83 Best 「spiritual growth」 Books of 2024| Books Explorer
- Truth's Table: Black Women's Musings on Life, Love, and Liberation
- The Power of Now: (20th Anniversary Edition)
- A Course in Miracles
- A Cry in the Wilderness: The Works of Narayana Guru
- The Way of Zen
- Ananda: Happiness Without Reason
- Untamed: Stop Pleasing, Start Living
- What Matters Most
- Untamed: Reese's Book Club
- The Moral Compass: Finding Balance and Purpose in an Imperfect World
FINALIST FOR THE NAACP IMAGE AWARD • A collection of essays and stories documenting the lived theology and spirituality we need to hear in order to lean into a more freeing, loving, and liberating faith—from the hosts of the beloved Truth’s Table podcast“The liberating work of Truth’s Table creates breathing room to finally have those conversations we’ve been needing to have.”—Morgan Harper Nichols, artist and poetOnce upon a time, an activist, a theologian, and a psychologist walked into a group chat. Everything was laid out on the table: Dating. Politics. The Black church. Pop culture. Soon, other Black women began pulling up chairs to gather round. And so, the Truth’s Table podcast was born.In their literary debut, co-hosts Christina Edmondson, Michelle Higgins, and Ekemini Uwan offer stories by Black women and for Black women examining theology, politics, race, culture, and gender matters through a Christian lens. For anyone seeking to explore the spiritual dimensions of hot-button issues within the church, or anyone thirsty to deepen their faith, Truth’s Table provides exactly the survival guide we need, including:• Michelle Higgins’s unforgettable treatise revealing the way “racial reconciliation” is a spiritually bankrupt, empty promise that can often drain us of the ability to do real justice work• Ekemini Uwan’s exploration of Blackness as the image of God in the past, present, and future• Christina Edmondson’s reimagination of what a more just and liberating form of church discipline might look like—one that acknowledges and speaks to the trauma in the roomThese essays deliver a compelling theological re-education and pair the spiritual formation and political education necessary for Black women of faith.
It's no wonder that The Power of Now has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and has been translated into over 30 foreign languages. Much more than simple principles and platitudes, the book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, ''the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death.'' Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback shows that only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.
What is that one fundamental thing for which we go about toiling all our lives - sacrificing, negotiating, scheming, praying? Intuitively, one might answer - happiness. But do we really know what happiness is? Most of the existing literature paints a fuzzy picture of happiness, beautiful in words but lacking in practicality. In this book, Acharya Prashant shatters all misconceptions about happiness jargons like 'loving unconditionally' and 'living in the present'. He explains how what we commonly understand as happiness exists only in the backdrop of sadness, and what man is really looking for is not just happiness, but Ananda - an unconditional joy free from both happiness and sadness. Discarding multiple myths that burden our consciousness, the book draws from scriptures like the Gita and the Upanishads, revealing the true meaning of Ananda. If you have the courage to question your deep-rooted beliefs and enter an unfathomable territory beyond the duality of happiness and sadness, this book is for you.
‘Untamed will liberate women - emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It is phenomenal.’ (Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls and Eat Pray Love)Who were you before the world told you who to be?Part inspiration, part memoir, Untamed explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet the expectations of the world, and instead dare to listen to and trust in the voice deep inside us. From the beloved New York Times bestselling author, speaker and activist Glennon Doyle.*****For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There. She. Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high but soon she realised they had come to her from within. This was the voice she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions and social conditioning. Glennon decided to let go of the world’s expectations of her and reclaim her true untamed self.Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanising wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is also the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honour our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts.Untamed shows us how to be brave. And, as Glennon insists, 'The braver we are, the luckier we get.'
Using the work of Scripture as inspiration, Weems offers 10 lessons that teach women how to discover what their passions are, and how to create direction and meaning in their lives. Helps readers to understand that passion is not something awakened by other people, but an inner source of energy that flows out of every aspect of one's being. In doing so, Weems empowers women to fight against stereotypes and ignore the conventional way of doing things in order to find their own happiness and joy.
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • OVER TWO MILLION COPIES SOLD! “Packed with incredible insight about what it means to be a woman today.”—Reese Witherspoon (Reese’s Book Club Pick)In her most revealing and powerful memoir yet, the activist, speaker, bestselling author, and “patron saint of female empowerment” (People) explores the joy and peace we discover when we stop striving to meet others’ expectations and start trusting the voice deep within us.“Untamed will liberate women—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. It is phenomenal.”—Elizabeth Gilbert, author of City of Girls and Eat Pray LoveA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: Oprah Daily, The Washington Post, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Bloomberg, ParadeThis is how you find yourself.There is a voice of longing inside each woman. We strive so mightily to be good: good partners, daughters, mothers, employees, and friends. We hope all this striving will make us feel alive. Instead, it leaves us feeling weary, stuck, overwhelmed, and underwhelmed. We look at our lives and wonder: Wasn’t it all supposed to be more beautiful than this? We quickly silence that question, telling ourselves to be grateful, hiding our discontent—even from ourselves.For many years, Glennon Doyle denied her own discontent. Then, while speaking at a conference, she looked at a woman across the room and fell instantly in love. Three words flooded her mind: There She Is. At first, Glennon assumed these words came to her from on high. But she soon realized they had come to her from within. This was her own voice—the one she had buried beneath decades of numbing addictions, cultural conditioning, and institutional allegiances. This was the voice of the girl she had been before the world told her who to be. Glennon decided to quit abandoning herself and to instead abandon the world’s expectations of her. She quit being good so she could be free. She quit pleasing and started living.Soulful and uproarious, forceful and tender, Untamed is both an intimate memoir and a galvanizing wake-up call. It is the story of how one woman learned that a responsible mother is not one who slowly dies for her children, but one who shows them how to fully live. It is the story of navigating divorce, forming a new blended family, and discovering that the brokenness or wholeness of a family depends not on its structure but on each member’s ability to bring her full self to the table. And it is the story of how each of us can begin to trust ourselves enough to set boundaries, make peace with our bodies, honor our anger and heartbreak, and unleash our truest, wildest instincts so that we become women who can finally look at ourselves and say: There She Is.Untamed shows us how to be brave. As Glennon insists: The braver we are, the luckier we get.
Read the New York Times bestseller everyone is talking about. This beautiful hardcover gift edition with ribbon bookmark features a new preface by author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer. This special deluxe edition makes the perfect gift for any occasion.If you’ve ever wondered what it would it be like to free yourself from limitations, soar beyond your boundaries, and discover true inner peace and serenity, The Untethered Soul can show you the way. Whether this is your first exploration of inner space, or you’ve devoted your life to the inward journey, this book will transform your relationship with yourself and the world around you.By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization. Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.Visit www.untetheredsoul.com for more information.
Winner of the Hugo Award!In A Psalm for the Wild-Built, bestselling Becky Chambers's delightful new Monk and Robot series, gives us hope for the future.It's been centuries since the robots of Panga gained self-awareness and laid down their tools; centuries since they wandered, en masse, into the wilderness, never to be seen again; centuries since they faded into myth and urban legend.One day, the life of a tea monk is upended by the arrival of a robot, there to honor the old promise of checking in. The robot cannot go back until the question of "what do people need?" is answered.But the answer to that question depends on who you ask, and how.They're going to need to ask it a lot.Becky Chambers's new series asks: in a world where people have what they want, does having more matter?
An instant New York Times bestsellerTwo spiritual giants. Five days. One timeless question.Nobel Peace Prize Laureates His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu have survived more than fifty years of exile and the soul-crushing violence of oppression. Despite their hardships—or, as they would say, because of them—they are two of the most joyful people on the planet.In April 2015, Archbishop Tutu traveled to the Dalai Lama's home in Dharamsala, India, to celebrate His Holiness's eightieth birthday and to create what they hoped would be a gift for others. They looked back on their long lives to answer a single burning question: How do we find joy in the face of life's inevitable suffering?They traded intimate stories, teased each other continually, and shared their spiritual practices. By the end of a week filled with laughter and punctuated with tears, these two global heroes had stared into the abyss and despair of our time and revealed how to live a life brimming with joy.This book offers us a rare opportunity to experience their astonishing and unprecendented week together, from the first embrace to the final good-bye.We get to listen as they explore the Nature of True Joy and confront each of the Obstacles of Joy—from fear, stress, and anger to grief, illness, and death. They then offer us the Eight Pillars of Joy, which provide the foundation for lasting happiness. Throughout, they include stories, wisdom, and science. Finally, they share their daily Joy Practices that anchor their own emotional and spiritual lives.The Archbishop has never claimed sainthood, and the Dalai Lama considers himself a simple monk. In this unique collaboration, they offer us the reflection of real lives filled with pain and turmoil in the midst of which they have been able to discover a level of peace, of courage, and of joy to which we can all aspire in our own lives.
