What they have in common is a hunch about human psychology: that it's our constant effort to eliminate the negative that causes us to feel so anxious, insecure, and unhappy. And that there is an alternative "negative path" to happiness and success that involves embracing the things we spend our lives trying to avoid. It is a subversive, galvanizing message, which turns out to have a long and distinguished philosophical lineage ranging from ancient Roman Stoic philosophers to Buddhists. Oliver Burkeman talks to life coaches paid to make their clients' lives a living hell, and to maverick security experts such as Bruce Schneier, who contends that the changes we've made to airport and aircraft security since the 9/11 attacks have actually made us less safe. And then there are the "backwards" business gurus, who suggest not having any goals at all and not planning for a company's future. Burkeman's new book is a witty, fascinating, and counterintuitive read that turns decades of self-help advice on its head and forces us to rethink completely our attitudes toward failure, uncertainty, and death.

    Ezra Bayda has good news: life’s challenges aren’t obstacles to our path—they are the path. Understanding that liberates us to use every aspect of what life presents us with as a way to live with integrity and authenticity—and joy.  In this, as in all his books, Ezra’s teaching is Zen made wonderfully practical, in a way that can apply to anyone’s life. Meditation is the foundation, but it doesn’t stop there. It’s about learning to take the practice of presence we cultivate in meditation to all the rest of our complicated lives. Doing that empowers us to navigate our journey with the integrity and authenticity that are what a satisfying life is all about.

    Inspired by the experiences of yoga and meditation, the natural world, and the challenges of life itself, these poems capture both the struggle and the delight of the author's attempt to live consciously. They speak in a voice that is both encouraging and uplifting, yet they are simple and accessible.

    These profound teachings point the way to love, peace, bliss and freedom, encouraging a transformation of consciousness and spiritual awakening.

    The Feeling Buddha is a lucid account of how the Buddha's path of wisdom and loving kindness grew out of the challenges he encountered in life. Brazier explains the concepts of enlightenment, nirvana and the four Noble Truths, free from mystification. Buddha emerges as a very human figure whose success lay not in his perfection, but in how he positively utilized the energy which was generated through his suffering. This rare guide illustrates how Buddha's philosophy of the "middle way" can lead to a balanced, harmonious, and serene existence in the 21st century.

    His writing is sophisticated and engaged, filled with memorable imagery and insight drawn from decades of study, reflection, and meditation on Buddhist teachings. Seasoned Buddhist readers and anyone interested in the intellectual heart of Buddhism will find this collection of fascinating essays rewarding.

    Theravada (or Hinayana) is found especially in Sri Lanka, Burma, and Thailand; Mahayana is found in Japan, China, Korea, and Indochina. Zen, a more recent form of Buddhism, is found throughout the world. Some believe Buddhism is not properly understood as a religion, though this presentation describes its religious qualities: a belief in transcendent reality, sacred scriptures, monastic life, and views on an afterlife and the goal of human existence.The Religion, Scriptures, and Spirituality series describes the beliefs, religious practices, and spiritual and moral commitments of the world's great religious traditions. It also describes a religion's way of understanding scripture, identifies its outstanding thinkers, and discusses its attitude and relationship to society.

    Many thousands of those readers have had questions for him--questions about religion, good and evil, physical and mental health, death, prophecy, the nature of God and the universe, prayer, angels and devils, spiritual paths, relationships, and much more.In Questions and Answers on Conversations with God, Neale, with characteristic wit and wisdom, responds to the most compelling and provocative of these letters; and the result is a book that is profoundly enlightening and inspiring. By relating the messages in the dialogues of CWG to the personal issues and everyday experience of individuals, Neale's answers illustrate the direct link between spiritual and physical reality, clearly demonstrating how what we do and who we are in our lives is a result of how we think and what we believe.This book gives us all the opportunity to look at ourselves, to change ourselves, and thus, perhaps, to change the world.

