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by D. M. Dumars (Author), Elizabeth M. Tabor (Foreword by)
Finding Breathing Room: Essays on Meditating and Living is a reflective and accessible collection of essays exploring meditation not as a distant ideal or specialized discipline, but as a natural human capacity to pause, notice, and come home to the present moment.
At a time when many people feel overwhelmed by distraction, speed, uncertainty, and inner restlessness, this book gently asks a different question: What if peace is not something we must achieve, but something we can begin to notice when we stop struggling so hard? Rather than promising instant transformation or offering rigid formulas, Finding Breathing Room invites readers into a quieter kind of discovery-one based on direct experience, honest reflection, and the subtle intelligence of attention itself.
The essays draw from the author's decades of meditation practice, life experience, and study of contemplative psychology. Influenced by Buddhist teachings, modern psychology, and emerging scientific research on mindfulness and the mind, the book bridges ancient wisdom and contemporary understanding in a way that is practical, human, and free from dogma. Readers do not need prior experience with meditation, religion, or philosophy to benefit from these pages. The writing is welcoming to beginners while offering depth and resonance for longtime practitioners.
Throughout the collection, the author explores common obstacles many people encounter when they first begin to practice. Why is the mind so restless? Why does sitting quietly sometimes feel uncomfortable? Why do old emotions surface when we slow down? Why do we keep repeating habits that no longer serve us? These questions are approached with compassion rather than judgment. The book recognizes that distraction, anxiety, self-criticism, and resistance are not signs of failure-they are often the very material through which awareness deepens.
One of the strengths of Finding Breathing Room is its balance between insight and relatability. The author writes not as a distant expert, but as a fellow traveler-someone who has stumbled, learned, forgotten, remembered, and continued. Personal stories and moments of honest self-recognition appear throughout the text, offering readers reassurance that the contemplative path is rarely linear. We begin where we are, again and again.
The structure of the book allows it to be read in multiple ways. Some readers may move through it from beginning to end as a gradual unfolding of ideas and practices. Others may open to any chapter and read what meets them in the moment. Because the essays are self-contained yet interconnected, the book functions both as a companion for daily reflection and as a deeper inquiry into the nature of mind and presence.
This is not a manual of rigid steps. It is not a doctrine to adopt. It is not a demand for self-improvement. It is a companionable invitation to explore what becomes possible when we meet life with more awareness.
Whether read a few pages at a time in the morning, revisited during difficult seasons, or carried as a trusted companion over years, Finding Breathing Room offers readers something increasingly rare: permission to slow down, to be sincere, and to discover that the peace they seek may already be quietly waiting within the life they have now.
