Oneness: The Destination You Never Left


John Greven - 2005
    The intent of this book is to look afresh at one’s daily experience, to point to something that the mind may have overlooked. It is not pointing to anything new, anything that you can achieve, or anything you can add to yourself. It is not pointing to the good deeds you have done in your life to emphasize what a wonderful person you must be. It is pointing to something so simple, something so obvious, that when it is pointed out and seen, you wonder how it was ever missed. How could the mind have taken something so obvious for granted? How did the mind so easily toss out the valuable jewel in favor of its reflections? You may have been searching for self realization, enlightenment, the Buddha Mind, God, or some other goal implying the same thing. You may have been searching for many years, or you may just be getting started on a search; Whether you’ve been traveling a path for a while or you’re just taking the first step makes no difference. This book invites you to take a look at the space that has been overlooked, to see what is obvious, and to bring that search to an end—right now.

The Buddha in Me, The Buddha in You: A Handbook for Happiness


David Hare - 2016
    The Buddha in Me, the Buddha in You combines the tried-and-tested wisdom of Nichiren Buddhism with the best of popular psychology and personal development, making this a brilliant guide to how life works, and how to get the most from it.Nichiren Buddhism differs from other Buddhist schools in its focus on the here-and-now, and places great importance on individual growth as the starting point for a better world. This, combined with powerful techniques such as NLP, mindfulness, journalling and coaching, makes The Buddha in Me, the Buddha in You the quintessential handbook for happiness.'Buddha' simply means someone who is awakened - yet while Nichiren Buddhists will find fascinating insights into their practice, there is no need to follow a spiritual path to benefit from this book. Through his experience as an internationally acclaimed life coach and practising Buddhist, author David Hare shows us how to wake up to our own potential and that of those around us – to discover everyday enlightenment.

Eat Less Cottage Cheese and More Ice Cream: Thoughts on Life from Erma Bombeck


Erma Bombeck - 2003
    The result was a classic column full of Bombecks signature wit and warmth. Now the beloved column that has hung on hundreds of refrigerator doors has been cheerily illustrated and designed as a handsome gift book, Eat Less Cottage and More Ice Cream. In it, Bombeck gently reminds us of what is really important in life: If I had my life to live over again I would have waxed less and listened more.I would have cried and laughed less while watching television . . . and more while watching real life.But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute of it . . . look at it and really see it . . . try it on . . . live it . . . exhaust it . . . and never give that minute back until there was nothing left of it. . . . Long-time fans of Erma Bombeck will be thrilled to have this favorite column in the form of a beautiful keepsake. Readers discovering Bombeck for the first time will become fans instantly. Eat Less Cottage and More Ice Cream offers wisdom to inspire all of us.

My Country And My People


Lin Yutang - 1935
    Where the fathers imbibed the doctrine of Confucius and learned the classics and revolted against them, these young people have been battered by many forces of the new times. They have been taught something of science, something of Christianity, something of atheism, something of free love, something of communism, something of Western philosophy, something of modern militarism, something, in fact, of everything. In the midst of the sturdy medievalism of the masses of their countrymen the young intellectuals have been taught the most extreme of every culture. Intellectually they have been forced to the same great omissions that China has made physically. They have skipped, figuratively speaking, from the period of the unimproved country road to the aero plane era. The omission was too great. The mind could not compensate for it. The spirit was lost in the conflict. The first result, therefore, of the hiatus was undoubtedly to produce a class of young Chinese, both men and women, but chiefly men, who frankly did not know how to live in their own country or in the age in which their country still was. They were for the most part educated abroad, where they forgot the realities of their own race. It was easy enough for various revolutionary leaders to persuade these alienated minds that China's so-called backwardness was due primarily to political and material interference by foreign powers. The world was made the scapegoat for Chinas medievalism. Instead of realizing that China was in her own way making her own steps, slowly, it is true, and somewhatponderously, toward modernity, it was easy hue and cry to say that if it had not been for foreigners she would have been already on an equality, in material terms, with other nations. The result of this was a fresh revolution of a sort. China practically rid herself of her two great grievances outside of Japan, extraterritoriality and the tariff. No great visible change appeared as a consequence. It became apparent that what had been weaknesses were still weaknesses, and that these were inherent in the ideology of the people. It was found, for instance, that when a revolutionary leader became secure and entrenched he became conservative and as corrupt, too often, as an old style official. The same has been true in other histories. There were too many honest and intelligent young minds in China not to observe and accept the truth, that the outside world had very little to do with Chinas condition, and what she had to do with it could have been prevented if China had been earlier less sluggish and her leaders less blind and selfish. Then followed a period of despair and frenzy and increased idealistic worship of the West. The evident prosperity of foreign countries was felt to be a direct fruit of Western scientific development.

