Download or read book Practice And All Is Coming written by Matthew Remski and published by Embodied Wisdom Publishing. This book was released on 2019-02-25 with total page 458 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How do we co-create safer yoga and spiritual communities? Through dogged investigative work, careful listening to survivor stories of assault and abuse, and close analysis of the cultic mechanisms at play in the sphere of Pattabhi Jois’s Ashtanga community, Matthew Remski’s Practice and All Is Coming offers a sober view into a collective and intergenerational trauma. It also offers a clear pathway forward into enhanced critical thinking, student empowerment, self-and-other care, and community resilience. Concluding with practical tools for a world rocked by abuse revelations, Practice and All Is Coming opens a window on the possibility of healing— and even re-enchantment. While Mathew Remski is the courageous, insightful, and compassionate author of this informative, challenging, and thought-provoking book, this book is clearly a group effort. Equal parts theory, training manual, expose, and memoir, Practice and All is Coming ... is a foray into the difficult topics of personal agency, spirituality authority, and cult dynamics. In addition to his clearly articulated understanding of the problems inherent in many spiritual schools, Mathew provides hope for healing the confusion and anguish that arise in the heart of sincere practitioners when they are betrayed by the revered powers in which they have placed their trust. If you practice or teach yoga, please consider this book an essential companion on your path. Christina Sell, author of Yoga From the Inside Out, My Body is a Temple, and A Deeper Yoga.

Download or read book Bounded Choice written by Janja A. Lalich and published by University of California Press. This book was released on 2020-11-30 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Heaven's Gate, a secretive group of celibate "monks" awaiting pickup by a UFO, captured intense public attention in 1997 when its members committed collective suicide. As a way of understanding such perplexing events, many have seen those who join cults as needy, lost souls, unable to think for themselves. This book, a compelling look at the cult phenomenon written for a wide audience, dispels such simple formulations by explaining how normal, intelligent people can give up years of their lives—and sometimes their very lives—to groups and beliefs that appear bizarre and irrational. Looking closely at Heaven's Gate and at the Democratic Workers Party, a radical political group of the 1970s and 1980s, Janja Lalich gives us a rare insider's look at these two cults and advances a new theoretical framework that will reshape our understanding of those who join such groups. Lalich's fascinating discussion includes her in-depth interviews with cult devotees as well as reflections gained from her own experience as a high-ranking member of the Democratic Workers Party. Incorporating classical sociological concepts such as "charisma" and "commitment" with more recent work on the social psychology of influence and control, she develops a new approach for understanding how charismatic cult leaders are able to dominate their devotees. She shows how members are led into a state of "bounded choice," in which they make seemingly irrational decisions within a context that makes perfect sense to them and is, in fact, consistent with their highest aspirations. In addition to illuminating the cult phenomenon in the United States and around the world, this important book also addresses our pressing need to know more about the mentality of those true believers who take extreme or violent measures in the name of a cause.

Download or read book Manifesting Justice written by Valena Beety and published by Citadel. This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Working with the Innocence Movement and Leigh Stubbs-a woman denied a fair trial largely due to her sexual orientation-a former federal prosecutor weaves Leigh's story through the broader story of a broken criminal system.

Download or read book Phallacy written by Emily Willingham and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2020-09-22 with total page 338 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A wry look at what the astonishing world of animal penises can tell us about how we use our own. The fallacy sold to many of us is that the penis signals dominance and power. But this wry and penetrating book reveals that in fact nature did not shape the penis--or the human attached to it--to have the upper...hand. Phallacy looks closely at some of nature's more remarkable examples of penises and the many lessons to learn from them. In tracing how we ended up positioning our nondescript penis as a pulsing, awe-inspiring shaft of all masculinity and human dominance, Phallacy also shows what can we do to put that penis back where it belongs. Emphasizing our human capacities for impulse control, Phallacy ultimately challenges the toxic message that the penis makes the man and the man can't control himself. With instructive illustrations of unusual genitalia and tales of animal mating rituals that will make you particularly happy you are not a bedbug, Phallacy shows where humans fit on the continuum from fun to fatal phalli and why the human penis is an implement for intimacy, not intimidation.

