Böcker utgivna av North Atlantic Books,U.S.

As Buddhism is assimilated into the West, it is imperative that women reshape its patriarchal structures and carve out a fully legitimate, empowering position for themselves. Marianne Dresser brings together the likes of Pema Chodron, Tsultrim Allione, and bell hooks, 30 women in all, who are doing just that. Writers, nuns, scholars, priests--even a martial arts master and a private investigator--discuss women in Buddhism in a range of essays. Several pieces question the suppression of emotion required for selflessness, appealing to the undeniable reality of day-to-day living. Others discuss their experiences as women in Buddhism, whether as nuns or as lay practitioners. Still others address the history of women in Buddhism, racial questions, meditation, poetry, compassion, social activism, and sexual orientation. Most of these writers have been in Buddhism for two or three decades and offer a wealth of experience and insights, targeted at women readers but no less valuable to men.

Instant Zen presents the teachings of Foyan, a twelfth-century Chinese Zen master recognized as one of the greatest masters of the Song dynasty Zen renaissance in China. Returning to the uncomplicated genuineness of the original and classical Zen masters, Foyan offers many simple exercises in attention and thought designed to lead to the awakening of Zen insight into the real nature of the self. These succinct teachings emphasize independence and autonomy, and show us how to open our own eyes and stand on our own two feet, to see directly without delusion and act on truth without confusion.Translator Thomas Cleary provides an incisive introduction and extensive references from traditional Zen sources, placing the work in both historical and contemporary contexts. Newcomers to Zen will find this book a useful and sophisticated introduction to authentic inner Zen practices from an impeccable source, without cultural exoticism or religious cultism. Instant Zen sheds new light on this vital tradition, making available the immediacy of Zen practice and unveiling our innate potential for conscious awakening.

Carol Robertson shares her fascination with the country and its cuisine in lively journal entries and delightful drawings, while David Robertson's evocative photographs provide a look at the wonders of the Portuguese landscape and culture. The result is a personal travel book for lovers of good food. Portugal is blessed with a flavorful and complex cuisine that brings together influences from Europe, Africa, and the Muslim world. The simple-to-prepare dishes rely on pork and seafood of all kinds, as well as tomatoes, olives, kale, hot and sweet peppers, garlic, mint, and the silken magic of virgin olive oil. Treat yourself to a true taste of Portugal.

Jeanne Rose is one of America's best known herbalists and Kitchen Cosmetics is her most intimate guide to natural health and beauty. Over 100 of Jeanne's favorite recipes and tips provide safe and simple applications created by Jeanne for her own family's needs. Based on common kitchen and garden ingredients - from yogurt to berries to rosemary - these lotions, creams, and other moisturizers, masks, teas, toothpastes, deodorants, shampoos, and conditioners are easily prepared in the home. Shopping suggestions, herbal cosmetic techniques for the whole body, and fascinating herbal lore make Kitchen Cosmetics a valuable and charming guide to natural beauty and health care.Since its publication in 1978, Kitchen Cosmetics has become the leading title in home preparation of natural cosmetics. It is used by apartment dwellers who buy herbs, gardeners who tend a few pots in sunny windows, and gardeners with spacious beds...a steadily growing number of people who want to 'take back' the pleasure of working with herbs themselves - and want more control over what the put on their hair, face, and body.

