The world is a mad place and the various vicissitudes of life appear to make it more so. The inherent mutability in nature can swing from the serendipitous to surreal malignity within a matter of moments. In this day and age, events can be ephemeral or appear so prolonged we are left, agonisingly, to wonder if they will ever terminate at all. To be lost in such a bewildering universe, when it feels impossible to gather oneself, to take stock of the changeability or to bear the interminable, we feel impotent, overwhelmed and wrongfully abused. Sanity and Solitude is one mans ramble through these frightful absurdities and contradictions that appear to confront us at every turn. To understand insanity one has to travel oneself to the very fringes of insanity itself for better or for worse. We are the clouds that veil the midnight moon; How restlessly they speed, and gleam, and quiver, Streaking the darkness radiantly!--yet soon Night closes round, and they are lost forever. (Percy Bysshe Shelley)
The writings of Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) have captivated scholars, activists, and ecologists for more than a century. Less attention has been paid, however, to the author’s political philosophy and its influence on American public life. Although Thoreau’s doctrine of civil disobedience has long since become a touchstone of world history, the greater part of his political legacy has been overlooked. With a resurgence of interest in recent years, A Political Companion to Henry David Thoreau is the first volume focused exclusively on Thoreau’s ethical and political thought. Jack Turner illuminates the unexamined aspects of Thoreau’s political life and writings. Combining both new and classic essays, this book offers a fresh and comprehensive understanding of Thoreau’s politics, and includes discussions of subjects ranging from his democratic individualism to the political relevance of his intellectual eccentricity. The collection consists of works by sixteen prominent political theorists and includes an extended bibliography on Thoreau’s politics. A Political Companion to Henry David Thoreau is a landmark reference for anyone seeking a better understanding of Thoreau’s complex political philosophy.
IN THIS AGE OF CONSTANT CONNECTIVITY, LEARN HOW TO ENJOY SOLITUDE AND FIND HAPPINESS WITHOUT OTHERS. Our fast-paced society does not approve of solitude; being alone is antisocial and some even find it sinister. Why is this so when autonomy, personal freedom, and individualism are more highly prized than ever before? In How to Be Alone, Sara Maitland answers this question by exploring changing attitudes throughout history. Offering experiments and strategies for overturning our fear of solitude, she helps us practice it without anxiety and encourages us to see the benefits of spending time by ourselves. By indulging in the experience of being alone, we can be inspired to find our own rewards and ultimately lead more enriched, fuller lives.
This book challenges the populist idea that loneliness is a bad and sad thing. Loneliness is rather very facilitative mechanism of body-mind for wellness and personal excellence. It is innate call of instincts for self-actualization of potentials within, to attain excellence. It answers core question as ‘What’s Wrong’ with things around and within us, listing ways to use loneliness for happiness. Loneliness is fast emerging as one of the most debilitating reality of modern life and living. Most accept, there is something fundamentally wrong with what’s happening around us and with us. However, there seems no outright solution of the ‘trouble’ and it is spreading like wildfire. This is because, the popular perception about loneliness, as detrimental and dysfunctional realism is a misconception and an erroneous acceptance. When the question is wrong, the answer can never be right. First time, this book is out to challenge the very premise that loneliness is a bad and sad thing. This book definitively establishes that loneliness is a very facilitative mechanism of body-mind for larger wellness and personal excellence. It seeks to dispel this wrong cognition about the causality of loneliness as a problem. It logically explains as why the question, ‘How To Come Out Of Loneliness’ is a non-starter as the right question is – how to make the best out of this very empowering and beneficial realism called loneliness. The book draws emphatic and self-evident facts and reasoning from the domains of not only modern science but also from ancient wisdom of spiritual philosophies to prove that loneliness is a hugely empowering facility and faculty of human body-mind mechanism to align people to their best of wellness, potentials and excellence. This book also dwells in details on the core question as ‘What Is Fundamentally Wrong’ with happenings around us and within us. The approach of writing in this book is holistic, integrative and assimilative, drawing valuable resources from both traditional as well as modern wisdom. This writing technique is in perfect sync with the new thinking of the new millennium, which is based on the scientifically appropriate novel perceptions about the core notions called 3Cs –Consciousness, Cognition and Causality, helping humanity in understanding all realism in a new holistic perspective. After reading this book, it shall be accepted beyond any reasonable doubt that loneliness is a very positive realism as it is the innate call of instincts for self-actualization of potentials within, to attain the eternal bliss of Nirvana and be our best empowering consciousness to realize and attain life-living wellness and personal excellence.