Download or read book Handbook of UFO Religions written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2021-03-08 with total page 560 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Handbook of UFO Religions, edited by scholar of new religions Benjamin E. Zeller, offers the most expansive and detailed study of the persistent, popular, and global phenomenon of religious engagements with ideas about extraterrestrial life.

Download or read book Fake Medicine written by Brad McKay and published by Hachette Australia. This book was released on 2021-03-31 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: We all want to live healthier, happier and longer lives, but too many of us are charmed by charlatans, misled by marketing or scammed by sciencey-sounding salespeople. Dr Brad McKay, Australian GP and science communicator, has seen the rise of misinformation permeate our lives and watched as many of us have turned away from health experts. Too often, we place our trust in online influencers, celebrities and Dr Google when it comes to making important health decisions. Fake Medicine explores the potential dangers of wellness warriors, anti-vaxxers, fad diets, dodgy supplements, alternative practitioners and conspiracy theories. This book is an essential tool for debunking pseudoscience and protecting you and your loved ones from the health scams that surround us. Protect your mind, body and wallet by fighting fake medicine.

Download or read book Handbook of Nordic New Religions written by and published by BRILL. This book was released on 2015-06-24 with total page 530 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When James R. Lewis, one of the editors of the current collection, first moved to Norway in late 2009, he was unprepared to discover that so many researchers in Nordic countries were producing innovative scholarship on new religions and on the new age subculture. In fact, over the past dozen years or so, an increasingly disproportionate percentage of new religions scholars have arisen in Nordic countries and teach at universities in Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden and the Baltic countries. Nordic New Religions, co-edited with Inga B. Tøllefsen, surveys this rich field of study in this area of the world, focusing on the scholarship being produced by scholars in this region of northern Europe.

Download or read book Secularizing Buddhism written by Sarah Shaw and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2021-08-03 with total page 362 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A timely essay collection on the development and influence of secular expressions of Buddhism in the West and beyond. How do secular values impact Buddhism in the modern world? What versions of Buddhism are being transmitted to the West? Is it possible to know whether an interpretation of the Buddha’s words is correct? In this new essay collection, opposing ideas that often define Buddhist communities—secular versus religious, modern versus traditional, Western versus Eastern—are unpacked and critically examined. These reflections by contemporary scholars and practitioners reveal the dynamic process of reinterpreting and reimagining Buddhism in secular contexts, from the mindfulness movement to Buddhist shrine displays in museums, to whether rebirth is an essential belief. This collection explores a wide range of modern understandings of Buddhism—whether it is considered a religion, philosophy, or lifestyle choice—and questions if secular Buddhism is purely a Western invention, offering a timely contribution to an ever-evolving discussion. Contributors include Bhikkhu Bodhi, Kate Crosby, Gil Fronsdal, Kathleen Gregory, Funie Hsu, Roger R. Jackson, Charles B. Jones, David L. McMahan, Richard K. Payne, Ron Purser, Sarah Shaw, Philippe Turenne, and Pamela D. Winfield.

Download or read book The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know Is Possible written by Charles Eisenstein and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2013-11-05 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As seen on Oprah’s Super Soul Sunday A beacon of hope in the face of our current world crises, this uplifting book demonstrates how embracing our interconnectedness is key to world transformation In a time of social and ecological crisis, what can we as individuals do to make the world a better place? This inspirational and thought-provoking book serves as an empowering antidote to the cynicism, frustration, paralysis, and overwhelm so many of us are feeling, replacing it with a grounding reminder of what’s true: we are all connected, and our small, personal choices bear unsuspected transformational power. By fully embracing and practicing this principle of interconnectedness—called interbeing—we become more effective agents of change and have a stronger positive influence on the world. Throughout the book, Eisenstein relates real-life stories showing how small, individual acts of courage, kindness, and self-trust can change our culture’s guiding narrative of separation, which, he shows, has generated the present planetary crisis. He brings to conscious awareness a deep wisdom we all innately know: until we get ourselves in order, any action we take—no matter how good our intentions—will ultimately be wrong-headed and wrong-hearted. Above all, Eisenstein invites us to embrace a radically different understanding of cause and effect, sounding a clarion call to surrender our old worldview of separation, so that we can finally create the more beautiful world our hearts know is possible. With chapters covering separation, interbeing, despair, hope, pain, pleasure, consciousness, and many more, the book invites us to let the old Story of Separation fall away so that we can stand firmly in a Story of Interbeing.

