Sex, Economy, Freedom, and Community: Eight Essays


Wendell Berry - 1993
    With wisdom and clear, ringing prose, he tackles head-on some of the most difficult problems confronting us near the end of the twentieth century––problems we still face today. Berry elucidates connections between sexual brutality and economic brutality, and the role of art and free speech. He forcefully addresses America's unabashed pursuit of self-liberation, which he says is "still the strongest force now operating in our society." As individuals turn away from their community, they conform to a "rootless and placeless monoculture of commercial expectations and products," buying into the very economic system that is destroying the earth, our communities, and all they represent.

Yoga, Youth, and Reincarnation


Jess Stearn - 1965
    But the experience transformed Stearn into a true believer.This explains how this change came about and commends yoga as a remedy for problems of tension, weight control, sexuality and various other complaints.

Parenting Beyond Belief: On Raising Ethical, Caring Kids Without Religion


Dale McGowan - 2007
    Donald B. ArdellIt's hard enough to live a secular life in a religious world. And bringing up children without religious influence can be even more daunting. Despite the difficulties, a large and growing number of parents are choosing to raise their kids without religion.In Parenting Beyond Belief, Dale McGowan celebrates the freedom that comes with raising kids without formal indoctrination and advises parents on the most effective way to raise freethinking children.With advice from educators, doctors, psychologists, and philosophers as well as wisdom from everyday parents, the book offers tips and insights on a variety of topics, from "mixed marriages" to coping with death and loss, and from morality and ethics to dealing with holidays. Sensitive and timely, Parenting Beyond Belief features reflections from such freethinkers as Mark Twain, Richard Dawkins, Bertrand Russell, and wellness guru Dr. Don Ardell that will empower every parent to raise both caring and independent children without constraints.

How to Make Great Decisions


Mike Schmitz - 2019
    But have you ever felt like you are too busy "discerning" to actually decide? True decision-making is more than just thinking about something . . . decisions involve taking action.YouTube star, Fr. Mike Schmitz, gives you the tools to decide what to do with your life today, tomorrow, and in the future with clarity and confidence. In this little book you will learn to:• know when God is speaking,• how to recognize the "signs,"• and make wise decisions for your life.Fate is when you're fixed; you don't have a choice. Destiny is your destination . . . Know your destiny.

Spiritual Progress Through Regression


Brian L. Weiss - 2008
    . .helps you discover and learn meditation and regression techniques. The meditations utilize powerful imagery to promote physical, mental, and spiritual healing and renewal; profound relaxation; and deeper self-understanding. The regressions provide different techniques for retrieval of memories from this lifetime and prior lifetimes, as well as methods to access spiritual states and inner wisdom. (The other two CDs in this series are: REGRESSION TO TIMES AND PLACES and REGRESSION THROUGH THE MIRRORS OF TIME.) SPIRITUAL PROGRESS THROUGH REGRESSION is an extended regression in which Dr. Brian L. Weiss leads you to a childhood experience, in utero memories, and then through a doorway to a previous lifetime. Then through powerful imagery, you’re able to view scenes from even more past lives, each shedding light on your spiritual progress in this life . . . helping you attain peace, understanding, and joy.In the meditation, you’ll be led on a journey to an island of healing with crystal waters and dolphins, providing you with a treasure chest of manifestation, and introducing you to your spiritual guides—helping you gain greater insight into your physical, emotional, and spiritual fulfillment.

Notes to Each Other


Hugh Prather - 1990
    Prather subtitled the book, "My struggle to become a person." It was the deeply felt record of his journey to a state of heightened self-knowledge and spiritual flowering. It became a perennial best-seller, and continues to enlighten, comfort, and amuse to this day.Notes to Each Other bravely explores the heart of a relationship that has lasted for 35 years—the relationship between Hugh and Gayle Prather. With remarkable candor, one couple traces the emotional route traveled to reach the coveted place where genuine communication, cooperation, and compassion dwell. First published 10 years ago, the book has here been updated and enlarged by the greater wisdom that comes with the experience of raising children and growing older together.Although drawn from two hearts, the book speaks with one voice, asking the questions all couples ask, from "Did I choose the right person?" to "How can you stand me?" Let it speak to you.

Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations


Alex Harris - 2008
    And Alex and Brett Harris are leading the charge.Do Hard Things is the Harris twins' revolutionary message in its purest and most compelling form, giving readers a tangible glimpse of what is possible for teens who actively resist cultural lies that limit their potential.Combating the idea of adolescence as a vacation from responsibility, the authors weave together biblical insights, history, and modern examples to redefine the teen years as the launching pad of life. Then they map out five powerful ways teens can respond for personal and social change.Written by teens for teens, Do Hard Things is packed with humorous personal anecdotes, practical examples, and stories of real-life rebelutionaries in action. This rallying cry from the heart of an already-happening teen revolution challenges a generation to lay claim to a brighter future, starting today.

