Average 70kg D**khead: Motivational Lessons from an Ex-Army Special Forces Doctor


Dan Pronk - 2018
    Average 70kg D**khead tracks key life events of Dr Dan Pronk from his beginnings as an average chubby kid, through his failed attempt at professional triathlon, onto becoming a doctor, joining army Special Forces, being decorated for his conduct in action in Afghanistan, and then onto his post-army career as a medical executive and co-owner of a multimillion dollar business. Throughout the book Dan shares his motivational philosophies and key lessons learned from his journey. He breaks down the goal setting process and provides examples of how seemingly impossible goals can be deconstructed into smaller and smaller achievable sub-goals, creating a clear pathway to getting started and moving towards your ambitious objectives. Dan highlights the crucial factor of persistence in goal attainment and uses case studies from the Special Forces selection process to illustrate that average people with above-average persistence will beat stronger, smarter, faster, and more educated people who are not as willing to persist every time. This book will inspire you to do more. Be it to get off the couch and get started, or double down on your existing goals and supercharge your commitment to them. You only get one go at this life, so what are you waiting for? Give it a read and get going!

The Art of Meditation


Daniel Goleman - 1989
    Acclaimed author Dr. Daniel Goleman teaches you how to attain these benefits in four distinctly different ways.The Breath Meditation: One of the simplest and most widespread of meditative methods, found in almost every ancient spiritual traditionThe Body Scan Meditation: A powerful way to become deeply relaxed by moving your mind throughout your body to soothe and ease your muscles.The Walking Meditation: An ancient method particularly useful for people who find it difficult to sit still while meditating, or who have trouble maintaining concentration.The Mindfulness Meditation: A technique to enrich perception and gain direct insight into the inner workings of your mind.Learn all the proven, life-enhancing benefits of meditation with this practical, accessible, comprehensive guide to this ancient discipline.

One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat


Jane Dobisz - 2007
    “3:15 A.M. Wake Up. 3:20 300 Bows. 4:00 Ma. 4:15 Sitting. 4:45 Walking.” And so it goes, for 100 days. Dobisz, inspired by her Korean Zen master’s discipline of long, solitary retreats, has decided to embark on a retreat of her own. The unfolding story of her experience is related here. The suburban-raised Dobisz weaves amusing anecdotes about learning to live a Walden-like existence — water comes from a well, wood needs to be chopped — with Zen teachings and striking insights into the miracles and foibles of the human mind when there’s nothing on hand to distract it. Entertaining and inspiring, the book is a joyous testament to the benefits that solitude and reflection can bring to all.

The Buddha Walks into a Bar...: A Guide to Life for a New Generation


Lodro Rinzler - 2012
    And they have a natural affinity for Buddhism. This is a book for them-by one of them. Lodro Rinzler speaks the language of Generation O, as his compatriots are known, and he's a respected Buddhist teacher in his own right. His book is a complete introduction to Buddhism, without the cultural trappings, in language that anyone can understand but that will be especially appreciated by young people today under thirty. It's entertaining, chatty, and often funny, but also very serious. It's for anyone who wants to use the Buddha's teachings to awaken like he did.

Satipatthana Meditation: A Practice Guide


Bhikkhu Anālayo - 2018
    With mindfulness being so widely taught, there is a need for a clear-sighted and experience-based guide. Analayo provides it.

The Relaxed Mind: A Seven-Step Method for Deepening Meditation Practice


Dza Kilung Rinpoche - 2015
    Meditators relax! An esteemed modern Tibetan Buddhist teacher presents a system of meditation instructions he devised especially for those affected by the too-fast-paced Western world (i.e., most all of us)—to help them relax, as a way of deepening their meditation practice.In the late 1990s, shortly after arriving in the United States, it became clear to Dza Kilung Rinpoche that his Western students responded to traditional meditation instructions differently from his students back in Asia.  The Westerners didn't know how to relax  -- our pressured, fast-paced lifestyles carried over into meditation.  The Relaxed Mind contains instructions for the seven-phase meditation practice Dza Kilung Rinpoche developed for students in the West.  It's adapted from traditional instructions to counteract the overwhelming distraction that is becoming a global culture these days, not only in the West.  Experienced meditators may be surprised to find their practice deepening through letting go of tension.  This is also an excellent meditation manual for any beginner.

Unlearning Meditation: What to Do When the Instructions Get In the Way


Jason Siff - 2010
    When that happens repeatedly, we may feel frustrated to the point of abandoning meditation altogether. Jason Siff invites us to approach meditation in a new way, one that honors the part of us that doesn't want to do the instructions. He teaches us how to become more tolerant of intense emotions, sleepiness, compelling thoughts, fantasies—the whole array of inner experiences that are usually considered hindrances to meditation. The meditation practice he presents in Unlearning Meditation is gentle, flexible, permissive, and honest, and it's been wonderfully effective for opening up meditation for people who thought they could never meditate, as well as for injecting a renewed energy for practice into the lives of seasoned practitioners.

