In this little treasure, Thich Nhat Hanh offers a Buddhist view of love along with techniques for manifesting it in our daily lives. In his characteristically direct, simple, and compassionate style, he explores the four key aspects of love as described in the Buddhist tradition: lovingkindness, compassion, joy, and freedom. In order to love in a real way, Thich Nhat Hanh explains, we need to learn how to be fully present in our lives. In True Love he offers readers the technique of conscious breathing as a method for synchronizing the mind and body to establish the conditions of love. He goes on to offer a mantra practice for generating love that consists of expressing four key statements or intentions in our relationships. These include: "Dear one, I am really there for you"; "Dear one, I know that you are there, and I am really happy about it"; "Dear one, I know that you are suffering, and that is why I am here for you"; and "Dear one, I am suffering, please help me." In the concluding section of the book, Thich Nhat Hanh explains how love can help us to heal our own pain, fear, and negativity. He explains that we must not regard negative emotions as bad and repress them. We must recognize them as part of us and allow them into our consciousness, where they can be cared for by the "loving mother of mindfulness."

Linda Johnsen combines an engaging writing style with her own amazing experiences to show that meditation is not boring -- it is an experience of intense mental absorption that makes all of life more engaging and clear. In this book she offers guidance on meditation and discusses selfless service, the role of spiritual teachers, and general principles of living a spiritual life.

Provides the reader with insights and tools to enrich his/her spiritual practice through "passive" meditative techniques, which involves stilling the conscious mind, and "active" meditative techniques, using guided visualizations and interaction with others. These are derived from Christian contemplative and Eastern meditation traditions. Unique to this handbook are exercises for couples and families. Included is a thirty-day plan of contemplation on Christ.

Spirituality.The search for happiness --Religion, East and West --Mindfulness --The truth of suffering --Enlightenment --The mystery of consciousness.The mind divided --Structure and function --Are our minds already split? --Conscious and unconscious processing in the brain --Consciousness is what matters --The riddle of the self.What are we calling "I"? --Consciousness without self --Lost in thought --The challenge of studying the self --Penetrating the illusion --Meditation.Gradual versus sudden realization --Dzogchen: taking the goal as the path --Having no head --The paradox of acceptance --Gurus, death, drugs, and other puzzles.Mind on the brink of death --The spiritual uses of pharmacology.

Finally, a book about meditation and meaning in life that is based on reason, not religious or supernatural explanations... Provocative and truly inspirational! One of the best books I've ever read.-Rachel Patel We think we perceive reality, but we live in our minds, in self-created realities, hypnotized by our conditioning and habitual ways of thinking. I am sure seekers will find much to support their efforts to awaken in this book.-Jack Elias "Atheist Meditation Atheist Spirituality" is a guide and memoir which shows that spirituality and meditation can be practiced without faith in God(s), gurus, or the supernatural. Techniques such as mindfulness and vipassana meditation have been practiced for thousands of years, are corroborated by reason, psychology and neuroscience, and help develop a sense of compassion, charity and the pursuit of meaning and knowledge. These secular practices are consistent with the best science available and are perfect for atheists, skeptics, humanists, freethinkers, as well as all others who wish to practice spirituality without religion or reference to supernatural forces. This is the complete version of the book, contains 214 pages. Note: The difference between "Atheist Meditation/Atheist Spirituality" and "Exploring Your Life" is that Exploring Your Life is an expanded edition, and it's intended for a general audience, while "Atheist Meditation" begins with a special message to the atheist community.

A profound reflection on how complementary themes in Buddhism and Christianity could serve as the basis for a truly ecumenical faith • Compares Zen meditation with the Greek Orthodox practice of Hesychasm (prayer of the heart) • Shows how Buddha and Jesus represent the distinct yet complementary values of meditation and compassion In Asian spiritual traditions the mountain traditionally symbolizes meditation while the ocean signifies compassion. Jean-Yves Leloup uses this metaphor to compare Buddhist and Christian approaches to meditation and compassion to reveal the similarities and divergences of these profound practices. Emphasizing their complementary nature, Leloup describes how Jesus and Buddha are necessary to one another and how together they form a complete system: Jesus as awakening through love, and Buddha as awakening through meditation. Where Buddha represents the forests, Jesus represents the trees. Buddha is brother to the universe, whereas Jesus is brother to humanity. Nevertheless, these two religious traditions have a profound common ground. Compassion is central to Buddhism, and meditation practices have been central to many Christian traditions. Both view murder, theft, and the destructive use of sexuality as great barriers to realizing our essential being, and both agree on the need to rise above them. Here, however, Leloup suggests that both faiths could benefit from the precepts of the other. The complementary aspects of Christianity and Buddhism offer the possibility for a truly profound ecumenical religion whose interfaith relations are based on deep understanding of the true meaning and practice of meditation and compassion and not merely shared goodwill.