When John Selby was a graduate student, philosopher and meditation expert Alan Watts challenged him to study the world's meditation traditions from the inside, to identify their common underlying psychological processes, to formulate an approach to meditation based on these commonalities, and to then teach this universal process. Forty years later, in this dramatically different guidebook, Selby fulfills Watts's mandate.Selby has sought solutions to suffering in native cultures around the world and discovered proven techniques for attaining physical and emotional well-being. But the streamlined practice presented here is as much the result of personal breakdown as of academic research. As they did for him in a dark night of the soul, the twelve simple focus phrases Selby presents insert positive messages into our inner dialogue, promoting spiritual development and emotional healing. These brief core statements comprise a root psychological meditative practice that allows anyone to quickly wake up to the present moment — naturally, pleasurably, and with life-affirming consistency.