The Kenpo Karate Compendium details the forms of American Kenpo as prescribed by the "Father of American Karate," Ed Parker. Author Lee Wedlake, 9th degree black belt, world-class instructor and competitor, brings his acclaimed training and teaching experience to bear in this unique resource for all who practice and teach American Kenpo and its offshoot systems. The American Kenpo system is taught worldwide and this reference will become a standard for thousands of Kenpo practitioners in various lineages. It will also serve as a stimulus for all martial artists by providing a sense of the logical framework of American Kenpo. Having collected the general rules of motion and the numerous fine points of Kenpo, the book is a standout in the genre. • COMPREHENSIVE TREATMENT of the Kenpo Karate system provides a progression of teaching curricula for beginning, intermediate, and advanced students and instructors • COVERS history, fundamentals, forms, solo and partner practice, and advanced technical skills • INCLUDES over 450 black and white photos detailing forms and techniques • SOMETHING FOR ALL STUDENTS, whether pursuing martial arts for health, competition, self-defense, or personal improvement Table of Contents Introduction Preface Chapter 1: What the Beginner and the Black Belt Should Know Chapter 2: The Basics and Exercise Forms: Short and Long 1 and Short and Long 2 Chapter 3: The Intermediate Forms: Short Form Three and Long Form Three Chapter 4: Form Four Chapter 5: Form Five Chapter 6: Form Six Chapter 7: Form Seven Chapter 8: Form Eight Chapter 9: The Sets Now What? Legal viewpoint by Frank Triolo Capstone--The Thesis Form General rules of motion Recommended Reading About the Author

An inspiring collection of essays that reveal the healing power of yoga, Survivors on the Yoga Mat is an ideal companion for trauma survivors and yoga teachers alike. Weaving together stories from her classes, travels, and workshops, author Becky Thompson shows the brave and unique ways that survivors approach yoga: the creative ways that they practice, the challenges they face, and the transformative experiences they discover. Thompson skillfully draws connections between yoga and social-justice activism, demonstrating how a trauma-sensitive approach to yoga makes room for all of us-across race, class, gender, religion and nationality. Survivors on the Yoga Mat offers stories, reflections, and meditations for people who are healing from a wide range of traumas-sexual abuse, accidents, child abuse, war, illnesses, incarceration, and other injuries. The book consists of 90 true stories-alternately funny, surprising, and irreverent-that together provide a roadmap for survivors on their journey to wholeness. Organized into six sections, the book explores the challenges of beginning a yoga practice; the unique strengths of trauma survivors; the circuitous path of healing; yoga's value as a lifelong practice; the special role of teachers; and the potential of yoga as an avenue for activism. Also included is a description of Pantajali's Eight Limbs of Yoga, a list of resources, an appendix explaining the different styles of yoga, and a beautiful photo glossary with over 100 photos of the yoga postures mentioned in the book.

Tapping the tremendous healing power of Qigong and the expressive arts, this beautiful book invites the reader to contemplate the continuum of living, dying, and renewal within this life and beyond. The stories, Qigong meditations, and journaling/art processes, including collage and maskmaking, are invitations for you to engage them for your own healing, transformation, and wisdom. Authors, artists, healers, and teachers of Qigong and art, Elise and Kaleo Ching draw on their 23 years of experience working with others on their paths of personal transformation to present an approach to living and dying that is saturated with wisdom, compassion, and understanding. Through their work, the authors have witnessed many personal journeys of dying, transformation, rebirth--facing terminal illness or loss of a loved one, letting go of old lifestyles and embracing new, connecting with past lives and future dreams. The stories and processes in this book will inspire a wide range of people interested in using Qigong practices and meditations, journaling, and art for self-cultivation, mindfulness, spiritual awareness, and healing: artists, clergy, spiritual seekers, psychotherapists, hypnotherapists, social workers, chaplains, hospice workers, teachers, students and practitioners of transformative, shamanic, and healing arts.