The Couple's Tao Te Ching: Ancient Advice for Modern Lovers


William Martin - 1999
    With The Parent's Tao Te Ching, William Martin beautifully re-interpreted Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching -- one of the world's oldest and most widely read books of wisdom -- expressly for parents. Now, he distills and freshly re-interprets the essence of each of the Tao's 81 chapters to speak directly and clearly to couples. William Martin's indelible, spirited, and sage advice, rendered in free verse, captures the ancient spirit of Lao Tzu's original text, yet speaks directly to modern lovers--and to the full sweep of their experiences and emotions. A deeply felt alternative to advice books that urge readers to manipulate their partners rather than to love them, The Couple's Tao Te Ching is for everyone who has embarked upon a loving relationship, which, as William Martin says, "can be the most rewarding and enlightening adventure possible."

The Forbidden Religion


José María Herrou Aragón - 2007
    But we are not referring to just any knowledge. Gnosis is knowledge which produces a great transformation in those who receive it. Knowledge capable of nothing less than waking up man and helping him to escape from the prison in which he finds himself. That is why Gnosis has been so persecuted throughout the course of history, because it is knowledge considered dangerous for the religious and political authorities who govern mankind from the shadows.Every time this religion, absolutely different from the rest, appears before man, the other religions unite to try to destroy or hide it again.Primordial Gnosis is the original Gnosis, true Gnosis, eternal Gnosis, Gnostic knowledge in its pure form. Due to multiple persecutions, Primordial Gnosis has been fragmented, distorted and hidden.By recovering and uniting the scattered fragments, Primordial Gnosis can be reconstructed and brought to the world once again. This book is a complete synthesis of the forbidden theology of Primordial Gnosis.

Illuminations of Hildegard of Bingen


Hildegard von Bingen - 1985
    • Reveals the life and teachings of one of the greatest female artists and intellectuals of the Western Mystical Tradition. • Contains 24 full-color illustrations by Hildegard of Bingen. • Includes commentary by Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing (250,000 sold). Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179) was an extraordinary woman living in the Rhineland valley during most of the twelfth century. Besides being the abbess of a large and influential Benedictine abbey, she was a prominent preacher, healer, scientist, and artist. She also was a composer and theologian, writing nine books on theology, medicine, science, and physiology, as well as 70 poems and an opera. At the age of 42, she began to have visions; these were captured as 36 illuminations--24 of which are recorded in this book along with her commentaries on them. She also wrote a text describing these visions entitled Scivias (Know the Ways), now published as Hildegard of Bingen's Mystical Visions. Author Matthew Fox has stated, "If Hildegard had been a man, she would be well known as one of the greatest artists and intellectuals the world has ever seen." It is a credit to the power of the women's movement and our times that this towering genius of Western thought is being rediscovered in her full grandeur and autonomy. Virtually unknown for more than 800 years in Western history, Hildegard was featured as one of the women in Judy Chicago's Dinner Party in the early 1980s and published for the first time in English by Bear & Company in 1982. In addition to her mystical teachings, Hildegard's music has been performed and recorded for a new and growing audience.

The Time Keeper


Mitch Albom - 2012
    The inventor of the world's first clock is punished for trying to measure God's greatest gift. He is banished to a cave for centuries and forced to listen to the voices of all who come after him seeking more days, more years. Eventually, with his soul nearly broken, Father Time is granted his freedom, along with a magical hourglass and a mission: a chance to redeem himself by teaching two earthly people the true meaning of time.He returns to our world - now dominated by the hour-counting he so innocently began - and commences a journey with two unlikely partners: one a teenage girl who is about to give up on life, the other a wealthy old businessman who wants to live forever. To save himself, he must save them both. And stop the world to do so.

