Books

Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive

Average customer rating:

Lifechanging
An Explosion of LIfe
Another Home Run for Eldridge
Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
Waking the Dead!

Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
John Eldredge
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You
Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul
The Journey of Desire: Searching for the Life We've Only Dreamed of
The Sacred Romance: Drawing Closer to the Heart of God

ASIN: 0785265538

Book Description

There is a glory to life that most people-including believers-never see. In this insightful new book, John Eldredge presents the heart as central to life. Not only is the heart essential; the heart God has ransomed is also good. Building on these foundational truths, Eldredge shows readers why real Christianity is a process of restoration, where the broken parts of our hearts are mended and the captive parts are set free.

Waking the Dead leads listeners to understand how to live from the heart, care for their heart like the treasures of the kingdom, and give from fullness instead of emptiness. This message also shows how living from the heart can energize people to love God and others in a way they've never experienced, revealing to them life's purpose: fighting for the hearts of others.

Download Description

"There is a glory to life that most people-including believers-never see. In this insightful new book, John Eldredge presents the heart as central to life. Not only is the heart essential; the heart God has ransomed is also good. Building on these foundational truths, Eldredge shows readers why real Christianity is a process of restoration, where the broken parts of our hearts are mended and the captive parts are set free. Waking the Dead leads listeners to understand how to live from the heart, care for their heart like the treasures of the kingdom, and give from fullness instead of emptiness. This message also shows how living from the heart can energize people to love God and others in a way they've never experienced, revealing to them life's purpose: fighting for the hearts of others."

Customer Reviews:

Lifechanging.......2007-05-17

Respectfully, I simply don't care about all the 'analytical' criticism of John Eldredge, nor do I pay attention to all the overly legalistic slamming of his books. Simply put, God used this book and John to change many things in my life. I recommend this book as one of John's best! And a must read for those that are ready to step out beyond religiosity and into the "Kingdom" life that God wants us to abide in!

An Explosion of LIfe.......2007-04-14

Could it possibly get better than Wild at Heart? The answer is found in the pages of Waking the Dead, yes! Take your walk with God deeper and open and reopen places in your heart that have gone dormant. I have heard comments like "Wild at Heart on Steroids!" I agree 100% if WAH blew your hair back this book will leave you speechless, bald and wanting more...more of God, that is. A must read for men strengthening their walk with the Lord or people just tuning in to the larger story.

Another Home Run for Eldridge.......2007-04-06

John Eldridge continues to say the truth in a way that penetrates to the heart. Next to "Wild at Heart," this was one of the greatest books I've ever read. This books applies scripture to the apathetic, dead-heart culture of Western Christianity. It's a wonderful read!

Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive.......2007-03-25

This book was a gift to my husband and he loves it. He has read it once and has started over reading it again. I will read it when he is through. He never reads something more than once. I would highly recomend this book.

Waking the Dead!.......2007-03-16

With pen in hand and one eye on the tv and the other eye in the books, this is how I envisioned John Eldredge writing this volume. Nevertheless, it is a great effort. I especially like the treatment on our spiritual warfare. By the way, the Lord of the Rings Trilogy is one of my favorite of all times.

A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You

Average customer rating:

awesome book to go deeper!
Excellent Resource
good companion to the book
thinking someone picked some green sour grapes back there
Great guidebook

A Guidebook to Waking the Dead: Embracing the Life God Has for You
John Eldredge
Manufacturer: Thomas Nelson
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
Captivating: Unveiling the Mystery of a Woman's Soul
Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role That Is Yours to Play
The Sacred Romance Workbook and Journal: Your Personal Guide for Drawing Closer to the Heart of God

ASIN: 0785263098

Book Description

In his book Waking the Dead, best-selling author John Eldredge reveals that things are not what they seem; this is a world at war; and you have a crucial role to play. In this guidebook, Eldredge takes you even deeper into the hidden meanings of this world-giving you the courage to rise up and reclaim your heart as you fight for the hearts and souls of others.

Packed with questions, stories, and discussion topics, you'll discover the glory of a heart fully alive through features such as:

Big Ideas-thought-provoking concepts that will challenge you to grow daily and excel as a cherished child of God;
Mythic Parables-classic stories from Scripture as well as fairy tales, old and new; and
Heart Monitors-barometers for evaluating your own feelings, struggles, and passions.

No matter what you've known so far, Eldredge insists, "There is more available with God. There is so much more."

Customer Reviews:

awesome book to go deeper!.......2007-06-27

This guidebook really guides you getting deeper into the material. Personal Notes from John and Craig give you a view of their lifes. Good personal questions that invite to think about and lead on a journey.

Really great stuff!

I highly recommand it!

Norbert, Germany

Excellent Resource.......2007-02-03

This book is co-written with Craig McConnell. It is a good book that will help you take Waking the Dead to a whole new level. It follows the book chapter by chapter and is in a nice easy format to use. Each chapter begins and ends with a check on 'Where is your heart now?' Kind of checking in on where you are. When I worked through this with my buddy Pastor Bob, this was our check in where we were. While working through this, we both went through hard times; I lost a job I loved and his wife was let go and spent a long time off of work, right after they bought a new house. This book helped us process those events and many others in our presents and our pasts.

This workbook has fewer subsections than the Wild At Heart Field Manual, The areas are the:
· Heart Monitor
· A First Reaction
· The Big Ideas
It used pillows/clouds for Big Ideas to outline where the chapter will go and then has sections for each. To Clarify goes deeper than the book on specific points or outlines them in a deeper level.

As a workbook there is lots of space for answers, even going back and writing answers again and again, each time you work through it. Bob liked a new feature and I did not, for some of the tougher questions have examples from members of the Ransomed Heart team. Bob liked those because they gave you more food-for-thought when you were unsure how to answer. I found them annoying because I often took the question a different direction they did, and if I read them first, it often limited how I perceived the questions.

Overall this book is an excellent resource for working with the book Waking the Dead and for growing into a deeper understanding of your life in Christ.

good companion to the book.......2006-11-10

This journal is a great companion to the book "Waking the Dead." Upon first reading the book I wasn't completely captured by it, but the journal really explores the book in a deeper way - great for group discussion or individually.

thinking someone picked some green sour grapes back there.......2005-02-05

I read Wild at Heart when it first came out even though I'm a woman. I'm a wild-at-heart woman who knows that the Lord desires to have us "run with abandon" toward Him. This book was inspiring even with some gender distractions ... I might recommmend that the person who read this book and deemed it worthless might back up if s/he is really seeking an exciting relationship with the Lord and read Divine Romance or Journey of the Heart and be daring enough to let The Lover look into his heart!