Cassandra Speaks: When Women Are the Storytellers, the Human Story Changes


Elizabeth Lesser - 2020
    Cassandra Speaks is about the stories we tell and how those stories become the culture. It’s about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the literature and films and fairy tales passed down through the centuries about women and men, power and war, sex and love, and the values we live by. Stories written mostly by men with lessons and laws for all of humanity. We have outgrown so many of them, and still they endure. This book is about what happens when women are the storytellers too—when we speak from our authentic voices, when we flex our values, when we become protagonists in the tales we tell about what it means to be human.Lesser has walked two main paths in her life—the spiritual path and the feminist one—paths that sometimes cross but sometimes feel at cross-purposes. Cassandra Speaks is her extraordinary merging of the two. The bestselling author of Broken Open and Marrow, Lesser is a beloved spiritual writer, as well as a leading feminist thinker. In this book she gives equal voice to the cool water of her meditative self and the fire of her feminist self. With her trademark gifts of both humor and insight, she offers a vision that transcends the either/or ideologies on both sides of the gender debate.Brilliantly structured into three distinct parts, Part One explores how history is carried forward through the stories a culture tells and values, and what we can do to balance the scales. Part Two looks at women and power and expands what it means to be courageous, daring, and strong. And Part Three offers “A Toolbox for Inner Strength.” Lesser argues that change in the culture starts with inner change, and that no one—woman or man—is immune to the corrupting influence of power. She provides inner tools to help us be both strong-willed and kind-hearted.Cassandra Speaks is a beautifully balanced synthesis of storytelling, memoir, and cultural observation. Women, men and all people will find themselves in the pages of this book, and will come away strengthened, opened, and ready to work together to create a better world for all people.better world for all.

Pathways to Joy: The Master Vivekananda on the Four Yoga Paths to God


Vivekananda - 2006
    He showed that, far from being an exotic novelty, Hinduism was an important, legitimate spiritual tradition with valuable lessons for the West. Pathways to Joy is a selection of 108 of his sacred teachings on Vedanta philosophy. In accessible and powerful prose, Vivekananda illuminates the four classical yoga paths — karma, bhakti, raja, and jnana — for the different natures of humankind. The messages focus on the oneness of existence; the divinity of the soul; the truth in all religions; and unifying with the Divine within. Invaluable and inspiring, the selections also explore karma, maya, rebirth, and other great revelations of Hinduism.

Altruism: The Power of Compassion to Change Yourself and the World


Matthieu Ricard - 2013
    In Happiness, Matthieu Ricard demonstrated that true happiness is not tied to fleeting moments or sensations, but is an enduring state of soul rooted in mindfulness and compassion for others. Now he turns his lens from the personal to the global, with a rousing argument that altruism -- genuine concern for the well-being of others -- could be the saving grace of the 21st century. It is, he believes, the vital thread that can answer the main challenges of our time: the economy in the short term, life satisfaction in the mid-term, and environment in the long term. Ricard's message has been taken up by major economists and thinkers, including Dennis Snower, Amartya Sen, Joseph Stiglitz, and George Soros. Matthieu Ricard makes a robust and passionate case for cultivating altruistic love and compassion as the best means for simultaneously benefitting ourselves and our society. It's a fresh outlook on an ardent struggle -- and one that just might make the world a better place.

What are You Doing with Your Life: Teen Books on Living Volume 1


Jiddu Krishnamurti - 2001
    KRISHNAMURTII TEACHINGS FOR TEENS, edited by Dale Carlson. Teens learn to understand the self, the purpose of life, work, education, relationships. Through paying attention rather than accepting the authority of their conditioning, they can find out for themselves about love, sex, marriage, work, education, the meaning of life and how to change themselves and the world. The Dalai Lama calls Krishnamurti "One of the greatest thinkers of the age."

