The Ashtavakra Gita conveys with beauty and simplicity the essential teachings of Advaita Vedanta, the most influential of the Hindu philosophical systems. Composed by an anonymous master of the school of the great sage Shankara, it is a book of practical advice for seekers of wisdom as well as an ecstatic expression of the experience of enlightenment. In this simple, aphoristic version, the translator conveys the clarity and lyricism of the Sanskrit original with fluency and precision.
The Ashtavakra Gita, or the Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes called, is a very ancient Sanskrit text. Nothing seems to be known about the author, though tradition ascribes it to the sage Ashtavakra; hence the name. There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment. The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Ramakrishna and his disciple Vivekananda, as well as by Ramana Maharshi, while Radhakrishnan always refers to it with great respect. Apart from that the work speaks for itself. It presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The Reverend John Henry Richards, MA, BD, was an Anglican priest born in 1934 who was ordained a deacon in Llandaff in 1977 and a priest there in 1978. He served in Maesteg, Cardiff, Penmark, and Stackpile Elidor until his retirement in 1999, and died in 2017. He is known for his English translations of the Ashtavakra Gita, the Dhammapada, and the Vivekachudamani, which he put in the public domain and distributed on the Internet in 1994. The text used here is the one revised in 1996.
In recent years scientists have discovered that mindfulness can reduce stress, improve mood, and enhance our sense of well-being. In this book, readers learn how mindfulness can be brought to bear in our relationships to increase intimacy, strengthen communication, and help us to find greater fulfilment. Topics in this collection include how to open your heart and develop lovingkindness for yourself and others, how to improve communication through mindful speech and deep listening, noticing and counteracting destructive patterns, and discovering how intimate relationships can become a rich form of spiritual practice. Chapters and contributors include: • Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh on what mindfulness is and why it lies at the heart real love • Psychotherapist David Richo on finding a partner • Psychotherapist and meditation teacher Tara Brach on the power of forgiveness • Rabbi Harold Kushner on striving to give love rather than get it • Novelist Jane Hamilton on a marital meltdown—and recovery • Meditation teacher Susan Piver on the value of heartbreak • Psychologist John Welwood on relationships as a path of personal and spiritual growth
Channel Sanaya Roman presents Personal Power through Awareness, given to her by Orin, a timeless being of love and light. In the tradition of Jane Roberts, Esther Hicks, and Edgar Cayce, this wise and gentle spirit teacher offers an accelerated, step-by-step course in sensing energy. Using these easy-to-follow processes, thousands have learned to create immediate and profound changes in their lives and relationships. With the assistance of this bestselling classic, you can see immediate results in your life when you learn how to: • Be aware of the unseen energy you are in and around. • Listen to and take action on your intuition. • Develop your telepathic abilities. • Receive energy and light from your higher self, soul, and divine Self. • Connect with your guides and inner teachers. • Change your inner dialog and raise your vibration. Your sensitivity is a gift! You can use the information in this book to: • Become aware of the effect other people are having on you. • Stay neutral around others. • Stop being affected by other people's moods or negativity. • Love who you are and express your truth. • Learn when to pay attention to your own needs and when to be selfless. • Stay centered and balanced. • Increase the positive energy around you.
In THE SEAT OF THE SOUL, Gary Zukav brilliantly set forth his concepts, explaining how the expansion of human perception beyond the five senses leads to a new understanding of 'authentic power'. Then, in SOUL STORIES, he revealed how such concepts as intuition, harmony, sharing and forgiveness actually express themselves in other people's lives. And now, in THE HEART OF THE SOUL, Zukav, together with his coauthor and spiritual partner, Linda Francis, takes the next important step in showing us how to actually apply these crucial concepts in our daily lives. Zukav reveals how true emotional awareness can transform the human experience. Although it is challenging and difficult, because it means becoming aware of suppressed pain, it is also enormously rewarding. But first the determination to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate those that contribute the most to life, must replace the desire to bury painful emotions. Ultimately emotional awareness can free us from the compulsions, fixations, obsessions and addictions that block our spiritual development - among them anger, workaholism, perfectionism, obsessive eating, alcohol, drugs, sex - and allow us to live a fulfilling and meaningful life. THE HEART OF THE SOUL will be a revelation for readers - a soul tool with which we can forge a greater emotional awareness to enable us to use our emotions in the creation of authentic power. It is a book to read not once, but several times, for it is a life-changing work that can transform our lives for the better.
A Tibetan Buddhist teacher offers guidance on maintaining a state of awareness—demonstrating how enlightenment can be found at any time, in our everyday lives The paradox of awareness is very profound and yet very simple. It can't be described because it has no objective qualities and no limitation. Sometimes it comes naturally to the surface when we are fully in the present moment and no longer lost in thought or mental projections. Pure consciousness is neither high nor low, neither pleasant nor unpleasant, neither good nor bad. No matter where we are, no matter what we are doing, we always have an immediate access to that inner stillness. It can be experienced in an instant in all circumstances once we know how to pay attention to it. It is utterly peaceful and it is also insightful, so it sees through all illusions. Whenever there is a moment of being deluded, we can use that moment to practice settling in the very perfect sphere of the Buddha mind without trying to change anything. When we reside in that liberated mind, we find the very thing we have been seeking all along.
From the moment we emerge into the world as an infant we begin a journey of experience. We all share the desire to be happy. In this journey we will all experience emotional and physical pain and the loss of what we love. How we meet our losses and pains will determine the amount of peace we have in our lives. If we meet them as the hardened warrior or the defeated victim we live from survival and peace escapes us. In Medicine of One, Lomakayu, spiritual teacher, Soul Dreamer, and the originator of primordial movements for emotional healing, offers us a path to spiritual awareness, self-compassion and freedom that is as simple as a Circle. Using his own unique teachings, personal experience, and poetic language, he shares a path that will enliven, bring clarity, inspire, and fulfill you no matter where you are in life. Allow yourself to open the pages of Medicine of One ... breathe in the words ... and slowly grasp all you can from what is written. You will find yourself in a Circle full of deep understanding and self compassion.
Awareness By Paul M. Abdala Author Paul M. Abdala has suffered from many disorders over much of his life. He realized the harder he worked, he was able to sustain a feeling of hope. His strategy for managing his disorders has been his strong belief in God, which led him to an endless number of doctors and therapists. Abdala lives his life by the prayer, “Pray always for hope which takes away your worries.” Abdala’s therapist of 25 years has driven him to write Awareness, which recounts his journey with his disorders. He encourages readers to not give up and remember Christ is always there.
Becoming aware of . . . one great emotion permeates your being. You live with a perpetual feeling of reverence. The knowledge that your creator is the very self of yourself and never would have made you had he not loved you must fill your heart with devotion, yes, with adoration. One knowing glimpse of the world about you at any single instant of time is sufficient to fill you with profound awe and a feeling of worship. It is when your feeling of reverence is most intense that you are closest to God, and when you are closest to God your life is richest. -Neville Goddard
