Book picks similar to
The Skill of Happiness by Matthieu Ricard
audible
nonfiction
audio
meditation
The Mind Illuminated: A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science
Culadasa (John Yates) - 2015
Clear and friendly, this in-depth practice manual builds on the nine-stage model of meditation originally articulated by the ancient Indian sage Asanga, crystallizing the entire meditative journey into 10 clearly-defined stages. The book also introduces a new and fascinating model of how the mind works, and uses illustrations and charts to help the reader work through each stage. This manual is an essential read for the beginner to the seasoned veteran of meditation and can be read from front to back, or used as a reference guide, choosing chapters as needed based on the current state of the reader’s practice.
Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster
Peggy Huddleston - 2002
Mind-Body techniques that will help a patient: feel calmer before surgery, recover faster, have less pain after surgery, strengthen the immune system, use less pain medication, and save money on medical bills.
Steering by Starlight: Find Your Right Life, No Matter What!
Martha N. Beck - 2008
great book
Leadership by Example: The Ten Key Principles of All Great Leaders
Sanjiv Chopra - 2012
Chopra has presented to thousands Very few of us are leaders all the time, in everything we do, but all of us can become a leader in specific situations. In a committee, in business, at a social club or at a religious institution, we all find a time in our lives when we can lead. Few people set out knowingly to become leaders, rather they see a need and they find a way of dealing with it, and often others choose to follow their example. Based on a talk that he has given to more than 60,000 people in at least seven countries, the “LEADERSHIP” mnemonic that Dr. C hopra explains is as follows: L - listen well. E - empathy. A - attitude. D - dreams and decisiveness. E - effectiveness. R - resilience. S - a sense of purpose. H - humility and humor. I - integrity and imagination. P - principles, and willingness to pack other people’s parachutes. Drawing from his experience as Faculty Dean for Continuing Education for Harvard Medical School as well as the writings and lives of great leaders throughout history, this easy-to-read, inspiring book will serve as a reminder and a guide to becoming leaders in our own lives.
The Five Invitations: Discovering What Death Can Teach Us About Living Fully
Frank Ostaseski - 2017
Death is always with us, in the marrow of every passing moment. She is the secret teacher hiding in plain sight, helping us to discover what matters most in life.Life and death are a package deal. They cannot be pulled apart and we cannot truly live unless we are aware of death. The Five Invitations is an exhilarating meditation on the meaning of life and how maintaining and ever-present consciousness of death can bring us closer to our truest selves. As a renowned teacher of compassionate care-giving and the cofounder of the Zen Hospice Project, Frank Ostaseski has sat on the precipice of death with more than a thousand people. In The Five Invitations, he distills the lessons gleaned over the course of his career, offering an evocative and stirring guide that points a radical path to transformation.The Five Invitations:-Don’t Wait-Welcome Everything, Push Away Nothing-Bring Your Whole Self to the Experience-Find a Place of Rest in the Middle of Things-Cultivate Don’t Know MindThese invitations show us how to wake up fully to our lives. They can be understood as best practices for anyone coping with death or navigating any sort of transition or crisis; they guide us toward appreciating life’s preciousness. Death can be a valuable companion on the road to living well, forging a rich and meaningful life, and letting go of regret. The Five Invitations is a powerful and inspiring exploration of the essential wisdom dying has to impart to all of us.
Hardcore Zen Strikes Again
Brad Warner - 2012
This is not that book! Hardcore Zen was a groundbreaking look at Zen Buddhism through the eyes of a Western punk rocker living in Japan who became an ordained monk while working for a company that made cheap monster movies. In this new sequel, Hardcore Zen Strikes Again, Brad returns to his roots and provides a glimpse into some of his early writings that formed the basis for that book. These essays, mostly from a long-defunct website Brad produced in the early 2000s, form a snapshot of the genesis of Brad’s first book. Brad has provided new introductions and afterwords to each essay as well as a complete chapter written for Hardcore Zen that did not make the final cut, plus an article about his experiences at the company he was working for when the book was written. Together they make an invaluable collection for anyone interested in Brad’s writing as well as those interested in his unique way of presenting the timeless truths of Zen in a contemporary idiom.
Mindfulness: An Eight-Week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World
J. Mark G. Williams - 2011
Danny Penman reveal the secrets to living a happier and less anxious, stressful and exhausting life. Based on the techniques of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, the unique program developed by Williams and his colleagues, the book offers simple and straightforward forms of mindfulness meditation that can be done by anyone--and it can take just 10-20 minutes a day for the full benefits to be revealed.
Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism
Chögyam Trungpa - 1973
The universal tendency, he shows, is to see spirituality as a process of self-improvement—the impulse to develop and refine the ego when the ego is, by nature, essentially empty. "The problem is that ego can convert anything to its own use," he said, "even spirituality." His incisive, compassionate teachings serve to wake us up from this trick we all play on ourselves, and to offer us a far brighter reality: the true and joyous liberation that inevitably involves letting go of the self rather than working to improve it. It is a message that has resonated with students for nearly thirty years, and remains fresh as ever today. This new edition includes a foreword by Chögyam Trungpa's son and lineage holder, Sakyong Mipham.
Your Conscious Mind: Unravelling the greatest mystery of the human brain (New Scientist Instant Expert)
New Scientist - 2017
It makes us aware of the world around us and our own self. How all this emerges from a kilogram of brain cells is one of the greatest unanswered questions. In Your Conscious Mind leading brain scientists and New Scientist take you on a journey through the mind to discover what consciousness really is, and what we can learn when it goes awry. Find out if we will ever build conscious machines, what animal consciousness can tell us about being human and explore the enigma of free will. ABOUT THE SERIESNew Scientist Instant Expert books are definitive and accessible entry points to the most important subjects in science; subjects that challenge, attract debate, invite controversy and engage the most enquiring minds. Designed for curious readers who want to know how things work and why, the Instant Expert series explores the topics that really matter and their impact on individuals, society, and the planet, translating the scientific complexities around us into language that's open to everyone, and putting new ideas and discoveries into perspective and context.
