How do we stop from constantly judging ourselves as inadequate, finding fault with our bodies, or being plagued by our inner critics? The Self-Acceptance Project was created to help us find a solution. In this collection of essays, contemporary luminaries in spirituality, psychology, and creativity offer insights and teachings for truly embracing who we are no matter what our circumstances, including: • "Waking Up from the Trance of Unworthiness"—Tara Brach illuminates the source of self-rejection and offers a powerful process to reverse unconscious patterns • "Compassion for the Self-Critic"—Dr. Kristin Neff shows how self-judgment is often a misplaced but well-meaning survival instinct • "Held, Not Healed"—Jeff Foster on making the space to accept anything that arises with open-hearted curiosity • "No Strangers in the Heart"—poet Mark Nepo helps us reconnect to the sense of deep aliveness that we were born with • "Taking in the Good"—Dr. Rick Hanson offers effective neuroscience-based insights and practices for overcoming our "negativity bias" • "Transforming Self-Criticism into Self-Compassion"—Dr. Kelly McGonigal reveals practical strategies for changing the habitual way we treat ourselves Why is it often so much easier to feel compassion and forgiveness toward others than toward ourselves? Where do our self-critical voices come from? Can we be motivated to grow and excel while still accepting ourselves as we are? In these 19 offerings, some of today’s most trusted teachers share their most valuable practices and techniques for building confidence, transforming our relationship with our inner critics, and using any circumstance as an opportunity to treat ourselves with kindness, compassion, and love.

    You will learn basic meditation techniques, chakra meditation, mantra meditation, and variety of other types. By the end of the month, you should feel relaxed, focused, and re-energized. After 30 days, meditation should be a habit for you. As you continue to meditate, you and your life will benefit. Soon, you may even crave meditation.

    Vex overcame adversity to become a source of hope for thousands of young people, and now draws from his personal experience and his intuitive wisdom to inspire you to:  *  practice self-care, overcome toxic energy and prioritize your wellbeing  *  cultivate positive lifestyle habits, including mindfulness and meditation  *  change your beliefs to invite great opportunities into your life  *  manifest your goals using tried-and-tested techniques  *  overcome fear and flow with the Universe  *  find your higher purpose and become a shining light for othersWith this book, Vex will show you that when you change the way you think, feel, speak and act, you begin to change the world.

    Self-criticism is often our default setting. But we can have a more gracious posture toward ourselves. We can practice disciplines of self-kindness. Editor and spiritual director Cindy Bunch calls us to self-care through greater compassion for ourselves. She helps us pay attention to the frustrations that bug us in order to identify negative thinking about ourselves or others. As we do so, we can discern what we need to let go. This allows us to lean into the things that bring us joy. Each chapter is filled with spiritual practices and creative exercises for reflection and celebration. Be kind to yourself. And discover new opportunities to embrace joy.

    

    That explains why what many of us long for is simplicity: a life that can be more pared down, peaceful, and focused on the essentials.But finding simplicity is not always easy; it isn’t just a case of emptying out our closets or trimming back commitments in our diaries. True simplicity requires that we understand the roots of our distractions – and develop a canny respect for the stubborn reasons why things can grow complex and overwhelming.This book is a guide to the simpler lives we crave and deserve. It considers how we might achieve simplicity across a range of areas. Along the way, we learn about Zen Buddhism, modernist architecture, monasteries, psychoanalysis, and why we probably don’t need more than three good friends or a few treasured belongings.It isn’t enough that our lives should look simple; they need to be simple from the inside. This book takes a psychological approach, guiding us towards less contorted hearts and minds. We have for too long been drowning in excess and clutter from a confusion about our aspirations; A Simpler Life helps us tune out the static and focus on what properly matters to us.

    Insightful reflections reveal surprisingly simple things that can transform lives.

