The present is more than a place where the past comes to rest. It is more than a staging ground for the future. The present is where God shows up. We live our lives in the present, but often our minds are racing toward the future or overwhelmed by the past. We want to change the past and control the future, but usually all we really do is exhaust ourselves in the here and now. Writing especially with church leaders in mind, Dr. John Koessler, a former pastor and professor, teaches you how to evade the tyranny of past regrets and future plans and meet God right where you are, in the present.
“Excellent. Fully Present offers one of the clearest introductions to mindfulness in the field.” —Library Journal Mindfulness has attracted ever‑growing interest and tens of thousands of practitioners, who have come to the discipline from both within and outside the Buddhist tradition. In Fully Present, leading mindfulness researchers and educators Dr. Sue Smalley and Diana Winston provide an all‑in‑one guide for anyone interested in bringing mindfulness to daily life as a means of enhancing well‑being. This new edition, how with a new afterword, provides both a scientific explanation for how mindfulness positively and powerfully affects the brain and the body as well as practical guidance to develop both a practice and mindfulness in daily living, not only through meditation but also during daily experiences. Now, you can wait in line at the supermarket, exercise, or face difficult news with calm and mental fortitude. Ditch the absent-minded lifestyle and begin bringing your full self and your full mind everywhere. With research studies, personal accounts, and practical applications, Fully Present highlights how things like simply breathing, listening, and walking can change your perspective--and your life.
A true presence is beyond thoughts, words, and actions. Accept this moment fully and look inside. There is stillness that speaks within at the center of being, where you are beyond all experiences. There is no good or bad, positive or negative, but you are just as you really are. Everything is dissolved, and you become one with everything. In Practicing the Power of Present Moment, Sanjeev Kumar explores and understands how we can witness and observe our thoughts in order to look within and find a deep connection with the Universe. Through Mindfulness Practice, we embrace the Power of Now which can free us from anger, fear, and stress. It brings divine peace, inner joy, and happiness which can help us to build a positive relationship, prosperity, and well-being.
Free yourself from unhelpful thoughts and emotions and learn to live peacefully in the present • Provides practical exercises, meditations, and reflections centered on mindfulness, breath, and immersion in nature to simplify your life and anchor you in the present • Learn to use your body as a tool for raising consciousness, work with occurrences like tiredness, illness, and pain as spiritual teachers, as well as identify and release addictions, including harmful thought patterns • Can be integrated with any religion or spiritual teaching with examples pertaining to everyday experiences in the Western world Offering a synthesis of spiritual teachings viewed through the lens of modern personal experiences, Darren Cockburn provides practical insight into how to cultivate a peaceful mind, live skillfully, and nurture a spiritual connection through the power of the present moment. The author shares practical exercises, meditations, and reflections, revealing how to free yourself from becoming lost in unhelpful thoughts and emotions, while bringing acceptance to what life presents you with. He explains how to generate true mindfulness through connection to your breath as well as immersion in nature. He details how to use your body as a tool for raising your level of consciousness as well as how to weave exercise, diet, breathing techniques, and sexuality into your spiritual practice. He explores how to work with occurrences like tiredness, illness, and pain as spiritual teachers for enriching your presence of mind and being. The author explains how simplifying life where possible will also bring a better understanding to all types of existing addictions, including harmful thought patterns, providing precious breathing space for our overly busy minds. In addition, he shows how a stable practice of mindful presence can enhance the quality of communication with others, be it with family, with friends, or at work. Alongside an introduction to meditation techniques and supportive wisdom teachings from Buddhist and other spiritual traditions, Cockburn provides useful guidance on successfully integrating a regular spiritual practice into your day-to-day activities. He also includes pointers on how to create your own unique and personal structure in order to support your ongoing spiritual practice, the fruits of which will ultimately be a peaceful, calmer, and more connected experience of life.
Beloved Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh offers 79 meditations to help you through your daily routines in a peaceful and mindful way and connect to the joy of the present moment Waking up this morning, I smile. Twenty-four brand new hours are before me. This beautifully illustrated book shares a simple verse with an enlightening commentary that will give you the space and heart to live each day in a connected and calm way. Developed during a summer retreat in Plum Village, Thich Nhat Hanh's meditation center in France, these poetic verses were collected to help people practice mindfulness. The result is a handbook of practical, down-to-earth verses. These gathas, or mindfulness verses, are poetic verse designed to turn ordinary daily activities such as washing the dishes, driving the car, or standing in line, into opportunities to return to a natural state of mindfulness and happiness. Reciting these poetic yet practical verses can help us to slow down and enjoy each moment of our lives.
