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Part travelogue, part experiential spiritual memoir, Kevin Turner takes us to visit with authentic shamans in the steppes and urban centers of modern-day Mongolia. Along the way, the author, a practicing shaman himself, tells of spontaneous medical diagnoses, all-night shamanic ceremonies, and miraculous healings, all welling from a rich culture in which divination, soul-retrieval, and spirit depossession are a part of everyday life.   Shamanism, described in the 1950s by Mircea Eliade as "archaic techniques of ecstasy," is alive and well in Mongolia as a means of accessing "nonordinary realities" and the spirit world. After centuries of suppression by Buddhist and then Communist political powers, it is exploding in popularity in Mongolia. Turner gives compelling accounts of healings and rituals he witnesses among Darkhad, Buryat, and Khalkh shamans, and goes on to provide us with his insights into a universal shamanism, principles that lie at the heart of shamanic traditions worldwide. This astounding, inspiring book will appeal to shamans and shamanic therapists, students of Mongolian culture and comparative religion, and fans of off-grid travel memoirs.

Ilarion Merculieff weaves the remarkable strands of his life and culture into a fascinating account that begins with his traditional Unangan (Aleut) upbringing on a remote island in the Bering Sea, through his immersion in both the Russian Orthodox Church and his tribe's holistic spiritual beliefs. He recounts his developing consciousness and call to leadership, and describes his work of the past thirty years bringing together Western science and Indigenous peoples' traditional knowledge and wisdom to address the most pressing issues of our time. Tracing the extraordinary history of his ancestors-who mummified their dead in a way very similar to the Egyptians, constructed one of the most sophisticated high seas kayaks in the world, and densely populated shorelines in North America for ten thousand years-Merculieff describes the rich traditions of spirituality, art, dance, music, storytelling, science, and technology that enabled them to survive their harsh conditions. The Unangan people of the Aleutian Islands endured slavery at the hands of the U.S. government and were placed in an internment camp during WWII, where they suffered malnutrition and disease that decimated 10 percent of their population. Merculieff movingly describes how the compassion of Indigenous Elders has guided him in his work and life, which has been rife with struggle and hardship. He explains that environmental degradation, the extinction of species, pollution, war, and failing public institutions are all reflections of our relationships with ourselves. In order to deal with these critical challenges, he argues, we must reenter the chaos of the natural world, rediscover our balance of the masculine and the sacred feminine, and heal ourselves. Then, perhaps, we can heal the world.

For the first time in English, Benebell Wen reveals the rich history and theoretical principles underlying the ancient practice of crafting Fu talismans, or magical sigils, in the Chinese Taoist tradition and gives detailed instructions for modern practitioners who would like to craft their own Fu. Fu talismans are ideograms and writings typically rendered on paper and empowered by means of invocations, ritual, and transferences of energy, or Qi. Talismans can be used for many purposes, such as strengthening or weakening personality characteristics, finding love, earning more money, or easing emotional tensions in the home. The Tao of Craft shows how metaphysical energy can be harnessed to amplify, strengthen, weaken, dispel, or block other metaphysical energy and to rectify perceived imbalances in the material plane. Supported by an abundance of detailed charts and images, this book serves as a step-by-step handbook that gives readers the knowledge and confidence to craft their own Fu talismans for personal empowerment. Wen, author of Holistic Tarot, delves into historic and cultural contexts of the Fu, from the neolithic period of Chinese history to contemporary practices of esoteric Taoism. Providing a solid foundation in the principles of Eastern spellcrafting, she highlights the blending of Taoist metaphysical practices with Western approaches to magic by pointing out eclectic, integrating, and harmonizing facets from other cultures and religions. Historically, Fu talismans were used by medieval Chinese for alleviating illness; averting misfortune, magical attacks, and curses; defending against assaults; and avoiding poverty. This book shows Western practitioners that the skill and knowledge to develop an interactive relationship with spirit realms are still available to them today, and serves as a practical handbook for accumulating Qi energy from sources in the environment and channeling it in concentrated form into their own Fu talismans.