Throwing light on the mysterious phenomenon of crop circles within the context of modern psychological reality, Crop Circles, Jung, and the Reemergence of the Archetypal Feminine in an engaging look at the science, history, and symbolic nature of the mystery of these annually occurring giant-scale works of art. Gary S. Bobroff offers a framework for the reader's own deeper consideration of crop circles by examining both the phenomenon itself and the nature of the era into which it has arrived, with special consideration of its relevance to Jungian archetypal psychology.Living in the moment of the death of one worldview and the birth of another, our culture suffers from a hyper-masculine inflation that has us alienated, imagining ourselves to be separate from each other and the earth. Today we are presented with environmental, social, and spiritual crises and mysteries that call us back toward closer participation with the world. Crop Circles--formed in living grain--exemplify the archetypal feminine nature of this moment's change: a calling toward conscious, felt engagement with a dynamic, living, mysterious world. Placing this modern "dream" into the context of modern reality, Crop Circles, Jung, and the Reemergence of the Archetypal Feminine considers what it means to live in an era of strange encounters with energies larger than ourselves.ContentsCHAPTER ONE - BODY OF EVIDENCECHAPTER TWO - WITCHES' RINGS & DEVIL'S TWISTSCHAPTER THREE - GREENING CIRCLESCHAPTER FOUR - ANTIQUE PAGEANTRYCHAPTER FIVE - REASON ALONECHAPTER SIX - A CALLING BACK DOWNCHAPTER SEVEN - THE REALITY OF THE PSYCHECHAPTER EIGHT - GHOSTS OF ELECTRICITYCHAPTER NINE - NEVER MINDCHAPTER TEN - FIELDS OF WAVING CORNACKNOWLEDGMENTSSELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHYNOTES

Milarepa (1052-1135), a major figure in the history of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism and known as one of Tibet's greatest lamas and poets, continues to inspire Buddhist practitioners worldwide to the present day. Liberation in One Lifetime explores the history and spirituality of the Kagyu lineage in relationship to the narratives and teachings attributed to Milarepa by studying some of the earliest versions of these materials. Offering a detailed analysis of the biographical material that has been written about Milarepa (who was also a student of Marpa, a major figure in the development of the Bka'-brgyud-pa school of Tibetan Buddhism), author, theologian, and well-respected Tibetan Buddhist scholar, Francis V. Tiso, describes the historical context of the tradition of hagiography (biography) in Buddhism and other spiritual traditions, and provides a history of Milarepa's influence in Tibet. Part One explains the tradition of composing stories about Milarepa's life and teachings (there have been many throughout the centuries) and includes outlines of the contents of some of them as well as an explanation of the oral versions that have been transmitted via oral epic songs and poems that Milarepa composed. Describing the spiritual components of Bka'-brgyud-pa, Part Two includes tantric practices, an outline for the path of liberation, definitions of "voidness," and the characteristics of fully enlightened Buddhahood. Part Three includes translated biographies and oral teachings of Milarepa (in poetic form) that are considered sacred texts. The book also includes a foreword by Roberto Vitali, a prominent Tibetan Buddhist scholar as well as an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources.

Our earliest mythologies tell us we all start as a little bit of dirt. These stories carry a profound message: each of us is born with a deep and abiding connection to the earth, one that many of us have lost touch with. The Silent Spring for today's environmental activists, this book offers an invitation to reestablish our relationship with nature to repair our damaged environment. Chapter 1 examines the threats to the planet's health through the lens of the human energy system known as the chakras, describing how the broken first chakra relates to our disconnection from our biosphere. Chapter 2 shows how our current environmental crises--global warming, climate change, dwindling water resources, natural disasters such as wildfires and hurricanes--represent severe manifestations of our disconnection from the earth.Chapter 3 describes how the preponderance of oil in our culture--especially agribusiness--compounds this disconnection, from our dependence on other countries for our energy, to current issues of oil depletion, peak oil, and fracking, to the dumbing down of our agricultural polyculture.Chapter 4 explains how the most basic building blocks of our nourishment--seeds--are being compromised with a loss of biodiversity and rise of GMOs, and how that adversely affects the farmers whose sacred connection to the land has in many cases been severed. Chapter 5 describes the ways in which we as individuals can begin to wake up to climate activism as a spiritual practice. This chapter includes specific activities that you can use to implement change and heal your own connection to the earth. By learning and practicing ritual and understanding the earth's rhythms and seasonal rites of passage, each of us can find unique ways to heal our own connections and help others heal theirs. Chapter 6 brings to life Goethe's wisdom: "Knowing isn't enough; neither is being willing. We must do," by providing strategies and resources for exploring how each of us can find our own Earth Calling, then anchoring that calling with the only force that ignites change: Action.

