Book picks similar to
Buddha by Jon Ortner


non-fiction
photography
spirituality-philosophy
spirituality

The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop


Jeff Schewe - 2012
    "The Digital Negative: Raw Image Processing in Lightroom, Camera Raw, and Photoshop" is devoted exclusively to the topic and shows you how to make the most of that control. Now that raw image processing technology has matured as an essential aspect of digital photography, you need a modern book that takes a seasoned approach to the technology and explains the advantages and challenges of using Lightroom or Camera Raw to produce magnificent images. Renowned photographer and bestselling author Jeff Schewe outlines a foolproof process for working with these digital negatives and presents his real-world expertise on optimizing raw images. You ll also learn hands-on techniques for exposing and shooting for raw image capture and developing a raw processing workflow, as well as Photoshop techniques for perfecting the master image, converting color to black and white, and processing for panoramic and HDR images. Get the best tone and color from your digital negatives. Use Lightroom and Camera Raw sharpening controls to maximize image quality. Take advantage of Photoshop to do what Lightroom and Camera Raw can t. Produce stunning black-and-white images. Visit the book s companion website at TheDigitalNegativeBook.com for sample images and more!"

Blue Jean Buddha: Voices of Young Buddhists


Sumi Loundon - 2001
    This one-of-a-kind book is about the experiences of young people in America-from their late teens to early thirties-who have embraced Buddhism. Thirty-three first-person narratives reflect on a broad range of life-stories, lessons, and livelihood issues, such as growing up in a Zen center, struggling with relationships, caring for the dying, and using marathon running as meditation. Throughout, up-and-coming author Sumi Loundon provides an illuminating context for the tremendous variety of experiences shared in the book.Blue Jean Buddha was named a finalist in the 2002 Independent Publisher Book Awards (Multicultural Non-Fiction - Young Adult) as well in NAPRA's Nautilus Awards, in the Personal Journey/Memoir/Biography category.

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death, and God


Frank Warren - 2009
    Warren's fifth book presents a never-before-seen collection of the most personal PostSecrets he's ever received—those dealing with life, death, and issues of faith and belief. The book lays bare the confessions of people at every stage of life, from every major faith (or from no faith). Warren's latest collection of secrets is his most profoundly moving yet.

Advanced Magic: A Course in Manifesting an Exceptional Life (Book 3)


Genevieve Davis - 2014
     Advanced Magic is the final part in the Course in Manifesting trilogy – a complete course in becoming creator of your own exceptional life. In these three books I outline the exact steps that enabled me to move my own life from one of poverty and drudgery, to one of previously unimaginable wealth, purpose and joy. ‘But Magic? I do hope you are joking!’ That’s what I would have said, five or ten years ago. I once despised all things ‘New-Age’, all these spiritual types and their airy-fairy views, their bad science and their irrational beliefs. I read all the New Thought and Law of Attraction greats, Wallace Wattles, Anthony Robbins, Rhonda Byrne, Napoleon Hill, Esther Hicks and Wayne Dyer. But no matter how closely I followed their instructions for manifesting love, money or happiness, I couldn’t make it work. It was only when I recognised, accepted and finally embraced that what I was doing was actually some kind of Magic that suddenly things began to fall into place. Once I realised that the power came from within me, it was as if the light had suddenly been switched on and my manifestations began to work. I learned how to manifest money and love, but I also learned how to be happy, truly happy. If you’re jaded by the whole New Age Law of Attraction idea, have become bored by its failure to deliver… these books are for you. It is my intention to lead you by the hand through a marvellous journey of wonder and adventure. Part one of this course, Becoming Magic, laid the groundwork for becoming a magical person, while the second book, Doing Magic, offered concrete techniques and instructions for bringing wonderful things into your life. And now, finally, we complete the journey with Advanced Magic. It’s time to think a little deeper, feel a little keener, experience a little more intensely, and so consolidate and strengthen your knowledge. This book is designed to increase the fledgling power that you discovered from the first two books of the course. We now need to build on what has gone before, boosting your success, increasing your Magical power and making your manifestations more reliable… and more spectacular. Be warned: if you want a quick fix of positive thinking, to be told that using Magic and the Law of Attraction is fast and simple, and anyone can master it with ease, I suggest you buy a different book. But if you are serious about mastering Advanced Magic, if you are willing to treat this with the reverence, time, care, and study that it deserves, these books are for you. Being really, truly in control of making things happen, attracting things at will, using Advanced Magic consistently and reliably, is something of which only a very select few are capable. Come with me, and become one of them. Many people fail with Magic, Manifestation and the Law of Attraction just because they rush headlong into using techniques without adequate preparation, trying to create enormous manifestations, and making very simple but crucial mistakes. When they are disappointed, they imagine they have been duped. The sceptics are right. This is all a load of scammy nonsense. And they give up, declaring it just doesn’t work. I am telling you that it does work. And you can make it work. And these books will show you how.

