Book picks similar to
Buddhism & the Twelve Steps Daily Reflections: Thoughts on Dharma and Recovery by Kevin Griffin
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Reflections on Silver River: Tokme Zongpo's Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva
Ken I McLeod - 2014
In just thirty-seven verses, Tokmé Zongpo summarizes the bodhisattva path. While this revered and loved text from the Tibetan Buddhist tradition has been translated many times, Ken McLeod's plain and simple English beautifully reflects the simplicity and directness of the original Tibetan. McLeod's commentary is full of striking images, provocative questions and inspiring descriptions of what it means to be awake and present in your life. Practical instruction, brief and to the point, is found in each of the verse commentaries, providing straightforward responses to the question, "How do I practice this?"McLeod is clearly writing from his own experience. Yet, instead of anecdotes and personal history, he challenges the reader to engage various scenarios, and consider for ourselves how compassion, clarity, presence and balance could take expression in his or her life.This masterful translation and commentary shine the light of wisdom on the challenges of contemporary life and illuminate a path the modern reader can tread to freedom, peace and understanding.Reflections on Silver River has three parts. The first is an informative introduction to the text and to Tokmé Zongpo. The introduction is followed by the translation of Tokmé Zongpo's Thirty-Seven Practices of a Bodhisattva. The third section is the main part of the book, a traditional verse-by-verse commentary. At less than 200 pages, Reflections on Silver River is a highly accessible introduction to Tibetan Buddhist practice as well as a valuable resource for the experienced practitioner, regardless of his or her tradition of training.McLeod himself is a teacher, translator, author and business consultant. He pioneered one-on-one meditation instruction, has taught numerous retreats and classes, published a highly regarded translation of Mahayana mind-training under the title The Great Path of Awakening, wrote an encyclopedic treatment of meditation practice in Wake Up to Your Life, and composed a poetic and evocative commentary on the Heart Sutra in An Arrow to the Heart.
The Quiet Mind
John E. Coleman - 2000
In his travels through India, Burma, Japan, and Thailand, he encounters luminous teachers such as Krishnamurti, Maharishi, and D.T. Suzuki. Ultimately, his search for peace of mind and liberating insights comes to fruition in Yangon—also known as Rangoon—under the tutelage of the great Vipassana meditation master Sayagyi U Ba Khin.
Living with Your Heart Wide Open: How Mindfulness and Compassion Can Free You from Unworthiness, Inadequacy, and Shame
Steve Flowers - 2011
These overly harsh self-criticisms can make us feel unworthy and incomplete. What if what you really need is not higher standards for yourself, but greater self-compassion? In Living with Your Heart Wide Open, you’ll discover how mindfulness and self-compassion can free you from the thoughts and beliefs that create feelings of inadequacy and learn to open your heart to the loving-kindness within you and in the world around you.Based in Western psychotherapy and Buddhist psychological principles, this book guides you past painful and self-limiting beliefs about yourself and toward a new perspective of nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of who you are, just as you are. You’ll receive gentle guidance in mindfulness and compassion practices that will lead you away from unproductive, self-critical thoughts and help you live more freely and fearlessly, with your heart wide open.
Wicca Candle Spells: Simple Magick Spells and Rituals that Work Fast (Wicca and Witchcraft)
Milla Walsh - 2013
Using basic white magick spells you can enhance your life in many ways by gaining prosperity, a new romance, a healthy mind and body, plus much more.While many rituals are too complex for a beginner, these simple candle spells can be performed by anyone, and have a high success rate even for new casters.Wicca Candle Spells: Simple Magick Spells That Work Fast by established author and witch Milla Walsh has been created specifically to help a person achieve results with their magic as simply and easily as possible.Using these spells, you will know exactly what you need to cast a spell, when to cast a spell, and how to do it right. Easy to follow instructions guide you through the casting process for spells of all types such as blessing, curse breaking, spell reversing, healing, and negativity release.In addition to simple ritual instructions that are followed with ease, spell ingredients necessary to perform magic are cost efficient and easily obtained worldwide.
Love Fat
Tabitha Farrar - 2015
Tabitha Farrar became ill with anorexia at seventeen. This book describes her ten-year struggle with the disease and dispels many myths about eatings disorders. During her recovery, she felt bombarded with all sorts of conflicting advice on food and diet. An avid researcher, she became obsessed with nutritional science and "healthy" eating. Despite all the literature that informed her she was eating the right things, her body rebelled against her low-fat diet and ultra-healthy eating plans. Stuck in a battle between her head and her gut, who would have ever thought that she would learn to Love Fat.