Developing Jin provides a complete and progressive training regimen for increasing and refining chansi-jin, also known as silk-reeling power or coiling power--the true power of the internal martial arts. With step-by-step instructions and photographs, experienced teacher Philip Starr walks readers through a variety of techniques designed to help practitioners feel and use jin in their martial arts training. While much of the existing writing on jin relies on cryptic and mystical descriptions of internal power, Starr takes a direct, no-nonsense approach that addresses commonly held myths and identifies the real body mechanics behind this unusual power. Useful for novices and advanced practitioners alike, Developing Jin is a crucial addition to any serious martial artist's library.Table of Contents1.Got Jin? 2. How To Use This Book3.Basic Conditioning Exercises4.In The Beginning5.Structure and Alignment6.Training the Breath7.The Nature Of Qi8.Let's Get Engaged!9.Beginning With Stillness10.The Breath Coiling Form11.The Secret Of Tendon Power12.Internal Coiling13.Applying The Coiling Power14.Putting It All Together15.Training Routines For Coiling Power16. Three Become One17. Combative ApplicationsConclusion

Three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee Dr. Scilla Elworthy, a realist with 40 years' experience at the sharp end of politics and conflict, presents a bold but realistic vision for the future in Pioneering the Possible. Human beings worldwide are anxious, afraid for their children's futures, dissatisfied by their lives, but unsure what to do. Our global ecosystems and supply chains are under threat and our leaders appear to have failed us. Pioneering the Possible addresses these anxieties head-on by envisioning a future that could work for everyone, rich and poor, demonstrating with real-life examples how that future is already emerging. Pioneering the Possible tackles the deeply embedded 20th-century values that get in the way of addressing global problems, and shows how these destructive values can be-and are being-reversed. We know the world is in crisis: we are spoiling our planet at such a rate that soon it may be unable to sustain human life. This crisis is in fact a vast opportunity, because a secure and satisfying future for all of humanity is perfectly possible if we make the right choices. But building such a future will require the leap in consciousness that Einstein indicated when he said, "No problem can be solved from the consciousness that created it." Pioneering the Possible investigates what this new consciousness is and takes us to meet the leaders who have learned to apply it. With profiles of individuals who exemplify transformative leadership such as Dr. Desmond Tutu and Aung San Suu Kyi, Dr. Elworthy demonstrates how anyone can develop the magnificent inner power to build their own personal contribution to the future and become a 21st-century pioneer of what's possible. The book then contrasts the value systems that underpin our current decisions with the kind of values that would enable us to make better choices-those that could get us out of the mess we're in. To envision the kind of future that is possible-a lift-off into life as it could be-Elworthy calls on some experienced specialists to look through their telescopes into the future, then brings in the pragmatists who know what to do in their fields, because they've done it, tested it, and made it work. Pioneering the Possible ultimately helps you find your unique way to be useful; as Dr. Elworthy says, "to discover your mission and put it into action-instead of worrying on the sidelines-is to find peace of mind and a heart full of love."

