Why Can't I Meditate?

I am very happy to finally see someone writing about why people can’t meditate. I’ve known Nigel for many years; he’s a sincere practitioner who has been thinking about how to untangle the blockages in the human mind for some time now. We had a lot of discussion together about the ideas presented here and I think his book will be very useful. It’s helpful to know the underlying causes of meditation problems - this book shows how to work with them. - Tsoknyi Rinpoche, Author, ‘Open Heart, Open Mind’

People learning mindfulness often ask, “I know mindfulness practice is helpful, how can I best establish my meditation practice?” Now I can recommend this wonderful book. Nigel Wellings offers insightful, compassionate and eminently practical guidance based on his extensive personal experience as a teacher and practitioner and interviews with some of the most accomplished mindfulness teachers in the field. - Willem Kuyken, Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of Exeter

…. insightful and helpful…. I really like your discussion of the different selves within us and how one can be in conflict with another and that people who are fearful of unknown parts of themselves, their shadow, are going to struggle with compassion, becoming caught up in conflicts and struggles in contrast to observing them as ‘nature’s mind at work’. - Professor Paul Gilbert, author of The Compassionate Mind

This book is easy to read and accessible. The format of its clear chapters addressing particular points and its many accounts from personal practice makes it very digestible. It is delivered with a lightness of touch and some humour. It helps to normalise and universalise the processes that seem so personal and which give rise to so much internal judging. - Rebecca Crane, Director, Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice, Bangor University