in a 31 day format. I took it on a month long retreat, and got to read a page a day as designed and it worked really well. A great daily instruction book on awareness and wisdom.

[Scooby Doo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding. I've read probably 50 books about Buddhism, meditation, and mindfulness, and this is one of the top three. It's simple, easy to read, practical, but also surprisingly subtle and deep. I feel the effects of this book's practices on my inner experience more profoundly than any other guide to meditation I've ever read.

Also, a mild warning. I was so thrilled by this book I decided to see if the Sayadaw had any videos on the Web so I could see him in person. I did find some and they were a BIG disappointment. In person he does not come across anything at all as what I imagined from the book. I kinda wish I hadn't looked, so I could maintain the lovely fiction I had created in my imagination. (Of course this is just my personal reaction and you might have a completely different impression).

[Wendy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This read really awkwardly. I think much was lost in translation. I did appreciate many of the goals and philosophies, especially the ideas about accepting what is in the moment, anout the fact that we can meditate anywhere, anytime and about gaining greater control of our emotional responses through mediatative exercises.

[Martin Mühlpacher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book :) Short, understandable and very practical. A lot of books on buddhism focuses on "formal practise" = meditation in sitting posture and this one stresses the opposite, which is continual awareness throughout the whole day:)

[Phil Calandra · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Relax and be Aware" is a simple but insightful book regarding mindfulness and practical guidelines on awareness with the goal of gaining spiritual insight. I would highly recommend this book

[Jenn · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book does not use a vocabulary that I understand. While I found a few gems in the reading, it was awkward and repetitive and lacked meaning for me.

[Karndog · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting take on mindfulness in daily life I hadn’t seen before.

[Geri Degruy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this clear beautiful book. Will start it again as soon as my Kindle charges.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book three times already. Great support for my meditation practice. Will be on repeat!

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful to expand one’s mindfulness practice off the cushion.

[Marc Mannheimer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very simple but profound meditation method. The author + translator elucidate how basic, relaxed awareness of body, thoughts, environment bring about insight into one's own mind and motivations.

[Chi · Rating 5 out of 5]

An incredible read! For the past year, I've dwelled closer into mindfulness and meditation books, and perhaps, this book has been the best one for teaching and reasoning what it means and how to be present with the intention. Very refreshing wisdom without giving the lecturing tone, which I highly appreciate! It was also the most insightful source for me to create the storytelling for the wellness products I'm working on.

[Sandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

If a book can serve me to change and grow, it gets 5 stars and is a favorite. I’m on my third time through, reading a page or two each night, most nights, before I sleep. Relax and Be Aware is a short book, essentially to develop your mindfulness, or to expand your meditation if you do formal meditation (which I don’t.) The language may be awkward, but that’s because it was clearly translated to English. I don’t worry about that. I enjoy the teacher’s hopeful tone. Relax and Be Aware is helping me, in the most subtle and slow way, to be less reactive in my communications and to grow in mindfulness and perhaps wisdom. In particular, I think its wisdom has improved my relationship with my spouse and my well-being in general. Especially when I notice distress, I have more mindfulness and can just be, or respond, instead of react with unhelpful emotion.