Book picks similar to
MIND: Its Mysteries and Control by Sivananda Saraswati
yoga
non-fiction
mind
meditation
The Upanishads
Vernon Katz - 2015
Yet many academic translators fail to capture the work’s philosophical and spiritual subtlety, while others convey its poetry at the cost of literal meaning. This new translation by Vernon Katz and Thomas Egenes fills the need for an Upanishads that is clear, simple, and insightful – yet remains faithful to the original Sanskrit. As Western Sanskrit scholars who have spent their lives immersed in meditative practice, Katz and Egenes offer a unique perspective in penetrating the depths of Eastern wisdom and expressing these insights in modern yet poetic language. Their historical introduction is suited to newcomers and experienced readers alike, providing the perfect entry to this unparalleled work.
A Lamp in the Darkness: Illuminating the Path Through Difficult Times
Jack Kornfield - 2010
"Awakening to this wisdom can help us fin dour way through pain and suffering with grace and tenderness." For anyone seeking answer during a trying time, he offers "A Lamp in the Darkness," a book-and-CD program filled with spiritual and psychological insights, hope-giving stories, and guided meditations for skillfully navigating life's inevitable storms.The practices in this book are not positive thinking, quick fixes, or simplistic self-help strategies. They are powerful tools for doing "the work of the soul" to access our inner knowing and to embrace the fullness of our life experience. With regularly practice these teachings and meditations enable you to transform your difficulties into a guiding light for the journey ahead. Join Jack Kornfeld as your trusted guide as you explore:. Shared Compassion-a guided practice for planting the seeds of compassion and opening the heart to all that life brings . The Earth Is My Witness-a meditation to establish firm footing in the midst of darkness, centered by a steady witnessing presence . The Practice of Forgiveness-what Jack calls "the only medicine that can release us from the past and allow us to truly begin anew." . The Temple of Healing-a guided visualization to meet our own inner healer . Equanimity and Peace-a meditation for maintaining balance and acceptance regardless of the situationJust as it is certain that each life will include suffering, explains Kornfield, it is also true that in every moment there is the possibility of transcending your difficulties to discover the heart's eternal freedom. With A Lamp in the Darkness, he offers you a beacon for yourself and others until joy returns again.Table of ContentsForeward by Jon Kabat-ZinnIntroduction: An Invitation to Awaken1. The Wisdom of Our Difficulties2. The Earth is My Witness3. Shared Compassion4. Awakening the Buddha of Wisdom in Difficulties5. The Practice of Forgiveness6. The Temple of Healing7. The Zen of an Aching Heart8. Equanimity and Peace9. Your Highest Intention10. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness and the Healing JourneyAfterword: The Return of JoyExcerptIf you're reading these words, you've probably hit hard times. Perhaps you've lost a loved one, or maybe you've lost your job, or received a difficult diagnosis, or someone close to you has. Maybe you're divorcing or you're in bankruptcy or you've been injured, or your life is falling apart in any number of ways. Maybe daily life itself has become too much for you.or not enough. But even in the best of times there's plenty to worry about: seemingly endless wars and violence, racism, our accelerating environmental destruction. In difficult times, personally or collectively, we often begin to wonder not only how we can get through this difficult patch; we begin to question existence itself.