'Emma's book is a masterclass in helping us to tune into all the empowering signals coming from within us.' - You Magazine, Mail on SundayTune into yourself and transform your life - your healing journey of self-discovery starts HERE!When there is so much going on in our modern lives how do we filter out what feels right from what feels wrong? How do we become more in tune with who we really are and what we really need?With this ultimate spiritual life-coach - full of practical advice, exercises and meditations - learn how to develop your intuition and deepen your connection to your authentic self. Create positive change in all areas of your life, from improving your relationships and healing your stresses and anxieties, to nailing that big work presentation, achieving your fitness goals or breaking bad habits.Discover the secret to changing your life is already inside you.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Prize winner, Chair of The Elders, and Chair of South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, along with his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, offer a manual on the art of forgiveness—helping us to realize that we are all capable of healing and transformation.Tutu's role as the Chair of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission taught him much about forgiveness. If you asked anyone what they thought was going to happen to South Africa after apartheid, almost universally it was predicted that the country would be devastated by a comprehensive bloodbath. Yet, instead of revenge and retribution, this new nation chose to tread the difficult path of confession, forgiveness, and reconciliation.Each of us has a deep need to forgive and to be forgiven. After much reflection on the process of forgiveness, Tutu has seen that there are four important steps to healing: Admitting the wrong and acknowledging the harm; Telling one's story and witnessing the anguish; Asking for forgiveness and granting forgiveness; and renewing or releasing the relationship. Forgiveness is hard work. Sometimes it even feels like an impossible task. But it is only through walking this fourfold path that Tutu says we can free ourselves of the endless and unyielding cycle of pain and retribution. The Book of Forgiving is both a touchstone and a tool, offering Tutu's wise advice and showing the way to experience forgiveness. Ultimately, forgiving is the only means we have to heal ourselves and our aching world.
Product description\\nWhat happens when millennials meet a mystic? An avalanche of queries and an unflinching stream of answers. In this compilation of five talks from Youth and Truth events, Sadhguru fields questions that are quirky, personal, profound and shockingly bold from university students. In a camaraderie bridging age, they adventure through a mind-boggling spectrum of subjects like romance and sexuality, loneliness and jealousy, parenting and education, career and business, politics and spirituality, artificial intelligence, racism, drugs, food, Yogic sciences, and god-making. Equally wide-ranging is the mood of the talks - from playfulness and hilarity to moments of gobsmacked speechlessness, dawning clarity and paradigm shifts, all infused with the fizzing energy of youth. Here is a book not just for youth, but for the youthful in search of truth.
The Sunday Times bestseller'Your book is absolutely amazing, Kirsty. You're one of the best 10 guests of all time.' - Chris Evans, The Chris Evans Show on Virgin RadioAre there certain days when you feel overly emotional for no apparent reason? Do you have days when you feel exhausted, close to burn out and like you want to hide away from the world?Lunar Livingcould be just the answer that you are looking for. Working with the constantly changing phases of the moon helps you to understand yourself like never before, to realign everything in your own life, to understand when you need to rest and self-care and when you need to shine and make things happen. Living back in tune with this natural flow and taking care of you and your needs, even if that's just twice a month will make the biggest difference to how you feel, act and react the rest of the month.Lunar Living will help you to:- Feel empowered to make big life decisions- Understand yourself better- Tune into your natural cycles- Improve your sleep, mental health and relationships- Live a happier, more intentional lifeA beautiful hardback, complete with a blue foil finish, this is the perfect toolkit for understanding the moon and the effects it has on us. Lunar Living helps us to work with the moons phases to understand the ever-changing landscape of our emotions and the inner world of our purpose, goals and dreams and tune into this deeper wisdom to make profound shifts in our lives. If you've ever felt stuck, meaningless, overly emotional for no apparent reason or want to come back into alignment with a natural cycle to help you to move forwards in life and achieve your dreams and goals this is the book for you.'One to watch. It's the perfect toolkit for understanding the moon.' - Cosmopolitan'Could the moon change your life? How it holds the key to your health, happiness and even your wealth. Meet the expert who can prove it.' - You Magazine'In her new book ... Gallagher expands on the idea of using moon days for self-care, by exploring how by combining moon cycles with astrology, you can use the year's moon days to focus on specific issues in your life.' - The Independent'Absolutely fascinating. This is going to be worth giving to your kids.' - Chris Evans'This book has changed my life. I can't explain how much it's changed my perspective on work and views on my current lifestyle.' - Steph Elswood
A parent’s love letter to a daughter who has always known exactly who she is.One ordinary day, a caseworker from the Department of Children and Families knocked on the Hays family's door to investigate an anonymous complaint about the upbringing of their transgender child. It was this knock, this threat, that began the family's journey out of the Bible Belt but never far from the hate and fear resting at the nation’s core.Self-aware and intimate, Letter to My Transgender Daughter asks us all to love better, not just for the sake of Hays’s child but for children everywhere enduring injustice and prejudice just as they begin to understand themselves. Letter to My Transgender Daughter is a call to action, an ode to community, a plea for empathy, a hope for a better future. Letter to My Transgender Daughter is a love letter to a child who has always known exactly who she is—and who is waiting for the rest of the world to catch up.
Elegant, passionate, and filled with the love of God's creation, Abraham Joshua Heschel's The Sabbath has been hailed as a classic of Jewish spirituality ever since its original publication-and has been read by thousands of people seeking meaning in modern life.In this brief yet profound meditation on the meaning of the Seventh Day, Heschel introduced the idea of an "architecture of holiness" that appears not in space but in time Judaism, he argues, is a religion of time: it finds meaning not in space and the material things that fill it but in time and the eternity that imbues it, so that "the Sabbaths are our great cathedrals."Featuring black-and-white illustrations by Ilya Schor
The bestselling, widely acclaimed translation from Stephen Mitchell"Mitchell's rendition of the Tao Te Ching comes as close to being definitive for our time as any I can imagine. It embodies the virtues its translator credits to the Chinese original: a gemlike lucidity that is radiant with humor, grace, largeheartedness, and deep wisdom." — Huston Smith, author of The Religions of ManIn eighty-one brief chapters, Lao-tzu's Tao Te Ching, or Book of the Way, provides advice that imparts balance and perspective, a serene and generous spirit, and teaches us how to work for the good with the effortless skill that comes from being in accord with the Tao—the basic principle of the universe.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • In her stunning debut, the creator of Black Liturgies weaves stories from three generations of her family alongside contemplative reflections to discover the “necessary rituals” that connect us with our belonging, dignity, and liberation.“This is the kind of book that makes you different when you’re done.”—Ashley C. Ford, New York Times bestselling author of Somebody’s Daughter“Reaches deep beneath the surface of words unspoken, wounds unhealed, and secrets untempered to break them open in order for fresh light to break through.”—Morgan Jerkins, New York Times bestselling author of This Will Be My Undoing and Caul BabyONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: The Root, Library Journal“From the womb, we must repeat with regularity that to love ourselves is to survive. I believe that is what my father wanted for me and knew I would so desperately need: a tool for survival, the truth of my dignity named like a mercy new each morning.”So writes Cole Arthur Riley in her unforgettable book of stories and reflections on discovering the sacred in her skin. In these deeply transporting pages, Arthur Riley reflects on the stories of her grandmother and father, and how they revealed to her an embodied, dignity-affirming spirituality, not only in what they believed but in the act of living itself. Writing memorably of her own childhood and coming to self, Arthur Riley boldly explores some of the most urgent questions of life and faith: How can spirituality not silence the body, but instead allow it to come alive? How do we honor, lament, and heal from the stories we inherit? How can we find peace in a world overtaken with dislocation, noise, and unrest? In this indelible work of contemplative storytelling, Arthur Riley invites us to descend into our own stories, examine our capacity to rest, wonder, joy, rage, and repair, and find that our humanity is not an enemy to faith but evidence of it.At once a compelling spiritual meditation, a powerful intergenerational account, and a tender coming-of-age narrative, This Here Flesh speaks potently to anyone who suspects that our stories might have something to say to us.