Great guidebook.......2004-06-28

I love this book...and the guidebook. This isn't a typical study guide that asks obvious questions that can be easily discerned from just reading the text. It's not a "mindlessly answer the questions" kind of guidebook. No, this one makes one think...and causes one to digest and process the lifechanging truths in the book. I personally enjoyed reading the authors sharing their hearts because it made me feel "normal"...and it made the authors feel human. This book and guidebook are among my most favorite books and most lifechanging.

The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World

Average customer rating:

Jump on the Hogwash Enlightenment Express!
For translucent readers
Translucent Revolution - Arjuna Ardagh
Well... so what?
Awakening to Translucence

The Translucent Revolution: How People Just Like You are Waking Up and Changing the World
Arjuna Ardagh
Manufacturer: New World Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Happiness | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Applied Psychology | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Spiritualism | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Psychology | Religious Studies | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Personal Transformation | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Diamond in Your Pocket
A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life's Purpose
Emptiness Dancing
The Integral Operating System: Version 1.0
Sudden Awakening: Into Direct Realization

ASIN: 1577314689

Amazon.com

At a time when the fate of the world seems increasingly uncertain, The Translucent Revolution provides a compelling and convincing argument that radical positive change is taking place throughout our global society, resulting in increasing numbers of people from diverse and divergent backgrounds who are awakening to a state Ardagh defines as "translucent." In the process, they are becoming part of a potentially critical mass of people capable of triggering a worldaround awakening of deeper purpose, joy, compassion, self-fulfillment, and service to others.

Ardagh studied this "translucent revolution" for more than a decade, after years of spiritual seeking that culminated in his own awakening of his true inner state of being after famed spiritual teacher H.W. L. Poonja asked him, "Who is the one trying to be free? Who are you really?" What he subsequently discovered was that experiencing his inner awakening was far easier than living and maintaining it, but in the years since, he discovered ways of doing so, finding in the process that many others around the globe are now doing so as well.

As part of his research for The Translucent Revolution, Ardagh interviewed others from all walks of life he are awakening to similar experiences, including Ram Dass, Eckhart Tolle, Jean Houston, and Neale Donald Walsch. In all, he interviewed over 170 people, compiling 250 tapes and 3,000 pages of transcripts, the essence of which he distilled into this book. After opening with an examination of what "translucence" is and how it can be lived after the radical awakening that leads to it, Ardagh then explores how translucence can positively transform individuals in terms of their self-identity, personal actions, feelings, relationships, sexual partnering, parenting, and art. From there he examines the affects of translucence in collective society in terms of education, business, health care, religion, and global sense of community. Throughout the book, he provides readers with many experiential exercises they can do, both in the form of "Try It Yourself" exhortations and gentler "Nudges" that can be performed individually and with a partner. The end result is a doorway to a transformational journey that literally leaps off the written page.--Larry Trivieri

Book Description

There is a gentle but profound revolution in human consciousness happening throughout the world—it has affected millions of people from all walks of life, and the numbers continue to multiply exponentially. The breakthroughs they have experienced are startlingly similar and are marked by a new sense of well-being, increased joy in life, diminished fear, and a natural impulse to serve and contribute to the world in a real way.

For more than a decade, Arjuna Ardagh has studied this worldwide advance in human consciousness marked by what he calls "translucents"— individuals who have undergone a spiritual awakening deeply enough that it has permanently transformed their relationship to themselves and to reality, while allowing them to remain involved in ordinary life.

The Translucent Revolution draws on the author's dialogues with thousands of writers, teachers, and workshop participants around the world who display characteristics of "translucence." He blends observation, anecdote, and research, including commentaries from leading pioneers in the field of human consciousness like Eckhart Tolle, Byron Katie, and Neale Donald Walsch to offer simple, concrete strategies for cultivating a translucent way of life. He offers a blueprint for positive change and an optimistic perspective on these uncertain times.

Customer Reviews:

Jump on the Hogwash Enlightenment Express!.......2007-06-09

Soon to be a motion picture at your local IMAX theatre. :)

A research project turned marketing exploit. The made-up words "Iago trance" and "translucence" are so pompous I had to laugh, still how does one name such things? I'm sure the poor author was only trying his best to convey. A fine attempt, if way to long and wordy. Maybe just a magazine article instead of a thesis?

I expect more and more of this type of book to be coming out, to all our entertainment or lack of.

For translucent readers.......2007-02-27

Warning! The book will not make sense unless you have dumped the egoic self and have become translucent yourself as you will notice by reading other reviews. If you have gone through the change and are feeling confused about all the ramifications, this book will explain everything in detail. It takes a while for the mind to become integrated again and this book will dramatically speed up that process. Especially useful are the spiritual myths he debunks such as "Awake people are not identified with the personality and therefore have no interest in changing it."

Translucent Revolution - Arjuna Ardagh.......2007-02-09

I have gained some insight to myself by reading this book, it can be a little heavy going so recommend to not rush it. My transaction with Amazon.com was seamless - what a great service.
Beth Mackenzie
Annandale, NSW Australia

Well... so what?.......2007-01-29

I haven't finished this book yet... it's not a bad book really, but the reason I haven't finished it is because it's boring, boring, boring. (Maybe I'm in the wrong "meme" to get it... a blue maybe, or, heaven forbid, a mean red meme member.) The author has interviewed plenty of people from all walks of life who have had mystical experiences. And they're just regular people like you and me. Fine... good... so what? Reading this book may inspire you, but, once you're finished with it, you'll lay it aside and that'll be that... your life will go on and on just as before, exactly as before. That said, if you've already bought the book, might as well go ahead and read it. If you haven't bought it yet, consider a Starbucks instead. I always get a grande mocha with whipped cream.

Awakening to Translucence.......2006-09-08

"Iago is the dominant trance state of our planet. It influences our relationships, our sexuality, our parenting, and our attempts to relax. It permeates corporate business, international politics, and our economic system." ~Arjuna Ardagh

Arjuna Ardagh's "The Translucent Revolution" is not a book of pure observatory nature; it is also infused with Arjuna Ardagh's personal beliefs, life experience and religious/political leanings, not to mention his weariness with an entire sphere of religious belief. The main premise is to validate the shift in consciousness and to present this as a cultural phenomenon.