Neurodynamics combines the latest discoveries in science, anatomy, and mindfulness to form a new understanding of human awareness in action. What good does it do to stretch, relax, or strengthen muscles if we don't know how these muscles are actually designed to function? To be sound, any physical therapy method must be based on scientific knowledge of how the musculoskeletal system works, on the role of proprioception in gaining awareness and control over this system, and on the process of becoming more conscious in action. Written for both beginning and advanced students, the book offers in-depth explanations of the theory of neurodynamics together with illustrations outlining steps of development and practical exercises. Over 100 years ago, F. Matthias Alexander made a series of discoveries about how the body works in action that made it possible for the first time to become conscious of what we're doing in activity. In Neurodynamics, author Theodore Dimon, who has taught and written about Alexander's work for many years, seeks to put together a coherent theory and curriculum for the Alexander Technique and explain how this system works in scientific terms. Neurodynamics develops and expands on Alexander's teachings and gives practical explanations that form the basis not just for a method but for a truly educational theory of how the mind and body work in action.

Inspired by his time spent with wise sages in Asia in the 1930s, Paul Brunton (1898-1981) wrote The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga (and its companion volume The Wisdom of the Overself) at the request of these remarkable teachers, who recognized that he had a significant role to play in the transmission of Hindu Vedanta and Buddhism to the West. Brunton''s books are a profound re-creation of the teachings of those two philosophical schools of thought, informed by the insights of deep meditation. Clearly written without the specialized vocabulary found in those traditions, the books speak directly to the contemporary spiritual seeker.The Hidden Teaching Beyond Yoga is a step-by-step guide to actually experiencing the spiritual truth that reality is formed within our consciousness rather than outside us in the world of material things. Brunton''s expert analysis of perception, grounded in science, is designed to awaken us to our sacred foundation and to transform our personality into a mirror of that reality. Brunton prepares us for this journey by describing the attitudes, mental disciplines, and character traits that are beneficial for success in this quest.This new edition has been updated to incorporate the author''s final revisions and includes an introduction by the Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation.ContentsForeword by The Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation1.Beyond Yoga 2.The Ultimate Path3.The Religious and Mystic Grades 4.The Hidden Philosophy of India5.The Philosophical Discipline6.The Worship of Words7.The Search After Truth 8.The Revelation of Relativity 9.From Thing to Thought 10. The Secret of Space and Time11. The Magic of the Mind 12. The Downfall of Materialism Epilogue: The Philosophic LifeAppendix 1: Some Misconceptions Cleared Up Appendix 2: Additional Resources from The Notebooks of Paul Brunton, Compiled by the Paul Brunton Philosophic Foundation Editors

In understanding such things as the role of the shadow in healing, the relationship between the ego and the transpersonal self, and the application of dream analysis, medical practitioners can better address present day health challenges. Included are client interview techniques, natural remedies, and a bibliography and glossary of Jungian terms.

A bold affirmation that we are sentient before conception and in the womb, The Secret Life of Babies reveals author Mia Kalef's groundbreaking findings: babies are able to remember their earliest experiences, this consciousness precedes the physical development of the brain itself, and medical interventions during birth-like forceps and Cesareans-can imprint our relationships with the world and disconnect us from our sustainable place in the ecosystem. Kalef provides a six-step protocol for detecting these individual imprints and taking reparative steps for physiological and emotional balance and release. This book offers us an articulate guide to a transformation that can restore our essential nature. From the table of contents:Foreword by Andrew FeldmarIntroduction: The Myth: Science and Experience The Quest: Sparking the Conversation Who Is This Book For? A Song Worth SingingPART ONE: ScienceChapter 1: The First Principle: Babies Remember Their Experiences The Controversy A Place to Begin and End: Returning to Wholeness Essential Nature Essential Movements The Mechanisms The Model Perspectives and PurposesChapter 2: The Second Principle: Consciousness Precedes the Brain Architecture That Supports It The Biological Paradox Brains, Fields, and Development The Effects of Chemical and Emotional FieldsChapter 3: The Third Principle: Babies Are Our Barometers Dominance versus Emergence Historical Cultural Indicators Present-Day Cultural IndicatorsPART TWO: ExperienceChapter 4: The Fourth Principle: It Is Never Too Late to Heal The Vision Horizon Preparing the Way Reclaiming the Body: The Path Home The PrototypePART THREE: MarriageChapter5: The Intuitive Recovery Project The Anatomy of the Intuitive Recovery Project The ProjectChapter 6: Summary

