Cantor D’Ahma waited his whole life for this day. Born with a gift to jump between worlds, the young realm walker is finally ready to leave his elderly mentor and accept his role as protector and defender of the realms. But mere hours after he steps through his first portal, Cantor discovers that his job will be more dangerous and difficult than he ever imagined. The realms are plagued with crime and cruelty, and even members of the once-noble Realm Walkers Guild can no longer be trusted. To make matters worse, his first assignment—finding a dragon to assist him on his quest—has led him to Bridger, who is clearly inept and won’t leave him alone. With the help of his new friends Bixby and Dukmee, Cantor must uncover the secrets of the corrupt guild before they become too powerful to be stopped. But his skills aren’t progressing as fast as he would like, and as he finds himself deeper and deeper in the guild’s layers of deceit, Cantor struggles to determine where his true allegiance lies.
"Beyond the Mind's Illusions: Mastering Thought Patterns for Freedom from Suffering" is a captivating and transformative guide that takes readers on a profound journey of self-discovery, inner liberation, and the mastery of thought patterns. In a world filled with anxiety, self-doubt, and self-sabotage, this book offers a guiding light, empowering readers to transcend the limitations of the mind and find true freedom from suffering. With expert insights, friendly guidance, and a poetic and emotional tone, this book invites readers to explore the power of their own minds and the impact of their thoughts on their well-being. It reveals the illusions created by the mind, the patterns that keep us trapped in cycles of suffering, and offers practical tools and techniques to break free from these limitations. Through the chapters, readers will embark on a transformative journey, delving into the depths of their subconscious, exploring the origins of anxiety, self-doubt, and self-sabotage, and uncovering the limiting beliefs that hold them back. They will be guided through the process of rewiring negative thought patterns, challenging self-talk, and developing positive affirmations that empower and uplift. Furthermore, this book delves into the power of mindfulness and present-moment awareness, offering practical techniques to manage stress and anxiety. It explores the realm of emotional intelligence, helping readers identify and understand their emotions, manage and regulate them, and build empathy and social connections. Readers will also discover the keys to defeating fear and uncertainty, cultivating self-confidence, and setting realistic goals that lead to personal growth. They will learn effective strategies to overcome procrastination, develop discipline and consistency, and harness the power of visualization and affirmation for success. The book goes on to explore the importance of creating a supportive environment, nurturing self-care and well-being, and fostering positive relationships. It guides readers in overcoming comparison and self-judgment, embracing imperfections, and finding purpose and meaning in their lives. Additionally, this book delves into effective communication skills, decision-making, managing stress and overwhelm, and resolving past traumas. It also explores the power of vulnerability, patience, and persistence, helping readers navigate the complexities of life with resilience and determination. The chapters culminate in an exploration of cultivating a positive self-image, celebrating unique qualities and strengths, and embracing lifelong learning and self-improvement. The book concludes with a heartfelt reflection on progress, a call to step into a future of unlimited possibilities, and a reminder that the journey of self-discovery and liberation continues beyond these pages. "Beyond the Mind's Illusions" serves as a trusted companion on the path to freedom from suffering. It is an invitation to embrace the power of the mind, transcend limiting thought patterns, and uncover the profound truth that lies beyond the illusions of the mind—a truth that leads to inner peace, joy, and the fulfillment of our deepest desires.
The book outlines a fundamental alternative to the rising wave of aggressive biological reductionism and brainism in contemporary psychology and education. It offers steps to achieving a daunting and elusive goal: constructing a coherently non-reductionist account of the mind. The main obstacle to such a construction is identified as the centuries-old contemplative fallacy that leads to entrenched dualisms and shackles major theoretical frameworks. The alternative agentive activity perspective overcomes this fallacy by advancing the core principles of the cultural-historical activity theory. This innovative perspective charts a consistently non-mentalist and non-individualist view of psychological processes without discarding the individual mind. A vast body of research and theories, from Piaget and Dewey to sociocultural and embodied cognition approaches are critically engaged, with a special focus on Piotr Galperin’s contribution. The notion of the embodied agent’s object-directed activity serves as a pivotal point for re-conceptualizing the mind and its role in behavior. In a radical departure from both the traditional mentalist and biologically reductionist frameworks, psychological processes are understood as taking place “beyond the brain” – as constituted by the agent’s activities in the world. From this standpoint, many of Vygotsky’s key insights, including semiotic mediation, internalization, and cognitive tools are given a fresh scrutiny and substantially revised. The agentive activity perspective opens ways to offer a bold vision for education: developmental teaching and learning built on the premise that real knowledge is not “information storage and retrieval” and that education is not about “knowledge transmission” but instead it is about developing students’ minds.
