Author: Jack Kornfield
Publisher: Bantam
ISBN: 0553378295
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 338
Get Book Here
Book Description
“Enlightenment does exist,” internationally renowned author and meditation master Jack Kornfield assures us. “Unbounded freedom and joy, oneness with the divine . . . these experiences are more common than you know, and not far away.” But even after achieving such realization—after the ecstasy—we are faced with the day—to-day task of translating that freedom into our imperfect lives. We are faced with the laundry. Drawing on the experiences and insights of leaders and practitioners within the Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Sufi traditions, this book offers a uniquely intimate and honest understanding of how the modern spiritual journey unfolds—and how we can prepare our hearts for awakening. Through moving personal stories and traditional tales, we learn how the enlightened heart navigates the real world of family relationships, emotional pain, earning a living, sickness, loss, and death. Filled with “the laughter of the wise,” alive with compassion, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is a gift to anyone who is seeking peace, wholeness, and inner happiness. It is sure to take its place next to A Path with Heart as a spiritual classic for our time.
Author: Ali Sultaan Asani
Publisher: I. B. Tauris
ISBN: 9781860648281
Category : Islam
Languages : en
Pages : 184
Get Book Here
Book Description
The devotional and mystical literature of the Ismailis in the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent is a little known but rich seam of creativity in the cultural heritage of Islam. The book focuses on the Ginans, a large corpus of hymns and poems composed in a variety of Indic languages and attributed to a series of preacher-saints who propagated the Ismaili form of Islam in the subcontinent over several centuries.
Author: Thomas Cleary
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 160925564X
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 279
Get Book Here
Book Description
The Ecstasy of Enlightenment is an inside look at the spiritual world of Tantra--one of the most sophisticated, alluring, and controversial forms of Buddhism. Cleary unlocks the mysteries of the Carya-Giti, a collections of teachings by more than twenty famous Siddhas, or Tantric adepts, who lived during the illustrius Pala dynasty of old Bengal. These teachings emanate from one of the most dynamic sources of international Buddhism, at the height of its religious development, and as such, they are completely nonsectarian. Particularly noteworth is Cleary's demonstration of the parallels between Tantric Buddhism in Old Bengal and the original Zen Buddhism of China.
Author:
Publisher: Weiser Books
ISBN: 1609259637
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Get Book Here
Book Description
Unlocking the secrets of Tantra—one of the most alluring forms of Buddhism Often misunderstood, Tantrism focuses on a particular style of meditation and ritual. Having far more to do with the sacred than the sexual, Tantric Buddhism is believed to have originated around the 5th Century AD in the rich cultural basin of Bengal and spread throughout the Asian world. Today it is widely practiced in Tibet, Japan, and the West. The Secrets of Tantric Buddhism presents accessible translations of 46 classic texts found in the Carya-Giti, a collection of teachings by more than twenty famous Siddhas, or Tantric adepts, who lived during the illustrious Pala dynasty of the 10th and 11th centuries. Renowned translator and scholar Thomas Cleary unlocks the mysteries of these texts and provides commentary for each that explains the ancient teachings in a way that makes them seem fresh and contemporary. These teachings emanate from one of the most dynamic sources of Buddhism, at the height of its religious development. They are completely nonsectarian and will be greeted enthusiastically by those interested in spirituality, world religions, and classic Buddhism.
Author: Georg Feuerstein, Ph.D.
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
ISBN: 0834825457
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 336
Get Book Here
Book Description
A leading yoga researcher offers a clear and lively introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of the Tantric spiritual tradition Tantra—often associated with Kundalini Yoga—is a fundamental dimension of Hinduism, emphasizing the cultivation of “divine power” (shakti) as a path to infinite bliss. Tantra has been widely misunderstood in the West, however, where its practices are often confused with eroticism and licentious morality. Tantra: The Path of Ecstasy dispels many common misconceptions, providing an accessible introduction to the history, philosophy, and practice of this extraordinary spiritual tradition. The Tantric teachings are geared toward the attainment of enlightenment as well as spiritual power and are present not only in Hinduism but also Jainism and Vajrayana Buddhism. In this book, Georg Feuerstein offers readers a clear understanding of authentic Tantra, as well as appropriate guidance for spiritual practice and the attainment of higher consciousness.
Author: Sudhir Kakar
Publisher: Abrams
ISBN: 1468307770
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 150
Get Book Here
Book Description
Ram Das Baba, as his devotees call him, is the son of a devout Brahmin family. He spends a lifetime seeking spiritual knowledge and his journey is filled with illuminating visions, severe tribulations, and an unwavering faith. His destiny as a highly evolved Sadhu is fulfilled through ordeals of monastic bliss, tantric awakening, madness, and transexuality. But as his life nears its end he meets a young man who belongs to a very different India and a profound relationship develops.