"Do you have a favorite sound?" little Yoshio asks. The musician answers, "The most beautiful sound is the sound of ma, of silence." But Yoshio lives in Tokyo, Japan: a giant, noisy, busy city. He hears shoes squishing through puddles, trains whooshing, cars beeping, and families laughing. Tokyo is like a symphony hall! Where is silence? Join Yoshio on his journey through the hustle and bustle of the city to find the most beautiful sound of all.
A meditation a day from Thomas Merton This convenient day book is a compendium of inspiring passages from the writings of one of this century's spiritual giants. It offers daily challenges for thoughtful meditation intended to stimulate, provoke, and lead to grace. Here are some enduring thoughts found in these pages: "We cannot be happy if we expect o live all the time at the highest peak of intensity. Happiness is not a matter of intensity, but of balance and order and rhythm and harmony." "Every moment and every event of every man's life on earth plants something in his soul." "Nothing is more suspicious, in a man who seems holy, than an impatient desire to reform other men. Pay as little attention as you can to the faults of other people and none at all to their natural defects and eccentricities." "The wise heart lives in Christ." "Wisdom manifests itself, and yet is hidden. The more it hides, the more it is manifest; and the more it is manifest, the more it is hidden. For God is known where he is apprehended as unknown, and he is heard when we realize that we do not know the sound of his voice." "God utters me like a word containing a partial thought of himself." "Our full spiritual life is life in wisdom, life in Christ. The darkness of faith bears fruit in the light of wisdom." "Love cannot come of emptiness. It is full of reality."
Now you can discover the divinatory power of the Tarot combined with the magickal power of the Enochian system, in The Truth About the Enochian Tarot by Gerald and Betty Schueler. People have used the Tarot for centuries as a tool for divination and meditation. Yet, as the human race became more complex, there was a need for an equally evolved Tarot. In 1988 the Enochian Tarot was designed to fill that need. This deck is explained in The Truth About the Enochian Tarot by the creators of that deck. In this book you will learn: ·A brief history of the Tarot ·The development of the Enochian Tarot system ·The cosmic planes of Enochian magick ·A brief history of Enochian magick ·Tarot card meanings for the Major Arcana ·Tarot card meanings for the Minor Arcana ·How the Enochian Tarot works Enochian Magick was developed by Dr. John Dee (court astrologer to Queen Elizabeth I) and his psychic partner Edward Kelly. Dee and Kelly discovered—or rediscovered—an ancient language they called the Angelic, or Enochian, language. They were also informed of the subtle invisible worlds ("Watchtowers" and "Aethyrs") that surround the Earth. The magician visits these subtle regions and converses with their inhabitants and rulers. Some people have called the Enochian system the most powerful system of magick available. However, the system is also complex. This has kept many people from tapping into its power. The Truth About the Enochian Tarot presents this system and the Tarot in a way that is clear and highly accessible. Get The Truth About the Enochian Tarot today.
Have you ever thought that there might be something wrong with human beings, even that we might be slightly insane? Why is it that so many human beings are filled with a restless discontent, and an insatiable desire for material goods, status and power? Why is it that human history has been filled with endless conflict, oppression and inequality? In this ground-breaking and inspiring book, Steve Taylor shows that we do suffer from a psychological disorder, which he refers to as humania, or ego-madness. This disorder is so close to us that we don't realize it's there, but it's the root cause of all our dysfunctional behaviour, both as individuals and as a species. Back to Sanity explains the characteristics of humania, where it stems from and how it leads to the madness of materialism, status-seeking, warfare, inequality and other symptoms of our insanity. But equally importantly, Back to Sanity shows how we can heal this mental disorder and allow the fleeting moments of harmony that we all experience from time to time to become our permanent state of being.
