A truly remarkable story of Zen medicine and how you can bring its practices into your own life. Author Shi Zxinggui began studying Zen medicine—a combination of meditation, gentle physical activity and medicine—as a child under the tutelage of the Shaolin Temple's Master Dechan. She carried it with her, eventually going on to lecture on the subject in both China and abroad for several decades. When she was diagnosed with terminal colon cancer, Zxinggui returned to the Shaolin Temple, hoping the Zen medicine she'd spent so long teaching others about would help her. After careful nursing and appropriate mind and body exercises, her cancer went into remission. Since her own cancer battle, Zxinggui has helped many other cancer patients, devoting her life to this work. This book, which draws on the author's 20 years as a cancer fighter, 50 years as a doctor and life-long wisdom as a Zen practitioner, provides insight into how readers can implement these strategies, which emphasize daily health care and cultivation of the body and soul, into their own lives—not only to help with physical diseases, but also to ease mental anxieties and inspire others to live a clean, healthy life. Ailments addressed in the book are varied, and include: IBS Lumbar disc herniation Back and leg soreness High blood pressure Asthma And many others

In Mind Body Zen, long-time Zen student, world-renowned Rolfer, and former philosophy professor Jeffrey Maitland combines his expertise across the mind-body-zen spectrum to help bridge the East-West gap in spiritual practice. Tackling the prevailing misconception that Zen is a philosophy, Maitland provides an in-depth explanation of why Zen is an eminently practical, grounded discipline. He emphasizes the power of simple, direct experience that lies at the heart of Zen. Maitland’s training in philosophy as well as bodywork distinguishes Mind Body Zen from many other books on the market. Drawing on his Rolfing expertise and years of applied meditation practice, he also offers techniques for healers across many systems and disciplines to more effectively work with their clients. Threaded throughout these discussions are the insights of Joshu Sasaki Roshi, founder of Mt. Baldy Zen Center, best known by some as Leonard Cohen’s teacher, still actively teaching at age 102 but whose work has rarely been published. Mind Body Zen will appeal to the growing number of Western Buddhists and spiritual seekers interested in Zen or meditation. Somatic therapists, psychotherapists, and healers of every persuasion will also find the connection between Zen and healing to be of great interest.

A neuroscientist and Zen practitioner interweaves the latest research on the brain with his personal narrative of Zen. Aldous Huxley called humankind's basic trend toward spiritual growth the "perennial philosophy." In the view of James Austin, the trend implies a "perennial psychophysiology"—because awakening, or enlightenment, occurs only when the human brain undergoes substantial changes. What are the peak experiences of enlightenment? How could these states profoundly enhance, and yet simplify, the workings of the brain? Zen and the Brain presents the latest evidence. In this book Zen Buddhism becomes the opening wedge for an extraordinarily wide-ranging exploration of consciousness. In order to understand which brain mechanisms produce Zen states, one needs some understanding of the anatomy, physiology, and chemistry of the brain. Austin, both a neurologist and a Zen practitioner, interweaves the most recent brain research with the personal narrative of his Zen experiences. The science is both inclusive and rigorous; the Zen sections are clear and evocative. Along the way, Austin examines such topics as similar states in other disciplines and religions, sleep and dreams, mental illness, consciousness-altering drugs, and the social consequences of the advanced stage of ongoing enlightenment.

"[This book] applies Zen wisdom, Shaolin kung fu, and traditional Chinese medicine to one's daily health regimen, both for optimizing general health, easing mental anxieties, and far addressing specific ailments."--Page 4 of cover.

“A warm, profound and cleareyed memoir. . . this wise and sympathetic book’s lingering effect is as a reminder that a deeper and more companionable way of life lurks behind our self-serious stories."—Oliver Burkeman, New York Times Book Review A remarkable exploration of the therapeutic relationship, Dr. Mark Epstein reflects on one year’s worth of therapy sessions with his patients to observe how his training in Western psychotherapy and his equally long investigation into Buddhism, in tandem, led to greater awareness—for his patients, and for himself For years, Dr. Mark Epstein kept his beliefs as a Buddhist separate from his work as a psychiatrist. Content to use his training in mindfulness as a private resource, he trusted that the Buddhist influence could, and should, remain invisible. But as he became more forthcoming with his patients about his personal spiritual leanings, he was surprised to learn how many were eager to learn more. The divisions between the psychological, emotional, and the spiritual, he soon realized, were not as distinct as one might think. In The Zen of Therapy, Dr. Epstein reflects on a year’s worth of selected sessions with his patients and observes how, in the incidental details of a given hour, his Buddhist background influences the way he works. Meditation and psychotherapy each encourage a willingness to face life's difficulties with courage that can be hard to otherwise muster, and in this cross-section of life in his office, he emphasizes how therapy, an element of Western medicine, can in fact be considered a two-person meditation. Mindfulness, too, much like a good therapist, can “hold” our awareness for us—and allow us to come to our senses and find inner peace. Throughout this deeply personal inquiry, one which weaves together the wisdom of two worlds, Dr. Epstein illuminates the therapy relationship as spiritual friendship, and reveals how a therapist can help patients cultivate the sense that there is something magical, something wonderful, and something to trust running through our lives, no matter how fraught they have been or might become. For when we realize how readily we have misinterpreted our selves, when we stop clinging to our falsely conceived constructs, when we touch the ground of being, we come home.

This all-levels meditation guide presents a simple 10-minute practice to reduce anxiety and promote well-being. Drawing on his 20 years as a clinical therapist, author Owen O'Kane offers a unique combination of therapeutic and mindfulness techniques for managing stress, improving mental clarity, and putting an end to unhelpful thought patterns. With step-by-step instructions for each minute of the practice and easy-to-follow exercises for developing a daily meditation routine, Ten to Zen is an empowering handbook for finding peace, clarity, and joy—anytime and anywhere. All it takes is 10 minutes.

From Dualism to Oneness in Psychoanalysis: A Zen Perspective on the Mind-Body Question focuses on the shift in psychoanalytic thought, from a view of mind-body dualism to a contemporary non-dualistic perspective. Exploring this paradigm shift, Yorai Sella examines the impact of the work of psychoanalysts and researchers, such as Winnicott, Bion, Daniel Stern and Kohut, and delineates the contributions of three major schools of psychoanalytic thought in which the non-dualistic view is exemplified: (1) intersubjective; (2) neuro-psychoanalytic; and (3) mystically inclined psychoanalysis. Reaching beyond the constraints of dualism, Sella delineates the interdisciplinary approaches leading to psychoanalysis's paradigm shift. Focusing on the unique contribution of Zen-Buddhism, the book draws on Ehei Dōgen's philosophy to substantiate the non-duality of subject and object, body and mind - ultimately leading from alienation and duality to what Bion has termed "at one-ment". The way in which psychoanalytic theory and practice may develop further along these lines is demonstrated throughout the book in a variety of clinical vignettes. This book will inform the practice of all psychoanalysts, mental health professionals, psychotherapists and clinicians interested in mind-body issues in psychotherapy, in the philosophy of psychoanalysis, and in East-West dialogue.