His research includes personal observations of healing, detailed stories, research and in-depth interviews with spiritual leaders like Ram Dass, David Deida, Jack Canfield, Steven Halpern (sound healing), Lama Surya Das, Eckhart Tolle, and many more fascinating individuals. The wide variety of ways people awaken is presented in order to make "enlightenment" much more accessible. Arjuna Ardagh also interviews business leaders like Greg Steltenpohl from Odwalla.

While this book is a result of extensive research in the field of human consciousness it is not purely factual, although concepts are gently introduced for maximum intellectual absorption. Through interviews, Arjuna Ardagh uncovers an awakening of people he calls "Translucents." These are individuals who claim changes in their spiritual lives which would indicate a transforming state of awakening. Their life emanates a state of translucence, radiance and beauty. They have moved from a state of egocentric behavior to a kosmocentric awareness and may even see living as a form of art. Awakened from an Iago Trance, they seek to gift the world with their individual and unique beauty as well as embracing "natural vision" or happiness, honesty, contentment, presence, harmony and success.

There are quite a few sections of great interest like the topic of male vs. feminine spirituality and how balance is needed. The aspect of the feminine face of God is also spoken of briefly.

What is a cultural creative?
Why should we worry about Iago consciousness in global society?
What is the "Warning to Humanity" document?
Why is a multidimensional education so important?
How do artists access their greatest moments of creativity?
How can sexuality become an act of worship?
Why don't political decisions reflect what we most truly desire?

I'm not sure why so many spiritual teachers try to convince us that we are naturally good (besides the fact that no one wants to hurt anyone's feelings) when in fact the recognition of our darkness or shadow self allows us to move towards more light through more intelligent and heartfelt decisions. I'm not trying to be reactive, but I would rather hear a spiritual teacher address sin as a separation from completion/oneness/God or a bad choice that leads us away from our full potential which seems to be what moral choice is all about in the end, no matter your religious leanings or past or future decisions. Imperfection is not the real issue, but what you will become through the fires of transformation. Denial of the obvious does not seem eternally helpful and even a casual cultural observation would seem to uncover the highly malleable nature of mankind in his internal struggle between his own darkness and light.

So, with this said, Arjuna is actually promoting healing and change on the planet, but he addresses a long list of problems and is basically stating that "Iago is the dominant trance state of the planet." IOW, he is saying the same thing, with different words and similar definitions. We have to name the darkness because it is part of our current reality. He is saying that we feel incomplete and separate in the Iago Trance state.

The only two factors he is truly discussing at the heart of the matter are fear and love. We move towards love and peace or fear, darkness and destruction. I've never seen enlightenment as an instant apparition that comes and goes, but more of a moving from darkness to light until the light is so bright, no more darkness can remain. What this book basically does it is either identifies you as a translucent or it shows you a pathway to become one. The qualities of a translucent are beautiful and healing and you could say these are enlightened individuals who can heal the planet and bring beauty to life. Who would not want to be a translucent?

If you are an observer of spiritual culture, then this is one of the essential books to read in this lifetime because it explains the cultural phenomena's of our time and explores a path towards more peace and less conflict. This book will be best understood by those who have an "interest in" or "understanding of" many religions (mostly Buddhism, Jewish Mysticism, Non-Denominational Churches and Christianity), New Age beliefs, the global brain, basic philosophy, spiritual healing, servant leadership, spiritual psychology, mystical experience, conscious living, meditation, yoga, world mythology, polarity and a general awareness of the major problems of the world. If you want to solve the problems of the world, then this book becomes even more interesting.

This book is an excellent summary of translucence, but it is in some ways unbalanced because it doesn't present enough religious beliefs from around the world and almost ignored Christianity, while speaking about Jesus briefly and almost denying Christians the right to believe in Jesus as an enlightening force of awakening and a way to escape from the Iago trance through belief and forgiveness of past mistakes. I am only sad that Christians might not accept the wisdom in this book due to the initial comments in the introduction. As an enlightened individual (I jest), I of course ignored those comments but felt I should mention my thoughts on the matter. Sigh...

If we are "all one" why is this not more "all inclusive?"

"It's much easier to have a spiritual experience than it is to live a spiritual life. It's the life that is more important than the experience." ~Lama Surya Das

~The Rebecca Review

Waking Up In Time: Finding Inner Peace In Times of Accelerating Change

Average customer rating:

Another Gem
PARADIGM-SHIFITING/LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE!
A rare masterpiece
Heaven Or Hell?
Unfolding Possibilities for Humankind

Waking Up In Time: Finding Inner Peace In Times of Accelerating Change
Peter Russell
Manufacturer: Origin Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

Metaphysics | Philosophy | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books

General | New Age | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Spiritualism | Occult | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Evolution | Science | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Science Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

From Science to God: A Physicist's Journey into the Mystery of Consciousness
365 Nirvana Here and Now: Living Every Moment in Enlightenment
Passionate Presence: Experiencing the Seven Qualities of Awakened Awareness
A Parenthesis in Eternity: Living the Mystical Life
The Art of Meditation

ASIN: 1579830021

Book Description

In this thoroughly rewritten, newly illustrated edition of his classic work, The White Hole In Time, Peter Russell powerfully demonstrates the need for a spiritual renaissance in the face of the dangers of ever-accelerating change. Here is an extraordinary vision for the new millennium, one that integrates the evolving nature of civilization with humanity's timeless quest for harmony and inner peace.

Customer Reviews:

Another Gem.......2005-01-09

Along with "From Science To God" Mr Russell establishes himself as one of the masters of spiritual reawakening. Although this piece has more doomsday in it than his later work, it has the same hopeful message and the same readability.

In both books Mr Russell never seems to lose the reader in scientific mumbo jumbo, even when discussing very complicated subjects. That isn't a statement on his intelligence or research, but rather on his ability to communicate on all levels. Neither does he offend when he deals with the spiritual aspects of his writings. In short everyone can sit around his table (well, almost everyone).

Read'em twice.

