For the millions of her devoted fans, and for readers of Walker’s bestselling 2006 book, We Are the Ones We Have Been Waiting For, here is a brand new "gift of words" that invites readers on a journey of political awakening and spiritual insight.The Cushion in the Road finds the Pulitzer Prize–winning novelist, poet, essayist, and activist at the height of her literary powers, sharing fresh vantages and a deepening engagement with our world. Walker writes that "we are beyond a rigid category of color, sex, or spirituality if we are truly alive," and the pieces in The Cushion in the Road illustrate this idea beautifully. Visiting themes she has addressed throughout her career—including racism, Africa, Palestinian solidarity, and Cuba—as well as addressing emergent issues, such as the presidency of Barack Obama on health care, Walker explores her conflicting impulses to retreat into inner contemplation and to remain deeply engaged with the world.Rich with humor and wisdom, and informed by Walker’s unique eye for the details of human and natural experience, The Cushion in the Road will please longtime Walker fans as well as those who are new to her work.

    Whether we see ourselves as heroes or victims, good people or bad, everyone lives according to interwoven strands of narrative.   “And yet,” teaches Adyashanti, “the truth is bigger than any concept or story.”   Drawn from intimate, deep-dive talks, The Most Important Thing presents writings devoted to the search for the ultimate reality of a self that exists beyond the bounds of storytelling.   Here you will find vivid anecdotes and teaching stories that illuminate the felt experience of Adyashanti’s teachings—those moments of grace in which every stone, tree, ray of light, and fraught silence reveal that none of us is alone and no one is ever truly isolated from the whole of existence.   These selections consider: Exploration of the true meaning of birth, life, and death Why grace can arrive both through struggle and as an unexpected gift Meditation as the art of “listening with one’s entire being” Why a good question can be far more powerful than a concrete answer How the things you choose to serve shape your life Discovering the wisdom found in surprise, sadness, and uncertainty Embodying your innate and inextricable connection with the total environment The nature of ego and the ways it manifests The moments of grace upon which all great religions pivot What is the story of your life? Is it happy or adventurous? Sad or lonely? In The Most Important Thing, Adyashanti shows you how to look past your personal narratives, delve inward, and connect with the truths that fundamentally animate all of us.

    But the very existence of consciousness raises profound questions: Why would any collection of matter in the universe be conscious? How are we able to think about this? And why should we?In this wonderfully accessible book, Annaka Harris guides us through the evolving definitions, philosophies, and scientific findings that probe our limited understanding of consciousness. Where does it reside, and what gives rise to it? Could it be an illusion, or a universal property of all matter? As we try to understand consciousness, we must grapple with how to define it and, in the age of artificial intelligence, who or what might possess it. Conscious offers lively and challenging arguments that alter our ideas about consciousness—allowing us to think freely about it for ourselves, if indeed we can.

    But a different fate awaits young Jason, whom Stevens, his great-uncle, believes may be the last vestige of hope in the family."Although to date your life seems to be a sorry excuse for anything I would call promising, there does seem to be a spark of something in you that I hope we can fan into a flame. For that reason, I am not making you an instant millionaire."What Stevens does give Jason leads to The Ultimate Gift. Young and old will take this timeless tale to heart.