THE subtitle is correct: this is a daily companion for meditation. Freeman is the director and spiritual guide of the World Community for Christian Meditation (WCCM), and he writes an online reflection, “Daily Wisdom”. The book comprises excerpts from these for each day of the year. The selections are a short paragraph in length and range over the benefits and the practice of meditation. They are clearly written for people who practise meditation but, if needed, there are instructions at the end on how to meditate, together with information about WCCM.
Freeman does draw on the Christian tradition, but also on other traditions (mainly Hindu and Buddhist) and on contemporary language about spirituality and meditation. Unsurprisingly, there are plenty of references to John Main’s thought and practice, since this led to the formation of WCCM. Many pages include one of Freeman’s black-and-white photos, which add interest, but mostly they are not obviously connected to the surrounding text.
There is no overall theme to the chosen texts, either in relation to the subject or to the Church’s or the calendar year. Various themes occur frequently, such as the right kind of self-knowledge and loosening the grip of the ego; the transformation of desire and love; and the response to loops of thought (indeed, to thinking itself) in meditation practice. Reading one reflection at a time and alongside meditation would make these themes more digestible than this list sounds. Also, Freeman is clear that the test of meditation is whether we are becoming more loving people, able “to love ourselves, friends, foes and strangers and, in them, to love God”.
I suspect that this book will encourage those who have already found the practice of meditation helpful in loving God and loving others, but I would not choose it as a place for beginners to start.
Dr Anne Spalding is a member of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis, and lives in Suffolk.
Tasting Wisdom: A daily companion for meditation
Laurence Freeman
Canterbury Press £14.99
(978-1-78622-653-2)
Church Times Bookshop £11.99