PARADIGM-SHIFITING/LIFE-CHANGING EXPERIENCE!.......2003-06-22

I love this book so much that I have already bought 3 and still planning to buy more to give out to my friends. This book combines science and spirituality so beautifully. What he describes in this book make logical sense. I have never been a believer of "God" in a form of superior being. And I have never been comfortable with organized religion. This book really confirmed and went further into the world of "consciousness." HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

A rare masterpiece.......2000-04-26

This book is one of those rare books that stays with me long after I've read it. I find myself frequently referring to it in conversations about how fast things seem to be changing these days. I was moved by the wisdom I gleaned in these melodic passages -- and impressed at how Russell can convey such intense feeling and truth in so few words. Difficult and challenging issues are presented and discussed with clarity that provides just the right amount of tension, just as the most beautiful music creates moments of stress which are then relieved with passages of exceptional grace. Rare is the book that can aim to briefly summarize such topics as Materialism, Fear, Stress, Enlightenment, Meditation and Love... and succeed to touch one's heart, mind and soul so completely without ever hitting a sour note. I give this masterpiece of a book my highest recommendation for anyone interested in discovering what they can do to make their life (and life for all of us) the very best it can be.

Heaven Or Hell?.......2000-03-24

Are we hurtling toward heaven or hell? Russell leaves both possibilities open. We may be accelerating ourselves toward annihilation or toward the climax of evolution. The answer is within us. It will be our success or failure to develop inwardly that will determine which path we take. Russell writes short, pithy chapters that will move you from exhiliration to despair. This book will have you thinking, and probably differently than you did before you read it.

Unfolding Possibilities for Humankind.......1999-05-07

In his latest book, Peter Russell again lights the way for his readers to envision the "big picture" and the part we all play in our own, and in a global evolution. He looks at societal transformation, at the covergence of knowledge from various, even seemingly unrelated disciplines such as physics, theology, business, biology, cosmolgy and systems theory, and the notion that just as we reach "critical mass" in, let's say the world of consumerism, the same occurs with human belief systems __and this emerging consciousness can change the way society views its own capability and destiny.

We are all looking to inspire greatness __in our organizations, communities, families __and in our own lives. Russell shares *information* and the wisdom gleaned from a path he has walked with integrity to help his readers discover breakthrough opportunities. jn

The Living Labyrinth: Exploring Universal Themes in Myths, Dreams, and the Symbolism of Waking Life

Average customer rating:

Universal, archetypal dream symbols lovingly explored

The Living Labyrinth: Exploring Universal Themes in Myths, Dreams, and the Symbolism of Waking Life
Jeremy Taylor
Manufacturer: Paulist Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Dreams | Mental Health | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Devotionals | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Fairy Tales | Genre Fiction | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Health Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Dream Work: Techniques for Discovering the Creative Power in Dreams
Where People Fly and Water Runs Uphill: Using Dreams to Tap the Wisdom of the Unconscious
Body-Mind Psychotherapy: Principles, Techniques, and Practical Applications
Psychotherapy and Spirit: Theory and Practice in Transpersonal Psychotherapy (S U N Y Series in the Philosophy of Psychology)
Dreams: A Way to Listen to God

ASIN: 0809137666

Book Description

Explores archetypal symbols in myths and dreams and explains how these have structured people's spiritual lives. Aimed at a general readership.

Customer Reviews:

Universal, archetypal dream symbols lovingly explored.......1999-11-10

Jeremy Taylor's first two books, DREAM WORK, and WHERE PEOPLE FLY AND WATER RUNS UP HILL, (q.v.) are brilliant introductions to exploring dreams with an eye to their deeper meanings. Both books offer insights that empower individual dreamers to look more deeply into their own dreaming experience and find more of the MULTIPLE MEANINGS that inhere in every dream - (even the tiniest fugitive fragments.) These books deal with forming on-going, lay-led dream groups, as well as working with one's dreams in solitude. LIVING LABYRINTH takes this self-empowerment dream work process one step further, encouraging dreamers to seek the "aha!" of meaning not only in the personal layers of significance in their dreams, but also in the transpersonal, archetypal symbols and metaphors that always appear in our dreams. Filled with re-tellings of some of the world's most interesting and emotionally compelling myths and sacred narratives, as well as accounts of many dreams of contemporary dreamers, the book explores the deep, recurring patterns of meaning and symbol that appear in both our individual dreams and our shared. collective religious and spiritual stories. There are alos 22 charming illustrations and diagrams (drawn by the author) that make the book visually appealing as well intellectually stimulating.

The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocking Your Personal Potential, Achieving Spiritual Awakening, ... of Humanity's Ultimate Cosmic Destiny

Average customer rating:

A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call
Challenge Consensus Reality!
A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us"

The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Awakening, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND: 10 Keys for Unlocking Your Personal Potential, Achieving Spiritual Awakening, ... of Humanity's Ultimate Cosmic Destiny
Vincent Casspriano Jr.
Manufacturer: Lulu.com
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Buddha | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Intention Experiment: Using Your Thoughts to Change Your Life and the World
Parallel Universe Of Self
How to Meet Yourself: ...and find true happiness
One: Essential Writings on Nonduality
Life Without a Centre: Awakening from the Dream of Separation

ASIN: 1847285783

Book Description

The Simplest Path, Step One: Free Your Mind delineates, in one slim volume, a complete system for achieving personal spiritual awakening, along with a straightforward, no-nonsense plan individuals and groups so enlightened can follow to awaken Humanity en masse and positively transform the world. This book contains keys to awakening. Awakening from our personal dream shatters the solid "box" of limitation memes have built around our lives, and frees us to fluidly craft our personalities, environments, relationships, careers, etc. as an artist paints a landscape or a sculptor teases form from formless clay. All of us awakening together from the shared dream of the planet will mark the birth of our species out of our current global nightmare of decline into a limitless future literally beyond our present ability to imagine, even in our "wildest dreams," indeed.