The Four Noble Truths
Bhikkhu Sumedho - 1992
The teaching is conveyed through the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, first expounded in 528 B.C. in the Deer Park at Saranath near Varanasi and kept alive in the Buddhist world ever since.Venerable Ajahn Sumedho is a bhikkhu (mendicant monk) of the Theravada tradition of Buddhism. He was ordained in Thailand in 1966 and trained there for ten years. He is currently the Abbot of the Amaravati Buddhist Centre as well as teacher and spiritual guide to many bhikkhus, Buddhist nuns and lay people.This booklet has been made available through the voluntary efforts of many people for the welfare of others.Note on the Text:The first exposition of the Four Noble Truths was a discourse (sutta) called Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta — literally, 'the discourse that sets the vehicle of the teaching in motion'. Extracts from this are quoted at the beginning of each chapter describing the Four Truths. The reference quoted is to the sections in the books of the scriptures where this discourse can be found. However, the theme of the Four Noble Truths recurs many times, for example in the quotation that appears at the beginning of the Introduction."From the Preface
Sober Is My New Drunk
Paul Bradley Carr - 2012
The letter was both a confession and an invitation for public scrutiny. “No matter where I was,” he recalls, “there was always a chance that someone had read my post and was waiting to catch me with a drink in my hand.” To help keep himself on the straight and narrow, Carr still has a counter at the top of his site, ticking off the number of days he’s gone without a drink.In this bracing (but zero-proof) tale of recovery, Carr delivers his own twelve steps to building a life without booze. His hard-earned advice, punctuated with anecdotes that are both cautionary and comic (a bender once took him to Iceland, where he drunkenly believed he’d get better Wi-Fi) is given with humility and goodwill. Along the way, Carr celebrates the simple yet overlooked pleasures of sobriety—weight loss, a renewed love life, the ability to buy a phone or laptop without promptly losing it in a bar. As he slowly discovers, a sober life actually CAN be fun. What’s more, he’ll remember it.
Heartwood of the Bodhi Tree: The Buddha's Teachings on Voidness
Buddhadasa Bhikkhu - 1994
"In this remarkable book, Ajahn Buddhadasa teaches us beautifully, profoundly, and simply the meaning of sunnata, or voidness, which is a thread that links every great school of Buddhism....He teaches us the truth of this voidness with the same directness and simplicity with which he invites us into his forest."-- from the foreword by Jack Kornfield
Zen Garden: Conversations with Pathmakers
Subroto Bagchi - 2012
Many, though not all, of the visitors to ‘Zen Garden’ were, like Subroto himself, high-performance entrepreneurs. But the one thing that was common to every guest was that they were pathmakers – rather than choosing to follow the well-trodden path, they had charted new paths that other could tread on.This book features the very best conversations from ‘Zen Garden’, including those with the Dalai Lama, Sadhguru Jaggi Zasudev, Nandan Nilekani, Aamir Khan, Dr. Devi Shetty, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Ekta Kapoor, social entrepreneur Harish Hande, Sanjeev Bikchandani of naukri.com, Deep Kalra of makemytrip.com, Café Coffee Day’s V.G. Siddhartha, Vikram Bakshi (the man who brought McDonald’s to India) and India’s top windmaker, Rajeev Samant.In their own words, these game changers reveal what it was that made them think differently, what gave them the courage to step off the beaten track, and how they sustained their vision in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.
The Lotus Still Blooms: Sacred Buddhist Teachings for the Western Mind
Joan Gattuso - 2008
Eastern wisdom traditions are often baffling for Western minds – where to begin in uncovering the often complicated steps, precepts, concepts and ideas? Aimed at people who are curious about Buddhism and want a basic book that will help them to understand – and apply – Buddhist principles in their life, The Lotus Still Blooms is a practical book that goes through all of the major Buddhist principles, step-by-step, and then shows how to apply them to our busy, hectic lives. Filled with Joan Gattuso’s trademark delightful stories and warmth, as well as exercises to help readers begin using the principles right away, this is a book that will be a welcomed new introduction to this exciting spiritual tradition.