Download or read book Partners in Healing written by William Collinge and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2008-12-09 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers a new sense of empowerment for the intimate partners of people living with serious health problems. Collinge draws on cutting-edge scientific research along with his experience counseling couples facing serious illness to offer a range of insights, strategies, and techniques that caregivers can utilize to promote their partners’ physical and emotional well-being—while also promoting their own. Topics include: • The importance of self-care for the caring partner • Ways of involving family and friends in a network of support • Simple massage and touch techniques to bring comfort and reduce symptoms • How open, affirmative communication can contribute to healing • Basic energy-healing techniques to promote well-being

Download or read book Ripples of the Universe written by Susannah Crockford and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2021-06-03 with total page 260 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Ask a random American what springs to mind about Sedona, Arizona, and they will almost certainly mention New Age spirituality. Nestled among stunning sandstone formations, Sedona has built an identity completely intertwined with that of the permanent residents and throngs of visitors who insist it is home to powerful vortexes—sites of spiraling energy where meditation, clairvoyance, and channeling are enhanced. It is in this uniquely American town that Susannah Crockford took up residence for two years to make sense of spirituality, religion, race, and class. Many people move to Sedona because, they claim, they are called there by its special energy. But they are also often escaping job loss, family breakdown, or foreclosure. Spirituality, Crockford shows, offers a way for people to distance themselves from and critique current political and economic norms in America. Yet they still find themselves monetizing their spiritual practice as a way to both “raise their vibration” and meet their basic needs. Through an analysis of spirituality in Sedona, Crockford gives shape to the failures and frustrations of middle- and working-class people living in contemporary America, describing how spirituality infuses their everyday lives. Exploring millenarianism, conversion, nature, food, and conspiracy theories, Ripples of the Universe combines captivating vignettes with astute analysis to produce a unique take on the myriad ways class and spirituality are linked in contemporary America.

Download or read book 28 Seconds written by Michael Bryant and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2012-08-21 with total page 342 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A night that began with a dinner to celebrate his eleventh wedding anniversary ended in a jail cell for Michael Bryant. He was charged with dangerous driving causing death and criminal negligence causing the death of cyclist Darcy Sheppard. Ironically, he had helped write the legal test for the same charges sixteen years earlier. Bryant, as Ontario's attorney general, was the man responsible for administering 500,000 criminal charges every year in that province. He now faced prosecution by the same justice system. The charges were eventually dropped, but nothing could undo what had happened to Sheppard-or Bryant.

Download or read book The Shape of Spirituality written by Dick Houtman and published by Columbia University Press. This book was released on 2024-10-15 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Around 20 percent of Americans fall into the category of “spiritual but not religious.” Yoga has become a ubiquitous pastime for middle-class Westerners. Mindfulness is increasingly incorporated into school curricula, sports programs, and even corporate culture. Hollywood icons and Silicon Valley trendsetters tout the benefits of a “spiritual” life. These developments reflect a widespread turn away from “religion” toward “spirituality.” Yet the nature of this spiritual turn is still poorly understood, and its consequences sorely underappreciated. The Shape of Spirituality brings together leading sociologists to challenge common notions that spirituality is individualistic, privatized, and apolitical—and to make the definitive case for its social and political significance. Contributors examine the sweeping influence of spirituality on a variety of realms, including health care and therapeutic practice, popular culture, civic engagement, public protest, conspiracy culture, and progressive politics. Leveraging cutting-edge quantitative and qualitative data, this authoritative book makes clear that, far from being marginal and inconsequential, spirituality holds profound public importance today.