OVER 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD: Instagram guru Vex King “teaches us how self-love is the key to unlocking your inner greatness” (Marie Claire) and shares inspirational quotes and universal wisdom for manifesting positive vibes.Join the self-love revolution—and be the best version of you that YOU can be!Vex overcame adversity to become a source of hope for millions of young people, and now draws from his personal experience and his intuitive wisdom to inspire you to:· Practise self-care, overcome toxic energy, and prioritize your well-being· Cultivate positive lifestyle habits, including mindfulness and meditation· Change your beliefs to invite great opportunities into your life· Manifest your goals using tried-and-tested techniques· Overcome fear and flow with the Universe· Find your higher purpose and become a shining light for othersIn this beautiful, giftable book, Vex will show you that when you change the way you think, feel, speak, and act, you begin to change the world.
"Sometimes, it’s not easy to find the silver lining. While positivity is about looking at the bright side of things, the magic mindset embraces and accepts that it is not always possible to do so. Sometimes things get so bleak that our mind refuses to accept that there can be a silver lining. In this book, Preeti Shenoy gives you a set of principles for every area of life, designed to help us shift our perspective from hopelessness to hope, from despondency to joy, from cynicism to belief – a belief that change is coming, and things are not as bad as they seem. Perfect reading for the difficult times that we are living in, The Magic Mindset is full of tips, suggestions, fun exercises and practical advice on career, family, health, relationships, finances, social media, and more. It also includes inspiring stories and anecdotes from Preeti’s own life. A cornerstone for all those who want to change their outlook, The Magic Mindset helps us build a purposeful and joyful life."
New York Times and Los Angeles Times bestseller!From the bestselling author of The Beauty of What Remains, a guide to writing a meaningful letter about your life.Writing an ethical will, a document that includes stories and reflections about your past, is an ancient tradition. It can include joy and regrets, and ultimately becomes both a way to remember a loved one who is gone and a primer on how to live a better, happier life. Beloved Rabbi Steve Leder has helped thousands of people to write their own ethical wills, and in this intimate book helps us write our own.Because our culture privileges the material over the spiritual, we sometimes forget that our words carry greater value than any physical thing we can bequeath to our loved ones. Rabbi Leder provides all the right questions and prompts, including: What was your most painful regret and how can your loved ones avoid repeating it? When was a time you led with your heart instead of your head? What did you learn from your biggest failure?Including examples of ethical wills from a broad range of voices—old and young, with and without children, famous and unknown—For You When I Am Gone inspires readers to examine their own lives and turn them into something beautiful and meaningful for generations to come.
The Journey of Self-Discovery from the Heart of an Enlightened Master. Humanity has accomplished incredible feats and achieved things our forefathers considered impossible. And yet, the same key questions that eluded them, have eluded us - Who am I? Where have I come from? What is my true purpose? Questions spark the beginning of an inner journey. Atmasiddhi Shastra is a 142-verse masterpiece, composed by 19th century self-realised Jain saint Shrimad Rajchandraji in a single sitting of about 1.5 hours when He was only 28 years old. Quenching the genuine thirst of a seeker, Shrimadji shares six spiritual truths in this clearest, most cogent outline of the path. A brilliant clarification on diverse perspectives, it prompts you to realise who you are, and who you are not. World-renowned spiritual leader Pujya Gurudevshri Rakeshji reveals the hidden treasures embedded within every verse of Atmasiddhi Shastra. The book is a step-by-step guide to self-realisation as per the ancient Indian religion, Jainism, written with great compassion and vision by an enlightened Master. An indisputable path to universal truths is presented through an open-hearted dialogue between an experienced Master and an earnest seeker. Atmasiddhi Shastra weaves scriptural testimony with a scientific approach, philosophy with practicality, doctrine with devotion, and logic with love. It covers every step of the path, with milestones of progress, warnings of pitfalls and perils, and a vivid glimpse of the final destination. A guidebook for those in search of their everlasting nature, the deep spiritual richness of every verse is made accessible to read, retain and ruminate. Nothing that one requires to experience the soul, or to attain liberation is hidden or left out.. A masterclass in spirituality for every modern seeker, Atmasiddhi Shastra is a deeply personal experience. Gift yourself this ocean of spirituality.
This revised and expanded edition of The Essential Rumi includes a new introduction by Coleman Barks and more than 80 never-before-published poems of Rumi.Through his lyrical translations, Coleman Barks has been instrumental in bringing this exquisite literature to a remarkably wide range of readers, making the ecstatic, spiritual poetry of thirteenth-century Sufi Mystic Rumi more popular than ever. The Essential Rumi continues to be the bestselling of all Rumi books, and the definitive selection of his beautiful, mystical poetry.
In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk in the Vedic tradition to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Drawing on ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. The lessons monks learn are profound but often abstract. Shetty transforms them into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve focus, improve relationships, identify our hidden abilities, increase self-discipline and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can and should think like a monk.
The national bestsellerFrom the author of the bestselling More Beautiful Than Before comes an inspiring book about loss based on his most popular sermon.As the senior rabbi of one of the largest synagogues in the world, Steve Leder has learned over and over again the many ways death teaches us how to live and love more deeply by showing us not only what is gone but also the beauty of what remains.This inspiring and comforting book takes us on a journey through the experience of loss that is fundamental to everyone. Yet even after having sat beside thousands of deathbeds, Steve Leder the rabbi was not fully prepared for the loss of his own father. It was only then that Steve Leder the son truly learned how loss makes life beautiful by giving it meaning and touching us with love that we had not felt before.Enriched by Rabbi Leder's irreverence, vulnerability, and wicked sense of humor, this heartfelt narrative is filled with laughter and tears, the wisdom of millennia and modernity, and, most of all, an unfolding of the profound and simple truth that in loss we gain more than we ever imagined.
A National Book Foundation “5 Under 35” HonoreeFinalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for a Debut NovelShortlisted for the Center for Fiction First Novel PrizeA New York Times Notable BookOne of the most highly praised novels of the year, the debut from an astonishing young writer, Freshwater tells the story of Ada, an unusual child who is a source of deep concern to her southern Nigerian family. Young Ada is troubled, prone to violent fits. Born “with one foot on the other side,” she begins to develop separate selves within her as she grows into adulthood. And when she travels to America for college, a traumatic event on campus crystallizes the selves into something powerful and potentially dangerous, making Ada fade into the background of her own mind as these alters―now protective, now hedonistic―move into control. Written with stylistic brilliance and based in the author’s realities, Freshwater dazzles with ferocious energy and serpentine grace.
An engaging, accessible and empowering guide to the some of the world’s most influential goddessesEmbrace the power of the divine in this beginner’s guide to some of mythology’s fiercest females and most legendary ladiesAcross thousands of years and countless civilizations, goddesses have been a powerful presence. Whether as leaders, mothers, warriors or lovers, these indomitable divinities have always been able to fascinate and seduce us.This pocket guide offers readers an engaging and accessible introduction to a selection of the most powerful and influential goddesses throughout ancient and modern history, retelling their stories and celebrating their awesome abilities. Each profile includes a concise history of the goddess and her origins, a summary of her main powers, a look at the goddess in myth and popular culture and an exploration of her best attributes.Let yourself be inspired and empowered by tales of feminine power, strength and wisdom in this pocketbook of dazzling deities.
