Neuroaffective Meditation

Marianne Bentzen is a psychotherapist and trainer in neuroaffective development psychology. The author and coauthor of many professional articles and books, including The Neuroaffective Picture Book, she has taught in 17 countries and presented at more than 35 international and national conferences. She lives in Denmark.

• Foreword by Peter A. Levine, Ph.D. INTRODUCTION Psychotherapy, Personality Development, and Meditation PART ONE Neuroaffective Developmental Psychology Spiritual Development through the Stages of Life ONE Grow Up and Wake Up TWO Embodiment, Emotions, and Identity: Childhood Development of the Triune Brain THREE The Teenage Years and the “Rebuilding Project” of Identity FOUR Adulthood, Aging, and Perhaps Developing Wisdom PART TWOMaturation and Spirituality FIVE Wisdom Practices and Brain RegulationSIX Meditation, Prayer, and the Brain PART THREEPractices of Neuroaffective Meditation SEVEN Being in Your Body Transitioning into Meditation with Yawning, Touch, and Movement Inner Listening: Movement and Breathing EIGHT Being in the Biosphere Grounding: The Embrace of the Earth Air in You, Air around You NINE Flow and Feeling of Spirit: The Beloved Spirit in Your Sense of Aliveness Core Sense and Spirit TEN Relationships and Feelings Seven Emotions and SpiritELEVEN Meditations on the Songs of the Heart: Love, Compassion, and Gratitude Love, Compassion, and Gratitude Gratitude for the Great Things in Life and the Small Ones TWELVE Aspects of Our Mental Space Focused Attention and the Field of Awareness THIRTEEN Mandala: Your Personal Circles of Light and Darkness Mandala: Circle of Positive and Negative Experience FOURTEEN Balancing Your Energy: Five Centerline-Energy Circulation Meditations Pineal-Hara Breathing: Connecting Clarity and Pleasure Crown-Root Breathing: Connecting Existential Wholeness and Reality Double C Breathing: Connecting Clarity, Emotions, and Expression Circulation Breathing: Balancing Your Overall Energy Essence-Heart Breathing: Inviting Spiritual Energy into Yourself and Out into the World CONCLUSION Engagement and Responsibility in a Balanced Life EPILOGUEReflections at the End of the Journey Acknowledgments The Meditation Recordings Resources ReferencesIndex

“This truly remarkable book outlines a systematic journey of embodiment that enables the reader to bridge a pragmatic scientific perspective with a deeper respect for the richness of bodily feelings and their role in expanding and optimizing the human experience.”