Download or read book Global Beat Fusion written by Derek Beres and published by iUniverse. This book was released on 2005 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Global Beat Fusion The History of the Future of Music Words & Pix by Derek Beres Foreword by Ajay Naidu "Derek Beres is part reporter and part prophet standing in the middle of the eye of the World Music storm that is raining new musical genres on the Earth today, each one fused by the love of song and spirit." -Krishna Das, kirtan artist "I met Derek Beres as a writer interested in shedding light on what was happening in the world of future music. I know him now as a major force pushing this scene in all directions. He has gone so far deep inside that he has become exactly what he writes about. He will forget to write one chapter of this book and that is the one about himself." -Karsh Kale, tabla player/DJ/producer "Derek Beres is a modern-day shaman. He knows new hybrids of electronic and non-Western music deliver the same ecstatic release as ancient tribal rituals of so-called primitive societies, and that the implications go far beyond an ambient groove. For Beres, the fusion of technology and ritual, the reconciliation of mind, body and spirit that electronic world music represents, is not just the cutting edge of modern entertainment but the early stages of a numinous revolution in American culture. In Global Beat Fusion he explains why music is the new religion, and how, in one sense or another, we are all destined to become believers." -Guy Garcia, author of The New Mainstream: How the Multicultural Consumer is Transforming American Business For exclusive interviews, pictures, events artist info and more visit www.globalbeatfusion.com Cover artwork by Craig Anthony Miller www.craiganthonymiller.com Outside the Box Publishing www.otbpublishing.com

Download or read book Happy Ever After written by Paul Dolan and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2019-01-17 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 'A passionate, provocative book. It isn't just a self-help book. It is a manifesto for a better society' Sunday Times 'One of the most rigorous articulations of the new mood of acceptance...a persuasive demolition of many of our cultural stories about how we ought to live' Oliver Burkeman, Guardian Paul Dolan, the bestselling author of Happiness by Design, shows us how to escape the myth of perfection and find our own route to happiness. Be ambitious; find everlasting love; look after your health ... There are countless stories about how we ought to live our lives. These narratives can make our lives easier, and they might sometimes make us happier too. But they can also trap us and those around us. In Happy Ever After, bestselling happiness expert Professor Paul Dolan draws on a variety of studies ranging over wellbeing, inequality and discrimination to bust the common myths about our sources of happiness. He shows that there can be many unexpected paths to lasting fulfilment. Some of these might involve not going into higher education, choosing not to marry, rewarding acts rooted in self-interest and caring a little less about living forever. By freeing ourselves from the myth of the perfect life, we might each find a life worth living.

Download or read book Frontiers of Fear written by Ariane Chebel d'Appollonia and published by Cornell University Press. This book was released on 2012-03-15 with total page 337 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: On both sides of the Atlantic, restrictive immigration policies have been framed as security imperatives since the 1990s. This trend accelerated in the aftermath of 9/11 and subsequent terrorist attacks in Europe. In Frontiers of Fear, Ariane Chebel d’Appollonia raises two central questions with profound consequences for national security and immigration policy: First, does the securitization of immigration issues actually contribute to the enhancement of internal security? Second, does the use of counterterrorist measures address such immigration issues as the increasing number of illegal immigrants, the resilience of ethnic tensions, and the emergence of homegrown radicalization? Chebel d’Appollonia questions the main assumptions that inform political agendas in the United States and throughout Europe, analyzing implementation and evaluating the effectiveness of policies in terms of their stated objectives. She argues that the new security-based immigration regime has proven ineffective in achieving its prescribed goals and even aggravated the problems it was supposed to solve: A security/insecurity cycle has been created that results in less security and less democracy. The excesses of securitization have harmed both immigration and counterterrorist policies and seriously damaged the delicate balance between security and respect for civil liberties.

Download or read book Mind the Science written by Jonathan N. Stea and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2024 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In Mind the Science, Jonathan N. Stea provides a takedown of mental health misinformation and pseudoscience to educate and embolden readers who wish to make informed decisions about their mental health. Readers are empowered to protect themselves from mental health scams, charlatanry, and poor or misguided health practices that thrive in the multi-trillion-dollar wellness industry. By the end, readers will be better positioned to identify mental health misinformation, to steer clear of misguided and predatory practices, and to understand what mental health really means.