"In the midst of beauty and mess, chaos and monotony, celebrations and mourning, Jerusalem Greer tells her story of finding redemption in what is rather than what could be, by practicing the presence of God through rediscovering ancient contemplative teachings and practices (solitude, study, work, prayer, and service) and pairing them with domestic arts (baking, gardening, sewing)"--
God is to be found in the simplest of our daily activities and especially through total surrender to whatever is His will for each of us. That is the message of this 18th-century inspirational classic by Jean-Pierre de Caussade. Its encouragement to live in the present moment, accepting everyday obstacles with humility and love, has guided generations of seekers to spiritual peace and holiness. In this timeless spiritual classic, de Caussade presents the simple, profound gospel message that Jesus lived and taught: My meat is to do the will of my Father in heaven. The author states, The will of God gives to all things a supernatural and divine value for the soul submitting to it. The duties it imposes and those it contains become holy and perfect because everything it touches shares its divine character.This special volume of the famous spiritual treatise also includes the many insightful letters of Father de Caussade on the practice of self-abandonment. These numerous letters provide a great additional source of wisdom and much practical guidance for how to grow in abandonment and to deepen our union with God in our daily lives.De Caussade shows that this practice of self-abandonment to God's will is the key to attaining true peace and virtue, and that it is readily available to all people - from beginners to those well advanced in the spiritual life. He also shows how to determine what God's will is for us. He reveals that it is not extraordinary feats that God expects for our growth in holiness, but rather heroic attention to every detail in our lives and humble acceptance of our daily lot in life as coming from His hand. The rich spiritual lessons in this book have stood the test of time, offering real and practical assistance to all people because its message is simple and clear, one that the reader will find to be a rare treasure of inspiration and direction to be referred to again and again.
Whether mere bumps in the road or genuine crises, we live in a world of unwanted events that no willpower can prevent. In The Art of Disappearing, Ajahn Brahm helps us learn to abandon the headwind of false expectations and follow instead the Buddha's path of understanding. Releasing our attachment to past and future, to self and other, we can directly experience the natural state of serenity underlying all our thoughts and discover the bliss of the present moment. In that space, we learn what it is to disappear. Ajahn Brahm, an unparalleled guide to the bliss of meditation, makes the journey as fun as it is rewarding. The Art of Disappearing, comprised of a series of teachings Ajahn Brahm gave to the monks of Bodhinyana Monastery, where he serves as abbot, offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of contemporary Buddhism's most engaging figures.
In those times when we want to acquire a new skill or face a formidable challenge we hope to overcome, what we need most are patience, focus, and discipline, traits that seem elusive or difficult to maintain. In this enticing and practical book, Thomas Sterner demonstrates how to learn skills for any aspect of life, from golfing to business to parenting, by learning to love the process. Early life is all about trial-and-error practice. If we had given up in the face of failure, repetition, and difficulty, we would never have learned to walk or tie our shoes. So why, as adults, do we often give up on a goal when at first we don’t succeed? Modern life’s technological speed, habitual multitasking, and promises of instant gratification don’t help. But in his study of how we learn (prompted by his pursuit of disciplines such as music and golf), Sterner has found that we have also forgotten the principles of practice — the process of picking a goal and applying steady effort to reach it. The methods Sterner teaches show that practice done properly isn’t drudgery on the way to mastery but a fulfilling process in and of itself, one that builds discipline and clarity. By focusing on “process, not product,” you’ll learn to live in each moment, where you’ll find calmness and equanimity. This book will transform a sense of futility around learning something challenging into an attitude of pleasure and willingness.
In the sixth edition of this work John Fry has reverted to the format of the earlier editions published in 1965, 1970 and 1973 and has presented statistical data drawn widely from many sources. General practice in the United Kingdom and elsewhere throughout the world has undergone many changes in the past decade. This new edition brings the available statistical informa tion up to date and indicates the way ahead. General practice, the College and the National Health Service have been closely linked in effecting change. The membership of the College con tinues to grow and its influence in changing the face of general practice in the United Kingdom is significant. John Fry's new book presents that characteristic blend of fact and personal opinion which was so successful in earlier editions and so valuable to general practice and others in primary health care. Once again he has shown what can be achieved by one man based on his own work and those of others in general practice. John Lawson RCGP, 1983 President of the Royal College of General Practitioners vi Preface The Present State and Future Needs series had its roots in the dark days of the early 1960s when morale in general practice was low and when numbers of new entrants were actually going down. They were the days of mass emigration of doctors from Britain and the National Health Service. The fourth and fifth editions were entitled Trends in General Practice (1977 and 1979).