Girl Seeks Bliss: Zen and the Art of Modern Life Maintenance


Nicole Beland - 2005
    Are you searching for serenity but can’t seem to find it amongst the sticky tubes of lip gloss floating around in your purse, the piles of paperwork stacked on your desk, or the endless numbers programmed into your cell? Have the words "calm" and "stress-free" disappeared from your vocabulary? If so: Take some advice from the Bold and the Buddha-ful Try a mini-meditation Learn how to create your own Space to Chill Improve your love life by using The Eightfold Path to Finding a Good Guy Spice up your sex life by trying some Tantric TricksBuilding on the most basic principles of Buddhism, Girl Seeks Bliss is the perfect book for any young woman looking to unclutter her mind, her heart…and her closet, and be better prepared to face the obstacles life throws her way every day.

The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself


Michael A. Singer - 2007
    You’ll discover what you can do to put an end to the habitual thoughts and emotions that limit your consciousness. By tapping into traditions of meditation and mindfulness, author and spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer shows how the development of consciousness can enable us all to dwell in the present moment and let go of painful thoughts and memories that keep us from achieving happiness and self-realization.Copublished with the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) The Untethered Soul begins by walking you through your relationship with your thoughts and emotions, helping you uncover the source and fluctuations of your inner energy. It then delves into what you can do to free yourself from the habitual thoughts, emotions, and energy patterns that limit your consciousness. Finally, with perfect clarity, this book opens the door to a life lived in the freedom of your innermost being.

The Mind : A beautiful servant, A dangerous master


Osho - 2012
    Responding here to a question related to a space of 'no-mind' or mindfulness he says: "meditation covers a very long pilgrimage. When I say "meditation is witnessing", it is the beginning of meditation. And when I say "meditation is no-mind," it is the completion of the pilgrimage. Witnessing is the beginning, and no-mind is the fulfillment. Witnessing is the method to reach the no-mind. Naturally you will feel witnessing is easier. It is close to you. But witnessing is only like seeds, and then is the long waiting period.

The Tibetan Book of Meditation


Christie McNally - 2009
    In The Tibetan Book of Meditation, Lama Christie McNally demonstrates that meditation also provides a much greater gift. It awakens our innate potential to shape our reality, to make moments of joy last forever, and to bring us the peace and contentment that we all ultimately seek. Written in an instructional yet intimate style, the author guides readers through a progression of meditations, from the simple concept of compassion to the transformative concept of emptiness. Teaching technique and content at the same time, this book is unique in its comprehensive approach and will find a special place in the hearts of novice and experienced meditators alike. Christie McNally, a renowned master teacher and lecturer who has studied with some of the greatest Indian, Tibetan, and western Buddhist masters, explains the central tenets of Buddhism and reveals how they apply to everyday life. Combining ancient wisdom and contemporary teachings, she leads readers along the path to a richer, fuller life through resonant examples and eye-opening insights.Her engaging tone and fresh approach to the art of meditation will appeal to followers of Pema Chödrön and to readers of Jack Kornfield, Sharon Salzberg, and Jon Kabat-Zinn. This down-to-earth guide to meditation brings the wisdom of Tibetan Buddhism to a new generation.

Everyday Zen: Love and Work


Charlotte Joko Beck - 1989
    Combining earthly wisdom with spiritual enlightenment, it describes how to live each moment to the full and shows the relevance of Zen to every aspect of life.

Buddha in Blue Jeans: An Extremely Short Simple Zen Guide to Sitting Quietly and Being Buddha


Tai Sheridan - 2011
    Sitting quietly can teach many ways to accept life, meet pain, age gracefully, and die without regret. The book encourages sitting quietly every day.Topics include: Sit Quietly; Care For Your Body; Accept Your Feelings; Give Thoughts Room; Pain is Natural; Be Who You Are; Live Each Moment Well; Love Indiscriminately; Listen to Others; Be Surprised; Wonder; Live gratefully; Do No Harm; Benefit life; A Wish for The World. The book is for people of any faith, religion, race, nationality, gender, relationship status, capacity, or meditation background.

Radical Compassion: Learning to Love Yourself and Your World with the Practice of RAIN


Tara Brach - 2019
    Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.

Spirit Junkie: A Radical Road to Self-Love and Miracles


Gabrielle Bernstein - 2011
    Bernstein has traded self-doubt and addiction for a new kind of high. In 2005 she became a student of A Course in Miracles and since then she has been guided to teach  those spiritual principles to the next generation of seekers.