Zen is not a religion, it is living life in its totality, herenow. Religions are always postponing life: they are giving you beautiful illusions about life somewhere in the future, far away, beyond death. That is a strategy to divert and distract you from the realities of life. That is pure cowardice. It is also a rationalization so that you can be consoled: ’If life is miserable today there is nothing to be worried about, tomorrow everything is going to be well. In fact, to suffer life today is a preparation for enjoying life tomorrow, so the more you suffer the better. There is no reason to complain, no reason to rebel, no reason to revolt against all those things which are causing misery.’

Mike Gaddis swore to be painfully selective in choosing the puppy that would accompany him on the horseback pointing dog trials he so badly wanted to participate in. He knew the smallest female born sixth in the litter of twelve English setters was special, but he didn't understand the power of her potential until he let her loose in the field. Her lightning speed earned her the name Zip Zap, and she grew to be the best bird dog Gaddis ever owned. In this memoir, Gaddis celebrates the dog's indomitable spirit and tells the story of training and developing superior pointers, from their first unrefined runs in the amateur puppy stakes to winning major championships.

Drawing on a combined expertise in improvisational theatre and psychiatry, author team Dan O'Connor and Dr. Jeff Katzman show readers how improv skills are the perfect antidote to loneliness and isolation. I know what you're thinking: Hold on...improv? Like getting on a stage in front of an audience? What if that's not my thing? Don't worry: this isn't a book about becoming an improv theater expert, and it's not really a book about performing. It's a book about loneliness--about our feelings of disconnection and isolation, ones that we may have been experiencing since long before the pandemic. More importantly, it's a book about becoming unlonely--by borrowing from the collaborative and creative tools of improv. Authors of Life Unscripted Jeff Katzman, a professor of psychiatry at the University of New Mexico, and Dan O'Connor, multifaceted actor, writer, and director, have created a process they call Ensembling that helps us build an ensemble of relationships in our lives and more deeply enjoy the groups we already belong to. This is a process of becoming a little vulnerable with each other, and of embracing the moment in which we find ourselves. Drawing on concepts from narrative improvisational theatre and depth psychology, the authors present us with the skills we need to connect with each other more actively and meaningfully. To ensemble or not to ensemble--that is not a question. With the rise of loneliness and isolation in an increasingly virtually connected society, we must find ways to come together. We must ensemble!

Life skills are essentially individual abilities that help in promoting mental well-being and competence in people to deal with the various situations in life. This book presents various aspects of life skills, including communication, self-analysis, self-development and study habits. These are crucial elements in determining one's personal and professional growth. Developed in accordance with the new syllabus of the West Bengal Council of Technical Education and written in an interactive style, this course book will help the students inculcate the various life skills and enhance their acceptability and growth in this highly competitive world. KEY FEATURES • Opening Case Study in every chapter, along with case-analysis-based class discussion, to encourage students to apply their analytical skills • Assess Your Understanding to test understanding and assimilation of the information shared in the passages • Story Time with short, interesting stories that allow learners to develop critical thinking skills from the old classics • In-class Team Activity in the form of role plays, debates, discussion, etc • Experiential Learning to gauge the students' understanding of the concepts and to measure how much of the learning they are able to apply in real life

“Librarians often say that every book is not for every child, but The True Blue Scouts of Sugar Man Swamp is” (The New York Times). Meet Bingo and J’miah, raccoon brothers on a mission to save Sugar Man Swamp in this rollicking tale and National Book Award Finalist from Newbery Honoree Kathi Appelt. Raccoon brothers Bingo and J’miah are the newest recruits of the Official Sugar Man Swamp Scouts. The opportunity to serve the Sugar Man—the massive creature who delights in delicious sugar cane and magnanimously rules over the swamp—is an honor, and also a big responsibility, since the rest of the swamp critters rely heavily on the intel of these hardworking Scouts. Twelve-year-old Chap Brayburn is not a member of any such organization. But he loves the swamp something fierce, and he’ll do anything to help protect it. And help is surely needed, because world-class alligator wrestler Jaeger Stitch wants to turn Sugar Man swamp into an Alligator World Wrestling Arena and Theme Park, and the troubles don’t end there. There is also a gang of wild feral hogs on the march, headed straight toward them all. The Scouts are ready. All they have to do is wake up the Sugar Man. Problem is, no one’s been able to wake that fellow up in a decade or four… Newbery Honoree and Kathi Appelt’s story of care and conservation has received five starred reviews, was selected as a National Book Award finalist, and is funny as all get out and ripe for reading aloud.

Collects Non-Stop Spider-Man (2021) #1-5. Buckle up, tiger! Get ready for the most action-packed, pulse-pounding, adrenaline-pumping comic of all time! Once you read page one, panel one, Spider-Man just does not stop! A mystery at Empire State University thrusts the web-slinger into a thrilling adventure that starts in uptown Manhattan and takes him around the world — pitting Spidey against Marvel villains old, new and unbelievable and giving you a Spider-Man adventure (and a Spider-Man) the likes of which you’ve never seen! Something terrible is happening to ESU’s students — some of New York’s brightest young minds — and to save the day this time it’s going to take a side of Peter Parker neither you nor Peter thought existed. And the clock is ticking!

Caan should keep writing. He's got the gift. --Variety. Caan is developing a clever signature style, earmarked by bursts of ameliorating humor that are both welcome and disarming. --LA Times. The dialogue is fast paced, leading up to notions one would