It’s probably socially irresponsible even to attempt to cheer up.But if you’re determined to give it a go, you might enjoy this eclectic collection (or eclection) of David Mitchell’s attempts to make light of all that darkness. Scampi, politics, the Olympics, terrorism, exercise, rude street names, inheritance tax, salad cream, proportional representation and farts are all touched upon by Mitchell’s unremitting laser of chit-chat, as he negotiates a path between the commercialisation of Christmas and the true spirit of Halloween. Read this book and slightly change your life!

    If you live with an attitude long enough, it becomes second nature—a mindset. The wrong mindset could lead you off the path of contentment, joy, enlightenment. The right one will point you to the road to success, to fulfilment and towards an extraordinary life.Blending science with Vedic scriptures, and logic with spiritual insight, Swami Mukundananda unravels the secrets of the 7 mindsets—seven techniques of training the mind and intellect and unlocking the immense potential within. An alumnus of IIT and IIM, Swami-ji brings his decades-long mastery of Vedic scriptures to these powerful yet simple techniques for mind management and life transformation.

    KRISHNAMURTII TEACHINGS FOR TEENS, edited by Dale Carlson. Teens learn to understand the self, the purpose of life, work, education, relationships. Through paying attention rather than accepting the authority of their conditioning, they can find out for themselves about love, sex, marriage, work, education, the meaning of life and how to change themselves and the world. The Dalai Lama calls Krishnamurti "One of the greatest thinkers of the age."

    Delve deep into the mind of these creatures and learn what makes them tick.

    Find enlightenment with these one-hundred twenty-two traditional Buddhist Zen koans -- stories, dialogues, questions, or statements, used in Zen-practice to provoke the "great doubt," and test a student's progress in Zen practice.

    It is a story of mid-life longings and discoveries, of lessons learned in the search for home and a new sense of purpose, and the bittersweet intensity of life with teenagers--holding on, letting go. Poised on the threshold between family life as she's always known it and her older son's departure for college, Kenison is surprised to find that the times she treasures most are the ordinary, unremarkable moments of everyday life, the very moments that she once took for granted, or rushed right through without noticing at all. The relationships, hopes, and dreams that Kenison illuminates will touch women's hearts, and her words will inspire mothers everywhere as they try to make peace with the inevitable changes in store.

    In telling the story of one master’s training and evolution in the Himalayas and his subsequent mission to his countrymen, the author enlightens you on the essence of India’s culture, philosophy and religion. His story will surely educate you, inspire you, and broaden your horizons of the meaning of life.The Swami spent five years in the Himalayas under the tutelage of two incredible Masters of live, as different as day and night. Although both were scholars of the scriptures, their manifestation was unique. One was an incredible streak of light and energy who traveled India teaching, then created a huge ashram center to serve all of humanity. The other was a quiet contemplative recluse who sang inspirational songs and taught only a few students.Swami Chinmayananda appeared on the scene at an appropriate time in Indian history. The British had just left the country with no one trained to take the helm of State. The British had taken all the top government positions. In addition, they had curtailed any industrial development; the Empire was about having consumers for British products. The Indians had lost their moorings: economically, spiritually and personally. To these countrymen, beaten down by 150 years of British rule, repression and slavery, the Swami gave a message of hope. He worked relentlessly for about 40 years to bring about a spiritual revival in India and abroad. His unique style and logical approach was appreciated by everyone from college students to bankers to priests—both Hindu and Christian.By teaching directly the wisdom of their ancient scriptures, he gave the listeners confidence and inspiration to move forward in business and in creating charitable endeavors for the uplifting of the downtrodden of the country. Through 200 centers in India, his devotees have built and operate schools, hospitals and clinics, nursing homes, retirement homes and training centers for nurses and teachers, as well as spiritual training centers.This story of the legacy of one of the most influential persons in the modern history of Hinduism is sure to surprise you, amaze you—and inspire you.

    Laughter deflates pretension and a good rap on the head sometimes transcends so-called logic. In the words of Zen, "Nothing is left for you but to laugh!"

    And in the process of building myself back up, I learned that you are allowed to leave some pieces behind-you are allowed to become the person you design yourself to be.'A collection of notes and poetic reflections, journaling how April learned to let go of everything that was holding her back in order to grow into the person she deserved to become.Bloom for Yourself II is a book you can plant in your soul and return to each time you feel ready to let go and grow.April Green's second book in the 'Bloom for Yourself' series gives readers even more help and guidance in overcoming pain and heartache. Her words are shared by thousands of people all over the world, including Jenna Dewan and Shantel Vansanten.The 'Bloom for Yourself' books are written for anyone feeling lost, alone, depressed or unworthy. They are books to be read many times over as you come to experience April's extraordinary gift for helping you understand that you are never truly alone.

