Touching the Earth: Intimate Conversations with the Buddha


Thich Nhat Hanh - 1994
    According to many of his students who are deeply touched by this practice, it can help to renew our faith and develop our compassion as it presents an opportunity to heal our relationships through forgiveness and embrace our ancestors, parents, teachers and ourselves.

Rebel Ideas: The Power of Diverse Thinking


Matthew Syed - 2019
    It explains how to harness our unique perspectives, pool our collective intelligence and tackle the greatest challenges of our age - from climate change to terrorism. It draws on a dazzling range of case studies, including the catastrophic failings of the CIA before 9/11, a fatal communication breakdown on top of Mount Everest and a moving tale of de-radicalisation in America's Deep South. Rebel Ideas will strengthen any team or organisation, but has dozens of personal applications, too: from the art of personal reinvention to the remarkable benefits of personalised nutrition. It shows us how to become more creative, how to collaborate in a world becoming more interconnected, and how to break free of the echo chambers that surround us all.

The Yoga Bible: The Definitive Guide to Yoga


Christina Brown - 2002
    Featuring over 170 postures from the main schools of yoga, The Yoga Bible is the ultimate, comprehensive guide to practicing yoga and finding a mental and physical balance in life. The book encourages yoga beginners and experts alike to find a yoga sequence that suits their personal needs and abilities.

Lucid Dreaming: Gateway to the Inner Self


Robert Waggoner - 2008
    In the process, he stumbles upon the Inner Self.

Do You QuantumThink?: New Thinking That Will Rock Your World


Dianne Collins - 2011
    We're all looking for new ways of thinking that can bring about real solutions to modern problems, from the pursuit of inner serenity to solving world conflicts. In Do You QuantumThink? author Dianne Collins shares her ingenious discovery that reveals a critical missing link to make sense of our changing times. Her discovery provides us with the understanding and methodology to rise above problems of today by laying the foundation for an entirely new way to think.Part science, part philosophy, part spirituality, Do You QuantumThink? draws on a wide spectrum of sources, from cutting edge innovations in the sciences to the insights of the world's greatest spiritual leaders. This book will make you laugh, free you from limiting ideas, and introduce you to the most advanced principles and practical methods for living. Do You QuantumThink? will rock your world in the best of ways as you experience one revelation after another.

The Art of Stillness: Adventures in Going Nowhere


Pico Iyer - 2014
    There’s never been a greater need to slow down, tune out and give ourselves permission to be still. In The Art of Stillness—a TED Books release—Iyer investigate the lives of people who have made a life seeking stillness: from Matthieu Ricard, a Frenchman with a PhD in molecular biology who left a promising scientific career to become a Tibetan monk, to revered singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who traded the pleasures of the senses for several years of living the near-silent life of meditation as a Zen monk. Iyer also draws on his own experiences as a travel writer to explore why advances in technology are making us more likely to retreat. He reflects that this is perhaps the reason why many people—even those with no religious commitment—seem to be turning to yoga, or meditation, or seeking silent retreats. These aren't New Age fads so much as ways to rediscover the wisdom of an earlier age. Growing trends like observing an “Internet Sabbath”—turning off online connections from Friday night to Monday morning—highlight how increasingly desperate many of us are to unplug and bring stillness into our lives. The Art of Stillness paints a picture of why so many—from Marcel Proust to Mahatma Gandhi to Emily Dickinson—have found richness in stillness. Ultimately, Iyer shows that, in this age of constant movement and connectedness, perhaps staying in one place is a more exciting prospect, and a greater necessity than ever before. In 2013, Pico Iyer gave a blockbuster TED Talk. This lyrical and inspiring book expands on a new idea, offering a way forward for all those feeling affected by the frenetic pace of our modern world.

Conquest of Mind: Take Charge of Your Thoughts and Reshape Your Life Through Meditation


Eknath Easwaran - 1988
    But Eknath Easwaran, a world-famous spiritual teacher who taught meditation for nearly 40 years, shows a way to break free. Just as a fitness routine can result in a strong, supple body, spiritual disciplines can shape a secure personality and a resilient, loving mind. Best of all, these opportunities to grow stronger spiritually arise not only during meditation but throughout the day. Whether working with difficult colleagues, going out to eat, or responding to a child’s needs, readers learn how to try out different, wiser choices. With humor and empathy, Easwaran places timeless teachings from the Buddha and other mystics into contemporary scenes — watching a juggler on the street, taking a tennis lesson, going to the theater. Training the mind is life’s biggest adventure, and Conquest of Mind shows how this practice brings deepening relationships, increasing vitality, and a greater sense of purpose.

101 Essays That Will Change the Way You Think


Brianna Wiest - 2016
    This new compilation of her published work features pieces on why you should pursue purpose over passion, embrace negative thinking, see the wisdom in daily routine, and become aware of the cognitive biases that are creating the way you see your life. Some of these pieces have never been seen; others have been read by millions of people around the world. Regardless, each will leave you thinking: this idea changed my life.

The Dude and the Zen Master


Jeff Bridges - 2012
    Zen master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who “are simple and unassuming, and so good that, on account of them, God lets the world go on.” His buddy Jeff puts it another way. The wonderful thing about the Dude, he says, is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out. For more than a decade, Academy Award–winning actor Jeff Bridges and his buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue about life, laughter, and the movies with a charm and bonhomie that never fail to enlighten and entertain. Throughout, their remarkable humanism reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world.

