Gaylon Ferguson is a senior teacher in the Shambhala Buddhist tradition who has led meditation retreats for 33 years. As core faculty at Naropa University in Boulder, Colorado, he teaches both Religious and Interdisciplinary Studies. In this book, his first, he explores wakefulness and sleep, the practice of meditation as a way of uncovering our original nature, and gathering with others as the expression of compassion.

When we check-in with ourselves, we usually see how much time we waste on distractions that take us away from what we are doing. We begin on the path of meditation, according to Ferguson, by extending gentleness, kindness, and compassion to ourselves. As we do so, our heart is awakened to the inner treasure of our own goodness. We already are ready for wisdom.

Ferguson looks at the specifics of how mindfulness-awareness works with chapters on resting attention in the body, the feeling of mindfulness, awareness of the mind's flow, and opening the doors of perception. He closes with two chapters on the present cultural situation, recommending that we awaken from the nightmare of materialism and align ourselves with communities of courage where compassionate bravery is practiced.