The main aim of this course is to cultivate basic literacy in the principal religions of Asia: Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Daoism.

    This revolutionary book brings together many teaching stories that were hidden for centuries, unknown until this volume. These stories are extraordinary expressions of freedom and fearlessness, relevant for men and women of any time or place. In these pages we meet nuns, laywomen practicing with their families, famous teachers honored by emperors, and old women selling tea on the side of the road.Each story is accompanied by a reflection by a contemporary woman teacher—personal responses that help bring the old stories alive for readers today—and concluded by a final meditation for the reader, a question from the editors meant to spark further rumination and inquiry. These are the voices of the women ancestors of every contemporary Buddhist.

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

    Individual talks by the authors are followed by a discussion in which they spur one another on in the search for self-discovery.

     Using a clear and effective methodology and stunning graphics to visually guide you, Think Differently discusses the important, sometimes challenging, but always relevant topics of today – taking theories off the page through relatable examples.  Dip in and out of lessons as you explore how philosophy is at the heart of your everyday. From people skills to lifestyle choices, self-help to politics – and how you spend your free time.  As Adam Ferner explains, 'like the sugar from a donut, philosophy covers absolutely everything'.

    William Glasser details the choice theory-a science of human behaviors and principles for regaining and maintaining internal control-and the role it can play in helping you regain your personal freedom and choice. "Take Charge of Your Life, " a revision of his 1984 book, "Control Theory, " includes choice-theory applications. He explains choice theory using personal examples and illustrative stories that allow you to learn how to improve your relationships and take charge of your actions. Topics include marital and relationship problems, parenthood, alcoholism, diseases, and psychosomatic disorders. For each situation discussed, Glasser ties behavior to the pictures of what people want in their heads. He explains how the pictures got there and how people can choose new behaviors to get what they really want. In "Take Charge of Your Life, " Glasser offers a real model of empowerment. He shows how you can become a part of the equation that adds happiness and connection to the world in which you live now and to the world of future generations.

    Along the way, readers will be introduced to zombies and Chinese Rooms, ghosts in machines and Schrodinger's cat.

    It includes thought-provoking quotations about the importance of love and compassion, and the need for individual responsibility, fuses ancient wisdom with an awareness of the problems of everyday life.In addition to containing the essence of Buddhism, this book offers practical wisdom for daily life. The goal of this small gift book is to improve the reader's state of mind and to discover the deep peace that exists within.Here are pithy reflections on the need to rid oneself of preoccupations with mundane concerns and to find refuge in Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha.

    Can a computer think? Why is your consciousness like Bitcoin? Will there be an artificial intelligence apocalypse?

    The most common way this manifests is in a persistent sense of discontentment. Something just doesn’t feel quite right. That something is usually hard to put a finger on. It’s often just a feeling that haunts us in the background, one that leads to endless soul searching and goal striving. Although it can disappear when a desire is achieved, or a piece of our life that was believed to be missing falls into place, ultimately the relief is only temporary. Before long, the background feeling that something is not okay returns and the search begins anew. You may be surprised to learn that life doesn’t have to be this way. Since 2006, our global scientific research project has been on the trail of the tiny fraction of the population that seems to have escaped this fate. We found thousands of them, and what we learned has been nothing short of astonishing. It will revolutionize your life for the better, if you’ll let it. Praise For The Finders "If a Nobel Prize existed for Psychology, the work done by Jeffery Martin and his team and described in this book would be a strong contender. The book is about people who have managed to fulfil one of the most sought after but rarely achieved human needs – true happiness, a deep and fundamental sense of wellbeing." ~ Dr. Peter Fenwick, internationally renowned neuropsychiatrist and Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists "Dr. Jeffery Martin's work on non-symbolic states of awareness has helped create the most lucid map for understanding higher states of consciousness. I have personally gained a deeper understanding of the universality of human sacred experience from his research and have been able to replicate and publish it. For anyone who is interested in getting scientific knowledge of the range and evolution of human experience in the direction of expanded awareness and ultimately that which wisdom traditions call 'enlightenment' Jeffery's book and research are must reads." ~ Deepak Chopra, MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation and co-founder of The Chopra Center for Wellbeing, author of over 85 books including dozens of best sellers "In this book Dr. Martin takes his place beside William James and Abraham Maslow to give us one of the most important and ground-breaking works on consciousness and human potential in recent memory." ~ Allan Leslie Combs, Ph.D., CIIS Professor of Consciousness Studies, author of The Radiance of Being and Consciousness Explained Better "Dr. Jeffery Martin and his colleagues have produced a landmark study, one not only relevant to transpersonal psychology but to psychology in general. Maslow wrote of 'self-actualized' persons. Dr. Martin goes a step further, describing the phenomenology of Maslow's highest level, namely the self-transcendent or enlightened. This book contains a schema by which its readers can more deeply appreciate the development of these men and women. It is not often that rigorous research can be inspirational, but Dr. Martin has come through. Indeed, readers on a spiritual path are now able to chart their own development on a continuum of experiences, one that many writers once pathologized." ~ Stanley Krippner, PhD, Professor of Psychology at Saybrook University; past-President of two and Fellow in five divisions of the American Psychological Association, and winner of its lifetime achievement award for Distinguished Contributions to the International Advancement of Psychology; 50+ year veteran researcher and pioneer in the scientific study of consciousness