Effective martial arts training, especially for a demanding sport like Muay Thai, requires a prudent training plan. In Muay Thai Training Techniques, professional trainer Christoph Delp shows amateur as well as advanced fighters how to best utilize their training time, whether at home or in the gym, alone or with a partner or coach. A comprehensive guide for Muay Thai fighters as well as those utilizing Muay Thai techniques in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Muay Thai Training Techniques teaches effective exercises to improve flexibility, stamina, and strength as well as basic fighting techniques such as feints, counters, and combinations. Muay Thai champions Saiyok Pumphanmuang and Kem Sitsongpeening are featured, demonstrating their own training methods and most effective techniques. Training is broken down into core components that any Muay Thai fighter or instructor can use to help build an individual training plan; several ready-made, detailed training plans are also included for beginners, intermediate, and advanced practitioners. Rounded out with crucial information on nutrition, weight classes, and the importance of regeneration to effective training, Muay Thai Training Techniques will help all Muay Thai fighters to take their practice to the next level.

The publication in 1934 of Yang Chengfu's book, Essence and Applications of Taijiquan (Taijiquan Tiyong Quanshu) marked a milestone in the modern evolution of the art of taijiquan. Using what is best-termed demonstration narrative, the author presents form postures and suggested applications from his own perspective, as he performed them. This methodology renders Yang Chengfu's direct, hands-on teaching of the art with such immediacy and liveliness that the reader experiences the master's teaching much as his students did.This English translation finally makes Yang Chengfu's classic work available to taijiquan enthusiasts in the West. It includes notes and commentary that clarify the author's frequent classical and literary turns of phrase and elucidate the philosophical and political underpinnings that shape the text. The translator investigates and compares several early taijiquan books in order to help explain the roles played by two of Yang Chengfu's students, Dong Yingjie and Zheng Manqing, in bringing Yang Chengfu's words and teachings into print.Serious students of taijiquan, and those wishing to deepen their knowledge of taijiquan history and theory, will find this seminal work indispensable to their study and practice.

At the age of 17, rejecting nineteenth-century materialism, Helena Blavatsky (1831-1891) left her native Russia and traveled through India, Tibet, Egypt, Europe, and the Americas seeking out the sources of ancient wisdom as a key to spiritual truth. In 1875 in New York, she co-founded the Theosophical Society for the study of occult traditions. Many popular ideas of rediscovered ancient wisdom, including reincarnation and karma, trace their origin to Helena Blavatsky and Theosophy. This anthology includes material on her life and travels, as well as excerpts from her major works.

Journey to the Heart of Aikido presents the teachings of Motomichi Anno Sensei, one of the few remaining direct students of Morihei Ueshiba, the legendary founder of Aikido. After a lifetime of practice and teaching in Japan, the United States, and Europe, Anno Sensei conveys through his teachings Aikido's essential spirit of love, harmony, gratitude, and purification with simple authenticity and eloquence. Author and translator Linda Holiday--herself a senior instructor of Aikido--brings to life the intimacy of this communication through translated discourses on the deep practice of Aikido and candid dialogues between Anno sensei and Western students. Journey to the Heart of Aikido includes Linda Holiday's vivid account of her adventure as a young woman studying Aikido in the mystical region of Kumano, Japan, in the 1970s, and a poignant telling of Anno sensei's life and his first-hand experience of training with Aikido's founder. An essential resource for the global Aikido community, Journey to the Heart of Aikido also offers spiritual teachings relevant to all contemporary seekers, touching a wide range of themes such as the meaning of martial arts, the integration of body and spirit, the truth of interconnectedness, and the practice of peace, offering all readers insight into the profound spiritual questions at the heart of life.