A man comprises many facets, and there is always a struggle between good and bad thoughts, emotions and actions. One who was very calm in the morning becomes angry as the scorching sun at noon, a person who is usually decent and well-liked becomes a demon and hard to tolerate. These contradictory states coexist in a person and it is a constant struggle to subdue the negativity and unlock positive energies. Based on decades of deep thought on the subject, venerated guru Acharya Mahapragya offers a phased, multi-dimensional approach to becoming more aware of ourselves in order to break free of the bondage of negative thought, speech and action.
Named one of the 100 Best Spiritual Books of the Twentieth Century (Spirituality & Practice)A 50th Anniversary edition of the bestselling Zen classic on meditation, maintaining a curious and open mind, and living with simplicity."In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few."So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. It is an instant teaching on the first page--and that's just the beginning.In the fifty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind has become one of the great modern spiritual classics, much beloved, much reread, and much recommended as the best first book to read on Zen. Suzuki Roshi presents the basics--from the details of posture and breathing in zazen to the perception of nonduality--in a way that is not only remarkably clear, but that also resonates with the joy of insight from the first to the last page.
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A work of stunning frankness about losing a daughter, from the bestselling, award-winning author of The Year of Magical Thinking and Let Me Tell You What I MeanRichly textured with memories from her own childhood and married life with her husband, John Gregory Dunne, and daughter, Quintana Roo, this new book by Joan Didion is an intensely personal and moving account of her thoughts, fears, and doubts regarding having children, illness and growing old.As she reflects on her daughter’s life and on her role as a parent, Didion grapples with the candid questions that all parents face, and contemplates her age, something she finds hard to acknowledge, much less accept. Blue Nights—the long, light evening hours that signal the summer solstice, “the opposite of the dying of the brightness, but also its warning”—like The Year of Magical Thinking before it, is an iconic book of incisive and electric honesty, haunting and profound.
Winner of the Grawemeyer Award in Religion "One of the Top 11 Religion Books of the Year," The Huffington Post First Place Winner in Theology, Catholic Press Association Gold Medal Winner, Independent Book Publishers Book Awards The cross and the lynching tree are the two most emotionally charged symbols in the history of the African American community. In this powerful new work, theologian James H. Cone explores these symbols and their interconnection in the history and souls of black folk. Both the cross and the lynching tree represent the worst in human beings and at the same time a thirst for life that refuses to let the worst determine our final meaning. While the lynching tree symbolized white power and black death, the cross symbolizes divine power and black life God overcoming the power of sin and death. For African Americans, the image of Jesus, hung on a tree to die, powerfully grounded their faith that God was with them, even in the suffering of the lynching era.
A guide to integrating indigenous thinking into modern life for a more interconnected and spiritual relationship with our fellow beings, Mother Earth, and the natural ways of the universe.There is a natural law—a spiritual intelligence that we are all born with that lies within our hearts. Lakota spiritual leader Doug Good Feather shares the authentic knowledge that has been handed down through the Lakota generations to help you make and recognize this divine connection, centered around the Seven Sacred Directions in the Hoop of Life:Wiyóhinyanpata—East: New BeginningsItókagata—South: The Breath of LifeWiyóhpeyata—West: The Healing PowersWazíyata—North: Earth MedicineWankátakáb—Above: The Great MysteryKhúta—Below: The Source of LifeHóchoka—Center: The Center of LifeOnce you begin to understand and recognize these strands, you can integrate them into modern life through the Threefold Path: The Way of the Seven Generations—Conscious living The Way of the Buffalo—Mindful consumption The Way of the Community—Collective impact
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Winner NATIONAL JEWISH BOOK AWARDS in Contemporary Jewish Life & PracticeMyra H. Kraft Memorial AwardA crucial new lens on repentance, atonement, forgiveness, and repair from harm—from personal transgressions to our culture's most painful and unresolved issues.American culture focuses on letting go of grudges and redemption narratives instead of the perpetrator’s obligations or recompense for harmed parties. As survivor communities have pointed out, these emphases have too often only caused more harm. But Danya Ruttenberg knew there was a better model, rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides.For Maimonides, upon whose work Ruttenberg elaborates, forgiveness is much less important than the repair work to which the person who caused harm is obligated. The word traditionally translated as repentance really means something more like return, and in this book, returning is a restoration, as much as is possible, to the victim, and, for the perpetrator of harm, a coming back, in humility and intentionality, to behaving as the person we might like to believe we are.Maimonides laid out five steps: naming and owning harm; starting to change/transformation; restitution and accepting consequences; apology; and making different choices. Applying this lens to both our personal relationships and some of the most significant and painful issues of our day, including systemic racism and the legacy of enslavement, sexual violence and harassment in the wake of #MeToo, and Native American land rights, On Repentance and Repair helps us envision a way forward.Rooted in traditional Jewish concepts while doggedly accessible and available to people from any, or no, religious background, On Repentance and Repair is a book for anyone who cares about creating a country and culture that is more whole than the one in which we live, and for anyone who has been hurt or who is struggling to take responsibility for their mistakes.
F**k It has taken the world by storm, helping countless people to let go, stop struggling and finally do what they want; to ignore what everyone else is telling them and go their own way. This now classic text has been updated with inspirational new material from John C. Parkin.In this inspiring and humorous book, John suggests that saying F**k It is the perfect Western expression of the Eastern spiritual ideas of letting go, giving up and finding real freedom by realising that things don't matter so much (if at all). It's a spiritual way that doesn't require chanting, meditating, wearing sandals or eating pulses. And it's the very power of this modern-day profanity that makes it perfect for shaking us Westerners out of the stress and anxiety that dominate our meaning-full lives. So, find out how to say F**k It to all your problems and concerns. Say F**k It to all the 'shoulds' in your life and finally do what you want to do, no matter what other people think.
Over a year on the New York Times bestseller list and more than a million copies sold.The essential universe, from our most celebrated and beloved astrophysicist.What is the nature of space and time? How do we fit within the universe? How does the universe fit within us? There’s no better guide through these mind-expanding questions than acclaimed astrophysicist and best-selling author Neil deGrasse Tyson.But today, few of us have time to contemplate the cosmos. So Tyson brings the universe down to Earth succinctly and clearly, with sparkling wit, in tasty chapters consumable anytime and anywhere in your busy day.While you wait for your morning coffee to brew, for the bus, the train, or a plane to arrive, Astrophysics for People in a Hurry will reveal just what you need to be fluent and ready for the next cosmic headlines: from the Big Bang to black holes, from quarks to quantum mechanics, and from the search for planets to the search for life in the universe.
Presenting the life and teachings of Gautama Buddha, drawn directly from 24 Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources—and retold by beloved Zen teacher Thich Nhat HanhRetold in Thich Nhat Hanh’s inimitably beautiful style, this book traces the Buddha’s life over the course of 80 years—partly through the eyes of Svasti, the buffalo boy, and partly through the eyes of the Buddha himself. Old Path White Clouds is a classic of religious literature.“I have not avoided including the various difficulties the Buddha encountered, both from his own disciples and in relation to the wider society. If the Buddha appears in this book as a man close to us, it is partly due to recounting such difficulties.”—Thich Nhah Hanh, from the Afterword
An inspiring book that will help readers rediscover their values and discover a way to truly live life to the fullest.The Dalai Lama on Wholehearted: “Intimacy is based on the willingness to open ourselves to many others, to family, friends, and even strangers, forming genuine and deep bonds based on common humanity. Koshin Paley Ellison’s teachings share the way forward into a path of connection, compassion, and intimacy.”Each of us has an enormous capacity for love—a deep well of attention and care that we can offer to ourselves and others. With guidance that is both simple and wholly transformative, Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and psychotherapist, shows us how to uncover it: pay attention, be of service, and be with others.With this inspiring and down-to-earth book, drawn from the Zen precepts and illustrated with anecdotes from Koshin’s own life and practice, you’ll learn how toexplore and investigate with your own core values, identify the mental habits that could be unconsciously hurting yourself and others, and overcome isolation.Each chapter closes with a contemplation to help integrate the teachings into your life.This book is about getting back in touch with your values, so you can live energetically, authentically, and lovingly. This an invitation to close the gaps we create between ourselves and others—to wake up to ourselves and the world around us.It’s time to live wholeheartedly.
