Kristin Neff comes a step-by-step guide explaining how to be more self-compassionate and achieve your dreams in lifeThe relentless pursuit of high self-esteem has become a virtual religion—and a tyrannical one at that. Our ultracompetitive culture tells us we need to be constantly above average to feel good about ourselves, but there is always someone more attractive, successful, or intelligent than we are. And even when we do manage to grab hold of high self-esteem for a brief moment, we can't seem to keep it. Our sense of self-worth goes up and down like a ping-pong ball, rising and falling in lockstep with our latest success or failure.Fortunately, there is an alternative to self-esteem that many experts believe is a better and more effective path to happiness: self-compassion. The research of Dr. Kristin Neff and other leading psychologists indicates that people who are compassionate toward their failings and imperfections experience greater well-being than those who repeatedly judge themselves. The feelings of security and self-worth provided by self-compassion are also highly stable, kicking in precisely when self-esteem falls down. This book powerfully demonstrates why it's so important to be self-compassionate and give yourself the same caring support you'd give to a good friend.This groundbreaking work will show you how to let go of debilitating self-criticism and finally learn to be kind to yourself. Using solid empirical research, personal stories, practical exercises, and humor, Dr. Neff—the world's foremost expert on self-compassion—explains how to heal destructive emotional patterns so that you can be healthier, happier, and more effective. Engaging, highly readable, and eminently accessible, this book has the power to change your life.

    You can overcome disease, improve your mental health and physical performance, and even control your physiology so you can thrive in freezing temperatures.” With The Wim Hof Method, this trailblazer of human potential shares a method that anyone can use—not just extreme athletes or spiritual masters—to supercharge your capacity for strength, health, and happiness.Wim Hof has become a modern legend for his astounding achievements, such as withstanding extreme temperatures, breaking world records, and running barefoot marathons over deserts and ice fields. In his gripping and passionate style, Hof shares the story of how he developed his method, along with testimonials and new insights from the university research studies on its amazing results. With guidance suited for any reader—young or old, sick or healthy—you’ll learn how to harness three key elements of Cold, Breathing, and Mindset to take charge of your own mind and metabolism.Yet the most important result of Hof’s method goes beyond improved health or performance—it is a path for reconnecting with your spiritual nature. “With these practices, you awaken to your inner source of power and fulfillment,” he says. “You find you can control your destiny.”

    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. An instant teaching on the first page. And that’s just the beginning.In the forty years since its original publication, Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind has become one of the great modern Zen 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. It’s a book to come back to time and time again as an inspiration to practice, and it is now available to a new generation of seekers in this fortieth anniversary edition, with a new afterword by Shunryu Suzuki’s biographer, David Chadwick.

    Complete with photos and illustrations, How to Meditate is an aid tocalmness, increased vitality, clarity of mind, and ultimately, inner communion with God. Youlllearn about techniques for relaxing body and mind how to develop devotion and intuitionsecrets of the spinal centers chakras energy exercises and yoga philosophy from PatanjalisEightfold Path.John Jyotish Novak has been teaching meditation to students worldwide for 30 years, and iscurrently Spiritual Director of Ananda Sangha, the largest network of spiritual communities inthe world. Author of the popular 30 Day Essentials series, see pages 5 and 9.

    Featuring over 170 postures from the main schools of yoga, The Yoga Bible is the ultimate, comprehensive guide to practicing yoga and finding a mental and physical balance in life. The book encourages yoga beginners and experts alike to find a yoga sequence that suits their personal needs and abilities.