Awakening Kundalini: The Path to Radical Freedom


Lawrence Edwards - 2012
    With its ability to connect us to the energy of creation and elevate us to a higher state of consciousness, Kundalini awakening is crucial to the deepening of our spiritual evolution. But the deep spiritual unfolding that Kundalini offers can also be confusing and difficult to grasp—so how can we approach this universal power with preparation and wisdom?An Essential Guide for Navigating the Kundalini ExperienceIn Awakening Kundalini, Dr. Lawrence Edwards, who has devoted his life to understanding and teaching about Kundalini, presents an essential guide to harnessing this boundless energy. In six in-depth sessions, he offers a comprehensive exploration from the physical, psychological, and spiritual perspectives, with insights and practices for recognizing what Kundalini is, how it manifests, and when your body and mind are ready to initiate an awakening of consciousness. "You are born with Kundalini," says Dr. Edwards. "You just need the right conditions to unfold it." Through seven hours of teachings, learn how to open to the freedom of awakening while avoiding the pitfalls, misunderstandings, and projections that are so often a part of the spiritual journey."Kundalini reveals the divine nature of the entire universe and every being within it-and shows us our true capacity for limitless compassion, connection, and love," Dr. Edwards teaches. Join him to discover how to tap into this profoundly transformative force, and through Awakening Kundalini, realize your ability to live "radically free."HighlightsThe soul's yearning for transcendence and freedom• The three upayas (means) that support Kundalini ascent• Cultivating "witness consciousness"—the ability to watch without judgment whatever arises and dissolves in our lives• Using the vibrational power of mantra to unfold Kundalini energy• The importance of discernment and healthy boundaries when it comes to spiritual practice• The unlimited ways in which shaktipat, the descent of grace, can reveal our true nature• The body's chakra system and its role in Kundalini awakening• Our shadow sides, and how Kundalini can illuminate the darkness that hides our talents and lures our ego-mind• Telling the difference between sat (what is true) and asat (what is not true)

Kahlil Gibran's Little Book of Life


Kahlil Gibran - 2018
    By one account, Gibran is the third bestselling poet of all time, after Shakespeare and Lao-Tzu.In this beautiful gift book, we discover the essential wisdom about what it means to be alive. For Gibran life is the energy that saturates all we see and feel--as well as what we can only imagine. Here are over 100 fables, aphorisms, parables, stories, and poems from the author of The Prophet.Here on display is that visionary voice of comfort, love, and tolerance.Listing to Nature's LifeTaking time to listen to the natural world reveals a new dimension of beinghuman. It is as if all of nature were already within us, reminding us of ourconnection to the one life we share.SolitudeSolitude is a silent stormthat breaks down all our dead branches.Yet it sends our living roots deeperinto the living heart of the living earth.

Living the Law of One 101: The Choice


Carla Lisbeth Rueckert - 2009
    It then works with the Confederation version of the concept that each person has an energy body with seven chakras. It discusses this concept and its implications for the seeker, chakra by chakra. It turns the player into a Player! This is a light–hearted book about the Game of Life. It is an easy read, and yet the principles of the Law of One are not simplified. Rather, they are offered in an order which makes coherent sense. Principle builds upon principle to offer an overall view of Confederation philosophy which is a bit easier to grasp as a whole than the original Law of One books, where the question–and–answer format offers the same information in a somewhat fragmented form, although with endless interest. If you would like to play the Game of Life with Carla, please give this book a try! From the back cover:"Living the Law of One–101: The Choice is the light revealing the way out of the uncertainty and chaos that inevitably arises as old paradigms crumble. Carla Rueckert, one of the clearest and most dedicated channelers of our time, has distilled more than a quarter of a century of extraordinary information into a clear and easily followed roadmap to the higher dimensions. If you are ready for the definitive guide to personal transformation, here is the answer you've been waiting for." –Jean–Claude Koven, columnist, speaker and author of Going Deeper: How to Make Sense of Your Life When Your Life Makes No Sense. "This book should be honored and kept with one always. It is a book for newcomers, those who meditate, New Age groups, UFO devotees, religious groups of all disciplines and all of the rest of humankind. It is a very powerful statement which will make our lives more meaningful, loving and certainly more wise. It is a work of art."–Phyllis V. Schlemmer, author of The Only Planet of Choice. "Carla shares a wealth of information and wisdom in this profound and thought–provoking work. Highly recommended."–Robert Schwartz, author of Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born (www.YourSoulsPlan.com). "Never has there been a greater need for a clear, accessible overview of the possibilities and pitfalls of spiritual seeking. Carla L. Rueckert has masterfully provided just such an overview. As the original channel of the Law of One series, Rueckert has fashioned a text that is profound while being also astonishingly lucid. She delves into many issues that have baffled every serious inquirer, and manages to put them on a footing that shows the possibility of a real way forward. As a spiritual manual, this work is simply unmatched. I would recommend it without qualification to any earnest seeker."–Stephen Tyman, PhD, author of A Fool's Phenomenology; Archetypes of Spiritual Evolution.

She Said Yes: The Unlikely Martyrdom of Cassie Bernall


Misty Bernall - 1999
    Confronting 17-year-old Cassie Bernall, they put a gun to her head and asked: Do you believe in God? She said Yes. The killer laughed and pulled the trigger. Around the world, people hailed Cassie as a modern martyr, but a far more remarkable story has been left untold. Three years earlier, Cassie herself planned to murder a teacher and threatened suicide. In She Said Yes, Cassie's mother breaks her silence to recount the dramatic transformation that led up to her daughter's final heroic stand.