Jan Chozen Bays, MD—physician and Zen teacher—has developed a series of simple practices to help us cultivate mindfulness as we go about our ordinary, daily lives. Exercises include: taking three deep breaths before answering the phone, noticing and adjusting your posture throughout the day, eating mindfully, and leaving no trace of yourself after using the kitchen or bathroom. Each exercise is presented with tips on how to remind yourself and a short life lesson connected with it.

    These short, inspiring readings illuminate Zen practice in simple, eloquent language. Topics include zazen and Zen koans, how to appreciate your life as the life of the Buddha, and the essential matter of life and death. Appreciate Your Life conveys Maezumi Roshi's unique spirit and teaching style, as well as his timeless insights into the practice of Zen. Never satisfied with merely conveying ideas, his teisho, the Zen talks he gave weekly and during retreats, evoked personal questions from his students. Maezumi Roshi insisted that his students address these questions in their own lives. As he often said, "Be intimate with your life." The readings are not teachings or instructions in the traditional sense. They are transcriptions of the master's teisho, living presentations of his direct experience of Zen realization. These teisho are crystalline offerings of Zen insight intended to reach beyond the student's intellect to her or his deepest essence.

    In these chapters, he shares his vision for bringing social action into daily life, on a scale we can realistically manage through the choices we make every day—what to buy, what to eat, and how to relate honestly and bravely with our friends and family and coworkers. His fresh and encouraging perspective shows us that we have the strength to live with kindness in the midst of the many challenges we face as socially and environmentally conscious beings. Because he sees the world through the lens of the interdependence of all beings, he sees that humans can change social and environmental problems by changing their attitudes and actions. And so, he shows ways that we can change our world by changing ourselves—by examining our own habits of consumption and by being willing to look into how our food reaches our table and how the products we buy are made. In his chapter on gender, he points out that we don’t have to label others according to a social construct. If his viewpoint seems optimistic, it is—and it’s also demanding. The Karmapa calls on us to open our mind and heart to the innumerable connections we share with others—in our families, communities, social systems, and on our planet. Thanks to the depth of his spiritual training, and the breadth of his curiosity about the world and his love for it, he presents a relevant framework for understanding what it means to be human now—and why it’s imperative that we concern ourselves with the well-being of all others. He points to a world we can create through our own effort, using a resource we already have in abundance—the basic nobility of our human heart.

    This foundation scripture teaches the supreme doctrine of nirvana and the way to the highest possible happiness for mankind. Oxford professor Dr. Max Muller, a great scholar and Orientalist, did the translation.

    This iconic journey changed the world forever, and the truths revealed continue to influence every corner of the globe today.A young man in line for the throne is trapped in his father's kingdom and yearns for the outside world. Betrayed by those closest to him, Siddhartha abandons his palace and princely title. Alone and face-to-face with his demons, he becomes a wandering monk and embarks on a spiritual fast that carries him to the brink of death. Ultimately recognizing his inability to conquer his body and mind by sheer will, Siddhartha transcends his physical pain and achieves enlightenment.Although we recognize Buddha today as an icon of peace and serenity, his life story was a tumultuous and spellbinding affair filled with love and sex, murder and loss, struggle and surrender. From the rocky terrain of the material world to the summit of the spiritual one, Buddha captivates and inspires—ultimately leading us closer to understanding the true nature of life and our selves.

    As a teen he joined a local gang that was first involved in petty burglary but later escalated into more dangerous crimes. One night when Preston was fifteen, he was faced with a decision to take a routine ride of mischief with the friends or stay home. Intuition told him not to go. Within an hour, everyone in that car was shot. This tragic event shook him to his core and catapulted him to finding higher purpose for himself.Love Louder presents a positive approach for getting more love and meaning out of life. With the lessons he’s learned through the years, he distills ancient wisdom and new thought teachings into thirty-three timeless tools to living your best life and asks questions such as:-What do you truly believe you deserve? Are your actions reflecting that?-What are you a slave to? Facebook? Twitter? Alcohol? Him? Her?-Do you have the need to be “right” all the time?Love Louder can help you tackle these everyday challenges and teach you how to live with more excitement, productivity, clarity, and confidence. Full of insights and powerful anecdotes, Preston’s motivational story is a heartwarming read for anyone seeking guidance on overall happiness and fulfillment in life.

