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September/October 2001 Living Now
Lunchtime Enlightenment

Pragito Dove, Reviewed by Miriam Knight

This is truly a meditation book for everyone. In fact, I almost wasn’t able to review this book because my 78 year-old mother had started to read it and didn’t want to give it back! I only managed to extract it from her by promising to return it to her as soon as I was done with the review. In her new book, Lunchtime Enlightenment: Modern Meditations to Free the Mind and Unleash the Spirit - at Work, at Home, at Play (Penguin 2001), the delightful Pragito Dove offers a wonderful new perspective on meditation that will help anyone dip into that well of peace and drink in small refreshing sips.

Dove combines spiritual and emotional wisdom with practical tips and strategies to show how meditation can be fun and accessible to those, even with the most frantic schedules. She shows that meditation is an uncomplicated way to link with the sacred and bring more balance into our daily lives. According to Dove, meditation does not require total silence, complicated breathing or sitting lotus-style in a bare room. Instead, meditation is about paying attention, being aware of our body’s signals of stress and tension, the ability to redirect these impulses before stronger symptoms of discomfort occur, and maintaining a relaxed alertness during every activity.

In Lunchtime Enlightenment, Dove presents a range of basic to more advanced practices to improve our peace of mind that can be easily done while commuting, working in the office, or just relaxing. These meditations range from simple laughter (to relax and open the heart), to breathing (which develops trust), to standing on the earth (to connect us to the present). Her intention is to inspire everyone-from beginners to advanced-to develop meditation practices that will complement their lifestyles.

Pragito Dove holds a Masters in Education and is a certified clinical hypnotherapist. She has more than twenty five years experience as a consultant and trainer in stress management, relaxation, meditation and meditation counseling. Visit her website, www.pragito.com, to order her book or meditation CDs.