Book picks similar to
The Only Dance There Is by Ram Dass


spirituality
non-fiction
philosophy
religion

The Tao Made Easy: Timeless Wisdom to Navigate a Changing World


Alan Cohen - 2018
    That wish has come true for us. Now what? In this radically illuminating book, Alan Cohen delves into one of the world’s most venerated wisdom texts for answers and brings the lofty and enigmatic concepts of the Tao Te Ching down to earth in fresh, easy-to-grasp language with practical, personal examples we can use to uplift our daily lives.Most other interpretations of the Tao march through the stanzas one by one. Here Alan Cohen calls forth the ancient verses around themes that are central to our modern lives —from love to work to the lessons we learn from pain. Then he brings each message to life in short vignettes where he imagines himself a student of Lao Tse and interacts with the master directly and intimately. He invites you to join the ancient sage and the contemporary seeker as they wend their way through the challenges and triumphs of the same journey you’re taking yourself.

Satipaṭṭhāna: The Direct Path to Realization


Bhikkhu Anālayo - 2004
    Anālayo marshals the suttas of the Pāli canon, works of modern scholarship, and the teachings of present-day meditation masters to make the rich implications of this text, so concise in the original, clear to contemporary students of the Dharma. Unlike more popular books on the subject, he is not out to establish the exclusive validity of one particular system of meditation as against others; his aim, rather, is to explore the sutta as a wide-ranging and multi-faceted source of guidance which allows for alternative interpretations and approaches to practice. His analysis combines the detached objectivity of the academic scholar with the engaged concern of the practitioner for whom meditation is a way of life rather than just a subject of study.The book should prove to be of value both to scholars of Early Buddhism and to serious meditators alike. Ideally, it will encourage in both types of reader the same wholesome synthesis of scholarship and practice that underlies the author's own treatment of his subject.

Leaving the Saints: How I Lost the Mormons and Found My Faith


Martha N. Beck - 2005
    As an adult, she moved to the east coast, outside of her Mormon enclave for the first time in her life. When her son was born with Down syndrome, Martha and her husband left their graduate programs at Harvard to return to Utah, where they knew the supportive Mormon community would embrace them.But when she was hired to teach at Brigham Young University, Martha was troubled by the way the Church’s elders silenced dissidents and masked truths that contradicted its published beliefs. Most troubling of all, she was forced to face her history of sexual abuse by one of the Church’s most prominent authorities. The New York Times bestseller Leaving the Saints chronicles Martha’s decision to sever her relationship with the faith that had cradled her for so long and to confront and forgive the person who betrayed her so deeply. Leaving the Saints offers a rare glimpse inside one of the world’s most secretive religions while telling a profoundly moving story of personal courage, survival, and the transformative power of spirituality.

A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"


Marianne Williamson - 1992
    Whether psychic pain is in the area of relationships, career, or health, she shows us how love is a potent force, the key to inner peace, and how by practicing love we can make our own lives more fulfilling while creating a more peaceful and loving world for our children.

Same Soul, Many Bodies: Discover the Healing Power of Future Lives through Progression Therapy


Brian L. Weiss - 2004
    Weiss, M.D., shows us how. Through envisioning our lives to come, we can influence their outcome and use this process to bring more joy and healing to our present lives. Dr. Weiss pioneered regression therapy -- guiding people through their past lives. Here, he goes beyond that to demonstrate the therapeutic benefits of progression therapy -- guiding people through the future in a scientific, responsible, healing way.Through dozens of case histories detailing both past-life and future-life experiences, Dr. Weiss shows how the choices that we make now will determine our future quality of life. From Samantha, who overcame academic failure once she learned of her future as a great physician, to Evelyn, whose fears and prejudices ended after she envisioned prior and forthcoming lives as a hate victim, Dr. Weiss gives concrete examples of lives transformed by regression and progression therapy.A groundbreaking work, Same Soul, Many Bodies is sure to deeply affect peoples' lives as they strive toward their future.

Who Am I?: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi


Ramana Maharshi - 2008
    Sivaprakasam Pillai in 1902.

365 Tao: Daily Meditations


Ming-Dao Deng - 1992
    Use no other words.The Tao is constantly moving, the path that all life and the whole universe takes. There is nothing that is not part of it—harmonious living is to know and to move with the Tao—it is a way of life, the natural order of things, a force that flows through all life.365 Tao is a contemporary book of meditations on what it means to be wholly a part of the Taoist way, and thus to be completely in harmony with oneself and the surrounding world.Deng Ming-Dao is the author of eight books, including The Living I Ching, Chronicles of Tao, Everyday Tao, and Scholar Warrior. His books have been translated into fifteen languages. He studied qigong, philosophy, meditation, and internal martial arts with Taoist master Kwan Saihung for thirteen years, and with two other masters before that.

Falling Into Grace: Insights on the End of Suffering


Adyashanti - 2011
    Falling Into Grace presents Adyashanti's response to anyone looking for a way out of suffering and into the freedom of spiritual awakening. With his first introductory book, he offers what he considers the fundamental teachings on "seeing life with clear eyes" to transcend the illusions that lead to unhappiness. Readers join this sought-after teacher to explore: - The concept of a separate self as the root of all suffering-and how to stop believing the thoughts that perpetuate our self-image - How to take "the backward step" into the pure potential of the present moment - Giving up the control we only think we have - The essential invitation of spirituality: wake up from the dream to embrace what is "When we realize that there is grace in every moment, our minds will open, our hearts will expand, and we'll be able to express the peace And The love that all beings aspire to," teaches Adyashanti. Here is an opportunity to welcome a revolution in the way that we perceive life through Falling into Grace.

