Grounded Spirituality


Jeff Brown - 2018
    In Part One, we join him on an engaging, often hilarious, and compelling personal journey.... through decades of tasting from a banquet of spiritual approaches. Through his direct experience, fierce exploration, and scintillating discernment, Brown exposes the fragmented, ungrounded and dissociative notions of spirituality that have imprisoned our consciousness and obstructed our awakening since time immemorial. In his cuttingly straight style, he reveals that much of what we have been calling "spirituality" is actually a patriarchal, emotionally bereft construct that perpetuates our self-avoidance. He then proves to us--point by brilliant point--that true spirituality is a whole-being awakening, one that wonderfully embraces our entire human experience. In many spiritual practices, emotional healing processes (blockage clearing, issue resolution, the working through of the shadow) have been bypassed and trivialized, as though the 'real' spiritual realm exists independent of our feelings. Brown makes no distinction between these realms, revealing that emotional maturity and spiritual maturity are synonymous, and that any spirituality that desacralizes our selfhood is not enlightenment at all. It is a bypass of that which is fundamentally human: our feelings, our stories, our bodies, our relationships with each other and the earth that houses us. In his words, "Detachment is a tool- not a life. If you can't find your transformation in the village, you haven't found a thing." In Part Two, Brown engages in a riveting dialogue with an ungrounded seeker named "Michael." Their dialogues unfurl in warmth, humor, playfulness, personal story, threaded with challenging confrontation and cutting truth. Hands-on exercises are dispersed throughout--providing readers with a direct experience of a new, inclusive model. Here the author lays down the tracks for a more balanced, heartfelt and relational spirituality- one that leaves us "enrealed," integrated, and purposeful. Not awakened, but awakening. Not escaping our humanness, but finding our meaning and spirituality deep within it. Out of the ashes of old ways of being, a bright new paradigm comes into view. An inclusive, self-honoring, and healing spiritual perspective that will be a welcomed relief for any seeker.In the author's words, "It's one thing to briefly detach from story in the hopes of gaining a different perspective--it's quite another to deny our storied roots altogether. What will we stand in, then? At a time when our personal stories have been shamed and shunned in the spiritual community, it is all the more imperative to revive them and makes luminous their sacred, transformative properties. The past is not an illusion, as many would suggest. It is the ground of our being, the karmic field for our soul's transformation- the mystery that threads right through our history. Story is where we come from. Story is what roots us in the present. Story is how we arrive at the next place intact. A spirituality without story is like a body without breath. Dead to the world." What we need now are models that lead us back into our hearts, into relatedness, into a deep and reverential regard for the self's journey through time. In this magnificent book, Brown endeavors to hearticulate one such path, reminding us that heaven on earth begins and ends deep within the recesses of our enlivened humanness. At long last, we can lay down our weary heads, burdened by the impossibility of transcending our human experience. Back to our roots, back into our bodies, back into all that makes us marvelously human. Home at last.

The Essentials of Sport and Exercise Nutrition


John Berardi - 2010
    

Warning: Psychiatry Can Be Hazardous to Your Mental Health


William Glasser - 2003
    Millions of patients are now routinely being given prescriptions for a wide range of drugs including Ritalin, Prosac, Zoloft and related drugs which can be harmful to the brain. A previous generation of patients would have had a course of psychotherapy without brain–damaging chemicals. Glasser explains the wide implications of this radical change in treatment and what can be done to counter it.

The Book of Undoing


Fred Davis - 2013
    It is an experiential journey, wherein the reader follows a mock client's Awakening Session with the author. These sessions have helped people around the world come to Nondual realization. It's suggested that the reader actively participate in the question and answer sessions which form the bulk of the book. Fred extends the invitation for you to awaken right here, right now. It's Here or nowhere. It's Now or never.

The Power of Meditation: An Ancient Technique to Access Your Inner Power


Edward Viljoen - 2013
    Drawing from his years of experience as a teacher, spiritual leader, and avid meditator, Edward Viljoen will guide readers down the path to enlightenment using wisdom such as:Mindfulness practices—Train yourself to become absorbed in a purposefully chosen activity Sitting practices—Reduce the use of mental and physical resources as much as possible by sitting still and silently Creative practices—Devices such as journaling, observing, and focusing on a favorite literary or spiritual passage   Peppered throughout with stories from the author’s spiritual teachings and personal anecdotes, this book goes beyond a simple how-to book and creates a wonderful reading experience that will help readers to live more wise and fulfilling lives.

