In Zinn's chapter, `Meditation is Not for the Fainthearted,' he writes:

"Awareness offers a safe haven in which to restore ourselves and rest in a vital and dynamic harmony, tranquility, creativity and joyfulness NOW, not in some far-off hoped for future time when things are `better' or we have gotten things under control, or have `improved ourselves.'

This sentence sums up the philosophy of Zinn's eagerly awaited book, and very effectively gets to the crux of what lies at the "dis-eased" heart of our society. As a mental health/drug counselor who daily witnesses the destitution found in the souls of my clients, and in the past my own, I became mesmerized by Zinn's "mindfulness" concept in his book, "Wherever You Go, There You Are." My life was so profoundly changed by utilizing that concept, I enthusiastically added Zinn's works to the suggested reading list for my clients. And, after reading this sequel, I have gratefully added it to that list. Zinn states our absorption with the future and the past has become such an overriding habit that awareness, and more importantly, connectedness with the present is completely lacking. Technology was created to make our lives easier and bring our world closer...thus providing more time to connect with self and greater intimacy with our fellows. Ironically, the exact opposite has occurred. Never in history has man been such a stranger to his own soul. Zinn's book not only shares the recipe for healing that estrangement...mindfulness...but leads the reader through the steps to accomplish that healing...meditation. For readers who may believe meditation to be "new agey" or "out there," rest assured Zinn uses practical, proven methods of meditation that are easy to follow and will be appreciated by those who embrace their spiritual side and by atheists as well. Voltaire once wrote, "We never live; we are always in the expectation of living." Zinn, thankfully, proves Voltaire wrong.

Reading this long but worthwhile book is like being drawn into the whole question Krishnamurti dealt with between individual change and society's need for change...Can Humanity indeed Change??
The author,a scholar and practicioner of stress management and meditation sees ongoing political problems and the misery of the world yet somehow makes no attempts in explicating how the world can change for the better if indeed people of all religions and nationalities would adapt this form of radical intuition..While reading I had wished that this book can be delivered and studied by future would-be terrorists so they can COME TO THEIR SENSES..
I hope that proponents of religious triumphalism and zealots who blow themselves and civilians up for the glories of heaven and murder's sake can stop,look and listen to a passionate plea from a well meaning man for people to listen to their senses and the universe we all share. Not only in his Buddhist framework but in a shared humanity based on the national and cultural differences amongst men despite the shared Essence we all share..Indeed FAMILIarity does not breed contempt.
Perhaps this long book would be a wonderful textbook for grade schoolers on how to see with a 3rd eye and certainly a book positing Creative Intelligence/Design but till the world defines for itself a sense of a rational purpose based on compassion respecting and preserving life for all sentient beings then these concepts of stress reduction,the appreciation of life,the need to live in constant meditation can assist those in their individual quest for meaning but not on a global scale as the author sets out to do..Those involved in power and the concept of linear time and the progress of their view of history will not alter their concepts of good and evil nor blur the distinctions they make in regards to domination. Overall, being a sort of compilation of his ideas found in his other books I think it a good read and certainly it offers sound advice on transforming one's inner vision into one that is more life affirming and less delussional.