Playing In Time And Space: The Miracle of Inspired Manifestations
Richard Dotts - 2014
For a student just beginning to understand these spiritual laws, the concept of a malleable reality can be difficult to grasp. Well, if physical reality is not what it is… then what really is? How can we begin to shape and create reality in the way we truly desire? If the Universe responds instantaneously to all my desires and intentions, where is my stuff? Why do I have to wait? In his latest work Playing In Time And Space, bestselling author and spiritual explorer Richard Dotts shares the secrets to creating our own physical reality from our current human perspectives. Instead of seeing the physical laws of space and time as restricting us, Dotts shares how anyone can transcend these perceived limitations of space and time by changing their thinking, and manifest right from where they are. As Dotts writes in the opening, “This book is an invitation to play!” Through a series of illuminating mental exercises and “mind games” which you can easily follow along from your comfortable armchair, Dotts shows anyone how they can instantly “bridge the SPACE and TIME gaps” between their current reality and where they ultimately want to be.Follow along as Dotts guides you through simple exercises that allow you to PROVE the existence and infallibility of these Universal Laws for yourself. If you are sick and tired of just merely reading about these principles, now is the time to really use them. These same insights only came to him after years of meditation, and now you too, can access these same great spiritual truths for yourself. For example … * How can you know that the Universe always responds to every single one of your intentions and desires instantaneously, without any delay? Dotts takes you through an inner exercise to understand this. * Why does a buffer of time exist between our intentions and the actual physical manifestation? * Is time merely a persistent illusion as famously stated by Einstein? Here’s how you can prove it to yourself. You may not believe you can BEND TIME at will using these simple statements and exercises. Richard Dotts didn’t think he could do it either… until these two events happened to him… * Are you doing the right thing when you visualize? If you visualize with the intent of ____ out ____, then you’re spending more effort than necessary. However, if you visualize with the specific intent of bridging the gaps of space and time… physical manifestations will happen in your reality very quickly. * How to rid yourself of negative worries and fear thoughts that just pop up throughout the day into your awareness, and why it is crucial to get rid of them for inspired manifestations. (Dotts shares one of the most effective techniques he personally used to rid himself of a lifetime of negative conditioning and chronic worrying.)Anyone who masters space and time would have mastered the art of manifestation!
7 Treasures of Awakening: The Benefits of Mindfulness
Joseph Goldstein - 2014
When we are firmly established in mindfulness, the Buddha explained, these seven “treasures” serve to steer the mind away from delusion and the causes of suffering, guiding us to the realization of freedom. In Seven Treasures of Awakening, Insight Meditation Society cofounder Joseph Goldstein reveals how each one of these qualities of enlightenment sequentially develop and support each other as our practice of mindfulness matures. Program highlights:• Mindfulness, discrimination of states, energy, rapture, calm, concentration, and equanimity: the seven “treasures” of awakening• The four qualities of mindful attention• Dhammavicaya, or “knowing what’s what”• Viriya (or energy), the root of all accomplishment• Well-balanced effort• Pīti, the antidote to anger and ill will• Reflecting on the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha• The role of calm on the path to awakening• Jhāna and the four developments of concentration• Sīla, ethical conduct• Equanimity versus indifference• The “great way” of non-preferential awareness• The deep delight born of peace• Excerpted from Mindfulness: A Practical Guide to Awakening, Joseph Goldstein’s masterwork on the Buddha’s instructions for a life lived consciously
The Spectrum of Consciousness
Ken Wilber - 1977
He was the first to suggest in a systematic way that the great psychological systems of the West could be integrated with the noble contemplative traditions of the East. Spectrum of Consciousness, first released by Quest in 1977, has been the prominent reference point for all subsequent attempts at integrating psychology and spirituality.
Journey of a Master: Swami Chinmayananda
Nancy Freeman Patchen - 1989
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.