    At once a critical explication of the facets of Zen and a meditation on the meaning of existence, Essays in Zen Buddhism is an indispensable document to the student of Eastern religion.

    We left the ground—I with Christian mantras and a great sense of destiny, of being at last on my true way after years of waiting and wondering..." With these words, dated October 15. 1968, the late Father Thomas Merton recorded the beginning of his fateful journey to the Orient. His travels led him from Bangkok, through India to Ceylon, and back again to Bangkok for his scheduled talk at a conference of Asian monastic orders. There he unequivocally reaffirmed his Christian vocation. His last journal entry was made on December 8, 1968, two days before his untimely, accidental death. Amply illustrated with photographs he himself took along the way and fully indexed, the book also contains a glossary of Asian religious terms, a preface by the Indian scholar Amiya Chakravarty, a foreword and postscript by Brother Patrick Hart of the Abbey of Gethsemani, as well as several appendices, among them the text of Merton's final address.

    Included are all the sadhanas of Vajrayogini, advice on how to do a Tantric retreat, and a wealth of additional material that will be indispensable to anyone wishing to rely upon Buddha Vajrayogini.

    In The Tao of Poker, prize-winning poker player Larry Phillips offers more than 280 rules to bring you to new levels of personal achievement, just when and where you need them most.Here are some of The Tao of Poker’s rules for success:Take the long viewOnce you commit to a hand, play it strongDon’t throw in good money after badIf you think you’re beat, get outTry out these rules and watch your game, and your life, improve. Now you can be a winner at home, at work, and at the casino - wherever the stakes for success are high!

    Bikram Choudhury, the world's foremost authority on Hot Yoga, is here to show you the true way to self-improvement and a new love of life. Based on a centuries-old and scientifically proven pathway to health, Bikram Yoga will whip your body, mind, and spirit into shape.Based on Bikram's signature program of 26 postures and two breathing exercises, this book will help you combat a variety of afflictions—from stress and insomnia to arthritis and back pain—and maintain exceptional health for years to come. The various postures work your muscles, increase flexibility, and flush toxins out of your system—a completely natural, full-body workout without the unhealthy stresses and dangers of a gym. It isn't easy: It's a rigorous, body-bending program, and Bikram gives it to you straight in his outspoken, charismatic, and tough-love fashion. But just like the hundreds of thousands of students who go to his studios across the country, you'll end up sweaty and exhausted but keep coming back for more.Additionally, Bikram Yoga can help you do much more than drop inches from your belly. Bikram explains how practicing yoga is also a mental and spiritual mission that can help you create a path to true happiness. When it comes to love and marriage, realizing your full potential, or living a life in perfect balance, Bikram's yogic philosophy shows you how physical strength and flexibility can be a gateway to mental clarity and spiritual calm.If you've never tried Bikram's yoga, get ready for the deepest, most beneficial class of your life. And if you're an old hand at it, your understanding of the postures and the sequence will increase exponentially, as will your results.So are you ready to achieve lasting health and happiness? The time has come for Bikram Yoga. Grab your mat and get ready to change your life.