Sooner or later, we all confront situations with no easy way out. For human beings, sickness, old age, and death, either our own or someone else's, seem like insurmountable barriers. We all struggle to avoid these things, and the media encourages our pursuit, offering plastic surgery, exercise routines, and all manner of pills to achieve eternal youth. But sooner or later, we need to realize that old age and suffering are not going to magically dissolve.

The world is teaching us all the time. Teachings come from rivers, rocks, and mountains, and teachings come from pollution, AIDS, and starvation. But how much of these teachings do we actually hear? Roshi says that we can't possibly experience the world around us if our senses are dulled. Zen practice shows us that it is possible to experience life in a new way, a way that allows us to hear with the whole body and mind.

It's always heartwarming to watch a child's joy during the holidays, or to witness people reaching out to one another during times of crisis. But how do we give in our everyday lives? Daido Roshi examines the true meaning of giving, pointing out that each moment is an opportunity to give, and each moment is full of gifts we are receiving from others. But few actions are as misunderstood as giving, mostly due to our confusion about material and spiritual gifts.

Babe Ruth hit 704 home runs, but no one ever mentions that he struck out about 3,000 times. In our goal-oriented culture, we tend to forget that you can't hit home runs unless you strike out; we think that failure is something bad, and as a result we become afraid to take action.

It is a constant practice to not get stuck in the language or forms of Zen training. The precepts, wisdom, higher states of meditation - these are all concepts that need to be let go of. Don’t turn your Zen practice into a nest, a workshop, a medicine cabinet or a make-up kit. True realization is traceless. It has nothing to do with your ideas about it. Even at the top of a hundred-foot pole, there’s nowhere else to go but forward.

This newer edition of the King James Bible published in 1769 is usually preferred by most that read it over the older 1611 version. This 1769 edition is highly sought after due to being more reader/listener friendly than the 1611 since many typos were fixed.... We hope your new audio bible will go everywhere with you and be a blessing for years to come.

My Big TOE: Awakening, written by a nuclear physicist in the language of contemporary culture, unifies science and philosophy, physics and metaphysics, mind and matter, purpose and meaning, the normal and the paranormal. The entirety of human experience (mind, body, and spirit) including both our objective and subjective worlds is brought together under one seamless scientific understanding.

The ancient Toltecs believed that life, as we perceive it, is a dream. We each live in our own personal dream, and these come together to form the dream of the planet, or the world in which we live. Problems arise when our perception of the dream becomes clouded with negativity, drama, and judgment (of ourselves and others), because it's in these moments of suffering that we have forgotten that we are the architects of our own reality and we have the power to change our dream if we choose.

The Bhagavad Gita, "The Song of the Lord", is the best known of all the Indian scriptures, and Easwaran's reliable and accessible version has consistently been the best-selling translation. Easwaran's introduction places the Gita in its historical setting and brings out the universality and timelessness of its teachings. Chapter introductions give clear explanations of key concepts in that chapter.

What if you could wake up every day without anxiety? View your past with purpose, not regret? Live happy, peaceful, and free from fear? You can - and Gabrielle Bernstein will show you the way. Gabby has long been loved by her listeners as a spiritual teacher, motivational speaker, and catalyst for profound inner change. Her new book presents her most powerful teaching yet: a plan for transforming the pain of your past, whatever that may be, into newfound strength and freedom.