Customer Reviews:

A Unique and Inspiring Wake-up Call.......2007-05-15

This is one of the most clear-headed books I've read in years on the subject of real, nitty gritty, get your hands dirty spiritual development (as opposed to the fru fru New Age variety). So much of what passes for "spirituality" in our time amounts to some author, celebrity, priest, philosopher or self-appointed guru telling us what to "believe," sight unseen, if we want to reach heaven, attain enlightenment, achieve "ascension," etc. Casspriano takes an at times startling opposite approach. For Casspriano, such unquestioned/unquestionable beliefs are not only NOT the path to spiritual awakening, they represent the chief obstacle blocking our realization of higher consciousness. And it's not just religious beliefs ("faith") he's talking about, but all our beliefs about reality, especially those that enclose our thinking in "boxes" that limit our freedom to find solutions to real-world threats like Peak Oil, overpopulation, Global Warming, etc. Though much of the book focuses on individual enlightenment, for Casspriano, these larger planetary issues are "spiritual," as well. Whether the issue is our personal inability to find happiness or Humanity's collective rush toward physical extinction, the cause is the same - our wrong-headed beliefs about what's real. The solution is the same, as well - continuous, deep questioning. Using Richard Dawkins' concept of "memes" as a central metaphor, Casspriano first breaks down the basic process of belief, showing the mechanism in our brains by which beliefs misdirect and control our psyches, then he walks the reader through an exploration of a series of ten "anti-meme questions" aimed at breaking down the walls of our mental "boxes" and setting our minds free. With each question, he supplies an exercise designed to allow the reader to attain a personal taste of reality "beyond the box," especially as flavored by that chapter's "Key Question." For the most part, this formula works very well (with a few rare moments of over-exuberance on the author's part, as already described in other reviews, though as a card carrying vegan environmentalist, I can't say I particularly minded), delivering a cumulative series of death-blows to some of the most basic "pillars" of our present human consensus reality. Beyond the walls those pillars supported lies real reality, where we are all interconnected and interdependent, and, in Casspriano's view, mutually destined for greatness, if we can just wake up and grab the reins of our runaway culture in time. This is not a book for spiritual "feel gooders" seeking soft assurances that they're perfect just they way they are and everything's going to be all right, no matter what. This is a wake up call, a tool kit and a concrete action plan for becoming individually enlightened and collectively saving the world, all rolled up into one. That, I think, is a cause well-worthy of exuberance.

Challenge Consensus Reality!.......2007-05-10

This is a thoughtful book that addresses how we may go about developing a process to question our everyday consensus reality. I suppose if I have learned anything in 49 years of life, it is that all personal and social problems stem from our fundamental views on the nature of reality itself. Vincent Casspriano uses the concept of a "meme" as a fundamental unit of ideas, assumptions, etc. that often block our understanding of reality itself. One such meme, for example, may be that we have to "fight for our freedom" or the world's a "fearful" place and hence, we have to be ready to kill to protect ourselves. I suppose you could also use the word "paradigm" here as well, but the essential point of this book is that we "unconsciously" function in our life with many limited points of view that block our ability to solve problems on both a personal and a social basis.

While Vince Casspriano is to be congradulated for producing a book that presents both a methodology and a motivation for personal transformation, there are a few pitfalls here that the potential reader should be aware of before tackling this material. The author has some rather strong views on fossil fuel consumption, meet consumption, and the role of humans in the cycle of procreation. While I generally agree with his analysis on fossil fuel consumtion and meat consumption (as I have viewed large tracks of deforrested grazing land in developing countries), these viewpoints can distract the reader from the essential point here which is to rigourously question consensus reality. Since I am single, and have no motivation to have children, I definitely disagree with his views on the necessity of human procreation on this planet, but here again, it is important to extract the essential meaning rather than get caught in the specific political/social debates that these issues may spawn.

If you are serious about personal transformation with the potential for changing our global consciousness, than this book can be an invaluable tool. I do agree with the Author that a world population of "high functioning" people can resolve every planetary problem we face today. As we systematically question our consensus reality, we will see our problems in new ways, and with this new perspective, problems can often be quickly resolved or transcended.

A Simple Cure For What's "Eating Us".......2006-11-13

I considered titling this review, "Stop Whining, Wake Up and Get Busy Saving the World," but decided "Eating Us" would be more attention-grabbing - which matters because I believe Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" is an important book, and I want to do whatever I can to draw your attention to it. Pick the title you like best. Both very fittingly describe what you will find within the pages of this remarkable new release from New Paradigm Press.

I have selected three short quotations to explore in this review that I think best summarize Casspriano's overall message:

From Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":

"Right now, this very moment, you are asleep... Even if you are reading these words in broad daylight - sitting at your desk or beside the kitchen table, your feet firmly planted on the floor, eyes open, senses alert, feeling the weight of this book in your hands as sounds of life rise and fall rhythmically around you - you are deeply asleep, and dreaming furiously"

Now, the idea that Humans are sleeping, and must therefore "awaken," is by no means unique to Casspriano's "Simplest Path" spiritual system, being the root observation underlying pretty much all Eastern religion, and a lot of Western Occultism and New Age metaphysics, as well. In fairness, Casspriano makes no claim to this as an original insight, openly supporting his assessment of the human predicament with quotations taken from Animism, Buddhism, Christianity, Hinduism and Islam. He then flows seamlessly into a list of complementary illustrations from the secular realms of Quantum Physics, brain/consciousness research, and most to-the-point, the study of memes and memetics, ala Evolutionary Biologist and world's best-known cheerleader for scientific atheism, Richard Dawkins.

If you've never heard of memes or memetics, a quick Google of those terms will reveal hundreds of serious, information-rich websites devoted to this now thirty-year old science. In a nutshell, a "meme" is a sort of contagious thought-form that spreads between people by way of imitation. Obvious memes in our environment include advertising jingles, fads and fashions, etc. Casspriano somewhat radically extends the concept to include just about everything that makes up the contents of our individual brains and shared human culture. While he resists redefining the word "meme" wholesale, he decidedly expands its definition to make memes and "memeplexes" (what you get when a number of memes band together into an organic, relational unit, like a religion or cultural or political movement) the basic, fundamental building blocks of everything we habitually label "real..."

And then he demonstrates, in at times excruciating detail, the complete emptiness of the "apparent-reality" that is a byproduct of memetic activity in our brains. What we call "real" is not real at all. It's an illusion spun up by our memes. And our memes are not original to us. They are "viral invaders" assailing our minds from without. Worse - and, while even this thought is not wholly unique to Casspriano, he certainly gives it his own very effective spin - memes are by no means mere passive beliefs or simple "harmless ideas." They are, Casspriano believes, actively predatory psychic parasites whose survival depends on our buying into the illusions they create in our minds. Think of illusion (Samsara, Maya, etc.) as a web we're caught in. Memes are the spider. We are the fly. Gotcha.

One thing I like very much about Casspriano's book is that he never asks us to take anything on faith, least of all this rather ugly depiction of the human psychic/spiritual condition. He not only challenges readers to test his hypothesis firsthand in order to experience what is real and true for ourselves, he spends a large chunk of the book outlining specific exercises anyone can do to escape memetic interference and personally experience reality as-it-is. The exercises in Part II of the book are powerful medicine... But this is a digression, so let me return to the point.