    Drawing from contemporary research on meditation and mindfulness and his experience as a Buddhist teacher and practitioner, Nichtern describes in fresh and deeply resonant terms the basic existential experience that gives rise to spiritual seeking—and also to its potentially dangerous counterpart, spiritual materialism. He reveals how our individual quests for self-awareness ripple forward into relationships, communities, and society at large. And he explains exactly how, by turning our awareness to what's happening around us and inside us, we become able to enhance our sense of connection with others and, at the same time, change for the better our individual and collective patterns of greed, apathy, and inattention.In this wise and witty invitation to Buddhist meditation, Nichtern shows how, in order to create a truly compassionate and enlightened society, we must start with ourselves. And this means beginning by working with our own minds—in whatever state we find them in.

    In fact, emptiness points to something quite different than “nothingness” or “vacancy.” And by developing a richer understanding of this complex topic, we can experience freedom as we live consciously in the world. Guy Armstrong has been a leading figure and beloved teacher of insight meditation for decades. In this book, he makes difficult Buddhist topics easy to understand, weaving together Theravada and Mahayana teachings on emptiness to show how we can liberate our minds and manifest compassion in our lives.

    Her pioneering reseach was praised in People and Vanity Fair and hailed on TV shows including Today, The O’Reilly Factor, and CBS’s The Talk. On New Year’s Eve, journalist and former Parade Editor-in-Chief Janice Kaplan makes a promise to be grateful and look on the bright side of whatever happens. She realizes that how she feels over the next months will have less to do with the events that occur than her own attitude and perspective. Getting advice at every turn from psychologists, academics, doctors, and philosophers, she brings readers on a smart and witty journey to discover the value of appreciating what you have. Relying on both amusing personal experiences and extensive research, Kaplan explores how gratitude can transform every aspect of life including marriage and friendship, money and ambition, and health and fitness. She learns how appreciating your spouse changes the neurons of your brain and why saying thanks helps CEOs succeed. Through extensive interviews with experts and lively conversations with real people including celebrities like Matt Damon, Daniel Craig, and Jerry Seinfeld, Kaplan discovers the role of gratitude in everything from our sense of fulfillment to our children’s happiness.   With warmth, humor, and appealing insight, Janice’s journey will empower readers to think positively and start living their own best year ever.

    Offered are ways for mothers to reconnect with their inner selves and become calmer and happier—with the recognition that a happier mother will be a better parent. This realistic look at motherhood acknowledges the sorrows as well as the joys of mothering and offers real and achievable coping strategies for mothers to renew their lives on a deep level.

    Joe Dispenza has created two meditation CDs—featuring different music—to accompany his book You Are the Placebo.     On this longer 56-minutedisc, Dr. Joe walks you through Meditation 1: Changing Two Beliefs and Perceptions. After introducing the open-focus technique, he then moves you into the practice of finding the present moment. When you discover the sweet spot of the present moment and you forget about yourself as the personality you have always been, you have access to other possibilities that already exist in the quantum field. That’s because you are no longer connected to the same body-mind, to the same identification with the environment, and to the same predictable timeline. In the present moment, the familiar past and the future literally no longer exist, and you become pure consciousness—a thought alone. That is the moment that you can change your body, change your environment, and even create a new timeline for your life!

    These reflections invite you to do nothing, but offer the reader purpose, meaning and value in order to become more fully awake and to remember who you are.

    Whether you're a fan of cute bunnies or a devotee of the comforting wisdom of Buddhist thought (or both), this delightful and deceptively simple book will offer insights, surprises, and joy. Based on a popular Twitter feed these heartfelt observations have attracted a loyal following.A bunny who is happy and peaceful brings joy wherever he hops.What the bunny mind dwells on, the bunny becomes.Simple things can be extraordinary to the bunny who chooses to see them.One must hop carefully, for every hop has the potential to cause pain.The wise bunny knows the carrot will not hop to him.The wise bunny hops even when the way is unclear.With 500 inspiring entries and 40 adorable illustrations, the book will be a gift, a touchstone, and a gentle guide to hopping along the wise path of life.