    The truth is, there are untapped sources of meaning all around us right here, right now. Drawing on the latest research in positive psychology; on insights from George Eliot, Viktor Frankl, Aristotle, the Buddha, and other great minds; and on interviews with seekers of meaning, Emily Esfahani Smith lays out the four pillars upon which meaning rests. Belonging We all need to find our tribe and forge relationships in which we feel understood, recognized, and valued to know we matter to others.Purpose We all need a far-reaching goal that motivates us, serves as the organizing principle of our lives, and drives us to make a contribution to the world.Storytelling We are all storytellers, taking our disparate experiences and assembling them into a coherent narrative that allows us to make sense of ourselves and the world. Transcendence During a transcendent or mystical experience, we feel we have risen above the everyday world and are connected to something vast and meaningful. To bring those concepts to life, Smith visits a tight-knit fishing village on the Chesapeake Bay, stargazes in West Texas, attends a dinner where young people gather to share their experiences of untimely loss, and more. And she explores how we might begin to build a culture of meaning in our schools, our workplaces, and our communities. Inspiring and story-driven, The Power of Meaning will strike a profound chord in anyone seeking a richer, more satisfying life."

    This is why Professor Michael Puett says to his students, “The encounter with these ideas will change your life.” As one of them told his collaborator, author Christine Gross-Loh, “You can open yourself up to possibilities you never imagined were even possible.”These astonishing teachings emerged two thousand years ago through the work of a succession of Chinese scholars exploring how humans can improve themselves and their society. And what are these counterintuitive ideas? Good relationships come not from being sincere and authentic, but from the rituals we perform within them. Influence comes not from wielding power but from holding back. Excellence comes from what we choose to do, not our natural abilities. A good life emerges not from planning it out, but through training ourselves to respond well to small moments. Transformation comes not from looking within for a true self, but from creating conditions that produce new possibilities.In other words, The Path upends everything we are told about how to lead a good life. Above all, unlike most books on the subject, its most radical idea is that there is no path to follow in the first place—just a journey we create anew at every moment by seeing and doing things differently.Sometimes voices from the past can offer possibilities for thinking afresh about the future.A note from the publisher: To read relevant passages from the original works of Chinese philosophy, see our free ebook Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi: Selected Passages, available on Kindle, Nook, and the iBook Store and at Books.SimonandSchuster.com.

    Yet a home with too much stuff is a home that is difficult to maintain, so where do we begin? Add in paralyzing emotional attachments and constant life challenges, and it can feel almost impossible to make real decluttering progress.In Decluttering at the Speed of Life, decluttering expert and author Dana White identifies the mind-sets and emotional challenges that make it difficult to declutter. Then, in her signature humorous approach, she provides workable solutions to break through these struggles and get clutter out--for good!But more than simply offering strategies, Dana dives deep into how to implement them, no matter the reader's clutter level or emotional resistance to decluttering. She helps identify procrasticlutter--the stuff that will get done eventually so it doesn't seem urgent--as well as how to make progress when there's no time to declutter.Sections of the book includeWhy You Need This Book (You Know Why)Your Unique HomeDecluttering in the Midst of Real LifeChange Your Mind, Change Your HomeBreaking Through Your Decluttering DelusionsWorking It Out Room by RoomHelping Others DeclutterReal Life Goes On (and On)As long as we're living and breathing, new clutter will appear. The good news is that decluttering can get easier, become more natural, and require significantly fewer hours, less emotional bandwidth, and little to no sweat to keep going.

    It's about doing what matters to you. "I could not be more excited about this book."--Jenna Fischer, actor and cohost of Office Ladies podcast The chorus of "shoulds" is loud. You should enjoy the moment, dream big, have it all, get up before the sun, track your water consumption, go on date nights, and be the best. Or maybe you should ignore what people think, live on dry shampoo, be a negligent PTA mom, have a dirty house, and claim your hot mess like a badge of honor.It's so easy to feel overwhelmed by the mixed messages of what it means to live well.Kendra Adachi, the creator of the Lazy Genius movement, invites you to live well by your own definition and equips you to be a genius about what matters and lazy about what doesn't. Everything from your morning routine to napping without guilt falls into place with Kendra's thirteen Lazy Genius principles, including:- Decide once- Start small- Ask the Magic Question- Go in the right order- Schedule restDiscover a better way to approach your relationships, work, and piles of mail. Be who you are without the complication of everyone else's "shoulds." Do what matters, skip the rest, and be a person again.