Quantum-Touch 2.0-The New Human endeavors to significantly enlarge the possibilities of what humans can be and do. In clear, step-by-step instructions, the reader will learn to easily demonstrate that human limits are as yet unknown.Readers can learn to do healing on multiple people at once to reduce their pain in minutes, work on multiple conditions at once, help people shift their own beliefs with the use of energy, and work across time and space. Readers will even learn to safely and visibly adjust the posture of multiple people simultaneously without touching.Science assumes that we are separate, and that our thoughts don't affect the outer reality. This notion is something that each of us can now clearly demonstrate to be untrue.The originator of the Quantum-Touch energy healing method and a popular workshop leader and speaker at conferences and holistic health institutes, Richard Gordon has been developing and refining Quantum-Touch since the publication of his best-selling Quantum-Touch: The Power to Heal. Gordon shares his discoveries in this new book, which takes Quantum-Touch to a far more powerful level.To enrich the book with scientific insights and commentary, Gordon sought out coauthors Vickie Wickhorst, PhD, and Chris Duffield, PhD. As academics investigating the convergence of science, technology, and the power of the human energy field, Wickhorst and Duffield serve as perfect guides to help readers, even skeptical ones, uncover their own process of discovery.This book is a must for all world travelers!

Emilie Conrad's approach to movement education, health, and healing is as varied and deeply textured as her life story. In Life on Land, she interweaves the story of her Brooklyn childhood and discovery of dance with the psychic and physical collapse that led to the development of Continuum, her groundbreaking movement and self-realization technique. Readable, poignant, and ultimately triumphant, the book melds Conrad's unique theories of the body-mind frontier with fearless discussions of Jewish heritage, sexuality, female identity, and social pressures.

Sonny Umpad's Eskrima provides insight on Maestro Santiago "Sonny" Umpad's life, philosophy, and teaching methods, as well as the structural underpinnings of his system. Born with the soul of a warrior, the intellect of a scholar, and a zealot's devotion to his art, Maestro Santiago "Sonny" Umpad forged an enduring contribution to the rich and colorful history of Filipino martial culture. In 1976, after immigrating to the United States, Sonny founded the school of Visayan Style Corto Kadena & Larga Mano Eskrima-rooted in his training in the Philippines and tested by a hard and dangerous life on the streets, Sonny's system was above all else practical. As Sonny's reputation as a talented fighter became well-known, he began to cross-train with masters of other martial arts, including Jesse Glover (Bruce Lee's first student) and Wally Jay (founder of Small Circle Jujitsu). One of the most innovative and visionary exponents of the Filipino arts, Sonny pioneered the concept of "mixed martial arts" long before the term was in use. Instructor George Yore has assembled the writings of six of Sonny's students (including Wade Williams, 2012 nominee for the U.S. Martial Arts Hall of Fame) to create a biographic homage to this remarkable martial artist; basic techniques and applications are also demonstrated, accompanied by 130 step-by-step photos. Practitioners of Filipino martial arts-as well as mixed martial artists and security specialists-will find valuable instruction in techniques and applications, while the thousands of people touched by Sonny's teachings will gain a new understanding of this notoriously reclusive master's life-and how his experiences informed the development of his system.

Core Awareness, Revised Edition: Enhancing Yoga, Pilates, Exercise, and Dance offers a guide to Core Awareness, a body-oriented approach that explores the practice of bringing focus and attention to inner sensation as the means of cultivating an innate capacity for expressive movement. Developed by somatic educator and author Liz Koch, the book''s Core Awareness movements, stretches, and mindfulness explorations are designed to enhance sensory development and shift readers from the standard paradigm of the body as an "isolated object" to a holistic paradigm of the human being as part of a living process of dynamic expression. This shift in perspective offers practitioners and teachers of movement, yoga, pilates, bodywork, exercise, and dance an empowering model for self-healing and the key to increasing strength, gaining flexibility, preventing injury, and improving resiliency.Describing the practice of moving from one''s core, Koch highlights the importance of engaging the psoas muscle—located on either side of the spine—to integrate the body, mind, emotion, and spirit. Koch also discusses the pelvis as the foundation of our physical core and the vital connection with our bones to gain a sense of support, nourishment, joint integrity, skeletal balance, and healthy muscle tone. Rewritten with updated information, this revised edition includes 247 new photos and 25 new Core Awareness explorations—with 64 in total. A suggested reading list at the end of the book provides resources for continuing the development of the ideas presented within the book.

