Ways of Being Alive

Ways of Being Alive
Author: Baptiste Morizot
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 165
Release: 2022-03-07
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 1509547223

The ecological crisis is a very real crisis for the many species that face extinction, but it is also a crisis of sensibility – that is, a crisis in our relationships with other living beings. We have grown accustomed to treating other living beings as the material backdrop for the drama of human life: the animal world is regarded as part of ‘nature’, juxtaposed to the world of human beings who pursue their aims independently of other species. Baptiste Morizot argues that the time has come for us to jettison this nature─human dualism and rethink our relationships with other living beings. Animals are not part of a separate, natural world: they are cohabitants of the Earth, with whom we share a common ancestry, the enigma of being alive and the responsibility of living decent lives together. By accepting our identity as living beings and reconnecting with our own animal nature, we can begin to change our relationships with other animals, seeing them not as inferior lifeforms but as living creatures who have different ways of being alive. This powerful plea for a new understanding of our relationships with other animals will be of great interest to anyone concerned about the ecological crisis and the future of different species, including our own.

How to Die

How to Die
Author: Ray Robertson
Publisher: Biblioasis
Total Pages: 129
Release: 2020-01-28
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1771960957

A radical revaluation of how contemporary society perceives death—and an argument for how it can make us happy. “He who would teach men to die would teach them to live,” writes Montaigne in Essais, and in How to Die: A Book about Being Alive, Ray Robertson takes up the challenge. Though contemporary society avoids the subject and often values the mere continuation of existence over its quality, Robertson argues that the active and intentional consideration of death is neither morbid nor frivolous, but instead essential to our ability to fully value life. How to Die is both an absorbing excursion through some of Western literature’s most compelling works on the subject of death as well as an anecdote-driven argument for cultivating a better understanding of death in the belief that, if we do, we’ll know more about what it means to live a meaningful life.

Being Alive

Being Alive
Author: Tim Ingold
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Total Pages: 279
Release: 2011-04-19
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 1136735437

Anthropology is a disciplined inquiry into the conditions and potentials of human life. Generations of theorists, however, have expunged life from their accounts, treating it as the mere output of patterns, codes, structures or systems variously defined as genetic or cultural, natural or social. Building on his classic work The Perception of the Environment, Tim Ingold sets out to restore life to where it should belong, at the heart of anthropological concern. Being Alive ranges over such themes as the vitality of materials, what it means to make things, the perception and formation of the ground, the mingling of earth and sky in the weather-world, the experiences of light, sound and feeling, the role of storytelling in the integration of knowledge, and the potential of drawing to unite observation and description. Our humanity, Ingold argues, does not come ready-made but is continually fashioned in our movements along ways of life. Starting from the idea of life as a process of wayfaring, Ingold presents a radically new understanding of movement, knowledge and description as dimensions not just of being in the world, but of being alive to what is going on there.

'Being Alive Well'

'Being Alive Well'
Author: Naomi Adelson
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Total Pages: 160
Release: 2000-12-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1442656980

'Being Alive Well': Health and the Politics of Cree Well-Being is a critical medical anthropological analysis of health theory in the social sciences with specific reference to the James Bay Cree of northern Quebec. In it the author argues that definitions of health are not simply reflections of physiological soundness but convey broader cultural and political realities. The book begins with a treatise on the study of health in the social sciences and a call for a broader understanding of the cultural parameters of any definition of health. Following a chapter that outlines the history of the Whapmagoostui (Great Whale River) region and the people, Adelson presents the underlying symbolic foundations of a Cree concept of health, or miyupimaatisiiun. The core of this book is an ethnographic study of the Whapmagoostui Cree and their particular concept of "health" (miyupimaatisiiun or "being alive well"). That concept is mediated by history, cultural practices, and the contemporary world of the Cree, including their fundamental concerns about their land and culture. In the contemporary context, health – or more specifically, "being alive well" – for the Cree of Great Whale is an intimate fusion of social, political, and personal well-being, thus linking individual bodies to a larger socio-political reality.

Becoming Alive

Becoming Alive
Author: Ryan LaMothe
Publisher: Psychology Press
Total Pages: 220
Release: 2005
Genre: Psychology
ISBN: 9781583919316

Becoming Alive draws on the Winnicottian idea of transitional objects, and puts forward the argument that human beings relate to and use objects in order to generate experiences of 'being alive'.

Feelings of Being Alive

Feelings of Being Alive
Author: Joerg Fingerhut
Publisher: Walter de Gruyter
Total Pages: 356
Release: 2012-07-30
Genre: Philosophy
ISBN: 3110246597

The question of what characterizes feelings of being alive is a puzzling and controversial one. Are we dealing with a unique affective phenomenon or can it be integrated into existing classifications of emotions and moods? What might be the natural basis for such feelings? What could be considered their specifically human dimension? These issues are addressed by researchers from various disciplines, including philosophy of mind and emotions, psychology, and history of art. This volume contains original papers on the topic of feelings of being alive by Fiorella Battaglia, Eva-Maria Engelen, Joerg Fingerhut, Thomas Fuchs, Alice Holzhey-Kunz, Matthias Jung, Tanja Klemm, Riccardo Manzotti, Sabine Marienberg, Matthew Ratcliffe, Arbogast Schmitt, Jan Slaby, and Achim Stephan.

Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive

Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive
Author: Richard Christiansen
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 531
Release: 2024-11-19
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 1797229184

From inside the walls of Flamingo Estate—an abundant, visually rich guide to filling each day with radical pleasure, including wisdom on wellness, food, activism, design, nature, work, love, and more. Perched high above Los Angeles and nestled within a lush orchard and verdant gardens sits Flamingo Estate, a pleasure-filled enclave of nature worship, folk mythologies, and powerful healing remedies. At Flamingo, Mother Earth is the ultimate luxury and pleasure is a human right. Flamingo Estate’s founder, Richard Christiansen, invites you inside his renowned home and to meet his friends and heroes. Presenting fifteen pleasure principles inspired by nature's wisdom, Christiansen reveals how a deep relationship with nature offers a life of pleasure and joy. Discover how to flirt like an orchid, embrace winters like a plum tree, work like wisteria, and court your shadow like the fern. Combining hundreds of sumptuous images and luxurious rituals for well-being with stories from Christiansen’s own journey of awakening, Flamingo Estate: The Guide to Becoming Alive is a rousing call to reject a life of tedium and luxuriate in the radical pleasures of the natural world. Featuring conversations with luminaries from food, activism, wellness, and the arts, including: Jane Fonda Martha Stewart John Legend Chrissy Teigen Jane Goodall Alice Waters Kelly Wearstler David de Rothschild Elise Loehnen Erica Chidi Ellen DeGeneres Terry Tempest Williams Dr. Nigma Talib + More CELEBRATED AUTHOR AND BRAND: Richard Christiansen is a beloved and respected leader in food and wellness. His global brand, Flamingo Estate, has been covered by a wide range of outlets, including the New York Times, Architectural Digest, Food + Wine, Vogue, Oprah, goop, Forbes, and many others. He cultivates more than 150 varieties of flowers, fruits, and vegetables at Flamingo Estate and produces a range of luxury apothecary products, including candles, lotions, soaps, honey, and more—all celebrated for their quality and traceability. Perfect for: Fans of Flamingo Estate Food and wellness enthusiasts Anyone experiencing burnout or seeking stress relief Décor enthusiasts and readers of Architectural Digest and Oprah Fans of Kelly Wearstler and Martha Stewart People interested in slow living and sustainability Flower lovers and gardeners Mother's Day gift shoppers Readers of Michael Pollan, Peter Attia, Arthur C. Brooks, and Natalie Walton

The Power of Fun

The Power of Fun
Author: Catherine Price
Publisher: Dial Press Trade Paperback
Total Pages: 353
Release: 2024-01-02
Genre: Self-Help
ISBN: 0593241428

If you’re not having fun, you’re not fully living. The author of How to Break Up with Your Phone makes the case that, far from being frivolous, fun is actually critical to our well-being—and shows us how to have more of it. “This delightful book might just be what we need to start flourishing.”—#1 New York Times bestselling author Adam Grant Journalist and screen/life balance expert Catherine Price argues persuasively that our always-on, tech-addicted lifestyles have led us to obsess over intangible concepts such as happiness while obscuring the fact that real happiness lies in the everyday experience of fun. We often think of fun as indulgent, even immature and selfish. We claim to not have time for it, even as we find hours a day for what Price calls Fake Fun—bingeing on television, doomscrolling the news, or posting photos to social media, all in hopes of filling some of the emptiness we feel inside. In this follow-up to her hit book, How to Break Up with Your Phone, Price makes the case that True Fun—which she defines as the magical confluence of playfulness, connection, and flow—will give us the fulfillment we so desperately seek. If you use True Fun as your compass, you will be happier and healthier. You will be more productive, less resentful, and less stressed. You will have more energy. You will find community and a sense of purpose. You will stop languishing and start flourishing. And best of all? You’ll enjoy the process. Weaving together scientific research with personal experience, Price reveals the surprising mental, physical, and cognitive benefits of fun, and offers a practical, personalized plan for how we can achieve better screen/life balance and attract more True Fun into our daily lives—without feeling overwhelmed. Groundbreaking, eye-opening, and packed with useful advice, The Power of Fun won’t just change the way you think about fun. It will bring you back to life.

Wintering

Wintering
Author: Katherine May
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 256
Release: 2020-11-10
Genre: Body, Mind & Spirit
ISBN: 0593189507

A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER! AS HEARD ON NPR MORNING EDITION AND ON BEING WITH KRISTA TIPPETT “Katherine May opens up exactly what I and so many need to hear but haven't known how to name.” —Krista Tippett, On Being “Every bit as beautiful and healing as the season itself. . . . This is truly a beautiful book.” —Elizabeth Gilbert "Proves that there is grace in letting go, stepping back and giving yourself time to repair in the dark...May is a clear-eyed observer and her language is steady, honest and accurate—capturing the sense, the beauty and the latent power of our resting landscapes." —Wall Street Journal An intimate, revelatory book exploring the ways we can care for and repair ourselves when life knocks us down. Sometimes you slip through the cracks: unforeseen circumstances like an abrupt illness, the death of a loved one, a break up, or a job loss can derail a life. These periods of dislocation can be lonely and unexpected. For May, her husband fell ill, her son stopped attending school, and her own medical issues led her to leave a demanding job. Wintering explores how she not only endured this painful time, but embraced the singular opportunities it offered. A moving personal narrative shot through with lessons from literature, mythology, and the natural world, May's story offers instruction on the transformative power of rest and retreat. Illumination emerges from many sources: solstice celebrations and dormice hibernation, C.S. Lewis and Sylvia Plath, swimming in icy waters and sailing arctic seas. Ultimately Wintering invites us to change how we relate to our own fallow times. May models an active acceptance of sadness and finds nourishment in deep retreat, joy in the hushed beauty of winter, and encouragement in understanding life as cyclical, not linear. A secular mystic, May forms a guiding philosophy for transforming the hardships that arise before the ushering in of a new season.