A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER• OPRAH’S BOOK CLUB PICK • WINNER OF THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR FICTION • NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD WINNER• A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK • MORE THAN 1 MILLION COPIES SOLD“Quietly powerful [and] moving.” O, The Oprah Magazine (recommended reading)Winner of the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Critics Circle Award, GILEAD is a hymn of praise and lamentation to the God-haunted existence that Reverend Ames loves passionately, and from which he will soon part.In 1956, toward the end of Reverend John Ames's life, he begins a letter to his young son, an account of himself and his forebears. Ames is the son of an Iowan preacher and the grandson of a minister who, as a young man in Maine, saw a vision of Christ bound in chains and came west to Kansas to fight for abolition: He "preached men into the Civil War," then, at age fifty, became a chaplain in the Union Army, losing his right eye in battle.Reverend Ames writes to his son about the tension between his father--an ardent pacifist--and his grandfather, whose pistol and bloody shirts, concealed in an army blanket, may be relics from the fight between the abolitionists and those settlers who wanted to vote Kansas into the union as a slave state. And he tells a story of the sacred bonds between fathers and sons, which are tested in his tender and strained relationship with his namesake, John Ames Boughton, his best friend's wayward son.This is also the tale of another remarkable vision--not a corporeal vision of God but the vision of life as a wondrously strange creation. It tells how wisdom was forged in Ames's soul during his solitary life, and how history lives through generations, pervasively present even when betrayed and forgotten.
This book isn’t about dying. It’s about life and what life has to teach us. It’s about caring and what giving care really means.In Awake at the Bedside, pioneers of palliative and end-of-life care as well as doctors, chaplains, caregivers and even poets offer wisdom that will challenge, uplift, comfort—and change the way we think about death.Equal parts instruction manual and spiritual testimony, it includes specific instructions and personal accounts to inspire, counsel, and teach. An indispensable resource for anyone involved in hospice work or caregiving of any kind.Contributors include Anyen Rinpoche, Coleman Barks, Craig D. Blinderman, Bhikkhu Bodhi, Joshua Bright, Ira Byock, Robert Chodo Campbell, Rafael Campo, Ajahn Chah, Ram Dass, Kirsten DeLeo, Issan Dorsey, Mark Doty, Norman Fischer, Nick Flynn, Gil Fronsdal, Joseph Goldstein, Shodo Harada Roshi, Tony Hoagland, Marie Howe, Fernando Kawai, Michael Kearney, Elisabeth Kubler-Ross, Stanley Kunitz, Stephen and Ondrea Levine, Judy Lief, Betsy MacGregor, Diane E. Meier, W. S. Merwin, Naomi Shihab Nye, Frank Ostaseski, Rachel Naomi Remen, Larry Rosenberg, Rumi, Cicely Saunders, Senryu, Jason Shinder, Derek Walcott, Radhule B. Weininger.
NATIONAL BESTSELLERDeepen your connection to the natural world with this inspiring meditation, "a path to the place where science and spirit meet" (Robin Wall Kimmerer).In Rooted, cutting-edge science supports a truth that poets, artists, mystics, and earth-based cultures across the world have proclaimed over millennia: life on this planet is radically interconnected. Our bodies, thoughts, minds, and spirits are affected by the whole of nature, and they affect this whole in return. In this time of crisis, how can we best live upon our imperiled, beloved earth?Award-winning writer Lyanda Lynn Haupt’s highly personal new book is a brilliant invitation to live with the earth in both simple and profound ways—from walking barefoot in the woods and reimagining our relationship with animals and trees, to examining the very language we use to describe and think about nature. She invokes rootedness as a way of being in concert with the wilderness—and wildness—that sustains humans and all of life.In the tradition of Rachel Carson, Elizabeth Kolbert, and Mary Oliver, Haupt writes with urgency and grace, reminding us that at the crossroads of science, nature, and spirit we find true hope. Each chapter provides tools for bringing our unique gifts to the fore and transforming our sense of belonging within the magic and wonder of the natural world.
Though we are seemingly more connected to our world than ever before, many of us cannot ignore a nagging sense of loneliness and isolation. To keep this anxiety and discontentment at bay, we can search for connection through unhealthy distractions, believing these will bring us true nourishment. And yet, loneliness is on the rise, exacting detrimental effects on our mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing. Even those of us who have succeeded in the ways that society applauds, often feel unanchored, disengaged, and purposeless. If true pleasure is what we desire, how do we look past the surface, to discover a life filled with meaningful connection and genuine relationships?Untangled is a welcoming guidebook to finding expansive ease and true joy through what is traditionally called the eightfold path, one of Buddhism’s foundational teachings. Psychotherapist and Zen teacher Koshin Paley Ellison compassionately walks readers down these eight roads, leading them on a path of transformation and to experience true joy. Combining teachings from both Eastern and Western wisdom traditions, Paley Ellison equips readers with the tools needed to untangle our tangles and make profound change, inside and out. Infused with Paley Ellison’s own anecdotes of his life as a young gay kid facing abuse and discrimination, this approachable guide will help you transform your ever day interactions, your most intimate relationships and offers a path for social healing. It is an ancient cure that’s up to the challenge of healing the modern dysfunction of our times.
Eight lives that demonstrate the many facets of female spirituality. For centuries, women have walked the inner path to spiritual realization despite thorns placed in their way by patriarchy, discrimination and unequal opportunities. Where they couldn't get past the confines of gender roles, women found ways to lead spiritually rich lives under the skin of their worldly selves. When they did manage to step outside spaces designated for them by patriarchy, and found fulfilment as wanderers and mystics, their insights and experiences remained largely anonymous. This anonymity persists. At a time when women gurus are becoming far more visible than ever before, there is nevertheless little understanding of a feminine spirituality. Through the lives of eight women Anandmayi Ma, Nirmala Devi, Nani Ma, Sadhvi Bhagwati, Mata Amritanandamayi, Pravrajika Vivekaprana, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo and Ven. Khandro Rinpoche Women Awakened explores the idea of feminine spirituality in the contemporary context, and what it actually means to be a spiritual seeker in today's world.
Arranged by topic and theme, this introduction to the works of the great mystical poet Rumi features some of the best translations of his verseRumi’s poems are beloved for their touching perceptions of humanity and the Divine. Here is a rich introduction to the work of the great mystical poet, featuring leading literary translations of his verse. Translators include Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Andrew Harvey, Kabir Helminski, Camille Helminski, Daniel Liebert, and Peter Lamborn Wilson.To display the major themes of Rumi’s work, each of the eighteen chapters in this anthology are arranged topically, such as “The Inner Work,” “The Ego Animal,” “Passion for God,” “Praise,” and “Purity.” Also contained here is a biography of Rumi by Andrew Harvey, as well as an introductory essay by Kabir Helminski on the art of translating Rumi's work into English.
The body listens, remembers and speaks to us. We receive the body's messages all the time, although we seldom recognize them. Our body expresses its unmet needs and calls for attention in many ways. And so it is with weight. This is a puzzling matter only because some pieces of the puzzle are not in the box you were handed. Your weight is not a body issue. Excess weight is really a multi-dimensional problem showing up as an oversized body. Popular media is still full of diet and exercise advice that is based on sacrifice and punishment. Too few books use this research to show how weight can be reduced in a happier and healthier way. The Body Nirvana is about gradually letting go of everything that literally and metaphorically weighs you down. It is time to rejoice in your body's vitality and its capacity to take you towards your life's goals!
