I write my memoirs beginning with sadness. I faced my wife's death from coronavirus; I'm following the hearse to the graveyard in a limousine, observed by sympathetic neighbours from behind net curtains. I alone would attend her funeral in these uncertain times. I returned to an empty house, disillusioned, remembering a book I'd written many years ago. I decided to take one last adventure from Long Marston to the Scottish Highlands to discover what I wanted out of life in my remaining years. I set off by following the route I initially took, enjoying my own company until destiny decided otherwise. Life suddenly became strange; I'm involved in a murder and confronted by a young woman from my past determined to organise my life. If that isn't weird enough, what transpires over the next few months can only be described as bizarre unless you are a Knight Templar in the Royal circle of friends and a pirate!
This book is about people who have found it necessary to change the way they feel. They have learned that one’s feelings are largely the result of certain complex patterns of habit. To change these emotional habits requires understanding, patience and self-discipline. In simple language this book attempts to describe some of the practical ways in which one can replace misery with serenity.
In a provocative and practical look at modern stress, Seeking Serenity offers an empowering new message: Stress can serve as a guide to living our happiest and healthiest lives. In Seeking Serenity, stress columnist Amanda Enayati challenges our long-held assumptions about stress, painting a groundbreaking picture that separates myth from reality when it comes to what is commonly referred to as the plague of modern life. Weaving together stories, research from science, history, philosophy and diverse faiths, and everyday exercises, she crafts a fascinating tale that begins with the behind-the-scenes machinations of corporate villains and ends in the power of our stories to shape our realities. We are living in an era of dramatic highs and lows, with lives that move at a pace and intensity impossible at any other time in history. These contradictions throw us off-kilter, out of harmony and balance, creating what we perceive as never-ending and destructive cycles of stress. But life itself has always been—and will always be—a series of fluctuations: the good days, the bad days, the excruciating days. The key to mastering stress lies in the way we experience it. Seeking Serenity presents ten revolutionary principles developed from the emerging science of stress and reinforced by literature, philosophy and age-old spiritual wisdom that help us to differentiate between destructive and constructive stress, and to master stress in the everyday by learning how to: Shift our perceptions to interpret inevitable challenges in a way that serves us better; Embrace a narrative that casts stress as a pathway to adaptation and growth; and Commit to breaks, buffers, and protective practices that will minimize and neutralize the adverse impacts of toxic stress. Drawing on extensive research and remarkable case studies, Seeking Serenity presents a clear and accessible action plan to achieving more joyful and productive lives, stronger communities and a better world.
Explores the life, creative drive, and notable projects of modernist architect Minoru Yamasaki. Although his best-known project was the World Trade Center in New York City, Japanese American architect Minoru Yamasaki (1912–1986) worked to create moments of surprise, serenity, and delight in distinctive buildings around the world. In his adopted home of Detroit, where he lived and worked for the last half of his life, Yamasaki produced many important designs that range from public buildings to offices and private residences. In Yamasaki in Detroit: A Search for Serenity, author John Gallagher presents both a biography of Yamasaki—or Yama as he was known—and an examination of his working practices, with an emphasis on the architect's search for a style that would express his artistic goals. Gallagher explores Yamasaki's drive to craft tranquil spaces amid bustling cities while other modernists favored "glass box" designs. He connects Yamasaki's design philosophy to tumultuous personal experiences, including the architect's efforts to overcome poverty, racial discrimination, and his own inner demons. Yamasaki in Detroit surveys select projects spanning from the late 1940s to the end of Yamasaki's life, revealing the unique gardens, pools, plazas, skylight atriums, and other oases of respite in these buildings. Gallagher includes prominent works like the Michigan Consolidated Gas Building in downtown Detroit, Temple Beth-El in Bloomfield Township, and landmark buildings on the Wayne State University and College for Creative Studies campuses, as well as smaller medical clinics, office buildings, and private homes (including Yamasaki's own residence). Gallagher consults Yamasaki's own autobiographical writings, architects who worked with Yamasaki in his firm, and photography from several historic archives to give a full picture of the architect's work and motivations. Both knowledgeable fans of modernist architecture and general readers will enjoy Yamasaki in Detroit. Wayne State University Press gratefully acknowledges the organizations that generously supported the publication of this book: Friends of Modern and Contemporary Art, Detroit Institute of Arts, Yamasaki, Inc. and The Office of the Vice President of Research (OVPR) of Wayne State University.