New Thinking: From Einstein to Artificial Intelligence, the Science and Technology that Transformed Our World


Dagogo Altraide - 2019
    Now, more than ever, it’s important to see how we got here. What hidden stories lie behind much of the technology we use today? What drove those who invented it to do so? What were those special moments that changed the world forever? New Thinking is the story of human innovation, the story of us―through war and peace, it is humanity at our most innovative.Disruptive technology and innovation: From the stories behind the steam engine revolution to the electric world of Tesla, to the first computers, to the invention of the internet and artificial intelligence, this book explores the hidden history of technology, discovering the secrets that have shaped our world. New Thinking brings you the stories of the men and women who thought in a new way to bring our world to where it is today.In New Thinking: The Technology and Science That Transformed Our World you will delight in learning and appreciating: How a technology can spawn a new technology, and how they influence each other How our modern world came to be Our incredible modern world and potential for the future If you've read books such as The Third Industrial Revolution, They Made America, or How We Got to Now, you're going to love New Thinking

Game Changers: What Leaders, Innovators, and Mavericks Do to Win at Life


Dave Asprey - 2018
    His guests were some of the top performing humans in the world, people who had changed their areas of study or even pioneered entirely new fields. Dave wanted to know: What did they have in common? What mattered most to them? What made them so successful—and what made them tick? At the end of each interview, Dave asked the same question: “What are your top three recommendations for people who want to perform better at being human?”After performing a statistical analysis of the answers, he found that the wisdom gleaned from these highly successful people could be distilled into three main objectives: finding ways to become smarter, faster, and happier. Game Changers is the culmination of Dave’s years-long immersion in these conversations, offering 46 science-backed, high performance “laws” that are a virtual playbook for how to get better at life.With anecdotes from game changers like Dr. Daniel Amen, Gabby Bernstein, Dr. David Perlmutter, Arianna Huffington, Esther Perel, and Tim Ferris as well as examples from Dave’s own life, Game Changers offers readers practical advice they can put into action to reap immediate rewards. From taming fear and anxiety to making better decisions, establishing high-performance habits, and practicing gratitude and mindfulness, Dave brings together the wisdom of today’s game-changers to help everyone kick more ass at life.

8 Minute Meditation Expanded: Quiet Your Mind. Change Your Life.


Victor Davich - 2004
    Mindful meditation is an incredible tool that anyone can master for a better life. This newly expanded edition features the original, easy, and complete eight-minute-a-day program with a new introduction that aligns the concepts of mindfulness and meditation more closely together. In just the amount of time between television commercials, you can develop a powerful mindfulness practice that can last a lifetime.

Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation


Mark W. Muesse - 2011
    Central to many spiritual and philosophical traditions and known in English as "meditation," these practices are considered a major means for enhanced awareness and self-mastery. In recent decades, modern science has dramatically confirmed what advanced meditators have long claimed—that meditation, correctly practiced, offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being.

The Systems View of Life: A Unifying Vision


Fritjof Capra - 2014
    New emphasis has been given to complexity, networks, and patterns of organisation, leading to a novel kind of 'systemic' thinking. This volume integrates the ideas, models, and theories underlying the systems view of life into a single coherent framework. Taking a broad sweep through history and across scientific disciplines, the authors examine the appearance of key concepts such as autopoiesis, dissipative structures, social networks, and a systemic understanding of evolution. The implications of the systems view of life for health care, management, and our global ecological and economic crises are also discussed. Written primarily for undergraduates, it is also essential reading for graduate students and researchers interested in understanding the new systemic conception of life and its implications for a broad range of professions - from economics and politics to medicine, psychology and law.

The Luck Factor: Changing Your Luck, Changing Your Life - The Four Essential Principles


Richard Wiseman - 2003
    What is luck? A psychic gift or a question of intelligence? And what is it that lucky people have that unlucky people lack? Psychologist Dr. Richard Wiseman put luck under a scientific microscope for the very first time, examining the different ways in which lucky and unlucky people think and behave. After three years of intensive interviews and experiments with over 400 volunteers, Wiseman arrived at an astonishing conclusion: Luck is something that can be learned. It is available to anyone willing to pay attention to the Four Essential Principles: Creating Chance Opportunities Thinking Lucky Feeling Lucky Denying Fate Readers can determine their capacity for luck as well as learn to change their luck through helpful exercises that appear throughout the book. Illustrated with anecdotes from the lives of the famous such as Harry Truman and Warren Buffett, The Luck Factor also richly portrays the lives of ordinary people who have been extraordinarily lucky or unlucky. Finally Dr. Wiseman gives us a look into The Luck School where he instructs unlucky people and also teaches lucky people how to further enhance their luck. Smart, enlightening, fun to read, and easy to follow, The Luck Factor will give you revolutionary insight into the lucky mind and could, quite simply, change your life.About the Author Dr. Richard Wiseman heads a research unit within the psychology department at the University of Herfordshire in Britain and was recently given the prestigious CSICOP Public Education in Science Award. This is his first book.