Why I Am a Buddhist: No-Nonsense Buddhism with Red Meat and Whiskey


Stephen T. Asma - 2009
    What makes this book fresh and exciting is Asma's iconoclasm, irreverence, and hardheaded approach to the subject. He is distressed that much of what passes for Buddhism is really little more than "New Age mush." He loudly asserts that it is time to "take the California out of Buddhism." He presents a spiritual practice that does not require a belief in creeds or dogma. It is a practice that is psychologically sound, intellectually credible, and esthetically appealing. It is a practice that does not require a diet of brown rice, burning incense, and putting both your mind and your culture in deep storage.In seven chapters, Asma builds the case for a spiritual practice that is authentic, and inclusive. This is Buddhism for everyone. This is Buddhism for people who are uncomfortable with religion but yearn for a spiritual practice.

The Big Questions: A Buddhist Response to Life's Most Challenging Mysteries


Surya Das - 2007
    Along the way, however, we tend to encounter the same perplexing questions again and again. Some are cosmic enigmas that have always tested the human mind: What is my purpose in life? What happens after I die? Others are puzzles presented by daily life in modern society: What, if anything, justifies assisted suicide? What is my personal responsibility to the homeless? According to Lama Surya Das, one of the foremost Western Buddhist scholars and teachers, the more we seek to resolve these mysteries, the more fully we live.Along with his own personal beliefs, the author presents a variety of thoughtful points of view representing different schools of Buddhism, other religions, spirituality in general, and pragmatism. The Big Questions challenges readers in the most stimulating and thoughtful way to formulate individual, authentic responses to life’s big questions.

The Dalai Lama: His Essential Wisdom


Carol Kelly-Gangi - 2007
     The Dalai Lama: His Essential Wisdom is a collection of hundreds of inspiring quotations from His Holiness. The selections are drawn largely from his writings, teachings, interviews, speeches, and other statements made during the course of his more than forty-eight years as the exiled spiritual leader of the Tibetan people. In these excerpts, the Dalai Lama reflects with wisdom that is both profound and down to earth upon the need for compassion and kindness, the search for happiness, the way to peace, the meaning of pain and suffering, the role of religion, the power of meditation, and the challenges of life in the modern world. In other selections, His Holiness recalls his singular childhood and the turmoil surrounding the Communist takeover of Tibet. Brimming with warmth, humor, and practical advice, the selections gathered here powerfully illuminate why His Holiness the Dalai Lama is beloved the world over for his timeless wisdom for all humanity. “I have found that the greatest degree of inner tranquility comes from the development of love and compassion. The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater is our own sense of well-being. Cultivating a close, warmhearted feeling for others automatically puts the mind at ease. It is the ultimate source of success in life.” “Anger and hatred are our real enemies. They are the forces we most need to confront and defeat, not the temporary ‘enemies’ who appear intermittently throughout our life. And unless we train our minds to reduce their negative force, they will continue to disturb us and disrupt our attempts to develop a calm mind.” “Everybody loves to talk about calm and peace whether in a family, national, or international context, but without inner peace how can we make real peace? World peace through hatred and force is impossible.” “This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness.” —His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The Naked Buddha: A Practical Guide to the Buddha's Life and Teachings