    Though the practice is more than a millennium old, it has become popular in the West only in the last twenty years or so—and it has become very popular indeed, because it's a practice that one can fit very well into an ordinary life, and because it works.Through the influence of Pema Chödrön, who was one of the first American Buddhist teachers to teach it extensively, the practice has moved out of its Buddhist context to affect the lives of non-Buddhists too. It's in this spirit that Norman Fischer offers his commentary on the lojong slogans. He applies Zen wisdom to them, showing how well they fit in that related tradition, but he also sets the slogans in the context of resonant practices throughout the spiritual traditions. He shows lojong to be a wonderful method for everyone, including those who aren't otherwise interested in Buddhism, who don't have the time or inclination to meditate, or who'd just like to morph into the kind of person who's focused rather than scattered, generous rather than stingy, and kind rather than thoughtless.

    

    But are those answers reliable? In this systematic text, Douglas Groothuis makes a comprehensive apologetic case for Christian theism--proceeding from a defense of objective truth to a presentation of the key arguments for God from natural theology to a case for the credibility of Jesus, the incarnation and the resurrection. Throughout, Groothuis considers alternative views and how they fare intellectually.

    H. Almaas presents a marvelously effective practice for developing the transformative quality of presence. Through a particular method of self-observation and contemplative exploration that he calls inquiry, we learn to live in the relaxed condition of simply "being ourselves," without interference from feelings of inadequacy, drivenness toward goals, struggling to figure things out, and rejecting experiences we don't want. Almaas explores the many obstacles that keep us from being present--including defensiveness, ignorance, desire, aggression, and self-hatred--and shows us how to welcome with curiosity and compassion whatever we are experiencing.

    She's an upbeat Southerner with good hair and a successful business background, but she's had more heartache than most of us can imagine. Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is a collection of honest and sometimes raw stories. Dawn throws an arm around readers as she brings them along on her journey through the loss of a child, divorce, cancer, rape, the death of her only sibling, her husband's substance abuse, and finding her way back to Jesus in the middle of it all. Dawn shares her personal story to show readers how to find happiness and purpose even in the darkest of days. By laughing through the ugly cry, you will discover how to:Shut down negative feelings causing you to feel inadequateIdentify the pros despite how challenging the cons may seemEmbrace joy wherever you can find itLearn how to be honest with yourself and process grief in a healthy wayDawn writes, If more women were open about just how difficult our lives feel and how hard we are on ourselves, I think we'd learn to relax a little and give ourselves the grace God gives us every day. Laughing Through the Ugly Cry is great for:Women of any age seeking comfort, encouragement, and inspirationBook clubs and girls' nights--Dawn poses thoughtful group questions to support meaningful conversations about growth and joy

    The story of High-Ranking Mormon leader Hans Mattsson seeking sincere answers from his church but instead finding contempt, fear, doubt...and eventually peace

    This unseen realm is responsible for many everyday happenings—both good and bad. This is why it’s vital for you to understand how to activate the seer anointing and begin seeing into the spirit realm.Ana Werner is an everyday person with an extraordinary gift: she can see the invisible world. Through an engaging blend of supernatural stories—including encounters with Jesus and revelatory experiences in Heaven—and practical spiritual truths, Ana releases a powerful impartation that will help you to see into the spirit realm!By reading this book, you will gain…Biblical understanding of what defines a “Seer”Practical keys to seeing into the spirit realmUnique insights into the workings of angels and demonsEssential tools for engaging in victorious spiritual warfareInsider glimpses into into the rooms of Heaven and realms of God’s gloryAlthough not all Christians are “seers,” all believers have received the ability to see into the spirit realm.Learn to see into the supernatural world and experience the wonders of Heaven in your life today!

    Koshin Paley Ellison’s teachings share the way forward into a path of connection, compassion, and intimacy.” Each of us has an enormous capacity for love—a deep well of attention and care that we can offer to ourselves and others. With guidance that is both simple and wholly transformative, Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and psychotherapist, shows us how to uncover it: pay attention, be of service, and be with others. With this inspiring and down-to-earth book, drawn from the Zen precepts and illustrated with anecdotes from Koshin’s own life and practice, you’ll learn how to explore and investigate with your own core values, identify the mental habits that could be unconsciously hurting yourself and others, and overcome isolation. Each chapter closes with a contemplation to help integrate the teachings into your life. This book is about getting back in touch with your values, so you can live energetically, authentically, and lovingly. This an invitation to close the gaps we create between ourselves and others—to wake up to ourselves and the world around us. It’s time to live wholeheartedly.