Beyond the Brain seriously challenges the existing neurophysiological models of the brain. After three decades of extensive research on those non-ordinary states of consciousness induced by psychedelic drugs and by other means, Grof concludes that our present scientific world view is as inadequate as many of its historical predecessors. In this pioneering work, he proposes a new model of the human psyche that takes account of his findings. Grof includes in his model the recollective level, or the reliving of emotionally relevant memories, a level at which the Freudian framework can be useful. Beyond that is perinatal level in which the human unconscious may be activated to a reliving of biological birth and confrontation with death. How birth experience influences an individual's later development is a central focus of the book. The most serious challenge to contemporary psycho-analytic theory comes from a delineation of the transpersonal level, or the expansion of consciousness beyond the boundaries of time and space. Grof makes a bold argument that understanding of the perinatal and transpersonal levels changes much of how we view both mental illness and mental health. His reinterpretation of some of the most agonizing aspects of human behavior proves thought provoking for both laypersons and professional therapists.
The battle between good and evil dating back to the dawn of time surfaces, and is waged in its most grotesque form in the Florida coastal town of Sands Stone. Sinister forces are creating havoc, and horror and suspense abounds. A serial killer thought to be severely mentally afflicted is committed to the town's State mental institution. A bizarre series of events and horrible murders occur shortly after his institutionalization making his doctor, the caring Maria Paxton, suspect that her patient's problems could be deadly serious. Although she refuses to believe in the supernatural, the nature of continuing events causes her to realize that the serial killer is possessed. Dark forces are behind the madness, and murders are being committed that are indescribable. Although attempting to determine who is behind the chaos, the town's corrupt mayor, police chief, and the chief's detective nephew continue to practice a lucrative drug trade. Police efforts are being hampered by the presence of an evil and maniacal satanic cult priestess, and a deranged cult priest. But the cult priest is seeking means to have the priestess sacrificed while finding a way to save his son, the alleged serial killer that has been committed in Sand's Stone mental health institution. To make the already deadly and complicated situation even worse, a local newsman with a Napoleonic complex attempts to discredit the police chief while also investigating the bizarre murders that have occurred. What he discovers places him and his two-man team in danger of losing their lives. Dr. Paxton and her manly husband are thrown into the midst of the madness and end up fighting for their lives. No one is safe and the outcomeremains very much in doubt considering the bizarre murders, kidnappings, town bombings, voodoo practice, satanic cult activity, demoniac possession, human sacrifices, a freakish tropical storm, hungry alligators and poisonous snakes, a flamboyant Cajun Everglades guide, mysterious disa
"There's no time. Remember Rueberry Orchard." A beautiful man in strange clothing starts invading my dreams, and even though I know he isn't real, the dreams-mind-links, according to him-are so vivid it's hard to imagine this man doesn't exist. After a few of these nightly visits, I start looking forward to meeting him and listening to his smooth voice as he tries to convince me to go to Rueberry Orchard. To my surprise, the place really exists, but I know it would be crazy to go there when it's ten hours away... right? When the visits don't stop, some deep desire inside me knows I have to listen to this dream man, even if it's absolutely insane. I follow his instructions to Rueberry Orchard, and nothing in this world could've prepared me for what I find. Or for the wild adventure I'm about to embark on. Rueberry Orchard is the first book in the multi-author series, Beyond the Realm: Remember. Each book is set in its own world and can be read as a standalone novel. Join eight authors on eight very different, romantic, and magical stories as each one writes their own take on the same concept. ***Rueberry Orchard is approximately 100,000 words
A manual for opening the doors of perception and directly engaging the intelligence of the Natural World • Provides exercises to directly perceive and interact with the complex, living, self-organizing being that is Gaia • Reveals that every life form on Earth is highly intelligent and communicative • Examines the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and the human species In Plant Intelligence and the Imaginal Realm, Stephen Harrod Buhner reveals that all life forms on Earth possess intelligence, language, a sense of I and not I, and the capacity to dream. He shows that by consciously opening the doors of perception, we can reconnect with the living intelligences in Nature as kindred beings, become again wild scientists, nondomesticated explorers of a Gaian world just as Goethe, Barbara McClintock, James Lovelock, and others have done. For as Einstein commented, “We cannot solve the problems facing us by using the same kind of thinking that created them.” Buhner explains how to use analogical thinking and imaginal perception to directly experience the inherent meanings that flow through the world, that are expressed from each living form that surrounds us, and to directly initiate communication in return. He delves deeply into the ecological function of invasive plants, bacterial resistance to antibiotics, psychotropic plants and fungi, and, most importantly, the human species itself. He shows that human beings are not a plague on the planet, they have a specific ecological function as important to Gaia as that of plants and bacteria. Buhner shows that the capacity for depth connection and meaning-filled communication with the living world is inherent in every human being. It is as natural as breathing, as the beating of our own hearts, as our own desire for intimacy and love. We can change how we think and in so doing begin to address the difficulties of our times.