In Vegan Is Love, author-illustrator Ruby Roth introduces young readers to veganism as a lifestyle of compassion and action. Broadening the scope of her popular first book That’s Why We Don’t Eat Animals, Roth illustrates how our daily choices ripple out locally and globally, conveying what we can do to protect animals, the environment, and people across the world. Roth explores the many opportunities we have to make ethical decisions: refusing products tested on or made from animals; avoiding sea parks, circuses, animal races, and zoos; choosing to buy organic food; and more. Roth’s message is direct but sensitive, bringing into sharp focus what it means to “put our love into action.” Featuring empowering back-of-the-book resources on action children can take themselves, this is the next step for adults and kids alike to create a more sustainable and compassionate world.

This handbook to spirituality gathers together Danish meditation teacher Jes Bertelsen's advice on training the mind through wordless prayer and meditation to realize the essence of consciousness. Bertelsen has been teaching philosophy and meditation since the early 1970s; in 1989, he met the Tibetan lama Tulku Urgyen Rinpoche, who authorized Jes Bertelsen to teach Dzogchen, and to do so using his own judgment as to the most appropriate way to assimilate these teachings into Western culture. Bertelsen's teachings are based on an experiential investigation of the nature of consciousness, using comparative analysis of Eastern and Western spiritual teachings and consciousness practices on a foundation of modern psychological, philosophical, and scientific approaches.Essence of Mind outlines the author's experience and approach to Dzogchen, the natural primordial state of human consciousness that is timeless, pure, and untouched by suffering. The book is divided into three parts. The first part describes different methods for pointing out the essence of consciousness and the techniques related to them. The second part seeks to outline the key principles of a training system suited to Western students that can lead to realization. The final section outlines the significance of continuous exercises, and describes the way spiritual practice slowly permeates daily life, dreams, sleep, and eventually death. Through the mind-training process, the practitioner approaches an almost ecstatic state of completion, a luminous, blissful wakefulness in which the consciousness is also fully relaxed, not clinging to bliss or desiring ecstasy, but transparent and open.Bertelsen emphasizes that while more advanced forms of spiritual training can only take place in a face-to-face, deeply engaged mutual process between teacher and student, books are useful as sources of inspiration, in particular to help review one's insights and refresh one's practice. Essence of Mind systematizes the experiences that occur along the spiritual path and helps students to refine, correct, and clarify their efforts; it is the author's hope that many students in the West will be able to benefit from his comparative approach to Dzogchen.

Famed for promoting health and longevity, as well as for its effectiveness as a fighting art, Xingyi is practiced by enthusiasts in China and in the West. Designed as a primer or introductory reader and filled with photos, illustrations, and descriptive text, this authentic manual introduces the Five Elements of Xingyi-Splitting Fist, Drilling Fist, Smashing Fist, Pounding Fist, and Crossing Fist-outlining the basic theory and history of the art. Coming directly from an eighth-generation practitioner of a famous lineage, The Xingyi Boxing Manual is a distillation of the knowledge and experience of many of the major figures in the history of Xingyi boxing. Translator John Groschwitz includes previously unavailable materials from the complete original book making this revised and expanded edition an essential guide for today's practitioner of this traditional martial art.

Designed to release pain and trauma as well as support the body's healing through a gentle, hands-on approach, Craniosacral Therapy (CST) has become an increasingly popular modality. In Cranio-Sacral-SELF-Waves, CST expert Olaf Korpiun expands on William Sutherland's famous theory of the "breath of life," an unexplained power that generates corrections from within our bodies without the influence of external forces applied by the therapist. This new theory, drawing also on physics, anatomy, physiology, embryology, and osteopathy, finds scientific evidence that the original source of craniosacral movement is a resonant movement from an energy field in the universe: it is the oscillating waves of rhythm in the universe, he argues, that control all biological rhythms within all living beings. Dr. Korpiun presents his method of working with patterns of motion in the body, including extremely slow frequencies of movement which he calls "Cranio-Sacral-SELF-Waves ("SELF" standing for "Super-Extreme-Low-Frequency"). By following his approach, says the author, bodyworkers and other health practitioners can work in a more focused and productive way, utilizing practical techniques for treating the widespread rhythmic imbalances that lead to physicaland psychological problems.