Interviews with young Muslims in Chicago explore the complexity of identities formed at the crossroads of Islam and hip hopThis groundbreaking study of race, religion and popular culture in the 21st century United States focuses on a new concept, “Muslim Cool.” Muslim Cool is a way of being an American Muslim―displayed in ideas, dress, social activism in the ’hood, and in complex relationships to state power. Constructed through hip hop and the performance of Blackness, Muslim Cool is a way of engaging with the Black American experience by both Black and non-Black young Muslims that challenges racist norms in the U.S. as well as dominant ethnic and religious structures within American Muslim communities.Drawing on over two years of ethnographic research, Su'ad Abdul Khabeer illuminates the ways in which young and multiethnic US Muslims draw on Blackness to construct their identities as Muslims. This is a form of critical Muslim self-making that builds on interconnections and intersections, rather than divisions between “Black” and “Muslim.” Thus, by countering the notion that Blackness and the Muslim experience are fundamentally different, Muslim Cool poses a critical challenge to dominant ideas that Muslims are “foreign” to the United States and puts Blackness at the center of the study of American Islam. Yet Muslim Cool also demonstrates that connections to Blackness made through hip hop are critical and contested―critical because they push back against the pervasive phenomenon of anti-Blackness and contested because questions of race, class, gender, and nationality continue to complicate self-making in the United States.
A book for finding purpose and strength in times of great despair, the international best-seller is still just as relevant today as when it was first published.“This is a book I reread a lot . . . it gives me hope . . . it gives me a sense of strength.”—Anderson Cooper, Anderson Cooper 360/CNNThis seminal book, which has been called “one of the outstanding contributions to psychological thought” by Carl Rogers and “one of the great books of our time” by Harold Kushner, has been translated into more than fifty languages and sold over sixteen million copies. “An enduring work of survival literature,” according to the New York Times, Viktor Frankl’s riveting account of his time in the Nazi concentration camps, and his insightful exploration of the human will to find meaning in spite of the worst adversity, has offered solace and guidance to generations of readers since it was first published in 1946. At the heart of Frankl’s theory of logotherapy (from the Greek word for “meaning”) is a conviction that the primary human drive is not pleasure, as Freud maintained, but rather the discovery and pursuit of what the individual finds meaningful. Today, as new generations face new challenges and an ever more complex and uncertain world, Frankl’s classic work continues to inspire us all to find significance in the very act of living, in spite of all obstacles.A must-read companion to this classic work, a new, never-before-published work by Frankl entitled Yes to Life: In Spite of Everything, is now available in English.This book was published with two different covers. Customers will be shipped the book with one of the available covers.
An instant New York Times, Washington Post and USA Today Bestseller • AN OPRAH BOOK CLUB SELECTION • ONE OF THE ATLANTIC'S "GREAT AMERICAN NOVELS" • BARACK OBAMA'S FAVORITE BOOKS OF 2021 • WINNER OF THE NATIONAL BOOK CRITICS CIRCLE AWARD FOR FICTIONA BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR: New York Times • Time • Washington Post • Oprah Daily • People • Boston Globe • BookPage • Booklist • Kirkus • Atlanta Journal-Constitution • Chicago Public LibraryFinalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel • Longlisted for the National Book Award for Fiction • Finalist for the Kirkus Prize for Fiction • Nominee for the NAACP Image Award"Epic. . . . I was just enraptured by the lineage and the story of this modern African-American family. . . . I’ve never read anything quite like it. It just consumed me." —Oprah WinfreyThe NAACP Image Award-winning poet makes her fiction debut with this magisterial epic—an intimate yet sweeping novel with all the luminescence and force of Homegoing; Sing, Unburied, Sing; and The Water Dancer—that chronicles the journey of one American family, from the centuries of the colonial slave trade through the Civil War to our own tumultuous era.The great scholar, W. E. B. Du Bois, once wrote about the Problem of race in America, and what he called “Double Consciousness,” a sensitivity that every African American possesses in order to survive. Since childhood, Ailey Pearl Garfield has understood Du Bois’s words all too well. Bearing the names of two formidable Black Americans—the revered choreographer Alvin Ailey and her great grandmother Pearl, the descendant of enslaved Georgians and tenant farmers—Ailey carries Du Bois’s Problem on her shoulders.Ailey is reared in the north in the City but spends summers in the small Georgia town of Chicasetta, where her mother’s family has lived since their ancestors arrived from Africa in bondage. From an early age, Ailey fights a battle for belonging that’s made all the more difficult by a hovering trauma, as well as the whispers of women—her mother, Belle, her sister, Lydia, and a maternal line reaching back two centuries—that urge Ailey to succeed in their stead.To come to terms with her own identity, Ailey embarks on a journey through her family’s past, uncovering the shocking tales of generations of ancestors—Indigenous, Black, and white—in the deep South. In doing so Ailey must learn to embrace her full heritage, a legacy of oppression and resistance, bondage and independence, cruelty and resilience that is the story—and the song—of America itself.
Instant New York Times Advice & Business Bestseller, USA TodayBestseller, and Wall Street Journal #1 Bestseller!A New York Times Noteworthy Pick and a "stellar work" by Publishers WeeklyFrom the bestselling authors of The Daily Stoic comes an inspiring guide to the lives of the Stoics, and what the ancients can teach us about happiness, success, resilience and virtue.Nearly 2,300 years after a ruined merchant named Zeno first established a school on the Stoa Poikile of Athens, Stoicism has found a new audience among those who seek greatness, from athletes to politicians and everyone in between. It's no wonder; the philosophy and its embrace of self-mastery, virtue, and indifference to that which we cannot control is as urgent today as it was in the chaos of the Roman Empire.In Lives of the Stoics, Holiday and Hanselman present the fascinating lives of the men and women who strove to live by the timeless Stoic virtues of Courage. Justice. Temperance. Wisdom. Organized in digestible, mini-biographies of all the well-known--and not so well-known--Stoics, this book vividly brings home what Stoicism was like for the people who loved it and lived it, dusting off powerful lessons to be learned from their struggles and successes.More than a mere history book, every example in these pages, from Epictetus to Marcus Aurelius--slaves to emperors--is designed to help the reader apply philosophy in their own lives. Holiday and Hanselman unveil the core values and ideas that unite figures from Seneca to Cato to Cicero across the centuries. Among them are the idea that self-rule is the greatest empire, that character is fate; how Stoics benefit from preparing not only for success, but failure; and learn to love, not merely accept, the hand they are dealt in life. A treasure of valuable insights and stories, this book can be visited again and again by any reader in search of inspiration from the past.
Understanding our mind is an accessible guide for anyone who is curious about the inner workings of the mind originally released as transformation at the base, a finalist for the 2001 nautilus award, this seminal work on buddhist applied psychology features a new introduction by dharma teacher reb anderson understanding our mind is based on fifty verses on the nature of consciousness taken from the great fifth-century buddhist master vasubandhu with compassion and insight, nhat hanh reveals how these ancient teachings can be applied to the modern world nhat hanh focuses on the direct experience of recognizing and embracing the nature of our feelings and perceptions the quality of our lives, he says, depends on the quality of the seeds in our minds buddhism teaches us how to nourish the seeds of joy and transform the seeds of suffering so that our understanding, love, and compassion can flower
Bestselling author Beverly Jenkins makes the move to trade paperback with this rich and moving story that introduces us to the beautiful Kansas town of Henry Adams, and the townspeople who make it uniqueBernadine Brown is a woman with money to spend. Henry Adams is a town in desperate need of cash. But after Bernadine puts up the money, she has some ideas about how the town should be run. Will the townspeople be willing to shake up their comfortable lives to share the gift they’ve been given with others who really need it?One of the few all Black towns founded after Reconstruction, over a century later Henry Adams was falling apart. So Mayor Trenton July took a chance and put his town up for sale on the internet. With a new owner in town, and the ex mayor and his friends up in arms and doing everything they can to turn the deal on its head, will this be the death of Henry Adams...or its rebirth?
A multiple Hugo and Nebula Award winner’s powerful saga of survival and destiny in a near-future dystopian America.One of the world’s most respected authors of science fiction imagines an apocalyptic near-future Earth where a remarkable young woman discovers that her destiny calls her to try and change the world around her. Octavia E. Butler’s brilliant two-volume Earthseed saga offers a startling vision of an all-too-possible tomorrow, in which walls offer no protection from a civilization gone mad.Parable of the Sower: In the aftermath of worldwide ecological and economic apocalypse, minister’s daughter Lauren Oya Olamina escapes the slaughter that claims the lives of her family and nearly every other member of their gated California community. Heading north with two young companions through an American wasteland, the courageous young woman faces dangers at every turn while spreading the word of a remarkable new religion that embraces survival and change.Parable of the Talents: Called to the new, hard truth of Earthseed, the small community of the dispossessed that now surrounds Lauren Olamina looks to her—their leader—for guidance. But when the evil that has grown out of the ashes of human society destroys all she has built, the prophet is forced to choose between preserving her faith or her family.The Earthseed novels cement Butler’s reputation as “one of the finest voices in fiction—period” (TheWashington Post Book World). Stunningly prescient and breathtakingly relevant to our times, this dark vision of a future America is a masterwork of powerful speculation that ushers us into a broken, dangerously divided world of bigotry, social inequality, mob violence, and ultimately hope.