Husband and wife Kittisaro and Thanissara take turns coauthoring chapters in this deeply personal dharma book exploring the inner practice of meditation in support of awakening. Within the context of the lives of the authors, both monastics in their youth, awakening unfolds as a multifaceted process following the archetypal journey of the hero(ine). Traveling from innocence to disillusionment through the fields of trials and despair that lead to maturity, and ultimately to inspiration and a blessed life, Listening to the Heart tells the story of two unconventional individuals who have together embraced spirituality as the keystone of their lives. At the heart of the book, through teachings on the nondual nature of reality, we enter the "intimacy with all things" as revealed in core Buddhist texts. Without ending at the goal of personal freedom, Thanissara and Kittisaro encourage us to go beyond the experience of inner peace to embodying wisdom in acts of service within the world. With a realistic appraisal of our current global crisis in which sustainability is threatened by catastrophic climate change, the authors encourage a preparedness that enables a mindful balance of equanimity and passionate engagement whatever the outcome of our global evolutionary journey. The guiding refuge for this journey is the Buddha, the historical teacher and-most profoundly-that immediate and direct pure awareness, which we all can access. The book also draws on teachings and stories of Buddhist masters who are fearless, funny, and challenging. Eventually we are led into the Mary-like presence of the goddess of mercy, Kuan Yin who, as a great archetype within Buddhist cosmology, reveals the deepest mystery of our own hearts and our capacity for merciful and compassionate response. As the inner process of awakening unfolds, it transforms seekers and their lives, as modeled by the authors. It both heals the personal self in its journey through its wounds and shadows, and yet at the same time dissolves identification with the self. The book then ends by returning to the simplicity of the authors' primary teacher, Ajahn Chah, with his encouragement to "Be the Dharma."

Say "body modifications" and most people think of tattoos and piercings. They associate these mainly with the urban primitives of the 1980s to today and with primitive tribes. In fact, as this fascinating book shows, body mods have been on the scene since ancient times, traceable as far back as 1.5 million years, and they also encompass sacrification, branding, and implants. Professor John Rush outlines the processes and procedures of these radical physical alterations, showing their function as rites of passage, group identifiers, and mechanisms of social control. He explores the use of pain for spiritual purposes, such as purging sin and guilt, and examines the phenomenon of accidental cuts and punctures as individual events with sometimes profound implications for group survival. Spiritual Tattoo finds a remarkable consistency in body modifications from prehistory to the present, suggesting the importance of the body as a sacred geography from both social and psychological points of view.

Evolving Dharma is the definitive guide to the meditation revolution. Fearless, unorthodox, and irreverent scholar and activist Jay Michaelson shows how meditation and mindfulness have moved from ashrams and self-help groups to classrooms and hospitals, and offers unusually straight talk about the "Big E"- enlightenment. Michaelson introduces us to maverick brainhackers, postmodern Buddhist monks, and cutting-edge neuroscientists and shares his own stories of months-long silent retreats, powerful mystical experiences, and many pitfalls along the way. Evolving Dharma is a must-read for the next-generation meditator, the spiritually cynical, and the curious adventurer in all of us.

A collection of probing essays and weekly meditations, this book addresses how to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the impending collapse of industrial civilization. Author Carolyn Baker offers wisdom, inspiration, and a sense of spiritual purpose for anyone who is concerned about the daunting future humankind has created.The author's introduction to Collapsing Consciously articulates our current predicament of economic collapse, environmental degradation, and global conflict and expresses the confusion, anxiety, grief, anger, and despair we all experience when we take a hard look at the present-day global crisis and the likely future of the planet. But rather than showing us ways to prevent the collapse, Baker argues that the demise of our consumerist, corporate culture is inevitable, and that it is crucial to prepare emotionally and spiritually for the certain changes to come.Part 1 is a collection of seventeen essays which argue that while the collapse of industrial society cannot be prevented, its meaning extends far beyond tragedy and loss. These essays ask the reader to delve inward and discover the limitless treasures of the soul, as well as the gratification and exhilaration to be discovered in joining with community in preparing for the future.In part 2, Baker offers fifty-two weekly meditations comprised of spiritual wisdom, inspiration, paradox, comfort, humor, irony, and a persistent challenge to create and savor beauty in the world, regardless of how bleak the future may appear.Collapsing Consciously is a refreshing take on the perilous present and the grim prospects for our future. Instead of quoting discouraging statistics about our predicament, Baker offers a deeper perspective that makes sense of a world that most of the time appears psychotic or even surreal. Through inspiration and perennial wisdom she has created a manual for making meaning and generating joy, especially in situations that feel hopelessly devoid of both.An ebook containing additional meditations is also available: Collapsing Consciously Meditations: Further Reflections for Turbulent Times, ISBN 978-1-58394-758-6.