Best Spiritual Books of 2018 - Spirituality & Practice
Zen wisdom for identifying the causes of mental and emotional anxiety epidemic in today's world and for finding the path to a peaceful heart in the midst of them—a path that leads directly though the center of the anxiety we're trying to escape.
Wrestling with fear doesn’t have to be a negative experience. This book offers an approach to life that unlocks a new...

"'In the beginner's mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert's there are few.' So begins this most beloved of all American Zen books. Seldom has such a small handful of words provided a teaching as rich as has this famous opening line. In a single stroke, the simple sentence cuts through the pervasive tendency students have of getting so close to Zen as to completely miss what it's all about. An instant teaching on the first page. And...

For anyone curious about the teachings of Buddha and modern Buddhist practice, Tell Me Something about Buddhism offers the perfect introduction. Written by Soto Zen priest Zenju Earthlyn Manuel and organized in an easy-to-use question and answer format, this brief book answers the many common questions people have about Buddhism, everything from who was Buddha to why do monks, nuns, and priests shave their heads.--Publisher.

"Zen teacher Jules Shuzen Harris argues that contemporary American Buddhists face two primary challenges: (1) "spiritual bypassing," which means avoiding or repressing psychological problems in favor of "pretend Enlightenment," and (2) settling for secularized forms of Buddhism or mindfulness that have lost touch with the deeper philosophical and ethical underpinnings of the religion. Drawing on his decades of experience as a Zen practitioner, teacher,...

"Buddhism aims for the development of a flexible mind and skillful responsiveness—whether toward problems in one’s personal life or broader issues like the ecological crisis. But in a culture now saturated with cliches about mindfulness and unrealistic fantasies about happiness, what does it truly mean to walk this path? The key practice is that of embodied aliveness. In The Path of Aliveness, Zen and Taoist Qigong teacher Christian Dillo offers...

"In the same everyman-style that appealed to readers in A Fool's Guide to Actual Happiness, Mark Van Buren returns with A Fool's Guide to Mindfulness. This book's emphasis is bold and clear: your entire life is the Path, your entire life is meditation-every aspect and every circumstance can become a place of practice. Nothing is too mundane, and nothing at all is left out. Van Buren excels at communicating in a simple and breezy fashion the nothing-special...

"Alan Watts’s essays and talks range widely through psychology, art, religion, and politics, but always come home to the Zen core. For those familiar with Alan Watts’s style of presentation, the wonderful, memorable, and prophetic style of his voice is captured in this volume. Talking Zen puts on display Watts’s ability to explore the very subtle philosophies, those common across traditions and those unique to Zen, in ordinary and accessible...

"Happiness is far more than a positive feeling that comes and goes, happiness is wired into the physiology of our brains. It is a skill we can all develop through cultivating mindfulness and concentration. In Ten Breaths to Happiness Schneider presents a series of simple practices and guided meditations that allow you to literally rewire your neural pathways to experience deeper and more lasting fulfillment and peace. Studies in neuroscience show...

On hundred daily practices from a Japanese Zen monk for a lifetime of calm and joy.

"Put yourself at ease with this highly practical, internationally bestselling guide to reducing anxiety and living worry-free by the renowned Zen Buddhist author of The Art of Simple Living. Can you think of a time when you were worried about something, but then a random comment or occurrence made you realize how insignificant it was, and you were amazed by how much lighter you felt? We often allow ourselves to be frightened by shadows that aren't...