Archive for the 'Books' category
Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, by Shunryu Suzuki
December 25, 2007 1:36 pm
What it is: This book is a transcription of talks on Zen Buddhist practice that Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki delivered to a small sitting group in Los Altos California in 1970. He came down from San Francisco once a week to join the group’s meditation periods, and afterwards answered their questions, encouraged them in their practice of Zen, and helped them to have perspective on their lives. His approach was informal, and he drew his examples from ordinary events and common sense.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi was a Soto Zen priest and the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center. He was born 1904 in rural Japan, arrived in the United States to teach in 1959, and died of cancer in San Francisco in 1971.
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I Am That, by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
December 15, 2007 9:38 am
What it is: “I Am That” is a collection of transcripted talks of the teachings of an Indian spiritual teacher who went by the name Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. As Amazon.com says, “‘I Am That’ preserves Maharaj’s dialogues with the followers who came from around the world seeking his guidance in destroying false identities. The sage’s sole concern was with human suffering and the ending of suffering. It was his mission to guide the individual to an understanding of his true nature and the timelessness of being. He taught that mind must recognize and penetrate its own state of being, ‘being this or that, here or that, then or now,’ but just timeless being.”
Nisargadatta Maharaj was born in 1897 with the name “Maruti”, and lived a simple uneducated life, as a husband and shopkeeper in the slums of Bombay, until he died in 1981. He is considered by some however to have attained the supreme state of “moksha” (Sanskrit for “enlightenment” or “liberation”), and to be one of the deepest modern masters of the Hindu school of Advaita Vedanta (emphasizing direct nondualistic realization of truth).
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Codependent No More, by Melody Beattie
December 14, 2007 3:26 pm
What it is: La Wik states, “Codependent No More was the debut book of self-help author Melody Beattie. It was originally published in 1987 by the publishing division of the Hazelden Foundation. The book became a phenomenon of the self-help movement, going on to sell over eight million copies, six million copies of them in the United States.
Codependent No More introduced the word ‘codependent’ to the wider world. The term ‘codependent’ originated as a term to describe people who use relationships with others as their sole source of value and identity. These people often end up in relationships with either drug addicted or alcohol addicted spouses or lovers. In the book, Beattie explains that a codependent is a person who believes their happiness is derived from other people or one person in particular, and eventually the codependent becomes obsessed with controlling the behavior of the people/person that they believe is making them happy.
Rather like Bill Wilson’s Alcoholics Anonymous five decades earlier,
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Mindfulness in Plain English by Bhante Henepola Gunaratana
November 20, 2007 11:26 pmWhat it is: Our friends at Wikipedia have this to say, “Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Buddhist monk … [He was] born December 7, 1927 in Sri Lanka. He was ordained as a monk at the age of 12, and … came to the United States at the invitation of the Sasana Sevaka Society in 1968 … He is the author of the considerably influential work Mindfulness in Plain English.” The book is a staple of the American “Vipassana”, or mindfulness meditation, scene. As an act of generosity by its author, It is available for free at a number of places on the web (flex your Google-fu to check it out).
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Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman
November 9, 2007 9:29 am
What it is: This book is about one man’s journey from a path destined for success in traditional terms, to a path that defines success in more universal terms. In plain English, Dan is an athlete, smart, destined for a wife, a “good” job, and a pretty standard day-to-day. Throughout the book, he discovers deeper truths about what is important, and how to live a happier life. It’s a good light read.
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A Guide To Rational Living
November 7, 2007 11:23 am
What it is: “A Guide To Rational Living” is the first book the great psychologist Doctor Albert Ellis wrote on Rational Emotive Behavioral Therapy ( REBT - later known as “cognitive therapy”)
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RelationDancing: Consciously Creating What You Really Want In Your Relating by Mark Michael Lewis
October 31, 2007 10:53 am
What it is: A brilliant book distinguishing relating with others consciously and unconsciously.
Description: This book helps the reader learn how to create structures for conscious relating. These ideas assist in dealing with breakdowns by helping people understanding how to honor each individual as well as the relationship as a whole.
Anecdote: Before being introduced to the ideas in this book, I somehow didn’t realize that we each have our own way of “expecting” other’s to be in the world. I’ve found so much freedom through the implementation of these ideas in my life — what a brilliant gift!
Potential Turn-Offs: Dense material.