In this book we meet with the modern sage, U.G. Krishnamurti, and listen to his penetrating voice describing life and reality as it is. What is body and what is mind? Is there a soul? Is there a beyond, a God? What is enlightenment? Is there a life after death? Never before have these questions been tackled with such simplicity, candour and clarity. In these unpublished early conversations with friends (1967-71), U.G.discusses in detail his search for the truth and how he underwent radical biological changes in 1967. Preferring to call it the natural state over enlightenment, he insists that whatever transformation he has undergone is within the structure of the human body and not in the mind at all. It is the natural state of being that sages like the Buddha, Jesus and, in modern times, Sri Ramana, stepped into. And U.G.never tires of pointing out that 'this is the way you, stripped of the machinations of thought, are also functioning.'
In Living Judaism, Rabbi Wayne Dosick, Ph.D., author the acclaimed Golden Rules, Dancing with God, and When Life Hurts, offers an engaging and definitive overview of Jewish philosophy and theology, rituals and customs. Combining quality scholarship and sacred spiritual instruction, Living Judaism is a thought-provoking reference and guide for those already steeped in Jewish life, and a comprehensive introduction for those exploring the richness and grandeur of Judaism.
A New York Times bestseller!“We need Krista Tippett’s voice and wisdom now more than ever. She has elevated the art of listening and the practice of being present in a way that is both accessible and soulful. Becoming Wise is what I’ve been waiting for . . . This is brilliant thinking, beautiful storytelling, and practical insight.” —Brené Brown, Ph.D., New York Times bestselling author of Rising Strong“A thoughtful chronicle of spiritual discovery. A hopeful consideration of the human potential for enlightenment.” —Kirkus Reviews"I’m not sure there’s such a thing as the cultural 'center,' nor that it’s very interesting if it exists. But left of center and right of center, in the expansive middle and heart of our life together, most of us have some questions left alongside our answers, some curiosity alongside our convictions. This book is for people who want to take up the great questions of our time with imagination and courage, to nurture new realities in the spaces we inhabit, and to do so expectantly and with joy."In Becoming Wise, Krista Tippett has created a master class in living for a fractured world. Fracture, she says, is not the whole story of our time. The enduring question of what it means to be human has become inextricable from the challenge of who we are to one another. She insists on the possibility of personal depth and common life for this century, nurtured by science and “spiritual technologies,” with civility and love as muscular public practice. And, accompanied by a cross-disciplinary dream team of a teaching faculty, she shows us how.
***INSTANT NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER***Disrupt and push back against capitalism and white supremacy. In this book, Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, encourages us to connect to the liberating power of rest, daydreaming, and naps as a foundation for healing and justice.What would it be like to live in a well-rested world? Far too many of us have claimed productivity as the cornerstone of success. Brainwashed by capitalism, we subject our bodies and minds to work at an unrealistic, damaging, and machine‑level pace –– feeding into the same engine that enslaved millions into brutal labor for its own relentless benefit.In Rest Is Resistance, Tricia Hersey, aka the Nap Bishop, casts an illuminating light on our troubled relationship with rest and how to imagine and dream our way to a future where rest is exalted. Our worth does not reside in how much we produce, especially not for a system that exploits and dehumanizes us. Rest, in its simplest form, becomes an act of resistance and a reclaiming of power because it asserts our most basic humanity. We are enough. The systems cannot have us.Rest Is Resistance is rooted in spiritual energy and centered in Black liberation, womanism, somatics, and Afrofuturism. With captivating storytelling and practical advice, all delivered in Hersey’s lyrical voice and informed by her deep experience in theology, activism, and performance art, Rest Is Resistance is a call to action, a battle cry, a field guide, and a manifesto for all of us who are sleep deprived, searching for justice, and longing to be liberated from the oppressive grip of Grind Culture.
Swami Agnivesh is a swami with a difference, a holy man who is also an untiring social worker and political activist. In Applied Spirituality, he discusses his views on religion and spirituality from the vantage point of his religious learning, leavened by his decades-long work with the underprivileged. He reasons how religion and spirituality can be applied in our day-to-day lives so as to make them resonate in a more practical manner. Addressing issues as diverse as religious intolerance, Naxalism, social injustice, human rights, world trade and women's empowerment, Swami Agnivesh calls for a transformation of society through a multi-pronged approach that involves extensive interfaith dialogue. Impeccably argued and inspiringly written, the book articulates his vision of what he calls 'proactive socials spirituality against the many ills that plague our country and the planet: alcoholism, casteism, religious obscurantism, political despotism, communalism and corruption.
The long-awaited debut novel from acclaimed author Eteraz; a darkly comic, provocative, and insightful vision of the contemporary American experience.“Native Believer stands as an important contribution to American literary culture: a book quite unlike any I’ve read in recent memory, which uses its characters to explore questions vital to our continuing national discourse around Islam.” ―New York Times Book Review, Editors’ Choice“[A] poignant and profoundly funny first novel. . . . Eteraz combines masterful storytelling with intelligent commentary to create a nuanced work of social and political art.” ―BooklistAli Eteraz’s much-anticipated debut novel is the story of M., a supportive husband, adventureless dandy, lapsed believer, and second-generation immigrant who wants nothing more than to host parties and bring children into the world as full-fledged Americans. As M.’s life gradually fragments around him―a wife with a chronic illness; a best friend stricken with grief; a boss jeopardizing a respectable career―M. spins out into the pulsating underbelly of Philadelphia, where he encounters others grappling with fallout from the War on Terror. Among the pornographers and converts to Islam, punks and wrestlers, M. confronts his existential degradation and the life of a second-class citizen.Darkly comic, provocative, and insightful, Native Believer is a startling vision of the contemporary American experience and the human capacity to shape identity and belonging at all costs.
A magnificent hardcover collection of song lyrics and poems from across the storied career of one of the most daring and affecting poet-songwriters in the world.In the more than half century since his first book of poems was published, Leonard Cohen has evolved into an international cult figure who transcends genres and generations. This anthology contains a cross section of his five decades of influential work, including such legendary songs as “Suzanne,” “Sisters of Mercy,” “Bird on the Wire,” “Famous Blue Raincoat,” and “I’m Your Man” and searingly memorable poems from his many acclaimed poetry collections, including Flowers for Hitler, Beautiful Losers, and Death of a Lady’s Man. Encompassing the erotic and the melancholy, the mystical and the sardonic, this volume showcases a writer of dazzling intelligence and live-wire emotional immediacy."Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket.
Just as heat is inherent in fire, so is our desire to become better. Why is personal growth and life transformation so difficult? Does Creation wish that we fail? Of course not! The purpose behind the Universes grand design is to make us succeed. Our own unawareness of the laws of the Universe creates the impediment. Just as physical phenomena are regulated by laws, there are spiritual principles governing the journey of life as well. Knowledge of them helps us understand why success comes so easily to some but remains a struggle for others; why some are still putting on their shoes, while others have finished the race. The beauty is that, like the physical laws of nature, the divine principles governing happiness and fulfilment in life are also eternally valid. In this book, Swami Mukundananda explains the 7 divine laws in an easily graspable manner. With knowledge of the Vedic scriptures and witty anecdotes that everyone can relate to, this book will empower you to become the best version of yourself.
