As I was reorganizing my books, I came across this old little gem of a book, published in 1999 by Globe Mini Mag (are these impulse-buying-at-the-grocery-counter booklets around anymore?). The author, Linda Fine Zeman, defines walking meditation perfectly!
The title of the booklet, Prayer Walking, is a misnomer, as she really only discusses prayer walking meditation on two pages as the rest of the book mentions all kinds of active meditation, with mostly discussion on the type of mediation I love: Simple walking and observing using all senses in the moment. No judging or dwelling on anything seen, heard, having smelled, tasted, or touched. Just observing using all senses. Zeman goes in great detail about how to do it effectively. And when the meditation is over, she explains in detail what you should do afterward, including then you can start to think about what you have experienced during your walking meditation.
It does cover every kind of active meditation that one can think of to do (even anger walking meditation!), plus the author talks about how to dress, meditating with others with you--like your companion animal, child, family, friends, or other groups. Zeman mentions safety too. She also shows you how to get started in your walking mediation (including what to do prior to your walking meditation and of course after) and ways to keep you motivated. For a 66 little page booklet, it sure is very comprehensive! I can't believe I paid only $1.09 for it!
I can't find it anywhere for sale online--even Amazon doesn't have it. Maybe it's been repackaged and is sold under a new title--I don't know. I just am so happy I kept it and will look to it regularly for inspiration in my daily walking meditations.
I believe I have mentioned this book, Living in the Moment, before but it deserves repeating. This book, by Anna Black, also discusses active meditation very well. She doesn't really talk specifically about walking meditation, but all other kinds, like meditating while doing housework, or any kind of activity--even eating and drinking, meditating on your body, paying attention to all your senses, etc., and she has many exercises in the book. After reading the book, you get the idea on how to actively meditate when doing anything, including walking.
Both books are well worth owning, especially if you're interested in a more active meditation than a still meditation.
