Eastern Spirituality

With his one-of-a kind blend of autobiography, pop culture, and plainspoken Buddhism, Brad Warner explores an A-to-Z of sexual topics; from masturbation to dating, gender identity to pornography. In addition to approaching sexuality from a Buddhist perspective, he looks at Buddhism - emptiness, compassion, karma - from a sexual vantage. Throughout, he stares down the tough questions: Can prostitution be "right livelihood"? Can a good spiritual master also be really, really bad?

For nearly a thousand years following its foundation, there was only one Christian church. Centered in the city of Rome, the church expanded and grew until it became the dominant religion in Europe and beyond. The early growth of the Church had been suppressed by the Romans until the Emperor Constantine became the first to convert the empire to Christianity. From that point forward, the growth of the Church was inextricably linked with the Roman Empire - the most powerful military, economic, and political force in the ancient world.

Consisting of fewer than 200 verses written in an obscure if not impenetrable language and style, Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra is today extolled by the yoga establishment as a perennial classic and guide to yoga practice. As David Gordon White demonstrates in this groundbreaking study, both of these assumptions are incorrect. Virtually forgotten in India for hundreds of years and maligned when it was first discovered in the West, the Yoga Sutra has been elevated to its present iconic status.

Author and painter Mark McGinnis has collected over 40 of these hallowed popular tales and retold them in vividly poetic yet accessible language, their original Buddhist messages firmly intact.

Previously published only as separate essays, Sufi Thought and Action - assembled and introduced by Idries Shah - covers an extraordinary diversity of Sufi ideas and activities in many countries and cultures. Included in the volume are papers on Sufi principles and learning methods; ritual, initiation, and secrets in Sufi circles; and key concepts in Sufi understanding.

The path to true happiness and fulfillment in every area of one’s life is truly found within oneself. In this way, knowledge concerning your chakras is fundamental to reaching your highest potential and correcting problems you have faced throughout your life. Even more, addressing your chakras will help ensure you avoid issues in a proactive manner so you can move through your life with more direction, confidence, and purpose.

In Eastern wisdom traditions, it is taught that practicing one small bit of wisdom each day will add up to a life of insight and joy. This volume of 365 life-transforming readings brings the sacred teachings of the Tao to our everyday lives. The Tao of Joy Every Day contains Taoist sayings, insights, and stories-all designed to clearly provide understanding of what makes our lives meaningful, especially in a world that can seem hurried and crazed.

The Mystic Heart chronicled Brother Wayne Teasdale's journey into a multifaceted spirituality blending his traditional Catholic training and the Eastern way of sannyasa (Indian monkhood). A Monk in the World tells what the journey has meant for him - living as a monk outside the monastery, integrating teachings from the world's religions with his own Catholic training, combining his vigorous spiritual practice with the necessities of making a living, and pursuing a course of social justice in a major American city.

The stories in Hindu myth stem from traditions within Hinduism, drawing on stories from ancient texts, like the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Keep in mind that because different versions of Hinduism inspire different people, many different versions of the stories float through the jungle and over the stones of temples and traditions. The stories in this volume are my version, though I’ve stuck as closely to the original myths and legends as imagination allows.

An inspiring audiobook that will help listeners rediscover their values and discover a way to truly live life to the fullest. Each of us has an enormous capacity for love - a deep well of attention and care that we can offer to ourselves and others. With guidance that is both simple and wholly transformative, Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and psychotherapist, shows us how to uncover it: pay attention, be of service, and be with others.

The Chemistry of Joy presents Dr. Emmons' natural approach to depression, combining the best of Western medicine and Eastern teaching to create your body's own biochemistry of joy. Dr. Emmons creates a practical program for each of the three types of depression: anxious depression, agitated depression, and sluggish depression.

Yoga is divided into several branches, ranging from that which teaches the control of the body, to that which teaches the attainment of the highest spiritual development. In the work we will not go into the higher phases of the subject, except when the "science of breath" touches upon the same. The Science of Breath touches yoga at many points, and although chiefly concerned with the development and control of the physical, has also its psychic side, and even enters the field of spiritual development.

Attract good fortune and joy to every aspect of your life. Pamela Chen and Samantha Blossom teach you how to use ancient, Far Eastern magic in a modernized way, no matter your background or experience level. With their help, you can create your unique revolution through sacred devotional practices that anyone can tap into immediately.

Initial awakening is the most important shift that can occur within our lifetime, but even that key development is no more than an invitation to the larger dance. Ultimately, if we do not clear up after we wake up, then awakening will have been of little consequence. In the absence of that critical clearing process, our awakening is reduced to becoming a pleasant memory of an important event that happened long ago and which we presently cannot quite remember or explain.

Reduced stress, improved concentration, lower blood pressure, and increased sexual pleasure are among the many benefits of meditating. So what's holding you back? Perhaps you don't see yourself signing up with a guru. Or twisting yourself into a lotus position while repeating a mantra. But what if meditating were as easy and pleasurable as eating a dish of ice cream? In this guide, Lorin Roche proves that mediation is that easy - and even more enjoyable. Roche explains everything you need to get started, including some mini-meditations that can be integrated into spare moment throughout the day and tips for developing a customized practice that will become as natural and vital to you as breathing.

Have you ever heard about transcendental meditation? You know that many stars, like the Beatles or Stevie Wonder, performed it, but you have no idea what is about? Do you know that meditation is much more than just Yoga and staying silent? This audiobook is the perfect way for beginners to approach this practice, because it allows them to discover meditation both theoretically and practically.

The Eastern Orthodox Church, is the world's second-largest Christian church, with more than 260 million members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by bishops in local synods. In this classic work Prof. Adrian Fortescue describes in detail the history, structure, and current state of the Orthodox Church. An excellent introduction for those seeking to better understand this historic apostolic church.

The stunning story of the breathtaking journey of nine extraordinary men from Budapest to the New World, what they experienced along their dangerous route, and how they changed America and the world. In a style both personal and historically groundbreaking, acclaimed author Kati Marton (born in Budapest) tells the tale of their youth in Budapest's Golden Age of the early 20th century, their flight, and their lives of extraordinary accomplishment, danger, glamour, and poignancy.

A vivid dramatization of the great Sanskrit classic Srimad Bhagavatam, "The beautiful story of the Supreme Person". In this third canto we travel with the saint Vidura as he meets first with Uddhava, Krishna’s secretary and close confidante, and then with the great sage Maitreya. We hear fascinating details about Krishna’s divine pastimes, the cosmos, and the nature of time. Replete with powerful mystical teachings, this profound book will touch your heart and leave you feeling spiritually inspired and renewed.

A long, long time ago, in the ancient lands of India, known in those days as Bharatvarsha, a family quarrel grew into a bloody war. There had been wars before, and there have been wars since, but that mighty battle between warring cousins of the Kuru clan has become a part of the mythology and history of India. Told and retold a million times, the story of the Mahabharata is about defeat as much as victory, about humility as much as courage. It is the greatest story ever told.