Carny Sullivan grew up in the zany world of a traveling carnival. Quaint and peaceful Serenity, Texas, has given her a home, a life, and a child. Logan Brisco is the smoothest, slickest, handsomest man Serenity, Texas has ever seen. But Carny Sullivan knows a con artist when she sees one—and she’s seen plenty, starting with her father. As far as Carny Sullivan can tell, she’s the only one in town who has his number. Because from his Italian shoes to his movie-actor smile, Logan has the rest of the town snowed. Carny is determined to reveal Brisco’s selfish intentions before his promise to the townspeople for a cut in a giant amusement park sucks Serenity dry. Yet, as much as she hates his winning ways, there is a man behind that suave smile, a man who may win her heart against her will.Shadow in Serenity is a modern-day Music Man, penned by a Christy Award-winning, New York Times bestselling author.
A Cluttered Life chronicles Pesi Dinnerstein’s touching, quirky, and often comic search for order and simplicity amid an onslaught of relentless interruptions. When a chance encounter with an old acquaintance opens her eyes to the extent to which disorder has crept into every corner of her existence, she begins a quest to free herself from the excess baggage she carries and finds—to her great surprise—that the meaning she's spent years searching for is right there in her own piles of clutter. Dinnerstein’s battle with chaos is an odyssey of self-discovery that leads her from the obvious mess spilling out of closets and the backseat of her car to the more subtle forms of disorder in her life and, finally, to the most hidden expressions deep within herself. In the end—with the help of devoted friends, a twelve-step recovery program, and a bit of Kabbalistic wisdom—her struggle with the things of this world is transformed from a distraction into its own journey of healing and personal growth. At turns insightful, unsettling, and wildly funny, A Cluttered Life is the story of how one woman found her true self—and spiritual fulfillment—through trying to make sense of her own muddled world.
A thought experiment is an instrument of the imagination, employed for many purposes-to entertain, educate, explore, or hypothesize. In response to a pandemic and social unrest, David Howell decided to begin such an experiment. He wanted to see what would happen if he became as serene as possible. He set out regularly on his bicycle to parks near his home just to sit still, eventually ritualizing the activity until it became a habit. The result is The Serenity Experiment, a book of reflections on the impact serenity can have on the self as it relates to surroundings and community.
Most readers know that "happiness is within," but they don't always know how to access that happiness whenever they like, and in all circumstances. In Serenity, Jane Nelsen teaches readers four principles that will help them to stop being a slave to their thought system in order to access wisdom from the heart and from the soul. The four basic and easily applied principles from Serenity: 1. Free yourself from the filters of your thought system. 2. Understand how feelings can act as a personal compass. 3. Improve relationships by understanding and respecting differences. 4. Learn how to overcome depression, anger, or any negative feeling. The chronic stress of modern life often interferes with enjoying the happiness that comes with peace of mind. Joy is needlessly missing from too many lives and from too many relationships. Serenity provides many tools to help readers discover innate feelings of joy, compassion, gratitude, wisdom, and love so they can live more fully every day.
A lot has happened since Finding Serenity. We learned River's secret; Mal took on the Alliance. Our favorite crew became Big Damn Heroes. And the Browncoats proved that hard work, passion and a little fan coordination can do the impossible. Serenity Found takes the contents of Finding Serenity even further, exploring not just the show but the events of the film as well, to create an anthology that's even more thought-provoking, fascinating and far-thinking than its predecessor. * Acclaimed science fiction author Orson Scott Card lauds "Serenity" as film sci-fi finally done right * Writer and comedian Natalie Haynes reveals the real feminist savvy of the "Firefly" universe: the girls get the guns and the gags * Pop culture critic Michael Marano connects damaged, ass-kicking River to the other weaponized women of the Whedonverse * Multiverse executive producer Corey Bridges explains why the world of "Firefly" is the perfect setting for an MMORPG * Mutant Enemy's visual effects wizard Loni Peristere relates what he's learned from Joss about telling stories, and tells a story of his own about Serenity's design * Television Without Pity recapper Jacob Clifton frames "Serenity" as a parable about media: how it controls us, how we can control it and how to separate the signal from the noise * And Nathan Fillion, "Firefly" and "Serenity's" Captain Malcolm Reynolds, shares his affinity for Mal and his love of Mal's ship and crew.
In this eclectic anthology of essays, former cast member Jewel Staite, "Kaylee," philosopher Lyle Zynda, sex therapist Joy Davidson, and noted science fiction and fantasy authors Mercedes Lackey, David Gerrold, and Lawrence Watt-Evans contribute to a clever and insightful analysis of the short-lived cult hit "Firefly."