    I struggled with feeling bad about my body, feeling insecure about myself, doubting my abilities to make it without an employer, doubting myself as a writer, not believing I had discipline or the ability to change my habits.And all this led to other problems: I sought happiness and pleasure in food, beer, shopping, distraction, TV. I procrastinated, I let my health get bad, I smoked, I was deeply in debt, unhappy with my work, never exercised, and ate lots of junk food.Not a pretty picture. But if I’d never been in that place, I wouldn’t understand how to get out of it. And so I’m grateful I was there. I’ve learned a lot, about myself and about how to find happiness in who I am, what I have, who I’m with, what I do, and all that’s around me.And now, I’d like to share that with you.I’ve written a free book called The Little Book of Contentment: A guide to becoming happy with life & who you are, while getting things done. I share it with you today, in hopes that it will help a few of you, or maybe many, who struggle with being happy with yourselves and your lives. It’s a more common problem than you might imagine, and if I can help just a little, that would be amazing.I hope you like the book.

    Yet, like many a courageous soul who has chosen to tackle this difficult task, you may need to be reminded to activate this innate force that dwells inside you.In this fascinating book, internationally acclaimed medium James Van Praagh demonstrates that love knows no limits—it is the power that holds together everything. Through vivid examples of various everyday situations in life—and knowledge gleaned from the Other Side—James shows you the process for activating this power . . . and thereby fulfilling your life purpose.Anxiety and worry will start to fade as you align yourself with loving thoughts. Decisions that might have preoccupied you before will become easier to make. Difficult events and people will not be drawn to you, because you are learning to release that magnetic energy. When you begin to consciously surround yourself with the energy of love and acceptance—which is your natural state of being—your journey in this physical dimension becomes much smoother, more purposeful, and more powerful. Be empowered with love . . .

    Right now, you might have everything you need for a happy life. You might have a great family, a good job, wonderful friends. But there’s one thing wrong — you simply don't feel calm and happy. The demands of everyday life, your hectic schedule, those constant feelings of overwhelm and anxiety make you feel out-of-control and exhausted. How can you jump off the hamster wheel to feel peaceful and free from anxiety symptoms? When you learn the peace of mindfulness techniques, you have the power to tap into a wellspring of tranquility and a lasting contentment you’ve never known before. MINDFULNESS IN DAILY LIFE The practice of mindfulness in daily life holds the promise not only for peace of mind, but also to revitalize your self-worth and transform the way you view the world. It awakens you to the beauty of every moment. You live in unity with life, rather than struggling against it. Mindfulness doesn’t mean you must sit for hours in meditation or attend long retreats. You can experience calmness and present moment awareness in all your daily activities, and perform every task, thought, and action through the lens of mindfulness. In Peace of Mindfulness, you’ll learn simple daily routines to bring you back again and again to the pleasure of full presence and awareness. THE BENEFITS OF MINDFULNESS: HOW MINDFULNESS CAN CHANGE YOUR LIFE Whether you’re coping with stress and anxiety, or you simply want to increase self-awareness and contentment, the skills taught in Peace of Mindfulness meet you exactly where you are — in your home, your work, your simple daily tasks. Once you live your days with mindfulness, you’ll enjoy physical, emotional, and mental benefits that further enhance your experience of life. Science has proven mindfulness reduces stress, improves memory, offers pain relief, helps your sleep, improves relationships, and promotes mental health. ORDER: PEACE OF MINDFULNESS: EVERYDAY RITUALS TO CONQUER ANXIETY AND CLAIM UNLIMITED INNER PEACE Peace of Mindfulness is a handbook for winning back control of your thoughts and emotions so you can release anxiety and enjoy a happier, healthier, more conscious life.Every chapter offers specific actions you can implement and practice right away to facilitate change. You’ll learn: ** The Powerful Benefits of Mindful Breathing ** How to Tame the “Monkey Mind" ** Simple Mindfulness Meditation Practices ** How Practicing “Flow” at Work Makes You Love Your Job ** How to Use Visualization and Affirmations to Boost Brain Power **The Best Mindful Fitness Routines ** How to Practice Journaling to Enhance Mindfulness **How to Make Mindfulness a Way of Life** Want to Know More? Order and find the peace of mindfulness starting today. Scroll to the top of the page and select the “buy” button.

    Just five good minutes stand between a stressful workday and a restorative evening of calm, serenity, and joy.Five Good Minutes® in the Evening offers 100 engaging practices that lead you out of a hectic day and into a peaceful night. From the authors of Five Good Minutes, this collection of mindfulness exercises, positive visualizations, and affirmations can become a powerful force for change in your life. In no time at all, the five good minutes you give yourself in the evening can help you transform the mundane into the extraordinary and renew your vitality and passion for life.Five Good Minutes is a trademark of New Harbinger Publications, Inc.