The Self and Meditation -Omuteizi Kwasi

I just must say that never have I read a book on ancient truth and wisdom, except Paulo Coelho’s hinting in most of his books. I’m a recovering fiction addict and reading more non-fiction has been one of my growth points this year and I must say I’m loving it.

Omuteizi Kwasi, a pseudonym the author prefers to use, is a Ugandan father, Advocate, teacher, and philosopher who introduces the essence of mindful meditation from the perspective of the Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and science schools of thought, to his readers in this debut novel. I love that he creates an interconnectedness between all these practices from those different perspectives in a very endearing way.

Empathizing with world views different from yours has taught me a lot about human interactions and how to address issues that are not necessarily in line with your belief system and perspectives, which Omuteizi Kwasi has mastered in this book.

Truth be told, we are such a distracted generation. Our ability to focus on a task or be present in conversations deteriorates every day. The world is so fast paced and countless changes happen in the blink of an eye. We are automatically expected to heal passed the trauma and still go about our normal lives like nothing has happened. Omuteizi pitches the practice of mindful meditation to his readers as an anecdote to this dilemma.

‘Human eyes are just an instrument through which the mind is able to see, similarly, the mind is an instrument the soul uses to cognize reality. When you understand the nature of being, the nature of suffering and that we all suffer, empathy develops and this in turn breeds mercy towards fellow impermanent beings.’
~ The Self and Meditation, Omuteizi Kwasi, 2021

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Genre: Religious, Self-awareness
Pages: 150
Author: Omuteizi Kwasi, pseudonym
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Themes: Mindfulness mediation, Buddha teachings on self and consciousness
Year of publication: 2021

The book is divided into three parts. The first part is on Mindfulness Meditation and The Self which introduces the origins of man, the concepts and the various schools of thought around the origins of man. The second part is on the Practice of Mindful Meditation and introduces the path and stages of achieving fruitful meditation. The third and last part is on Reflections and the Catharsis of Poetry.

I must however note that this was the first book I’d actually read detailing the practice of meditation despite the open media backlash on the pros and cons of meditation. I’ll give my review from the perspective of a believer in Jesus and his teachings. It is however imperative that even as I do so, not to detach our worldviews and beliefs from other sects because there is an interconnectedness which all makes us human.

The first part of the book about mindfulness meditation and the self, introduces the reader to the origins and accentuates the need to ‘know thyself’ inorder to fully live. What sparked my interest the most in this section is the origin story by David Christian on the Big theory of everything, 2018 quoted in the book. He creates an analysis of the big bang theory on the origin of the universe and the approximate date the various thresholds he uses are estimated at, then he divides these thresholds by 1 billion to create a more recent date or timeframe of the creation. One particular quote stood out for me:

‘If as some scientists maintain- there were no inherent guiding intelligence and cosmic evolution were governed only by the chance operation of strictly mechanical laws, the time required to achieve the level of order we now meet in the universe purely by random processes… (would be) inconceivably longer than the current age of the universe.’
~ Paul Davies, Evidence of Purpose: Scientists discover the Creator (New York: Continuum publishing, 1994

In essence, what Davies posits is that the Universe was definitely created by an omnipotent deity/ God because the scientific explanations of the origins of creation do not fit the actuality and essence of the universe and the order it has in reality. And so, inorder to truly know and be known to yourself, you must understand your origin, this the author notes, is the beginning and essence of mindful meditation.

In the author’s words, when you let unwholesomeness out of your life, it leaves room for something new to come into your life and refocuses your energy on observing the true nature of free will as a path to liberation, free will which as Christians, acquire from God our father. John 3:9-15 states that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Thus, we all have a choice to believe or not to believe. The author thus emphasizes that the reader needs to know and understand that meditation requires an expansion of the mind to focus on that which is the truth with the wisdom which God gives.

This first part will therefore have you questioning what you believe your origin to be and knowing and living in that will create a form of mindfulness to self and who and what your foundation is.

The second part on the practice focuses the reader in knowing the benefits of meditation, how and when to meditate and the various practices of meditation. Joshua 1:8 of the Bible urges believers to meditate on the book of the law day and night so that they may do whatever is written in it. From this part, I learnt that meditation takes on different forms, but the sole essence is to focus on achieving a state of clear mind and refocusing it to what matters. It definitely had me asking myself what it is that matters to me and whether I’m intentional in creating a mindfulness about it.

The last part on reflections, reveals an anthology of poems the author writes during his journey. There is a form of relief and awareness that comes with putting words to feelings and emotions, a voyage towards self-realization and the beauty and intricacy that comes with creation and the universe. I loved his collections in this part. This is my favorite poem from the section:

To sit in the stillness of morning
Bathe in the luminance of the sun
Listen to the euphony of birds
Breathe the easiness of the air
Relax in the attention of the now
Is this what it means to live
To seek pleasure from nothingness
Freed from the excitations of expectation
Here where the morning renews
Here where suffering is lost to choice
~ The Self and Meditation, Omuteizi Kwasi, 2021

Ah, there are so many invaluable lessons I learnt from reading this book and I realized trying to relay all of them would be me depriving you of the exhortations you will have as you read this prose. But my biggest learning point was the journey I need to take inorder to truly identify with who God says I am and the teachings of his word as I refocus my attention by getting rid of the distractions, to him, because he truly is my priority.

It also taught me of the need to declutter my mind from the never-ending chants that our culture has created for us in this generation and the need to redefine a lot of things.

I’d definitely recommend this book to anyone on a journey of seeking and truly knowing thyself, through ancient truths and biblical wisdom.

Cheers.