Author: Sharon Klayman Farber
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 0765708582
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 431
Get Book Here
Book Description
Hungry for Ecstasy: Trauma, The Brain, and the Influence of the Sixties by Sharon Klayman Farber explores the hunger for ecstatic experience that can lead people down the road to self-destruction. In an attempt to help mental health professionals and concerned individuals understand and identify the phenomenon and ultimately intervene with patients, friends, and loved ones, Farber speaks both personally and professionally to the reader. She discusses the different paths taken on the road to ecstatic states. There are religious ecstasies, ecstasies of pain and near-death experiences, cult-induced ecstasies, creative ecstasies, and ecstasies from hell. Hungry for Ecstasy explores not only the neuroscientific processes involved but also the influence of the sixties in driving people to seek these states. Finally, Farber draws from her own personal and professional experience to advise others how to intervene on behalf of the person whose behavior puts his or her life at risk.
Author: Phyllida Anam-Áire
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1644112663
Category : Body, Mind & Spirit
Languages : en
Pages : 209
Get Book Here
Book Description
• Emphasizes how shadow work, integrating past wounds, and healing our ancestry allows us to facilitate the ecstatic transition into the next life • Offers exercises and visualizations to help us integrate emotions like anger and grief, which impact the soul’s readiness to leave the body when the time comes • Discusses what happens to our cells when we die with regard to the human energy field and explores the soul’s journey through the aítes or bardos In the Celtic tradition dying is considered an act of birthing, of our consciousness passing from this life to the next. Informed by an early near-death experience, spiritual midwife and former nun Phyllida Anam-Áire offers an intimate overview of the sacred stages of the dying process seen through the lens of her Celtic heritage. Compassionately describing the final dissolution of the elements, she emphasizes how important it is to resolve and integrate our psycho-spiritual shadows and wounds in this lifetime. What truly heals is our capacity for authentic compassionate love--in life, in death, and after. Healing our ancestry before leaving the body eases not only our transition but sets future generations free from old stories held in our family systems. Sharing her insights into God consciousness, our earth/ego mind, and the soul’s journey through the Aíte or bardos, Phyllida’s poetic words guide us toward the final ecstasy as the soul leaves its material form and enters the vast Universal Heart of cosmic energy. Providing a deep spiritual understanding of the mysteries of death and the afterlife, this courageous book combines Celtic and Christian wisdom to dispel the fear of dying and invites us to live consciously and with love to our very last breath.
Author: Valerie Brooks
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 1594779848
Category : Self-Help
Languages : en
Pages : 159
Get Book Here
Book Description
The autobiography of an American Gen-X woman who immerses herself in the sexual mysteries of tantric yoga. • An engaging insider's story that intimately portrays the details of the tantric sexual path from a young woman's point of view. • Author is one of the few Americans to be initiated into the sacred cobra breath. • Reveals not only the benefits but also the pitfalls, problems, and temptations of this path toward enlightenment. • Includes meditations and exercises for beginning a tantric practice. Tantric Awakening discloses an epic experience of tantra that few have achieved, and even fewer would dare to attempt. This is the story of a 19-year-old girl, disillusioned by the questions that her religion and society fail to answer, who courageously enters the sensuous rituals of tantric sex. In search of authentic knowledge, Brooks was admitted into secret societies where she learned firsthand the ways of the tradition from tantric adepts. Amid disapproval from family and friends, her body and spirit awaken to ecstatic levels of orgasmic pleasure that allow her to experience loving relationships, better health, and a deep sense of oneness with God. A personal and intimate portrait, Tantric Awakening is tastefully written to reveal not only the ecstatic power and spiritual benefits of tantra, but also the pitfalls, problems, and temptations of this path toward enlightenment. With the inclusion of specific tantric sexual techniques the author shows how to use tantra to balance the spirit with the physical self in order to achieve personal empowerment, transforming fear and self-doubt into joy and self-confidence. Meditations, exercises, and important insights for beginning a tantric practice assist the reader who is inspired to bring a sense of the divine into daily life.
Author: Miranda Shaw
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 9780691010908
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 320
Get Book Here
Book Description
Anyone who reads a Tantric text or enters a Tantric temple immediately encounters a pantheon of female Buddhas and a host of female enlighteners known as "dakinis," who dance and leap in joyous poses that communicate a sense of mastery and spiritual power. This striking female imagery is fully compatible with Shaw's findings. Drawing on interviews and archival research conducted during two years of fieldwork in India and Nepal, including more than forty previously unnoticed works by women of the Pala period (eighth through twelfth centuries C.E.), she substantially reinterprets the history of Tantric Buddhism during its first four centuries. In her view, the Tantric theory of this period promotes an ideal of cooperative, mutually liberative relationships between women and men while encouraging a sense of reliance on women as a source of spiritual insight and power.