The Language of the Heart—Bill W.'s Grapevine Writings
Bill Wilson - 2011
Though several of his articles are available in reprint form, whether as pamphlets, AA books, or in later issues of the magazine, they have never before been published in one volume.In June 1944, the Grapevine was established as a local newsletter through the individual efforts of six New York City AA's who were concerned about what seemed to be "a lack of understanding" among groups in the metropolitan area. Mailed by the six editors to all known groups in the U.S. and Canada, and sent free to AA's in the World War II armed forces, the Grapevine soon caught on nationally. In 1945, by vote of the groups, it became the principal journal of the Fellowship as a whole, and since the January 1949 issue it has been known as the international journal of Alcoholics Anonymous.From the first issue of the eight-page newsletter, Bill W. was a prolific contributor, an enthusiastic advocate, and for many years a consulting editor. In spite of a grueling travel schedule and a copious correspondence, Bill could never find enough time to respond to all the many and varied demands of a Fellowship that was still in the process of formation, and in the Grapevine he discovered an ideal vehicle of communication with the members and groups who clamored for his insights and experience. In more than 150 articles, written over a span of twenty-six years, Bill documented the painstaking process of trial and error that resulted in AA's spiritual principles of Recovery, Unity, and Service, and articulated his vision of what the Fellowship could become.When the current Grapevine editors began to consider ways of grouping Bill's articles in logical segments, it seemed at first a Herculean task — yet in the end it was not. Largely because of Bill's own highly focused way of thinking and working, the articles virtually fell into place. They are arranged chronologically in three Parts, according to the primary AA concerns Bill was thinking and writing about during each period of time. They are further subdivided by major and minor subject matter within each Part. Brief introductions to Parts One, Two, and Three outline the major events and trends in AA that impelled Bill to emphasize a particular aspect of AA life, and in a few cases, an introductory sentence or two sets the context for a specific article. Toward the end appear a group of memorial articles (written in appreciation for several nonalcoholic friends of AA, as well as for Dr. Bob and for Bill D., AA Number Three), and an Appendix containing seven articles in which Bill reflected on the Grapevine itself.While the intent is to make available the whole body of Bill's Grapevine writings, a few omissions have been made because of length. His series of articles on the Traditions, written in 1952 and 1953 and later reprinted in the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, is readily accessible in that book and thus is not repeated here: similarly, two excerpts from AA Comes of Age that were reprinted as Grapevine articles have not been included, and one article that appeared twice in the Grapevine appears only once here. All of Bill's very brief (about half a page each) Christmas and Thanksgiving greetings to the Fellowship have been cut, with the exception of the December 1970 Christmas message, his last Grapevine piece. And finally, a few brief items (short memorial tributes to General Service Office staff and an announcement that the General Service Office was moving to a new location) have also been omitted. For more information visit us at AAGrapevine.org.
No Period. Now What?: A Guide to Regaining Your Cycles and Improving Your Fertility
Nicola J. Rinaldi - 2016
People tend to think that loss of menstrual cycles only happens to Olympic-level athletes or people with eating disorders. But it turns out you can have seemingly healthy eating and exercise habits and still be faced with a missing monthly cycle. In fact, your lifestyle may be the culprit. No matter how long you've been without a period, our Recovery Plan will guide you on the path to regaining your cycle and improving your long-term health and fertility. This comprehensive book will: Explain what is happening in your body and why Present guidelines for how much and what to eat (Good news! They're probably a lot more fun than what you're used to!) Provide exercise recommendations Support you through the challenges of changing your habits Explain fertility treatments that can help achieve pregnancy if you still need assistance In "No Period. Now What?" Dr. Nicola Rinaldi shares her extensive research on hypothalamic amenorrhea as well as her own experience with recovery. Additional contributors include eating disorder speaker Stephanie Buckler, fitness coach Lisa Sanfilippo Waddell, and hundreds of other women who have taken this journey and come out the other side with cycles, babies, and a better understanding of what it means to be healthy. Now it's your turn. Are you ready to recover?
By His Grace: A Devotee's Story
Dada Mukerjee - 2001
Mukerjee was one of the first Indian followers of Maharaj-ji Westerners met in the late 60s and early 70s when they came seeking this Neem Karoli Baba that Ram Dass wrote about. Dada was fluent in English. He?d been a professor of economics at Allahabad University, editor of a prestigious economics journal, and a political activist. It was the women in his family who were interested in religion and spiritual matters until Maharaj-ji moved into Dada?s home. Dada gave up all his worldly activities then to follow Maharaj-ji. Westerners learned surrender from their acquaintance with Dada, that is did not enslave but frees. They saw there was no space between when Maharaj-ji spoke and Dada acted. His level of service to his Baba while hard for Westerners to understand was beautiful in its simplicity and acceptance of the moment.After Maharaj-ji?s death Westerners began gathering at Dada?s house, eager to hear his stories about Maharaj-ji. They couldn?t get enough and would keep Dada up late talking about his Baba. Now we have this delightful book containing Dada?s stories of the great Indian saint Neem Karoli Baba. Readers will find themselves captivated by Dada?s remembrances, informed, and challenged. Dada opens wide for us a window into Indian spiritual culture as you begin to understand what it is that happens when Guru calls and the devotee replies ?yes.? ? Paperback, 224 pages. Published by the Hanuman Foundation, 1990. The story of one of Neem Karoli Baba?s Indian devotees about his time living in Maharaj-ji?s shadow. Rich with numerous photos of Neem Karoli Baba and Mukerjee and Indian ashram life. Mukerjee often served as Neem Karoli Baba?s translator and writes in a manner easily understood by Westerners, as he leads readers into an understanding of Indian spiritual values.
Journey to Mindfulness: The Autobiography of Bhante G.
Henepola Gunaratana - 1998
Ordained at twelve, he would eventually become the first Buddhist chaplain at an American university, the founder of a retreat center and monastery, and a bestselling author. Here, Bhante G. lays bare the often-surprising ups and downs of his seventy-five years, from his boyhood in Sri Lanka to his decades of sharing the insights of the Buddha, telling his story with the "plain-English" approach for which he is so renowned.
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