    That is, this is a book that studies the wisdom of the garden and orchard, those places where all—death, sorrow, loss—is converted into what might, with patience, nourish us.

    Richard developed this process as an easy way for anyone to quickly integrate new spiritual teachings into their life and see fast results. Drawing on his own personal experiences and struggles with interpreting these esoteric teachings, the Magic Transformation Process bridges the gap between theory and practice by “transforming” any teaching into a form that is easily assimilated by our current belief system. The result is a high level of personal effectiveness and greatly improved success rates when learning any spiritual or self-help technique, such as those intended for instant manifestation or spiritual healing. Having laid this general groundwork for personal development, Richard moves on to explain why manifestations are not about taking a piecemeal approach. Many readers apply manifestation techniques in a piecemeal manner to fill up perceived voids in their lives. But as Richard explains, becoming an effective manifestor goes beyond just using these techniques when the need arises and neglecting them in other areas of your life. To become an effective manifestor, one needs to move towards an actual, holistic living of this material at all levels of their being instead of merely understanding it theoretically. To help readers do so, Richard expands upon the concept of timeless manifestations which he originally introduced in his book Playing In Time And Space. In this current book, Richard takes readers through a powerful series of inner exercises to “perceive our physical manifestations as the Universe sees it — at a single point in time.” Most readers have a difficult time understanding why time and space boundaries do not matter to the Universe and how time is only a convenient illusion when it comes to our manifestations. Through the steps described by Richard, readers are guided to see why instant spontaneous manifestations are not just a fantasy but a definite possibility in our everyday experience. Next, Richard shares the Quick Statement Process, a powerful technique that allows readers to cut through any negative feelings, emotions or thoughts arising from particular situations in their own life. These negative feelings often delay and hold our manifestations back, which is why it is important that we break free from them as soon as possible. The Quick Statement Process allows one to dissolve any negative feelings of doubt without the need for any logical rationalizations or psychoanalysis. Just drop it and be done with them! Readers are in for a treat as Richard rounds up the book by showing readers how to “collapse” their perceptions of time and space — such that they are both living in their current reality and also a “future” reality where their desires are already manifest. He shares his latest insights on why worrisome and fearful thoughts just cannot exist when we “collapse the future into the now” and live in a state of perpetual bliss.

    A handbook for the happy, and a bible for the broken-hearted, The Alphabet of the Human Heart is an enchanting and enriching journey through the upside and the downside of what it means to be human – our hopes and our fears, our strengths and our weaknesses, our highs and our lows.

    . . . A masterpiece.” —Margaret Atwood“No one who is invested in any kind of art . . . can read The Gift and remain unchanged.” —David Foster WallaceBy now a modern classic, The Gift is a brilliantly orchestrated defense of the value of creativity and of its importance in a culture increasingly governed by money and overrun with commodities. This book is even more necessary today than when it first appeared.An illuminating and transformative book, and completely original in its view of the world, The Gift is cherished by artists, writers, musicians, and thinkers. It is in itself a gift to all who discover the classic wisdom found in its pages.

    In the tradition of the late great George Carlin, New York Times bestselling author and lead singer of Slipknot and Stone Sour Corey Taylor sounds off in hilarious fashion about the many vagaries of modern life that piss him off.Whether it’s people’s rude behavior in restaurants and malls, the many indignities of air travel, eye-searingly terrible fashion choices, dangerously clueless drivers, and—most of all—the sorry state of much modern music, Taylor’s humor and insight cover civil society’s seeming decline—sparing no one along the way, least of all himself.Holding nothing back and delivered in Taylor’s inimitable voice, You’re Making Me Hate You is a cathartic critique of the strange world in which we find ourselves.

    From 1836 to 1837, Emerson presented a series of lectures on the philosophy of history at Boston's Masonic Temple. These lectures were never published separately but many of Emerson's thoughts were later used in Self-reliance. In this book, first published in 1841, Emerson clearly illustrates the need for each individual to avoid conformity and false consistency, and to follow his or her own instincts and ideas. Here, Andrew Holmes' interpretation of Self-reliance illustrates the timeless nature of Emerson's insights by bringing them to life through 52 modern case studies. This brilliant interpretation of Self-reliance is an entertaining accompaniment to one of the most famous books on strategy ever written.