Being Upright

Being Upright
Author: Tenshin Reb Anderson
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 240
Release: 2016-08-01
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 193048559X

Written in the tradition of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, this insightful Zen guide explores how we can apply the Sixteen Bodhisattva precepts to our daily lives Being Upright takes us beyond the conventional interpretation of ethical precepts to the ultimate meaning that informs them. Reb Anderson first introduces us to the fundamental ideas of Zen Buddhist practice. Who was Shakyamuni Buddha and what was his central teaching? What does it mean to be a bodhisattva and take the bodhisattva vow? Why should we confess and acknowledge our ancient twisted karma? What is the significance of taking refuge in Buddha, dharma, and sangha? The author explores the ten basic precepts, including not killing, not stealing, not lying, not misusing sexuality, and not using intoxicants. A gifted storyteller, Anderson takes us to the heart of situations, where moral judgments are not easy and we do not have all the answers. With wisdom and compassion, he teaches us how to confront the emotional and ethical turmoil of our lives.

First Steps

First Steps
Author: Jeremy DeSilva
Publisher: HarperCollins
Total Pages: 389
Release: 2021-04-06
Genre: Science
ISBN: 0062938517

Winner of the W.W. Howells Book Prize from the American Anthropological Association and named one of the best science books of 2021 by Science News “DeSilva takes us on a brilliant, fun, and scientifically deep stroll through history, anatomy, and evolution, in order to illustrate the powerful story of how a particular mode of movement helped make us one of the most wonderful, dangerous and fascinating species on Earth.”—Agustín Fuentes, Professor of Anthropology, Princeton University and author of Why We Believe: Evolution and the Human Way of Being “Breezy popular science at its best. . . . Makes a compelling case overall.”—Science News Blending history, science, and culture, a stunning and highly engaging evolutionary story exploring how walking on two legs allowed humans to become the planet’s dominant species. Humans are the only mammals to walk on two, rather than four legs—a locomotion known as bipedalism. We strive to be upstanding citizens, honor those who stand tall and proud, and take a stand against injustices. We follow in each other’s footsteps and celebrate a child’s beginning to walk. But why, and how, exactly, did we take our first steps? And at what cost? Bipedalism has its drawbacks: giving birth is more difficult and dangerous; our running speed is much slower than other animals; and we suffer a variety of ailments, from hernias to sinus problems. In First Steps, paleoanthropologist Jeremy DeSilva explores how unusual and extraordinary this seemingly ordinary ability is. A seven-million-year journey to the very origins of the human lineage, First Steps shows how upright walking was a gateway to many of the other attributes that make us human—from our technological abilities, our thirst for exploration, our use of language–and may have laid the foundation for our species’ traits of compassion, empathy, and altruism. Moving from developmental psychology labs to ancient fossil sites throughout Africa and Eurasia, DeSilva brings to life our adventure walking on two legs. Delving deeply into the story of our past and the new discoveries rewriting our understanding of human evolution, First Steps examines how walking upright helped us rise above all over species on this planet. First Steps includes an eight-page color photo insert.

Upright with Knickers On: Surviving the Death of a Child

Upright with Knickers On: Surviving the Death of a Child
Author: Claye Gina
Publisher:
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2019-09-24
Genre: Family & Relationships
ISBN: 9781910779569

Gina Claye, a bereaved mum, shares how she survived the death of her two children: what helped her to keep going, and, after experiencing the pain and despair of traumatic grief, live life again with hope and meaning.

Waking Up to What You Do

Waking Up to What You Do
Author: Diane Eshin Rizzetto
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Total Pages: 200
Release: 2006-06-13
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0834825600

This Zen Buddhist guide to mindful living is “a thoughtful, sensitive examination of how to be a genuinely good person in this world” (Sharon Salzlberg, author of Lovingkindness) Life is rising up to meet us at every moment. The question is: Are we there to meet it or not? Diane Rizzetto presents a simple but supremely effective practice for meeting every moment of our lives with mindfulness, using the Zen precepts as tools to develop a keen awareness of the motivations behind every aspect of our behavior—to “wake up to what we do”—from moment to moment. As we train in mindfulness of our actions, every situation of our lives becomes our teacher, offering priceless insight into what it really means to be happy. It’s a simple practice with transformative potential, enabling us to break through our habitual reactions and to see clearly how our own happiness and well-being are intimately, inevitably connected to the happiness and well-being of everyone around us.

The Month

The Month
Author:
Publisher:
Total Pages: 682
Release: 1902
Genre: Christianity
ISBN:

British Barrows

British Barrows
Author: William Greenwell
Publisher:
Total Pages: 784
Release: 1877
Genre: Craniology
ISBN:

Ladder to the Light

Ladder to the Light
Author: Steven Charleston
Publisher: Broadleaf Books
Total Pages: 175
Release: 2021-01-05
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1506465749

Darkness will not last forever. Together we can climb toward the light. They were as troubled as we, our ancestors, those who came before us, and all for the very same reasons: fear of illness, a broken heart, fights in the family, the threat of another war. Corrupt politicians walked their stage, and natural disasters appeared without warning. And yet they came through, carrying us within them, through the grief and struggle, through the personal pain and the public chaos, finding their way with love and faith, not giving in to despair but walking upright until their last step was taken. My culture does not honor the ancestors as a quaint spirituality of the past but as a living source of strength for the present. They did it and so will we. In the same voice that has comforted and challenged countless readers through his daily social media posts, Choctaw elder and Episcopal priest Steven Charleston offers words of hard-won hope, rooted in daily conversations with the Spirit and steeped in Indigenous wisdom. Every day Charleston spends time in prayer. Every day he writes down what he hears from the Spirit. In Ladder to the Light he shares what he has heard with the rest of us and adds thoughtful reflection to help guide us to the light Native America knows something about cultivating resilience and resisting darkness. For all who yearn for hope, Ladder to the Light is a book of comfort, truth, and challenge in a time of anguish and fear.