A New York Times BestsellerA Washington Post BestsellerA Los Angeles Times BestsellerNamed a "Best Essay Collection of the Decade" by Literary HubA Book Riot "Favorite Summer Read of 2020"A Food Tank Fall 2020 Reading RecommendationUpdated with a new introduction from Robin Wall Kimmerer, the special edition of Braiding Sweetgrass, reissued in honor of the fortieth anniversary of Milkweed Editions, celebrates the book as an object of meaning that will last the ages. Beautifully bound with a new cover featuring an engraving by Tony Drehfal, this edition includes a bookmark ribbon and five brilliantly colored illustrations by artist Nate Christopherson. In increasingly dark times, we honor the experience that more than 350,000 readers in North America have cherished about the book—gentle, simple, tactile, beautiful, even sacred—and offer an edition that will inspire readers to gift it again and again, spreading the word about scientific knowledge, indigenous wisdom, and the teachings of plants.As a botanist, Robin Wall Kimmerer has been trained to ask questions of nature with the tools of science. As a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, she embraces the notion that plants and animals are our oldest teachers. In Braiding Sweetgrass, Kimmerer brings these two lenses of knowledge together to take us on “a journey that is every bit as mythic as it is scientific, as sacred as it is historical, as clever as it is wise” (Elizabeth Gilbert).Drawing on her life as an indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings—asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass—offer us gifts and lessons, even if we've forgotten how to hear their voices. In reflections that range from the creation of Turtle Island to the forces that threaten its flourishing today, she circles toward a central argument: that the awakening of ecological consciousness requires the acknowledgment and celebration of our reciprocal relationship with the rest of the living world. For only when we can hear the languages of other beings will we be capable of understanding the generosity of the earth, and learn to give our own gifts in return.
Massmarket edition of this spiritual guide to making the most of life, through bad times as well as good, from bestselling author Pema Chodron. This accessible book has been on the US bestseller lists consistently for four years now. In The Wisdom of No Escape, bestselling author Pema Chodron shows us the profound value of our situation of 'no exit' from the ups and downs of life. This book is about saying yes to life in all its manifestations -- about making friends with ourselves and our world and embracing the potent mixture of joy, suffering, brilliance, and confusion that characterizes the human experience. It urges us to wake up wholeheartedly to everything and to use the abundant, richly textured fabric of everyday life as our primary spiritual teacher and guide.
A welcoming introduction to the most important ideas in Judaism.In an age of fluid identity, many people are honestly asking the question "Why be Jewish?" What in this religious and ethnic legacy is worth preserving? Does Judaism have something unique to offer a contemporary seeker free to choose a way of life and a system of values?Here is the answer of a leading spiritual teacher who has faced these questions in conversation with generations of students. With warmth, humor, personal and rabbinic stories and down-to-earth explanations, Arthur Green presents the ideas in Judaism that kept him loyal to the tradition passed on to him. The result is an enticing look into timeless Jewish wisdom that will encourage you to explore further and search out the riches of Judaism for yourself.
In 1967, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., isolated himself from the demands of the civil rights movement, rented a house in Jamaica with no telephone, and labored over his final manuscript. In this prophetic work, which has been unavailable for more than ten years, he lays out his thoughts, plans, and dreams for America's future, including the need for better jobs, higher wages, decent housing, and quality education. With a universal message of hope that continues to resonate, King demanded an end to global suffering, asserting that humankind-for the first time-has the resources and technology to eradicate poverty.
Awakening Joy is more than just another book about happiness. More than simply offering suggested strategies to change our behavior, it uses time-tested practices to train the mind to learn new ways of thinking. The principles of the course are universal, although much of the material includes Buddhist philosophy drawn from the author’s thirty years as a Buddhist meditation teacher and spiritual counselor.In these times of economic uncertainty Awakening Joy shows we can get through hard times and use our experience to keep the our heart open while moving from discouragement to well-being, regardless of the external circumstances. Genuine well-being is not expensive. True happiness is not about acquiring anything, but rather about opening to the natural joy and aliveness right inside you.In this practical down-to-earth guide, readers will learn how to• make happiness a habit by inclining your mind toward states that lead to well-being• find joy, even during difficult times, and avoid the pitfalls that prevent you from achieving the contentment you seek• cultivate effective practices for sustaining joyfulness, such as reclaiming your natural sense of wonder and finding joy in the midst of everyday experiences.Each chapter of Awakening Joy consists of one of the steps in Baraz’s ten-step program and includes engaging exercises and practical advice to make happiness your natural default setting. For everyone from the cynic who is despondent over life’s many sorrows, to the harried commuter raging at freeway traffic, this book offers up a simple yet powerful message of hope grounded in the realization that joy already exists inside every one of us. Like a precious child, it only needs to be recognized, embraced, and nurtured in order to grow to its full potential.
Being Human is the first humanities reader that focuses on humanity in the literal sense―what it’s like to be human.The Norton Edition of this widely praised collection brings the best writings in the humanities to a college audience. Each chapter presents a question or topic central to the human experience, among them "The Search for Perfection," "Are We Our Bodies?," "Vulnerability and Suffering," and "Human Dignity." To guide students as they read these influential works, every selection is prefaced by a concise headnote and thoughtful discussion questions.How shall we promote and protect human flourishing in a world of ever-emerging technologies? At what point should we limit our quest for physical and mental perfection? Drawing on the insights of great thinkers throughout the ages, Being Human: Core Readings in the Humanities can help give readers a solid understanding of what it means to be human, both in the past and into the future. College courses, from Humanities to Bioethics to Freshman Composition, will benefit from this important collection.
"A random act of kindness needn't always be a material offering. Even a word of encouragement, a compliment, a helping hand can be equally, if not more, profound. Make such acts a habit and Nature will reciprocate in kind."In his latest book, bestselling author Om Swami suggests a definitive means to achieving true happiness: through kindness. In his signature candid style, he clarifies that the only way one can be successful in the quest to achieve happiness for oneself is to first spread happiness and show kindness to others. With real, inspiring, life-changing anecdotes, Om Swami goes on to illustrate how compassion and gentleness are intrinsically connected with humanity. The Book of Kindness will help you understand, practice and master kindness, the key to inner bliss and fulfillment, and the only means to attain the happiness that you seek.
Many of us struggle to remain calm during the day or to fall asleep at night. Our restless, treacherous minds make us feel good one moment and terrible another. From where do negativity and anguish engulf us and how do we go about being serene and peaceful? Zen shows us the art of attaining that inner quietude without rituals or dogma. It is about seeing beauty, bliss and truth in our everyday lives. Driving to work or washing the dishes, every act could easily be meditation. Based on the original Zen teachings, this beautiful book offers a life-changing perspective on life itself. Bestselling author of many transformational books, Om Swami shares with you the art of happiness with plenty of humour, stories and wisdom as he takes you on a journey from being mind full to mindful.
Breathing has the power to rejuvenate and revitalize the body. Recognizing the power of the breath, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar revived and popularized the ancient art of pranayama and created sudarshan kriya techniques of effective breathing that help unlock the power that lies within all of us. Sri Sri and the Art of Living Foundation seek to use these techniques to spread peace and harmony throughout the world. Modern living is fraught with stress and suffering and Sri Sri helps transform the negative emotions that come with that lifestyle into positive energy. This book tries to understand how the science of breath, along with meditation, can offer a healing touch amidst the chaos of modern life. The Art of Healing: The Healing Breath is an attempt at unravelling the enigma that is Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and spreading the message of peace that the Art of Living Foundation propagates. It would prove to be an invaluable guide for followers of Sri Sri, for those who wish to understand the good work being done by his disciples in areas where people are afflicted and affected by disease, trauma and disasters, and for those who wish to understand the crisis of modern living and the way out of it.
The secret to living mindfully. Just don’t breathe a word of it…\nYou breathe 22,000 times every day. How many are you really aware of?\nInternational bestselling and award-winning author Dr Danny Penman provides a concise guide to letting go and finding peace in a messy world, simply by taking the time to breathe.\nKnown side effects: You will start to smile more. You will worry less. Life won’t bother you so much.\nDissolve anxiety, stress and unhappiness, enhance your mind and unleash your creativity with these simple exercises. And with each little moment of mindfulness, discover a happier, calmer you.\nIt really is as easy as breathing…