Summarizes Grof's experiences and observations from more than forty years of research into non-ordinary states of consciousness. This accessible and comprehensive overview of the work of Stanislav Grof, one of the founders of transpersonal psychology, was specifically written to acquaint newcomers with his work. Serving as a summation of his career and previous works, this entirely new book is the source to introduce Grof's enormous contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychology, especially his central concept of holotropic experience, where holotropic signifies "moving toward wholeness." Grof maintains that the current basic assumptions and concepts of psychology and psychiatry require a radical revision based on the intensive and systematic research of holotropic experience. He suggests that a radical inner transformation of humanity and a rise to a higher level of consciousness might be humankind's only real hope for the future. "It's rare to find a textbook that is both extremely informative and enjoyable to read. Psychology of the Future has to be one of the first ones I've ever come across ... Each chapter brought an entirely new concept, theory, or method that was just as engaging as the previous one." — Dr. Tami Brady, TCM Reviews "This book is by a pioneering genius in consciousness research. It presents the full spectrum of Grof's ideas, from his earliest mappings of using LSD psychotherapy, to his clinical work with people facing death, to his more recent work with holotropic breathing, to his latest thoughts about the cosmological implications of consciousness research and the prospects for dealing with an emerging planetary crisis. Grof has always been one of the most original thinkers in the transpersonal field, and his creativity has kept pace with the maturity of his overall vision." -- Michael Washburn, author of Transpersonal Psychology in Psychoanalytic Perspective "Grof offers an outstanding contribution to the ever-growing debate about the nature of human consciousness and about the place of humankind in the cosmos. If more psychiatrists could be persuaded that human consciousness transcends the limitations of the physical brain, and instead is but an aspect of what may best be described as 'cosmic consciousness,' we could not only expect treatment modalities to change, but we could also anticipate the possibility of culture-wide rethinking of the basic presuppositions of modern cosmology, the cosmology that grounds Western institutions, ideologies, and beliefs about the nature of personhood." -- Michael E. Zimmerman, author of Contesting Earth's Future: Radical Ecology and Postmodernity Stanislav Grof, MD, is a psychiatrist with more than fifty years of experience in research of non-ordinary states of consciousness. He has been Principal Investigator in a psychedelic research program at the Psychiatric Research Institute in Prague, Czechoslovakia; Chief of Psychiatric Research at the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the Johns Hopkins University; and Scholar-in-Residence at the Esalen Institute. He is currently Professor of Psychology at the California Institute of Integral Studies, conducts professional training programs in holotropic breathwork, and gives lectures and seminars worldwide. He is one of the founders and chief theoreticians of transpersonal psychology and the founding president of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA). In 2007, he was granted the prestigious Vision 97 award from the Vaclav and Dagmar Havel Foundation in Prague. He is the author and editor of many books, including The Adventure of Self-Discovery: Dimensions of Consciousness and New Perspectives in Psychotherapy and Inner Exploration; Ancient Wisdom and Modern Science; Beyond the Brain: Birth, Death, and Transcendence in Psychotherapy; The Cosmic Game: Explorations of the Frontiers of Human Consciousness; and Human Survival and Consciousness Evolution; all published by SUNY Press.
Welcome to the enchanting realm of 'Ephemeral Whispers: Journeying Beyond the Veil of Reality.' Immerse yourself in a spiritual odyssey where ephemeral whispers guide you through the mysteries of existence. This captivating novel invites you to embark on a transformative journey, exploring the depths of the spiritual and the ethereal. Join us as we unveil the secrets concealed beyond the veil of reality, inviting you to experience the profound connection between the ephemeral, whispers, and the very essence of your spiritual journey. Discover the magic within these pages, where the spiritual and the tangible converge in a symphony of words that transcends the ordinary."