Adrienne Howley - 2003
    Now, Adrienne Howley -- personally ordained by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and one of the highest ranking Buddhist nuns in the world -- writes in a warm, simple, and engagingly humorous style that illustrates the life, ideas, and teachings of the Buddha and the religion and philosophy that he inspired. This charming guide demystifies Buddhism and shows how we can apply its teachings to our lives in useful and meaningful ways. Howley covers who Buddha was and how he came to formulate his philosophy, the three main Buddhist traditions, what ordinary Buddhists believe and practice today, and meditation: how and why. There are also answers to questions most commonly asked by non-Buddhists, including: How can Buddhism make me happy? How can I always practice generosity? and How can I move away from greed and hatred? The Naked Buddha is an accessible, down-to-earth introduction to this ancient Asian religion and a valuable addition to the literature on Buddhism.

Wanting Enlightenment Is a Big Mistake: Teachings of Zen Master Seung Sahn


Seung Sahn - 2006
    He taught that Zen is not about achieving a goal, but about acting spontaneously from "don't-know mind." It is from this "before-thinking" nature, he taught, that true compassion and the desire to serve others naturally arises. This collection of teaching stories, talks, and spontaneous dialogues with students offers readers a fresh and immediate encounter with one of the great Zen masters of the twentieth century.

Humans of New York: Stories


Brandon Stanton - 2015
    The photos he took and the accompanying interviews became the blog Humans of New York. In the first three years, his audience steadily grew from a few hundred to over one million. In 2013, his book Humans of New York, based on that blog, was published and immediately catapulted to the top of the NY Times Bestseller List. It has appeared on that list for over twenty-five weeks to date. The appeal of HONY has been so great that in the course of the next year Brandon's following increased tenfold to, now, over 12 million followers on Facebook. In the summer of 2014, the UN chose him to travel around the world on a goodwill mission that had followers meeting people from Iraq to Ukraine to Mexico City via the photos he took.Now, Brandon is back with the follow up to Humans of New York that his loyal followers have been waiting for: Humans of New York: Stories. Ever since Brandon began interviewing people on the streets of NY, the dialogue he's had with them has increasingly become as in-depth, intriguing, and moving as the photos themselves. Humans of New York: Stories presents a whole new group of humans, complete with stories that delve deeper and surprise with greater candour.