Memes are the spider, and we are the fly. A better metaphor might be that memes are the farmer, and we are the cow. Domesticated and docile, we allow memes to milk us daily, to extract from our minds the potent human psychic energy which, if reclaimed by us and put to proper human use, would quickly and positively transform our lives and our world. This transformation is awakening, ascension, enlightenment, metanoia, the Buddha-like change of consciousness most religions and spiritual systems on Earth hint at, but few ever actually deliver to followers. In this analysis, Casspriano's "Simplest Path" is very much in line with Gurdjieff's "Fourth Way," Carlos Castaneda's Toltec sorcery, and a few other well known spiritual practices inhabiting a somewhat darker, though perhaps more realistic corner of the New Age. But unlike most of those other systems, Casspriano's prescription for escaping illusion and awakening to reality is remarkably, well... simple.

From Chapter Three, "Waking Up":

"The simple truth is that we are sleeping because we lack sufficient energy to wake up."

And later in the same chapter:

"The real work that brings about awakening, rather than merely granting the external appearance of "being spiritual," while actually embroiling us ever more deeply in the dream, is a rigorous, daily commitment to the identification and elimination of every self-serving belief from which our personal dream-lives are constructed."

For "belief" in the quotation above, read "meme/memeplex." Casspriano certainly does, treating the terms as largely interchangeable. In the end, this genuinely simple - at least in the sense of being uncomplicated and pragmatic - spiritual practice amounts to discovering reality as-it-actually-is less by searching for a glimpse beyond the illusion, than by systematically withdrawing our participation in, and identification with, the dream. When we disentangle our psyches from memetic illusion, only reality remains. We don't have to chase it; to a meme-free mind, reality just appears. This is "Satori" in Zen Buddhism. This is "stopping the world" in the Toltec sorcery of Castaneda and others. Casspriano's genius lies in his talent for exposing the core mechanism behind such complex and often inscrutable spiritual systems, and for putting into plain language clear instructions for unraveling the dream and achieving personal awakening. The virus-like process by which memes take over and control our human minds, as described by Casspriano is, to my mind, very complicated (but well worth struggling through). What is genuinely simple about "The Simplest Path," however, is Casspriano's prescription for breaking those bonds, once you've made the effort to understand how they are created and maintained. For Casspriano, remaining a victim of spiritual sleep and energetic exploitation by memes is a complex activity in which we unconsciously invest enormous amounts of psychic energy every day of our lives. Awakening is the product of a simple act of withdrawing that investment, which automatically re-energizes of our minds and lives. Or as Casspriano cleverly phrases it when closing Chapter Three, "Waking Up":

"Unweave the tapestry of the dream, and awakening happens."

Anyone can do this. Spiritual awakening, in Casspriano's view, may be hard work, but it is not complicated work. The path to enlightenment is really rather shockingly simple. Fall out of love with the dream. Reclaim your psychic energy. Wake up to reality.

The ten "Key Questions" Casspriano explores in the second section of the book are designed to put the theory laid out in Part I to practical and immediate use. Essentially, I think Casspriano sees these ten issues - why we treat enlightenment as an "airy-fairy" ideal instead of a measurable transformation of brain functioning, the excuses we make for avoiding personal responsibility and integrity along the lines of Castaneda's "impeccability," the fallacy of belief in a "separate self," etc. - as pillars of both our personal and collective human dreams. They are by no means an exhaustive listing of the memes twisting our minds. But they are primary keystones on which layers upon layers of the grand illusion are built. Topple these ten baseline pillars and the larger structure crumbles.

Casspriano explores some "Keys" more successfully than others. One downside to the book is that, especially in the "Keys," Casspriano's own memetic prejudices shine at times rather glaringly through, as when, in his discussion of the American "What Would Jesus Do?" religious fad, he characterizes the Evangelical Christian purveyors of WWJD as, "ultra-conservative, right wing ideologues." Even should the reader personally agree with such pronouncements, its hard to resist thinking, "Hey Vince! Your memes are showing!" But where he nails his point, Casspriano's prose can be downright inspiring, as with the "Key" cosmological study "Is Earth the Center of the Universe?," which explores the gap between what we know, scientifically, about the Universe and what our daily choices and behavior says we really believe, about the cosmos and about ourselves. His closing "Key" "Are We Alone?" so poetically frames the true stakes of our global human predicament - species survival VS extinction - that its hard to imagine anyone keeping their gaze glued squarely to their own self-involved navel in the wake of reading it. Of course we are not alone. There are six and a half billion of us on Planet Earth, and whether we awaken to what's best in us or follow our darkest drives over History's cliff into oblivion, we do so as one. One planet, one fate.

This notion of "oneness" and of a common, intertwined human spiritual and biological destiny is a core theme in The Simplest Path, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND that sets it apart from any spiritual book in recent memory. My final quotation from the book returns us to the opening lines of Chapter One, "The Boxes We Dream In":

"We are all aware of the challenges facing us as we enter together into the 21st Century:

· World oil supplies are running out.

· Global warming is transforming the Earth into a steamy greenhouse.

· Even as our technology connects the world, ideological extremism, terrorism and militarism divide us as never before.

· Headlines bombard us with news of war, famine, pestilence and death until we feel overwhelmed and unable to respond.

· Time is running out..."

Vincent Casspriano, Jr.'s "The Simplest Path to Personal and Planetary Transformation, Step One: FREE YOUR MIND" does not offer easy escape from these very pressing real-world human ills, but rather, a down to Earth, workable prescription for their cure. Yes, we must awaken as individuals, and, rest assured, "The Simplest Path" shows spiritual seekers exactly how to do that. But a prime message of "The Simplest Path" is that, for personal awakening to have meaning, it must occur within the context of a complete re-visioning of global culture, and a mass wrenching away of the wheel of History from the control of viral memes, that we might create a common cosmic human destiny worthy of our highest potential as a species.

Now that's a meme worth feeding.

Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion (Shambhala Pocket Classics)

Average customer rating:

Wise and Insightful
Insightful and helpful
Great introduction
O.k. book.
The Precepts Come to Life

Waking Up to What You Do: A Zen Practice for Meeting Every Situation with Intelligence and Compassion (Shambhala Pocket Classics)
Diane Eshin Rizzetto
Manufacturer: Shambhala
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Zen | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Zen Philosophy | Buddhism | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Nonfiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts)
At Home in the Muddy Water: A Guide to Finding Peace Within Everyday Chaos
Bad Dog!: A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places
The Mind of Clover: Essays in Zen Buddhist Ethics (Right Action Essays Zen Buddhist PR)
Hooked!: Buddhist Writings on Greed, Desire, and the Urge to Consume

ASIN: 1590303423
Release Date: 2006-06-13

Customer Reviews:

Wise and Insightful.......2006-08-28

A wonderful book. Full of very down-to-earth wisdom on living compassionately, honestly, and courageously. Many real-life stories from Rizzetto's work as a Zen teacher as well as practical advice and exercises for applying the book's teaching to your own life. Highly recommended.

Insightful and helpful.......2006-04-13

This is a wonderful and insightful book. It really brought the precepts alive for me in a thoughtful and practical way. I have read through it twice and am amazed at how much more I picked up from second reading. It has been absolutely helpful, a real gem, and a very good read to boot!

Great introduction .......2005-09-28

I picked this book up at the library and I had no idea why I chose it, the title was interesting and I was intrigued. I had no idea what the Buddhist precepts were. Yet reading the book I was fascianted by the insight. I found it went along with Stephen Covey's 7 Habits and the 8th Habit, as a way to change your life by working between the stimulus and the response. I liked the book so much I will buy it so I can re-read it when I need to. When the student is ready a teacher will be found applied here. I did not know I was looking for this insight but I am glad I was lead to find this book.

O.k. book........2005-09-09

The book is o.k., but the precepts are not the actual Buddhist ones, just the author's own versions of them.

The other problem is that I think this book is written primarily for women. The author always uses "she" or "her" when giving examples of anything. (Or maybe it is just women's lib gone awry!)

Anyway, it's an o.k. book.

The Precepts Come to Life.......2005-08-31

What I like most about Diane Rizzetto's book is not just that the words are clear, which they certainly are, but that they are immediate and alive. There is none of the moral judgment that usually accompanies writing on the Buddhist precepts; rather, the precepts actually come to life, as guideposts on how to live in the midst of the moral confusion that marks our everyday living. Diane uses many real life examples, both from her own life and the lives of others: some help clarify the meaning of the precept; some illustrate how the precept can be lived in real lfe situations; and some are deeply inspirational - pointing us in the direction that we all wish to go. I recommend this book to anyone, Buddhist or not, meditator or not, who would like to live in a more genuine and open hearted way.

The Eldredge Collection: Waking the Dead, Wild at Heart, Capitivating

Average customer rating:

The Eldredge Collection: Waking the Dead, Wild at Heart, Capitivating
John Eldredge
Manufacturer: Oasis Audio
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio CD

General | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Inspirational | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

General | Books on CD | Formats | Books

Christianity | Religion & Spirituality | Books on CD | Formats | Books

General | Religion & Spirituality | Books on CD | Formats | Books
Similar Items:

Wild at Heart: Discovering the Secret of a Man's Soul
Epic: The Story God Is Telling and the Role That Is Yours to Play
Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive
The Way of the Wild Heart: A Map for the Masculine Journey
Wild at Heart Field Manual: A Personal Guide to Discover the Secret of Your Masculine Soul

ASIN: 1598590995

Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America

Average customer rating:

Utterly Artless
Kindred Soul of another writer
Another bullseye for Natalie Goldberg
I got so absorbed, I missed a deadline!
Not Just About Writing, No This One Is Ultimately About Life

Long Quiet Highway: Waking Up in America
Natalie Goldberg
Manufacturer: Bantam
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Biographies & Memoirs | Subjects | Books

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

General | Spirituality | Religion & Spirituality | Subjects | Books

Look Inside Fiction Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books

Look Inside Religion & Spirituality Books | Trip | Specialty Stores | Books
Similar Items:

The Great Failure : A Bartender, A Monk, and My Unlikely Path to Truth
Wild Mind: Living the Writer's Life
Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within (Shambhala Pocket Classics)
Thunder and Lightning : Cracking Open the Writer's Craft
Top of My Lungs

ASIN: 0553373153
Release Date: 1994-02-01

Customer Reviews:

Utterly Artless.......2006-08-29

Long Quiet Highway is an enormous disappointment. N. Goldberg became so absorbed in the idea of writing for the sake of writing that she no longer cared if she could write _well_. It seems to me that if you're going to declare yourself a writer, you should at least take the time to edit and make sure your prose is worth publishing. It's almost as if she went to a cafe and doodled in her diary for a few months and then typed up her daily musings without even a glance back at what she'd written. If you're reading this book simply to understand how one woman applied her search for peace through the practice of Zen, then you'll probably find it a useful read. But if you have any desire to read something remotely well-written, this is not the book for you.

Kindred Soul of another writer.......2006-06-02

Doing my search for my thesis on Women's memoir writing, I came across this fantastic memoir. I was not able to put it down because I felt a kindred spirit along on this journey. As a writer and writing professor, I was enlightened and energized by the stillness Goldberg found through her writing practice. I would encourage seekers of Zen and writers looking to further their creative vision alike, to immerse themselves in this Journey.

Another bullseye for Natalie Goldberg.......2005-03-29

This book documents Natalie's journey with Zen & writing. It is honest and straight forward. There are many valueable lessons to be learned from this book. It deals with life, death, divorce, personal growth & empowerment. This book is a discourse with life in simple clarity. As others have said this is a book you will read more than once.

I got so absorbed, I missed a deadline!.......2005-03-03

When this book first came out, I remember reading it straight through three times. And I sent it to nearly every writer or spiritual seeker I knew.

Today, I was looking on my bookshelf hoping for inspiration on a book to send a new friend who is in the midst of a spiritual struggle (though I see it as an awakening). I picked up Ms. Goldberg's book and started thumbing through it. Before I knew it, the time had flown by and I'd completely forgotten about my work... yikes-my deadline! I just ordered a copy for my friend, and am going to reread the book myself.

This is what makes it so great: it is honest and authentic. It is like sitting in a room with someone and having them decribe a fascinating and compelling journey. It is the complications of zen practice made simple to understand. Reading it is exactly the experience the title suggests... it is a journey.

For anyone who understands the struggle to "wake up." This is a beautiful book to keep by your side.

