"Philip Whalen (1923-2002) is a key figure in both the Beat and San Francisco Renaissance movements of the New American Poetry. Whalen authored twenty collections of verse, more than twenty broadsides, two novels, a huge assemblage of autobiographical literary journals, nine or ten experimental prose works, and dozens of critical essays, lectures, commentaries, introductions, prefaces, and interviews. But he came to regard his literary journals as his most important prose legacy. A professed Buddhist for most of his adult life, Whalen was ordained a Zen Buddhist monk in 1972 in what is arguably still the most influential Zen Buddhist training temple complex in North America. In some ways Whalen begs a comparison with Thomas Merton, the twentieth century's most significant Christian monk-poet. But where Merton contained himself within the conservative guidelines of Trappist-Christian orthodoxy, Whalen was a closeted homosexual (or bisexual) who inscribed an insider's account of his monastic community with an acid tongue and a keen sense of humor. His pen spared no one in the religious hierarchy he trained under. Whalen's literary work represents a significant turn in American letters, as he and his closest colleagues immersed themselves in East Asian literature and religion, reinvigorating strikingly new linguistic and aesthetic paths for North American writers and artists. However, until now Whalen's forty-plus years of journals-sixty small eight-by-six-inch notebooks-have been largely inaccessible, archived in the rare book and manuscript library at the University of California, Berkeley, undigitized and unavailable online. Thus, the publication of a critical scholarly edition of Whalen's journals and notebooks constitutes an important literary event and an invaluable resource for scholars, teachers, poets, and lay readers who follow twentieth-century North American poetry. In his complex and idiosyncratic poetics, Whalen adopts a unique mind-and-language-centered approach to the creation of a poem. Some of his finest works are "live action" scenes where he fuses moments of bald mental perception with the linguistic intricacies of his inner consciousness (i.e., the words, phrases, and observations that his mind forms, or that other people spill into his mind in the same block of time). The significance of Whalen's journals is manifold, Brian Unger argues, and goes beyond their mere availability. Unger argues that of all the San Francisco Renaissance and Beat poets of the postwar period, Whalen's roots in modernism are among the strongest. He was a voracious reader, as his journals show, and a keen student of earlier literatures. Furthermore, the journals conclusively overturn many misleading arguments about Whalen's personal life as related in the 2015 Whalen biography Crowded by Beauty by David Schneider. The publication of the journals would provide for the first time, and in Whalen's own words, an objective and self-substantiated account of his life with biographical information that has never before been generally available. The Whalen journals make clear as never before the primary psychological forces driving his personal life, his interior life as a poet and a religious monk, and they shed important light on the intriguing complexity of his philosophical and phenomenological poetics"--

Everything you need to make yoga an integral part of your health and well-being If you want to incorporate yoga into your daily routine or ramp up what you're already doing, Yoga All-In-One For Dummies is the perfect resource! This complete compendium of six separate titles features everything you need to improve your health and peace of mind with yoga, and includes additional information on, stretching, meditation, adding weights to your yoga workouts, and power yoga moves. Yoga has been shown to have numerous health benefits, ranging from better flexibility and athletic performance to lowered blood pressure and weight loss. For those who want to take control of their health and overall fitness, yoga is the perfect practice. With Yoga All-In-One For Dummies, you'll have everything you need to get started and become a master of even the toughest yoga poses and techniques. Find out how to incorporate yoga to foster health, happiness, and peace of mind Get a complete resource, featuring information from six titles that are packed with tips Use companion workout videos to help you master various yoga poses and techniques that are covered in the book Utilize tips in the book to increase balance, range of motion, flexibility, strength, and overall fitness Take a deep breath and dive into Yoga All-In-One For Dummies to find out how you can improve your health and your happiness by incorporating yoga into your daily routine.

Take an inward journey for a happier, healthier life Meditation has been used for centuries to reduce stress, increase energy, and enhance overall health and well-being—so it's no wonder more and more people in today's fast-paced and stress-centric world are adopting this age-old practice. If you want to achieve a greater state of calmness, physical relaxation, and psychological balance, Meditation For Dummies is your life raft. Covering the latest research on the health benefits of meditation, this new edition explains in plain English how you can put meditation into practice today and start reaping the benefits of living a more mindful life. Whether you're new to meditation or a seasoned practitioner coming back for a refresher course, this plain-English guide provides a wealth of tips and techniques for sitting (or lying) down with your mind to meditate successfully. From preparing your body for meditation to focusing your awareness and being open to the present moment, it covers everything you need to put distractions to rest and open yourself up to a meditation practice that works for you. Provides the latest research on the causes of happiness and how meditation can improve your mood Includes a new chapter on the growing trend of meditation in the workplace Explains how meditation and other mindfulness practices have made their way into hospitals, schools, prison, and military groups Illustrates the benefits of taking time to consciously cultivate mindfulness through meditation If you're ready to find some zen and benefit from all meditation has to offer, this friendly guide sets you up for success.

From beloved Zen teacher Norman Fischer, a collection of essays spanning a life of inquiry into Zen practice, relationship, social engagement, and spiritual creativity. "Looking backwards at a life lived, walking forward into more life to live built on all that, trying not to be too much influenced by what's already been said and done, not to be held to a point of view or an identity previously expressed, trying to be surprised and undone and maybe even dismayed by what lies ahead."--Norman Fischer Norman Fischer is a Zen priest, poet, and translator whose writings, teachings, and commitment to interfaith dialogue have supported and inspired Buddhist, Jewish, and other spiritual practitioners for decades. When You Greet Me I Bow spans the entirety of Norman Fischer's career and is the first collection of his writings on Buddhist philosophy and practice. Broken into four sections--the joy and catastrophe of relationship; thinking, writing, and emptiness; cultural encounters; and social engagement--this book allows us to see the fascinating development of the mind and interests of a gifted writer and profoundly committed practitioner.