Sri Aurobindo, or The Adventure of Consciousness
Satprem - 1968
The Heart Sutra: Talks on Buddha
Osho - 1978
The Heart Sutra includes students questions, from the esoteric to eminently personal, posed directly to
The Undiscovered Self/Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams
C.G. Jung - 1990
G. Jung, as rendered by Jung's official translator. "The Undiscovered Self" (1957) integrates many of Jung's lifelong social and psychological concerns and addresses the uneasy relation between the individual and mass society. The survival of civilization, he maintains, depends on individual awareness of both the conscious and unconscious aspects of the human psyche. The exploration of the unconscious, in particular, leads to self-knowledge and with it recognition of the duality of human natureits potential for evil as well as for good. Jung believes that it is this self-knowledge that enables the individual to resist the collective power of mass society and the state and to cope with their possible threats. Jung's reflections on self-knowledge and the exploration of the unconscious carry over into his essay "Symbols and the Interpretation of Dreams, " completed shortly before his death in 1961. (It is the original version of his introduction to the symposium Man and His Symbols, conceived as a popular presentation of Jungian ideas.) Describing dreams as communications from the unconscious--as expressions of aspects of the individual that have been neglected or unrealized--Jung explains how the symbols that occur in dreams compensate for repressed emotions and intuitions. In a world dehumanized, in Jung's view, by scientific "progress" and the loss of emotional participation in natural events, symbols recall our original nature, its instincts and peculiar way of thinking. This essay brings together Jung's fully evolved thoughts on the analysis ofdreams and the healing of the rift between consciousness and the unconscious, in the context of his system of psychology.
A Systematic Course In The Ancient Tantric Techniques Of Yoga And Kriya
Satyananda Saraswati - 1981
Swami Sivananda Sarswati. This book is the most comprehensive text ever published on yoga. It contains a complete course of 36 structured lessons on all the practices of integral yoga. The lessons were compiled from the teachings given by Swami Satyananda Saraswati and are useful as a practical and theoretical guide for all levels of yoga teachers and aspirants. The book presents a synthesis of yoga in a scientific and systematic manner. The different branches of hatha yoga, mantra yoga, karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga and kriya yoga are progressively introduced with special emphasis on practice, theory and application in daily life. Includes line drawings,diagrams and colour plates. The depth of knowledge this book contains provides the link between you,the practitoner of yoga and an experienced guide and teacher.This link is your sadhana(spiritual practice),the beginning of your inner transformation,spiritual awakening and realization of higher ideals in life. The techniques covered in this book have their basis in the ancient vedic (tantric and yogic) shastras and were handed over the centuries from guru to disciple. Now in an age when travel and communication have become almost instantaneous affairs and there are more efficient methods of disseminating wisdom than the human voice and ear,we wish to offer these transcendatal instruments of grace to all who have eyes to read and ears to hear.
The Yoga of the Bhagavad Gita: An Introduction to India's Universal Science of God-realization
Paramahansa Yogananda - 2005
Paramahansa Yogananda presents an illuminating explanation of Lord Krishna's sublime Yoga message that he preached to the world - the way of right activity and meditation for divine communion.
Prometheus Rising
Robert Anton Wilson - 1983
Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybskis general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, and the several disciplines of Yoga; not to mention Christian Science, relativity, quantum mechanics, and many other approaches to understanding the world around us! That is exactly what Robert Anton Wilson does in Prometheus Rising. In short, this is a book about how the human mind works and what you can do to make the most of yours.
Mindfulness in Plain English
Henepola Gunaratana - 1992
This expanded edition includes the complete text of its predecessor along with a new chapter on cultivating loving kindness. For anyone who is new to meditation, this is a great resource for learning how to live a more productive and peaceful life.
Meditation and Mantras
Vishnu-Devananda - 1978
"The metods presented in this book follow the tradition from which all the four yogic paths of Raja, karma, Jnana and Bhakti stem out...Yogas are som well explained that even a lay reader will have little difficulty in grasping and understanding the techniques to control the mind..." The astrological magazine
The Yoga-Sūtra of Patañjali: A New Translation and Commentary
Georg Feuerstein - 1979
The translation and commentary provided here by Georg Feuerstein are outstanding for their accessibility and their insight into the essential meaning of this ancient and complex text. A scholar of international renown who has studied and practiced yoga since the age of fourteen, Feuerstein also brings to The Yoga-Sutra of Patañjali his experience as a professional indologist. His faithful and informed rendering of the aphorisms (sutras) is based on extensive personal research into the Sanskrit sources. Each word is explained so that the entire text becomes readily available to the western reader and student of yoga.