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy (BCST) is commonly seen as the spiritual approach to craniosacral therapy (CST); in fact, BCST as taught by Franklyn Sills, the pioneer in the field, is quite different from conventional CST. Biodynamic work is based on the development of perceptual skills where the practitioner learns to become sensitive to subtle respiratory motions called primary respiration and also to the power of spontaneous healing. Through the Breath of Life, which, Sills asserts, echoes the Holy Spirit in the Judeo-Christian tradition, bodhicitta in Buddhism, and the Tai Chi in Taoism, students of BCST learn to enter a state of presence oriented to the client's inherent ability to heal.In Foundations in Craniosacral Biodynamics, Sills offers students and practitioners an in-depth, step-by-step guide to the development of perceptual and clinical skills with specific clinical exercises and explorations to help students and practitioners learn the essentials of a biodynamic approach. Individual chapters cover such topics as holism and biodynamics; mid-tide, Long Tide, Dynamic Stillness and stillpoint process; the motility of tissues and the central nervous system; transference and the shadow; shamanistic resonances; and more.

Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais is best known for pioneering the somatic therapy that bears his name. Less well known is that he was also one of the earliest European practitioners of the martial art of judo and wrote a number of influential texts on the subject. Primary among these is Higher Judo, first published in 1952 and now reprinted with a new foreword that offers useful context and elaborates on Feldenkrais' comprehensive-and still timely-approach to the martial art and to the body.Judo was a natural choice for Feldenkrais's fascination with body/mind exploration and how to promote optimal functioning through awareness. In Higher Judo, he presents judo as the art of using all parts of the body to promote general health, and as part of the "basic culture of the body." He reveals judo's potential for creating a sense of rhythm of movement and improving mental and physical coordination. Higher Judo covers specific movements and positions-the astride position, the six o'clock approach, falling techniques-in both the text and the clear line drawings. Even more importantly, it shows how such groundwork can help practitioners develop their mental and physical awareness to their full potential.

A rigorously researched biography of the founder of modern magick, as well as a study of the occult, sexuality, Eastern religion, and more The name "Aleister Crowley" instantly conjures visions of diabolic ceremonies and orgiastic indulgences-and while the sardonic Crowley would perhaps be the last to challenge such a view, he was also much more than "the Beast," as this authoritative biography shows. Perdurabo-entitled after the magical name Crowley chose when inducted into the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn-traces Crowley's remarkable journey from his birth as the only son of a wealthy lay preacher to his death in a boarding house as the world's foremost authority on magick. Along the way, he rebels against his conservative religious upbringing; befriends famous artists, writers, and philosophers (and becomes a poet himself); is attacked for his practice of "the black arts"; and teaches that science and magick can work together. While seeking to spread his infamous philosophy of, "Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law," Crowley becomes one of the most notorious figures of his day. Based on Richard Kaczynski's twenty years of research, and including previously unpublished biographical details, Perdurabo paints a memorable portrait of the man who inspired the counterculture and influenced generations of artists, punks, wiccans, and other denizens of the demimonde.

***This paperback edition has a new introduction by the author and updated content.This is the first volume of North Atlantic Books’ updated paperback edition of Dale Pendell’s Pharmako trilogy, an encyclopedic study of the history and uses of psychoactive plants and related synthetics first published between 1995 and 2005. The books form an interrelated suite of works that provide the reader with a unique, reliable, and often personal immersion in this medically, culturally, and spiritually fascinating subject. All three books are beautifully designed and illustrated, and are written with unparalleled authority, erudition, playfulness, and range. Pharmako/Poeia: Plant Powers, Poisons, and Herbcraft includes a new introduction by the author and as in previous editions focuses on familiar psychoactive plant-derived substances and related synthetics, ranging from the licit (tobacco, alcohol) to the illicit (cannabis, opium) and the exotic (absinthe, salvia divinorum, nitrous oxide). Each substance is explored in detail, not only with information on its history, pharmacology, preparation, and cultural and esoteric correspondences, but also the subtleties of each plant’s effect on consciousness in a way that only poets can do. The whole concoction is sprinkled with abundant quotations from famous writers, creating a literary brew as intoxicating as its subject.The Pharmako series is continued in Pharmako/Dynamis (focusing on stimulants and empathogens) and Pharmako/Gnosis (which addresses psychedelics and shamanic plants).