Rev. Alan L. Pritz is an interfaith minister, meditation teacher, and spiritual counselor who has taught inner sciences for almost forty years.  Inspired by the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda, Pritz founded Awake-in-Life in 2008, where he provides meditation training and spiritual counseling for individuals and meditation and work/life balance programs for organizations.

In this interview, we discuss his new book, Meditation as a Way of Life: The Philosophy and Practice Rooted in the Teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda. Alan begins by discussing why he decided to base his book on the works of Paramahansa Yogananda, a highly regarded spiritual teacher and the author of The Autobiography of a Yogi.  Yet he also weaves in wisdom from a variety of religious and spiritual traditions, in addition to a thorough discussion of meditation itself.  He views meditation as a spiritual practice, a reuniting of soul with spirit. The Buddhist tradition is very rich with a variety of meditative practice including mindfulness and the loving-kindness meditation.  Alan’s approach is a more theist one, designed to accelerate the spiritual evolution of the practitioner. There are intentions behind certain practices. Meditation has to “fit” the person practicing it but there is value in any type of practice.

Meditation is a spiritual practice that enables us to connect more deeply with spirit. Other benefits, like stress-reduction, are byproducts of meditation. There often are hurdles, like restlessness, to overcome before engaging in a meditative practice. Alan offers numerous helpful suggestions, including how to overcome obstacles to meditation.