    Richard Bartlett experienced an event that would redirect the entire course of his life. He suddenly discovered that by lightly touching his clients while at the same time applying focused intent, he could restore them to a physically, mentally, and spiritually balanced state, instantly shifting misalignments that had plagued them for years. Most astonishing of all, he could teach anyone how to do this. Now, for millions of people looking for empowerment in an age of declining and impersonal healthcare, Dr. Bartlett shares this phenomenon in a book full of explosive potential. In Matrix Energetics, Dr. Bartlett builds upon his popular seminars to teach us how to access the discovery he has made -- a process that merges the science of subtle energy with our innate imaginations to produce measurable results. By applying forces known to modern physics, each of us can tap into states of healthy awareness from different moments -- in essence, travel in time -- and bring them into the present for immediate, profound results. As Dr. Bartlett clearly shows, this practice requires no special training, produces transformation in the blink of an eye, and is available to everyone who has a willingness to learn. Matrix Energetics, The Science and Art of Transformation, provides an easily-reproducible, results-oriented process of change that draws on the fundamental principles embraced by the field of quantum physics. This paradigm-busting book can teach anyone how to access their creative power to heal and transform their lives. Dr. Richard Bartlett discovered that what he once thought about the human body was just the tip of the iceberg -- after seeing change beneath his hands, and hearing about the invisible transformations that were often revealed later -- he knew that he had to pass along what he had discovered.

    Graham shares her own gradual transformation from checked out and sexually traumatized to present and joyfully recovered in all aspects of her life as she offers simple mindfulness tools and techniques to improve your sex life and romantic relationships. Her story of sexual healing, awakening, and exploration weaves together with a meditation manual and down-to-earth suggestions for how to bring mindfulness into the bedroom. Not only a tool kit for creating a rich and deeply satisfying sex life, this fun, explicit, and transformative book conveys the deeper message of how combining meditation with sex can bring about profound spiritual awakenings.Good Sex begins with basic meditation instructions from a variety of techniques, followed by mindfulness exercises delving into communication difficulties, and the fear, attachment, and shame that can come up around sex. The book's matter-of-fact and inclusive perspective borrows from Buddhism, Hinduism, and Christianity, but is accessible to the secular community and those with no spiritual or meditation background at all. Graham discusses everything from open-eyed orgasms to threesomes to how to deal with a partner with a low sex drive. From a sex-positive and nontraditional stance she explores nonmonogamy, the benefits of pornography, sexual trauma, consent, and much more. Anyone feeling stuck or stunted in their sex life, unable to communicate their needs or desires, will find strategies for approaching difficult subjects and connecting more intimately with partners. They will discover ways to trust their own personal wisdom, to know themselves better, have better sex, and embrace the spiritual dimension in their sexuality.

    The Art of Zen Meditation, originally published by the antiwar political collective Peace Press in 1977, is the fruit of Fast’s study: a brief and instructive history of Zen Buddhism and its tenets, written with a simplicity that is emblematic of the philosophy itself. Fast’s study of Zen also inspired his popular Masao Masuto mystery series about a Zen Buddhist detective in Beverly Hills, which he published under the pseudonym E. V. Cunningham. The Art of Zen Meditation is illustrated with twenty-three beautiful photographs. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Howard Fast including rare photos from the author’s estate.Howard Fast (1914–2003) was one of the most prolific American writers of the twentieth century. He was a bestselling author of more than eighty works of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and screenplays. The son of immigrants, Fast grew up in New York City and published his first novel upon finishing high school in 1933. In 1950, his refusal to provide the United States Congress with a list of possible Communist associates earned him a three-month prison sentence. During his incarceration, Fast wrote one of his best-known novels, Spartacus (1951). Throughout his long career, Fast matched his commitment to championing social justice in his writing with a deft, lively storytelling style.

    Drawn from the personal experiences of a therapist and practitioner of Vipassana meditation, this work explores meditation’s similarities and differences with psychotherapeutic and scientific endeavors. In the title essay, parallels are drawn between the atomic synthesis of free choice and lawful consequence in Chaos Theory and karma, offering contemporary insights into one of Buddhism’s core concepts. The empirical roots of meditation, its relevance to daily life, and the challenges and benefits of daily practice of Vipassana meditation are also addressed. Practical examples for continued observation outside of formal meditation retreats guide readers in incorporating Buddhist practice into daily life.