Not Just About Writing, No This One Is Ultimately About Life.......2004-03-13

Imagine running a marathon for 1000 days in 7 years. Sound crazy to you? Well, there is a Japanese order of monks who did just that, and immediately following the marathon they fasted for 9 days; that is, they had no food OR water and NO SLEEP. Sound extreme? Perhaps, but it is a practice which is said to completely awaken these monks, heightening their senses such as keenness of their noses and ears.

Like these monks, Natalie Goldberg has a marathon of her own to keep her senses sharpened. She writes, and does so very often. Her writing allows her to understand her own life experience in a concrete way. This book is like a chronicle if Goldberg's life, a fascinating tale of peace work and Zen practice. We all have something to learn in another's experience, especially when there is a very human quality to it. Very personal. Because that's our own life, and like Natalie uses her experience to help others we likewise can do the same. Goldberg has written a myriad of books on writing as a spiritual process, and this is possibly her very best one. Enjoy!

Waking Up, Alive: Life Lessons from Survivors of Suicide Attempts

Average customer rating:

Out of the Valley of the Shadow
This One Hits It Exactly.....
I believed someone really knew what suicide feels like
The most significant book on the recovery from an attempt.
Powerful, significant work on the nature of suicide

Waking Up, Alive: Life Lessons from Survivors of Suicide Attempts
Richard A. Heckler
Manufacturer: Sounds True
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Audio Cassette

Psychology | Health, Mind & Body | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

General | Nonfiction | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

General | Books on Cassette | Formats | Books

Suicide | Death & Grief | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Self-Help | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

General | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

Suicide | Psychology & Counseling | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books
Similar Items:

Getting Through the Day: Strategies for Adults Hurt As Children
Anger Kills: Seventeen Strategies for Controlling the Hostility That Can Harm Your Health
The Suicidal Mind
Experiential Psychotherapy with Couples: A Guide for the Creative Pragmatist
How I Stayed Alive When My Brain Was Trying to Kill Me: One Person's Guide to Suicide Prevention

ASIN: 1564553612

Book Description

"Sometimes I feel like crying, but the tears just don't come...."
"I had no idea there was a state of mind like this. Everything turned black...."
"It was a zombie place where I just couldn't be a part of anything...."
These are the words of survivors who have lived through one of the most insidious conditions of our time: the desire to die. Five million Americans have attempted suicide. Every seventeen minutes, one of them succeeds. And the numbers continue to grow.
Through fifty startling interviews with suicide survivors of all ages and backgrounds, psychologist Richard A. Heckler takes us into the very heart of despair, documenting the varied paths that lead to that crucial place where one's world seems to stretch, tear, and then break apart. In these intimate accounts we begin to understand the determination and clarity of that fatal choice. But after the failed attempt, healing is possible. For the first time, with great care and penetrating insight, Heckler traces the heroic patterns of recovery. By offering clear, profound portraits of hope, this extraordinary and unprecedented book attests to the resilience of the human spirit, by bearing witness to those who stood at death's door, and found the courage to live.
"It's hard to imagine a hopeful or inspiring book on suicide until you begin reading the astonishing Waking Up, Alive."
--San Francisco Chronicle
"In this sensitive book, Richard Heckler brings compassionate light to a shadowy corner of our psyche."
--Ram Dass
Author of Journey of Awakening
"These moving accounts, written with a great heart of compassion, have a deeply healing effect on the ocean of human tears. This is a wise and ultimately life-affirming work!"
--Jack Kornfield, Ph.D.
Author of A Path With Heart

Customer Reviews:

Out of the Valley of the Shadow.......2000-10-02

Almost every book about suicide focuses on its causes, often chronicling the final descent of its victims. This heartfelt study does something different and long overdue - it examines the lives of "failed" suicides and lets them describe how they emerged from of the seemingly bottomless darkness that nearly claimed them. Harrowing in its depiction of the pain that fills the suicidal mind, deeply moving in its stories of overcoming that pain and living beyond it, this book is an invaluable resource. By the time you turn the last page, hope will be even more tangible to you than despair. A book that should be kept permanently in print.

This One Hits It Exactly............2000-02-19

Having the disorder of depression; and teetering in and out of suicidal thoughts; I went in search of a book which explained what I was going through. After reading several books, I came across this one. THIS IS IT ! It is the ONLY book I have found that "gets it". I have bought 5 copies - one by one - and have loaned them all out to friends and therapists whom I wanted to really understand what I was going through.

This book was almost an obsession....I HAD to keep reading it. It also managed to give me some hope when I didn't think it was possible and wasn't looking for any.

I'd buy a copy to keep for myself, but I can't find one....This one needs to be put back into print ! It may save lives.

I believed someone really knew what suicide feels like.......1998-12-16

A few weeks after a failed attempt at suicide, I found this book when searching for some understanding of suicidal feelings. When I read the stories and the quotes of those who have overcome the tempation, I felt that someone really did understand the way the mind narrows to the point where sucide is the only option. I bought copies for those who were surprised, and hurt, by my attempt. If you battle suicidal urges or want to know what it is like to enter the "vortex", I would reccomend this very helpful book. I thank the author and all he interviewed.

The most significant book on the recovery from an attempt........1998-12-03

Dr. Heckler, through his brief quotes of interviews and journals, was able to travel through the REAL LIFE experiences of about 50 people that had attempted suicide and survived. You will see a variety of processes that brought these individuals to the door step of death.

Dr. Heckler is the ONLY person, involved in suicide research, to paint and define the components of the recovery from any attempt. You will see a very wide variety of recovery approaches. I feel the reader, whether a support person of someone who attempted or the attemptee, will gain TONS of insights into ways to start the process of recovery.... Litterly the most difficult task you will ever take on..

Powerful, significant work on the nature of suicide.......1998-09-21

After losing my brother to suicide a few months ago, this book was recommended to me to gain an understanding of his mental state before he took his life.

The author, Richard Heckler, articulates the suffering of one who is suicidal with great skill and insight. He also demonstrates a deep and clear understanding of the thought processes of those who have suffered long term and chronic pain, disfunction, and significant trauma.

It was with terrible sorrow that I recognized my lost brother in these pages. It was equally painful to find myself in the accounts shared, but I was not left feeling hopeless. Dr. Heckler diligently presents the hopeful possiblity of relief from such despair.

This is a truly wonderful book, written with profound compassion for those who suffer. I would recommend it to anyone who has survived the death by suicide of a loved one, and to those in pain who seek a deeper understanding of themselves.

Books:

Books