Zen on the Trail: Hiking as Pilgrimage


Christopher Ives - 2018
    By directing our attention to how we hike as opposed to where we’re headed, Ives invites us to shift from ego-driven doing to spirit-filled being, and to explore the vast interconnection of ourselves and the natural world. Through this approach, we can wake up in the woods on nature’s own terms. In erudite and elegant prose, Ives takes us on a journey we will not soon forget. This book features a new prose poem by Gary Snyder.

7 Treasures of Awakening: The Benefits of Mindfulness


Joseph Goldstein - 2014
    When we are firmly established in mindfulness, the Buddha explained, these seven “treasures” serve to steer the mind away from delusion and the causes of suffering, guiding us to the realization of freedom. In Seven Treasures of Awakening, Insight Meditation Society cofounder Joseph Goldstein reveals how each one of these qualities of enlightenment sequentially develop and support each other as our practice of mindfulness matures. Program highlights:• Mindfulness, discrimination of states, energy, rapture, calm, concentration, and equanimity: the seven “treasures” of awakening• The four qualities of mindful attention• Dhammavicaya, or “knowing what’s what”• Viriya (or energy), the root of all accomplishment• Well-balanced effort• Pīti, the antidote to anger and ill will• Reflecting on the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha• The role of calm on the path to awakening• Jhāna and the four developments of concentration• Sīla, ethical conduct• Equanimity versus indifference• The “great way” of non-preferential awareness• The deep delight born of peace• Excerpted from Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, Joseph Goldstein’s masterwork on the Buddha’s instructions for a life lived consciously

World Peace: The Voice of a Mountain Bird


Amit Ray - 2011
    Life was beautiful but war devastates everything. The story runs through her joy, pain, anguish, struggle and wisdom. For most birds life is simply eating, drinking and raising their chicks. This bird finds a higher purpose which turns to a mission in her life. Through the nightmare of war, she comes to the realization that she needs to do something for healing the soul of humanity. With the help of her guide Yashir, she follows her dream to spread peace on earth. This is a fable about the healing and raising the human consciousness on earth for peace on our planet. We are not helpless, each of us has a role and the story shows us the way.

The God Complex


Chris Titus - 2011
    Discover the secrets of the Orient as you embark on a 'factional' adventure pitting Eastern medicine against its critics in the West. Each clue brings you one step closer to solving the mystery and uncovering an ancient secret that connects Chinese medicine to martial arts.

A Guide to the Present Moment


Noah Elkrief - 2012
    Your Unwanted Emotions Are Created By Thoughts, Not By FactsIf your romantic partner isn't cheating, but you think that they are, how do you feel? Hurt. If your romantic partner is cheating, but you think that they love you, how do you feel? Great. If your child isn't injured, but you think that they got hurt, how do you feel? Sad. If your child is injured, but you think they are safe at a friend's house, how do you feel? Fine. If you aren't going to get fired next week, but you think that you'll be fired, how do you feel? Fearful. If you are going to get fired next week, but you think that your job is safe, how do you feel? Great.When the facts are "good", but you think they are "bad", you suffer. When the facts are "bad", but you think they are "good", you are happy. This demonstrates that the facts don't create your happiness or suffering. It is only your thoughts that create your emotions.A Powerful 5-Step Process That Can Immediately Bring You More PeaceDo you want to stop living with stress, unworthiness, social anxiety, insecurity, anger, or sadness? It certainly seems as though these emotions are inevitable, and directly created by our circumstances, our situations, and the people in our lives. However, it is possible to discover that all your unwanted emotions are actually created by the thoughts in your mind. More importantly, each of these emotions can vanish in an instant if you just stop believing the thoughts that create them.When You Don't Believe Words, Those Words Don't Create EmotionsIf a random person tells you, "The world is going to end tomorrow", and you believe them, how would you feel? You would likely experience fear. But if you didn't believe them at all, then how would their comment make you feel? You almost certainly wouldn't be emotionally affected. This demonstrates that when you believe someone's words to be true, those words create emotions. But if you don't believe someone's words, those same words don't have the power to create emotions.The same is true of the words (thoughts) in your mind. If you believe a negative thought about yourself or your life, that thought will create an unwanted emotion. However, if you don't believe that thought, it quite simply won't create the unwanted emotion.This Book Will Show You How To Disbelieve The Thoughts That Create Your Unwanted EmotionsAs soon as you stop believing a thought that is creating one of your unwanted emotions, that emotion will instantly dissolve. As you disbelieve more and more of the thoughts that create your suffering, you will be happier in more and more situations, the more you will be living in the moment, and the more peace, freedom, love, laughter, wholeness, enthusiasm, and gratitude you will experience in your life.This Book Will Help You To:- Experience peace in situations that used to be filled with anxiety and stress - Lose the sense of lack in your life, and live with a sense of a wholeness and completeness- Put an end to your feelings of unworthiness and insecurity- Enjoy less arguments, resentment, and disappointment in your relationships with others- Experience the freedom to act how you feel without worrying about others' opinions- Live in the moment or live the power of now - Experience the fulfillment you have been searching for

