Our book, also available for sale here, is designed to be standalone. It works in print for those who only read. But there are delicate parts of that Course which would be better done by listening, especially to have a skilled teacher guide you. Of course, that kind of guidance is now available in our free online audio course. But it was not available when we printed the book in 2007. So the book mentions how to best combine the CD with the reading. The two were designed together and complement each other in a skillful and also an aesthetic way. They go well together in any library, home or public.

It’s true that CDs are sort of “getting old” these days, with the widespread use of mobiles and other Internet computing. Our online audio course “gets” that pretty well. It even works beautifully on a smartphone, making it available all around the world, free, almost all the time. So, in comparing the CD to the online audio course, a few things pop out about technology:

Sometimes, even today, lots of people:

• don’t have a computer or mobile device
• don’t like using a computer (or not for these kinds of things)
• can’t use the computer well enough
• don’t have Internet or cellular service in a given location
• DO HAVE a CD player hanging around, or a loving friend can still buy one for a few dollars.

The CD, like all audio CDs, runs all the way through if you let it. While the program has a few places that allow the listener to take a break, it also works well–and probably works best–when the learner just gets settled in a good chair and lets the CD go right through the full 72 minutes.

In a group setting, a leader can set up a CD to play from the start for an introductory session, or play certain tracks, such as the 15-minute meditation, for experienced people getting together. You can do that with the online course, too. But isn’t a CD a bit more stable feeling for doing a group event? We think so.