Teaching Practices

Gay has made many important revisions to keep her foundational, award-winning text relevant for today's diverse student population, including: new research on culturally responsive teaching, a focus on a broader range of racial and ethnic groups, and consideration of additional issues related to early childhood education. This book demonstrates that all students will perform better on multiple measures of achievement when teaching is filtered through students' own cultural experiences.

Who was the 20th-century Indian sage known as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi? How did he attain enlightenment and become one of the most celebrated spiritual masters of his time? Why is his spiritual teaching presently revered by Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Taoists, and followers of other spiritual paths, transcending all religious differences? What is the essence of his revolutionary technique, popularly known as self-inquiry meditation? The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi offers you the answers to these profound questions.

What if you could cultivate the mind of a bodhisattva -- one who has dedicated one's life to the benefit of others? According to Pema Chödrön, best-selling author and American-born Buddhist nun, you can. On Bodhisattva Mind, she examines sheshin, or "guarding alertness", and the other qualities of mind we need to develop on the path to enlightenment.

St. Francis of Assisi is one of the most venerated Christian figures, and his profound teachings, deep love of nature, and commitment to simplicity have resonated with generations of followers. St. Francis of Assisi, a title in the Essential Wisdom Library, offers a simple and universal introduction to Francis' life, his key teachings, and the spiritual practices that enriched his faith and the lives of those who follow his legacy.

Higher education has seen better days. Harsh budget cuts, the precarious nature of employment in college teaching, and political hostility to the entire enterprise of education have made for an increasingly fraught landscape. Radical Hope is an ambitious response to this state of affairs, at once political and practical - the work of an activist, teacher, and public intellectual grappling with some of the most pressing topics at the intersection of higher education and social justice.

From the dawn of history, a universal wisdom tradition has existed that explains humanity’s purpose in the cosmos and our relationship to the Master Source Consciousness. This mystical philosophy was harnessed by the ancient seers known as Gnostics, who were in direct contact with Source Consciousness. As Peter Canova reveals, not only do the ancient teachings of Gnosticism contain important spiritual truths, but they profoundly align with the modern sciences of quantum physics and psychology.

A comprehensive guide to the foundations of Toltec wisdom, Beyond Fear is essential reading for fans of Don Miguel Ruiz’s New York Times best-selling book, The Four Agreements, which has sold over 8 million copies and has been translated into 46 languages worldwide. Providing instruction in the basic elements of the Toltec spiritual practice, this collection of ceremonies, wisdom, and prophecies empowers readers to shed their fears, judgments, and guilt - an essential step before practicing the Four Agreements.

Thomas Merton offers a unique view of the popular and sometimes controversial monk, braiding together his thoughts and practices with the reality of his life to create a full portrait of a pivotal figure. The Merton revealed in its pages is a source of inspiration and insight for those wrestling with questions of faith and spirituality.

This series combines spiritual teachings and some suggested practices, to support listeners in exploring and integrating the principles into everyday life. In Book One, Reality, Humans and the Earth, the Earth is framed as a plane of creative experimentation. What we understand as reality is a reflection of our inner state, mirroring the kinds of consciousness we choose to embody. Our primary purpose in life is to discover who or what are, while any difference we wish to make in our world needs to begin deep inside us.

The Treasury of Precious Instructions by Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Taye, one of Tibet's greatest Buddhist masters, is a shining jewel of Tibetan literature, presenting essential teachings from the entire spectrum of practice lineages that existed in Tibet. In its 18 volumes, Kongtrul brings together some of the most important texts on key topics of Buddhist thought and practice as well as authoring significant new sections of his own.

This audiobook by Pema Chödrön, the renowned American Buddhist nun, offers short, stand-alone sections designed to help us cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living. More than a collection of thoughts for the day, Comfortable with Uncertainty offers a progressive program of spiritual study, leading the listener through essential concepts, themes, and practices on the Buddhist path.

In The Sophia Teachings, scientist and scholar Robert Powell uncovers a secret stream of wisdom flowing through the heart of Christianity: the feminine principle known in Greek as "Sophia", or Holy Wisdom herself. This sacred embodiment - named in the Old Testament as the first living being made by God - has comforted and guided seekers of truth in every age and culture, including our own. Who is this spirit of the divine feminine, and what does she mean to us today?

Buddhism is a house full of treasures – practices for gaining the happiness of future lives, the bliss of liberation and the supreme happiness of enlightenment – but knowing the difference between Dharma and non-Dharma practices is the key that opens the door to all those treasures. No matter how much we know about emptiness, the chakras or controlling our vital energy through kundalini yoga, it's all pointless without this crucial understanding of how to practice Dharma, how to correct our actions.

Would you like to improve your thoughts and feelings about the world around you? If so, then you will find Zoroastrianism and the Teachings of Zarathustra: The Zoroastrian Creed and Selected Sacred Hymns of Zoroaster with Prayers and Liturgies of the Faith in Modern-Day English richly rewarding. Referred to as Mazdayasna by its followers, Zoroastrianism is widely regarded as the world’s first monotheistic religion, meaning that it worships a single divine god.

Buddhism: An Introduction to the Buddha’s Life, Teachings, and Practices is an indispensable guide to a 2,600-year-old wisdom tradition that has transformed the lives of millions across centuries and around the world. Listeners will learn how Siddhartha Gautama became the Buddha, one of the most influential spiritual leaders of all time, and discover how they, too, can follow his revolutionary methods to attain happiness and inner freedom.

In Part One, you will learn the meaning of many new concepts: What is Buddhism, and what are the nine yanas taught by it?

Beautifully read by Buddhist practitioner and translator John Canti, this commentary on Padampa Sangye's classic verses of advice to Tibetan villagers of Tingri—by renowned and beloved meditation master Dilgo Khyentse—offers guidance for people trying to lead a dharmic life in the workaday world. These hundred verses, studied for centuries by Tibetans and students of Buddhism, contain a complete survey of the Tibetan Buddhist path.

With Culturally Sustaining Practice as its foundation, Textured Teaching helps secondary teachers in any school setting stop wondering and guessing how to implement teaching and learning that leads to social justice. Lorena shares her framework for creating a classroom environment that is highly rigorous and engaging, and that reflects the core traits of Textured Teaching: student-driven, community centered, interdisciplinary, experiential, and flexible.

Shamanism teaches us that the intelligence of nature is all around us, waiting for us to reach out with open hearts and listen to its guidance. When we turn our attention to the incredible community of animal life and the teachings they have to share, we open ourselves to a vibrant, interconnected world full of spiritual truths and transformational insights. In Shamanic Power Animals: Embracing the Teachings of Our Non-Human Friends, Toltec shaman Don José Ruiz takes a deep dive into this rich and vital store of animal wisdom.

Legend has it that more than a thousand years ago an Indian Buddhist monk named Bodhidharma arrived in China. His approach to teaching was unlike that of any of the Buddhist missionaries who had come to China before him. He confounded the emperor with cryptic dialogues, traveled the country, lived in a cave in the mountains, and eventually paved the way for a unique and illuminating approach to Buddhist teachings that would later spread across the whole of East Asia in the form of Chan—later to be known as Seon in Korean, Thien in Vietnamese, and Zen in Japanese.