    With the help of Body Mind Balancing, readers will learn to talk to and reconnect with their bodies. After just a short time, readers will begin to appreciate how much the body has been working for them and supporting them, and from this new perspective one can find new ways to work with the body and create a more harmonious balance of body and mind.The guided meditation and relaxation process, "Reminding Yourself of the Forgotten Language of Talking to Your BodyMind" is a CD that accompanies the text. Developed by Osho, this meditative therapy guides the listener in reconnecting with his or her body and creating a new and greater sense of well-being.The voice on the CD belongs to meditation teacher Anando Hefley.

    The renowned psychic offers a meditation for each week of the year based on the tenets of her church, the Society of Novus Spiritus.

    But yoga isn’t only about increasing flexibility and holding onto that youthful glow. As yoga becomes more popular, much of its original spirit is disappearing. While every yoga class includes a period of meditation, the majority of classes focus on learning postures to tone and strengthen the body. The Kundalini Yoga Experience teaches practices that equally target the body, the mind, and the spirit to improve every aspect of your health and tap into your own unique stores of healing energy. Professional Kundalini instructors Guru Dharma Khalsa and Darryl O’Keefe offer a balanced step-by-step program based on breathing, poses, and meditation to help you become the best person you can be—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Beautifully illustrated with more than fifty full-color photos and line art, The Kundalini Yoga Experience reveals the purest form of yoga—one that combines physical fitness with emotional health and spiritual satisfaction.

    Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (1897-1981) lived and taught in a small apartment in the slums of Bombay. A realized master of the Tantric Nath lineage, he supported himself and his family by selling cheap goods in a small booth on the streets outside his tenement for many years. His life exemplified the concept of absolute nonduality of being. In this volume, Maharaj shares the highest truth of nonduality in his own unique way. His teaching style is abrupt, provocative, and immensely profound, cutting to the core and wasting little effort on inessentials. His terse but potent sayings are known for their ability to trigger shifts in consciousness, just by hearing or reading them."The point is that man freed from his fetters is morality personified. Such a man therefore does not need any moralistic injunctions in order to live righteously. Free a man from his bondage and thereafter everything else will take care of itself. On the other hand, man in his unredeemed state cannot possibly live morally, no matter what moral teaching he is given. It is an intrinsic impossibility, for his very foundation is immorality. That is, he lives a lie, a basic contradiction: functioning in all his relationships as the separate entity he believes himself to be, whereas in reality no such separation exists. His every action therefore does violence to other 'selves' and other 'creatures,' which are only manifestations of the unitary consciousness. So Society had to invent some restraints in order to protect itself from its own worst excesses and thereby maintain some kind of status quo. The resulting arbitrary rules, which vary with place and time and therefore are purely relative, it calls 'morality,' and by upholding this man-invented 'idea' as the highest good–oftentimes sanctioned by religious 'revelation' and scriptures–society has provided man with one more excuse to disregard the quest for liberation or relegate it to a fairly low priority in his scheme of things."

    The Feeling Buddha is a lucid account of how the Buddha's path of wisdom and loving kindness grew out of the challenges he encountered in life. Brazier explains the concepts of enlightenment, nirvana and the four Noble Truths, free from mystification. Buddha emerges as a very human figure whose success lay not in his perfection, but in how he positively utilized the energy which was generated through his suffering. This rare guide illustrates how Buddha's philosophy of the "middle way" can lead to a balanced, harmonious, and serene existence in the 21st century.

    Modern science and classic spiritual traditions agree: regulating the breath leads to radiance and wellness in the body, mind, and spirit.The Tibetan Yoga of Breath pairs the teachings of Tibetan Yantra Yoga (breathing yoga) with select contemplative ideas and practices and examines how well they complement each other through the lens of Western medical science. The benefits of proper breathing are offered from the point of view of classical Indian/Tibetan practice, and contemporary medical research supports how breath cultivates physical, emotional, and spiritual health. Basic Yantra Yoga techniques—also called wind energy training—are the key practices for achieving this vitality, down to the cellular level.