Witness in Our Time: Working Lives of Documentary Photographers


Ken Light - 2000
    I believe this is a function of the vector that the documentary photographer must have, to show one person's existence to another."—Sebastião SalgadoIllustrated with a compelling image from each photographer, Witness in Our Time traces the recent history of social documentary photography in the words of twenty-two of the genre's best photographers, editors, and curators, showing that the profession remains vital, innovative, and committed to social change. Featuring interviews with Hansel Mieth, Walter Rosenblum, Michelle Vignes, Wayne Miller, Peter Magubane, Matt Herron, Jill Freedman, Mary Ellen Mark, Earl Dotter, Eugene Richards, Susan Meiselas, Sebastião Salgado, Graciela Iturbide, Antonin Kratochvil, Donna Ferrato, Joseph Rodriguez, Dayanita Singh, Fazal Sheikh, Gifford Hampshire, Peter Howe, Colin Jacobson, and Ann Wilkes Tucker.Introduction: Seeing and believing / Kerry Tremain --Hansel Mieth: the depression and the early days of Life --Walter Rosenblum: Lewis Hine, Paul Strand, and the Photo League --Michelle Vignes: Magnum Photo Agency : the early years --Wayne Miller: World War II and the family of man --Peter Magubane: a black photographer in Apartheid South Africa --Matt Herron: the Civil Rights movement and the Southern documentary project --Jill Freedman: Resurrection City --Mary Ellen Mark: streetwise photographer --Earl Dotter: the United Mine Workers --Eugene Richards: Americans we --Susan Meiselas: Central America and human rights --Sebastião Salgado: workers --Graciela Iturbide: the indigenous of Mexico --Antonin Kratochvil: the fall of the Iron Curtain --Donna Ferrato: living with the enemy : domestic violence --Joseph Rodriguez: in the barrio --Dayanita Singh: a truer India --Fazal Sheikh: portrait of a refugee --Gifford Hampshire: the Environmental Protection Agency's Project DOCUMERICA --Peter Howe: Life magazine and Outtakes --Colin Jacobson: Independent magazine and Reportage --Anne Wilkes Tucker: the museum context --Fred Ritchin: the fish are last to know about the water: the emerging digital revolution --Rondal Partridge: Dorothea Lange in the field --Don McCullin: Vietnam : the Battle of Hue, 1968 --Bill Owens: Suburbia and a passion for seeing his world --Larry Fink: Social graces --David Goldblatt: once an enemy : Apartheid and the New South Africa --Maya Goded: Tierra Negra --Afterword: Witness in our time / Ken Light

Spirit Guides: Spirit Guides For Beginners: The Complete Guide To Contacting Your Spirit Guide And Communicating With The Spirit World (Spirit Guides, Spirits, Channelling, Auras, Meditation)


Mia Rose - 2014
    Most people go through their lives with only a limited awareness, if any, of this wider existence. The occasional glimpse from the corner of your eye of somebody or something which isn't actually “there”. Sudden, unexpected coincidences, which may be beneficial or otherwise. Sounds that may or may not be real, a door which opens unexpectedly and can't quite be explained away by the breeze. All of these are “signs” of the unseen, or half-seen, presence of the other planes of existence. Some people are born with an innate ability to sense the spirit world far more clearly than others. These people may come from a long line of clairvoyants, mediums and psychics, while in some cases these skills seem to spring from nowhere. It is often highly evolved souls who possesses these skills and many of them will tell you that working with the spirit world can be a great pleasure and blessing, while at times it can be onerous and very burdensome. This book was created for the absolute beginner looking to explore the spirit world but has limited experience or knowledge.Here Is A Sneak Peak Of What You'll Learn… Shamans In The Eyes Of Our Ancestors First And Safe Steps To Meeting Your Guides What To Expect With Your Encounters Meeting Positive Spirits Dealing With Potential Negative Presences (And What To Do About It) Building Spiritual Relationships And Much Much More! Get this book for a limited time offer of $2.99!Tags: Spirit Guides, Shamans, Spirits, Spirit World, Angels, Channelling, Mediumship, Shamans

The Zen Book


Daniel Levin - 2005
    The sayings in this book have been written, not to teach, but to remind the reader of what they already know.

Wabi Sabi Simple: Create beauty. Value imperfection. Live deeply.


Richard R. Powell - 2004
    By living the wabi sabi life, Westerners would be seeking to find peace and truth through nature, harmony and the little things. Readers can explore all aspects of this wondrous way of life: - Wabi sabi working - doing what one loves and not overdoing it; Wabi sabi eating - valuing the humble and familiar and savouring the exotic; Wabi sabi socializing - gleaning the lessons of the ancient tea ceremony; Wabi sabi creativity - enriching one's life by; valuing individual moments. The author serves as a highly eloquent guide on the reader's journey to a simpler, more fulfilling life

Inviting Silence: Universal Principles of Meditation


Gunilla Norris - 2004
    Ideal for individuals and spiritual friends to use alone or with one another, "Inviting Silence" is a thoughtful primer on finding silence and a practical manual on meditation for seekers of every persuasion.