The Misleading Mind: How We Create Our Own Problems and How Buddhist Psychology Can Help Us Solve Them


Karuna Cayton - 2011
    As practiced for more than twenty-six hundred years, the process involves working with, rather than against, our depression, anxiety, and compulsions. We do this by recognizing the habitual ways our minds perceive and react — the way they mislead. The lively exercises and inspiring real-world examples Cayton provides can help you transform intractable problems and neutralize suffering by cultivating a radically liberating self-understanding.

The Road Less Traveled and Beyond: Spiritual Growth in an Age of Anxiety


M. Scott Peck - 1986
    M. Scott Peck’s counseling, lecturing, and writing, and the conclusion of the classic bestselling Road trilogy, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond leads us to a deeper awareness of how to live rich, fulfilling lives in a world fraught with stress and anxiety.With the rare combination of profound psychological insight and deep spirituality that has already spoken to millions of readers, Dr. Peck talks about decision making and the choices we make every day in business and at home, and the ethical choices that may affect the very survival of humankind. We learn the difference between good and evil, to overcome narcissism, to love and be loved, to live with paradox, to accept the consequences of our actions all through life, and to come to terms with dying and death. Dr. Peck is a guide on the adventure that is life, learning, and spiritual growth—life’s greatest adventure. Building in depth from the very first chapter to its lyrical and poetic conclusion, The Road Less Traveled and Beyond is an adventure in itself.

Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel


Thomas Keating - 1988
    Father Keating gives the reader an overview of what contemplative prayer both is and isn't; he discusses the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition and then explores step by step the process of Centering Prayer, briefly exploring its origins in the ancient church and then demonstrating its use as "a sign of one's intention" to surrender to God. Each chapter concludes with questions and answers that provide useful information in an informal context. Here in particular we get a sense of Keating's clarity--and his sense of humor. For example, in response to a question about the sudden experience of happiness in prayer, Keating responds, "You should not take prayer too seriously. There is something playful about God. You only have to look at a penguin ... to realize that He likes to play little jokes on creatures." --Doug Thorpe

Learning to Walk in the Dark


Barbara Brown Taylor - 2014
    Doesn’t God work in the nighttime as well? In Learning to Walk in the Dark, Taylor asks us to put aside our fears and anxieties and to explore all that God has to teach us “in the dark.” She argues that we need to move away from our “solar spirituality” and ease our way into appreciating “lunar spirituality” (since, like the moon, our experience of the light waxes and wanes). Through darkness we find courage, we understand the world in new ways, and we feel God’s presence around us, guiding us through things seen and unseen. Often, it is while we are in the dark that we grow the most.With her characteristic charm and literary wisdom, Taylor is our guide through a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find our footing in times of uncertainty and giving us strength and hope to face all of life’s challenging moments.

Think on These Things


Jiddu Krishnamurti - 1964
    Krishnamurti examines with characteristic objectivity and insight the expressions of what we are pleased to call our culture, our education, religion, politics and tradition; and he throws much light on such basic emotions as ambition, greed and envy, the desire for security and the lust for power – all of which he shows to be deteriorating factors in human society.’ From the Editor’s Note‘Krishnamurti’s observations and explorations of modern man’s estate are penetrating and profound, yet given with a disarming simplicity and directness. To listen to him or to read his thoughts is to face oneself and the world with an astonishing morning freshness.’ -- Anne Marrow Lindbergh

Be Nobody


Lama Marut - 2014
    No one wants to be a loser, a small fry, a big zero.But maybe we've got it all wrong.With his edgy tone and radical perspective, Lama Marut follows up A Spiritual Renegade's Guide to the Good Life by calling for the biggest revolution of all: the overthrow of our obsessive quest to be somebody. It is this quest to distinguish ourselves that is the true cause of our dissatisfaction, leaving us feeling isolated and alone.Drawing from the spiritual truism that only by losing the self can we discover our real potential, Be Nobody provides action steps and simple meditations that lay down the heavy burden of trying to be somebody. Without the need to seclude oneself in a monastery or retire to a cave in the Himalayas, Marut gives readers the freedom to find true fulfillmentSo stop narrating your life and start living it. Be nobody.

Infinite Life


Robert A.F. Thurman - 2004
    His first book, Inner Revolution, is an international bestseller and his lectures sell out to thousands.Infinite Life demonstrates that our every action has infinite consequences for ourselves and others, here and now and after we are gone. He introduces the Seven Paths to reconstructing body and mind carefully in order to reduce the negative consequences and cultivate the positive. In his powerful, pragmatic style, Thurman delivers life-changing lessons on virtues and emotions through the lens of Buddhist practices and ways of thinking. He invites us to take responsibility for our actions and their consequences while we revel in the knowledge that our lives are truly infinite. Infinite Life is the ultimate guidebook to understanding our place in the universe and realizing how we can personally succeed while helping others.