Zen: The Art of Simple Living
Shunmyō Masuno - 2009
. . In clear, practical and easy to follow lessons - one a day for 100 days - renowned Buddhist monk Shunmyo Masuno draws on centuries of wisdom to show you how to apply the essence of Zen to modern life.You will learn how to exhale deeply to eliminate negative emotions, to arrange your house simply to clear your thinking, to line up your shoes at night to bring order to your mind, to plant a single flower and watch it grow, to worry less about what you cannot control, and so much more . . .You will even make time to think about nothing at all.Simplify your life with the art of Zen, and learn how to feel more relaxed, fulfilled, and with a renewed sense of peace.
The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere
Pico Iyer - 2014
There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still. In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many—from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson—have found richness in stillness. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world.
Mind Full: Unwreck Your Head, De-Stress Your Life
Dermot Whelan - 2021
Realizing this was not a sustainable way to travel to future gigs, he decided to become a meditation teacher and learn how to de-stress without annoying the emergency services. Telling Dermot's own story and offering useful everyday tips and techniques, Mind Full is his funny and accessible guide to meditation.If you feel like you've lost touch with the happier version of yourself and would like to: SLEEP BETTERREDUCE STRESS, ANXIETY, AND DEPRESSIONHAVE MORE PATIENCE WITH THE PEOPLE YOU LOVEFEEL LESS 'MEH'ENJOY LIFE MORE...this book is for you.You'll discover that learning to meditate doesn't require you to blow up your life and move to Nepal, but it does help you make very small changes that make a long-lasting difference. With exclusive access to Dermot's guided meditations, Mind Full will help you restore your sense of fulfillment, happiness and true contentment."Fixed whatever block I had harbored towards the concept of meditation...I had convinced myself that I wasn't one of those people. Now I realize there is no prerequisite character type. It's just for...people. A lovely, funny, honest book." - Cillian Murphy, from the Foreword
The Critical Mind: Make Better Decisions, Improve Your Judgment, and Think a Step Ahead of Others
Zoe McKey - 2017
Spot inconsistencies and lies, and apply logic to your daily life. If you want to become a critical, effective, and rational thinker instead of an irrational and snap-judging one, this book is for you. Critical thinking skills strengthen your decision making muscle, speed up your analysis and judgment, and help you spot errors easily. The Critical Mind offers a thorough introduction to the rules and principles of critical thinking. You will find widely usable and situation-specific advice on how to critically approach your daily life, business, friendships, opinions, and even social media. Critical thinking not only saves you time but saves you money and helps you prevent misunderstanding and disappointment. • Learn the main elements of critical thinking. • The theories and practices of the best critical thinkers of the world. • Tips to keep your brain in good shape and receptive to analysis. • Solve your problems with critical thinking. • Become a quicker and better decision maker. Cut out the inefficiencies of your life. The Critical Mind is a guideline for everyone who wishes to learn the basics of critical thinking. If you work in business, education, healthcare, or you study, you’ll find the book equally useful. The book takes a deep look at the framework of geniuses like Richard Paul and Linda Elder to give you a well-established foundation on effective thought. • Become a more effective communicator having relevant argument points. • How to apply critical thinking in a group. • Guiding questions that help you think more critically. • Four types of critical thinking exercise to deepen your knowledge each day. The Critical Mind gives you the best theories and practices to become a more successful and better thinker. Know that the people whom you admire for their mind aren’t aliens, they just use their minds differently. In this book, I unveil how and what they do differently. Delete this. Too repetitive. Put something about the author Discover hidden opportunities, gain a solution-oriented mindset, solve difficult tasks, and understand the world more deeply. Critical thinking will enhance your creativity, logic, intelligence, and helps you navigate through everyday life matters more easily. Think faster, argue better, and succeed consistently.
Building Bone Vitality: A Revolutionary Diet Plan to Prevent Bone Loss and Reverse Osteoporosis--Without Dairy Foods, Calcium, Estrogen, or Drugs
Amy Lanou - 2009
Dairy products don't strengthen bones. Drugs may be dangerous.For years, doctors have been telling us to drink milk, eat dairy products, and take calcium pills to improve our bone vitality. The problem is, they're wrong. This groundbreaking guide uses the latest clinical studies and the most up-to-date medical information to help you strengthen your bones, reduce the risk of fractures, and prevent osteoporosis. You'll learn why there's no proof of calcium's effectiveness, despite what doctors say, and why a low-acid diet is the only effective way to prevent bone loss."This clear, convincing explanation of osteoporosis will change the way the world thinks about bone health. Lanou and Castleman prove beyond doubt that milk and dairy are the problem, not the solution." -Rory Freedman, coauthor of #1 New York Times best seller Skinny Bitch"The authors have tackled an almost intractable myth: that calcium is the one and only key to bone vitality. It isn't. Everyone who cares about preventing osteoporosis should read this book." -- Dr. T. Colin Campbell, author of The China Study
Slowing Down to the Speed of Life: How to Create a More Peaceful, Simpler Life from the Inside Out
Richard Carlson - 1997
The author and coauthor of the phenomenal bestseller Don't Sweat the Small Stuff deliver a more extensive manual on how to improve the quality of our lives without going to unrealistic extremes.