Teach Us to Sit Still: A Sceptic's Search for Health and Healing


Tim Parks - 2010
    John MacDowell's) quest to overcome ill health. Bedevilled by a crippling condition which nobody could explain or relieve, he confronts hard truths about the relationship between the mind and the body, the hectic modern world and his life as a writer.

The Man Who Grew Two Breasts: And Other True Tales of Medical Detection


Berton Roueché - 1995
    At his death last spring, Roueche left behind seven new narratives that have never been published in book form. This book collects these works along with one earlier classic--all relating true tales of strange illnesses, rare diseases, and the brilliant minds who race to understand and conquer them.

Your Lives in Our Hands: Based on true stories from a retired hospital doctor


Dr. Jay - 2014
    Would you believe the one about the man who got stuck with half a paintbrush in a delicate area? The medical ethics of a woman using the hospital like a babysitting service? The day when two surgeons almost came to blows after a squabble over theatre space? After reading this brilliantly realised medical nonfiction collection of short stories you will no longer doubt the strange and sometimes tragic circumstances doctors face in medical diagnosis and treatment. From humourous stories about misbehaving patients to short biographies to moving medical stories with tragic ends, Dr Jay weaves a tale of over thirty years’ experience and relates some of the most interesting medical diagnosis and treatment of patients from his career. His narrative voice is rich and compelling and each of the patients’ short biographies is treated with the solid medical ethics we have come to expect from our doctors. Forthright and entertaining, this medical nonfiction collection of short stories comes directly from the horse’s mouth and includes humourous stories as well as short biographies that reveal some of the least pleasant aspects of life as a Surgeon.

A Burning Desire: Dharma God and the Path of Recovery


Kevin Griffin - 2010
    Taking a radical departure from traditional views of God, Western or Eastern, author Kevin Griffin neither accepts Christian beliefs in a Supreme Being nor Buddhist non-theism, but rather forges a refreshing, sensible, and accessible Middle Way. Griffin shows how the Dharma, the teachings of the Buddha, can be understood as a Higher Power. Karma, mindfulness, impermanence, and the Eightfold Path itself are revealed as powerful forces that can be accessed through meditation and inquiry.Drawing from his own experiences with substance abuse, rehabilitation, and recovery, Griffin looks at the various ways that meditation and spiritual practices helped deepen his experience of sobriety. His personal story of addiction is not only raw, honest and engrossing, but guides readers to an inquiry of their own spirituality. In doing so, he poses profound questions, including:·         How can I understand God from a Buddhist perspective?·         How can I “turn my will and my life over” as a Buddhist?·         How can this idea of God “remove my shortcomings”?·         How do I learn this God’s “will”?

Radical Remission: Surviving Cancer Against All Odds


Kelly A. Turner - 2014
    Kelly A. Turner, founder of the Radical Remission Project, uncovers nine factors that can lead to a spontaneous remission from cancer—even after conventional medicine has failed.While getting her Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkley, Dr. Turner, a researcher, lecturer, and counselor in integrative oncology, was shocked to discover that no one was studying episodes of radical (or unexpected) remission—when people recover against all odds without the help of conventional medicine, or after conventional medicine has failed.  She was so fascinated by this kind of remission that she embarked on a ten month trip around the world, traveling to ten different countries to interview fifty holistic healers and twenty radical remission cancer survivors about their healing practices and techniques. Her research continued by interviewing over 100 Radical Remission survivors and studying over 1000 of these cases.  Her evidence presents nine common themes that she believes may help even terminal patients turn their lives around.