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Thich Nhat Hanh & Plum Village HOW TO CONNECT by Thich Nhat Hanh
$13.50, paper. Parallax. 124 pages
The simple, refreshing meditations of Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh give us the tools to restore our inherent connection to nature, each other, our ancestors, and ourselves. With our world experiencing the deep effects of loneliness, environmental detachment, and digital overload, this eighth pocket-sized How To book reminds us of our crucial need to connect to ourselves, our ancestors, and nature. Written with characteristic simplicity and kindness, these wise meditations teach us how to remember, at any time, our fundamental gift of belonging. All EVERYDAY PEACE CARDS 108 Mindfulness Meditations by Thich Nhat Hanh
$24.95, paper. Shambhala. 58 cards with instructions in a box
Inspiring, joyful, and deeply insightful, this deck of cards offers 108 contemplations from one of today’s most important spiritual teachers. Thich Nhat Hanh’s powerful and transformative words of wisdom bring you accessible teachings and daily opportunities to make peace with yourself, those around you, and the earth. Everyday Peace Cards show us that “when we come back to ourselves and stay grounded in the present moment, we can handle even the most challenging of situations and peace becomes possible.” Because you are here, now, you have arrived. You are home. These cards are a reminder that we can practice THE BOOK OF HOUSEHOLDER KOANS Waking Up in the Land of Attachments
Mindfulness Essentials books are illustrated with playful sumi-ink drawings by California artist Jason DeAntonis. Every second has in itself many jewels, and each minute, each second, is itself a jewel. When we look into the jewel of this very second, we see the sky, the earth, the trees, the hills, the river, and the ocean—so beautiful! Let us profit deeply from each moment that is given us to live. Other volumes in this lovely series that introduces everyone to the essentials of mindfulness practice are How to Love, How to Fight, How to See, How to Sit, How to Walk, How to Eat, and How to Relax. peace at any moment in any day. We do this simply by stopping whatever else we are doing, returning to our in-breath and out-breath, and bringing our awareness to the present moment and the conditions for happiness in us and around us. Each card in this collection has a single teaching or practice on each side of the card – 108 mindfulness meditations in all. Consider the reading on the card as your practice for the day. You might find it helpful to display the card in your home or workplace using the enclosed card stand. Or keep the card with you in your bag to use whenever you want a moment of practice… Try to stick with the card you randomly chose for the day, rather than to keep searching for the “right” card. Each one has something in it that may be unexpectedly useful for you that day.
uniqueness of each moment of the situation as a blessing to penetrate and, finally, even appreciate?... What are you waiting for? Plunge in!
by Eve Myonen Marko
$26.50, paper. Monkfish. 266 pages
Zen koans, beginning some 1500 years ago, refer to stories or questions arising in encounters between monks and old Chinese and Japanese masters, and include commentaries designed to help the Zen practitioner awaken. Koans like Hakuin’s What is the sound of one hand clapping? are wellknown, and the word koan has even gone mainstream. Thousands of classic koans emerged from the lives of monks living inside a Chinese or Japanese culture, and the commentaries on those koans contain poetic elements and images that have proved challenging for many Westerners. The Book of Householder Koans is a collection of koans created by 21st century Zen practitioners living a lay life in the West. The koans deal with the challenges of relationships, raising children, work, money, love, loss, old age, and death, and come from practitioners across three continents, and with commentaries by two Western teachers. The collection is based on the premise that our lives as householders contain situations rich with challenge and grit, the equivalents of old Zen masters shouts or blows meant to sweep the ground right from under their students. They become koans, or koan practice, when they jolt us out of our usual way of thinking, when were no longer observers of our lives but plunge in, closing the gap between ourselves and the situation we face.
“Radical, useful, and wild, this rich collection of householder koans opens a treasure house of wisdom for all. What a wonderful adventure in the practical mind and heart of true Zen and true life.” —Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center “A wonderfully wise, knowing, and light-hearted look at how we can live this one precious unrepeatable human life in beauty.” —Norman Fischer, author of The World Could Be Otherwise “These two extraordinary Zen teachers offer a cutting-edge immersion into the koans of our actual lives, issue by issue, urging us to plunge in, and be intimate with what actually is, in this very moment.” —Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, author of Most Intimate
Can we reach beyond what we already know, trusting and radically accepting the life we’re given, calling nothing right or wrong or fair or unfair, appreciating the BRANCHES OF LIGHT
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Tibetan Buddhism TARA The Liberating Power of the Female Buddha by Rachel Wooten
$23.50, paper. Sounds True. 274 pages
A practical guide for invoking the power and blessings of Tara, the beloved female Buddhist deity of Tibet “Tara connects you to the archetypal Divine Feminine,” writes Dr. Rachael Wooten, “an energetic force that exists within us and all around us.” While there are many scholarly books on Tara, this practical, psychological guide shows how those of any tradition can directly access her, through clear instruction and authentic Tibetan Buddhist teachings. In her myriad forms, Tara—also known as the female Buddha of Tibet—has the power to protect us from inner and outer negativity, illuminate our self-sabotaging habits, cleanse mental and physical poisons, open us to abundance, give us strength and peace, help us fulfill our life purposes, and more. Here, readers explore each of the 21 manifestations of Tara, engaging with each through traditional meditations, visualizations, praises, mantra chants, and the author’s extensive experience as a depth psychologist. Along with detailed practice instructions, I will share stories from my life and the lives of friends, colleagues, clients, and Tara devotees to illustrate how meditating on Tara helps with our common struggles to attain spiritual and psychological maturity—challenges such a claiming personal authority, spiritual development, shadow work, isolations, shame, self-judgment, fear, and projection. You will learn key principles to empower your meditations. “If ever the voice of wisdom and compassion was needed in the form of an awakened female figure such as Tara,” writes Wooten, “that time is now.” This book illuminates the way to her healing, blessings, and aid. Rachel Wooten is a psychologist and a Zurich-trained Jungian analyst. She has been mentored by spiritual teachers such as her Tibetan root guru Lodro Tulku Rinpoche and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi. SOMATIC DESCENT How to Unlock the Deepest Wisdom of the Body
by Reginald Ray
$23.95, paper. Shambhala. 180 pages
Here’s a powerful meditation practice for connecting with your body’s innate, guiding wisdom. Have you ever had a “gut feeling” about a certain person or situation? Or a sense of intuition about how to respond to a particular challenge in your life? There’s nothing magical or mystical about those kinds of scenarios. In fact, our body contains immense wisdom not directly available to our conscious mind, and it is continually communicating to us in the form of bodily feelings, impressions, sensations, corporeal intuitions, and felt senses. However, because most of us are so cut off from our somatic experience, we are quite unaware of this dimension of our body’s expression. Although this intelligence may feel hidden most of the time, the wisdom of the body can actually be a guide for us in living our lives fully and also in responding compassionately to others. Through a meditation practice called Somatic Descent, Reggie Ray shows us how to connect with our body’s intuitive intelligence. In Somatic Descent we see that the body is always showing us what sort of response, direction, or action may be called for at any given time, and can in fact be relied upon as a primary practical resource for deci-
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