Laelius, on Friendship and the Dream of Scipio (Classical Texts)


Marcus Tullius Cicero - 2004
    The Dream of Scipio was excerpted in late antiquity from Cicero's De Republica, a dialogue in six books which now only survives in fragmentary form.

Mystic Christianity


William Walker Atkinson - 1908
    An amazing resource for wisdom and serenity.

Walden


Michael T. Dolan - 2006
    Dolan, WALDEN deconstructs higher education, the struggle for individualism, and the parade of conformity in one fell swoop of a very sharp pen. In the tradition of the great angry young men novels, WALDEN presents a humorous, shocking and thoroughly modern take on a young man's struggle for self. Tucked into one day, you ll find the grand themes of love and death, revolution and freedom, hope and enlightenment. And you ll find the Who and the Stones, back before they were doing Hummer commercials, CSI theme songs, and Microsoft jingles. Pick up a copy today, and join the revolution that is WALDEN. Says author Iain Levison, author of A Working Stiff's Manifesto: WALDEN is a story about the seamier side of campus life, a life far removed from the smiling faces on the college brochures. Mike Dolan has crafted a powerful and evocative story, full of anger, frustration and misdirected emotion, about a young man caught up in the anonymous and soul-crushing world of the educational system. Should be required reading for all college freshmen.

Ivo Andric: Bridge Between East and West


Celia Hawkesworth - 1985
    The book covers the full range of his work, including verse, essays and reflective prose as well as fiction. Celia Hawkesworth also provides an account of Andric's life, and the cultural history of his native Bosnia.>The story of the vizier's elephant --The bridge on the Žepa --In the guest-house --Death in Sinan's tekke --The climbers --A letter from 1920 --The house on its own : introduction --Alipasha --A story --The damned yard

This Flawless Place Between


Bruno Portier - 2009
    She takes the time to enjoy it. It will be over soon. For all those who loved The Alchemist, Siddhartha, and Jonathan Livingston Seagull, This Flawless Place Between is a mesmerising and uplifting story about death and dying. Interweaving the key themes of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, one of the world’s most influential and treasured spiritual texts, Portier gently explores our deepest questions about life, love, and death with a refreshing openness and delicacy. Anne and Evan are vacationing in the Tibetan mountains when on an isolated stretch of road they lose control of their motorbike. Bike and riders spin over the edge, plunging into a ravine. Evan’s leg is broken; Anne isn’t moving. A Tibetan peasant hurries to help them, but while Evan tries in vain to save Anne’s life, the stranger focuses on guiding her spirit along the new path it must take to the next one. So begins a cathartic voyage that carries Anne away from her broken body and back through the traumas and ecstasies of her life. Once again, she is a child mourning a dead pet, a young woman embracing her lover, the radiant hostess of an art exhibition, a distraught mother hearing that her young daughter has been critically injured. As she revisits her past, and the futures of those she will leave behind, Anne begins to accept not only her death but also her life – and that what happens next will be up to her. A gifted successor to the inspirational Paulo Coelho, BRUNO PORTIER is a writer, photographer, and documentary maker. He travelled around Asia for 12 years before undertaking a PhD in social anthropology and writing this, his first novel.

An Angel in Disguise


T.S. Arthur - 1851
    Arthur. An Angel in Disguise (1851) was featured in Arthur's collection, After a Shadow and Other Stories."The sweetness of that sick child, looking ever to her in love, patience, and gratitude, was as honey to her soul, and she carried her in her heart as well as in her arms, a precious burden."

The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War


Yagyu Munenori
    The work of Yagyῡ Munenori from 1632 concerns martial arts and military science. It is translated by Thomas Cleary and can be found tucked behind Miyamoto Musashi‘s “the Book of five rings” from 1643. Both these texts analyse conflict between two men armed with swords and scale this up bigger battles. These important treaties on swordsmanship, and have been taken as giving lessons on life in general.