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Showing 1 - 20 of 3895 items
By Katie Arnold. 2024
A Zen study wrapped in a memoir of destruction and healing written by an elite ultrarunner as she struggles to…
make it to the other side of a life-shattering injury with her sanity, and her marriage, intactAfter flipping her raft days away from help on a trip down the remote Salmon River, Katie Arnold&’s shattered leg tests both her spirit and her marriage for years to come. It also reignites her meditation practice and motivates her to dive into Zen in search of healing. Before the accident, Katie was an elite ultrarunner with a simmering but adequate marriage who avoided being indoors whenever possible. But who is she afterwards?In the midst of hardship, Katie turns for support to the Zen practice she had long dabbled in. Brief Flashings in the Phenomenal World is a Zen study wrapped in a memoir that tells the story of a search for stillness by a woman born for wildness. Spanning roughly two years, from shortly before the accident through the long, uncertain healing of both leg and marriage, it is a personal narrative of that tumultuous time nested inside meditations on Zen. Having gone from a reluctant spiritualist to a Zen practitioner over the course of a decade, Katie Arnold offers unique company for those seeking nature&’s exquisite highs as well as for creatives, spiritualists, and sensualists who want to slow down and examine the possibilities of a well-lived life. As the late Japanese master Shunryu Suzuki wrote, &“Sometimes a flashing will come through the dark sky.&” These brief flashings are enlightenment—moments when we suddenly feel as if we&’re part of everything, and everything&’s part of us. This book is about how to experience the flashings when they come, and about what they mean for how we live our lives.By Lady Colin Campbell. 2018
**A Wall Street Journal bestseller** An updated edition of this blockbuster narrative provides the first behind-the-scenes, authoritative account of the…
Duke and Duchess of Sussex&’s marriage, by the New York Times bestselling author of Diana in Private.Meghan and Harry: The Real Story: Persecutors or Victims presents the reader with a strikingly forthright analysis of what happens when a vulnerable male, raised in the traditions of the Old World and protected by a lifetime of privilege, falls head over heels in love with a steely and ambitious doyenne of the New, who is careless of tradition, ignorant of its purpose, contemptuous of its consequences, and convinced that her own way is the best way even as the evidence to the contrary mounts. Exposing as she does a titanic clash of two civilisations, mores, and attitudes divided by a common language, Sunday Times best-selling author Lady Colin Campbell scrutinizes with insight, clarity, and precision the evidence of the circumstances, actions, and motives of Meghan and Harry with an impeccable and aristocratically experienced vision honed by five decades in the public eye. She catalogues in depth how this apparently brilliantly-favoured couple came to lose their way, how they exhibited profound contemptuousness for practices built up by a treasured institution over a millennium, and how they were unable to understand the potential benefits of their destiny to such an extent that they managed to turn their fate on its head. Contrary to their statements, Meghan and Harry prove through their own actions that they are ill-judged characters, unable to bring the dynamism of the New to the Old or represent the dignity of the Old to the New. Falling between these two stools, they conspire time and again against themselves and others, inviting nothing but unnecessary controversy and unintended failure, despite the fact that the vast majority of onlookers, who would ultimately become critics, originally wished them well and hoped they would successfully forge a unique way forward in their ground-breaking union. Lady Colin&’s pen allows the couple no escape from the consequences of their actions, whether these be royal and aristocratic customs governed by tradition, precedence, and conservation; the racial furore they unleashed and the damage they wrought throughout the Commonwealth; the speculation they engendered with regards even to something as straightforward as pregnancy; the very different laws on each side of the Atlantic and how these affect inheritance as well as other important factors; the differing attitudes to money of those who have had it for many a year and those for whom it is newly minted; the merits of position versus celebrity; the benefits of freedom of the press and the efforts of the couple to curtail them; the dangers of suppression of civil liberties or even simply the choice of everyday activities which Meghan and Harry have shown time and again will involve themselves and onlookers in controversy after controversy.By Tracy Cochran. 2024
In 20 short, gem-like chapters, meditation teacher Tracy Cochran invites us to explore living fully in the present moment as…
a revolutionary practice.Tracy&’s vibrant essays from her storied life give plenty of encouragement to reframe and dive deep into our own experiences.Mindfulness offers us a way to be fully in the present moment—and as we start to embrace this practice, we learn that our lives are made of present moments. That gift of presence is the palpable experience of awareness that appears when we remember to be mindful of those moments. In 20 short chapters, Cochran encourages us to see presence as a living force—and to recognize and explore how that shows up in our lives. She offers riveting and relatable stories from her life—a spiritually transformative wine-making trip in France, a near-death experience while being mugged, managing her feisty child while on a retreat with Thich Nhat Hanh, among many others—and Buddhist teachings to encourage us to see the power of presence to illuminate and transform our past, present, and future. Cochran's observations and reminiscences are wise and pithy, and she gives us plenty of encouragement to explore and reframe our own experiences.By Yael Bentor and Penpa Dorjee. 2024
This commentary on Guhyasamaja tantra is the seminal guide to deity yoga and tantric visualization for the Geluk school of…
Tibetan Buddhism.Ocean of Attainments was composed by Khedrup Jé Gelek Palsang (1385–1438), one of Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa&’s most prominent disciples. Its subject is the creation stage, a quintessential Buddhist tantric meditation that together with the completion stage comprises the path of unexcelled tantra. The Guhyasamaja Tantra, referred to as the &“king of all tantras,&” is revered in Tibet, especially by the Geluk school, for its hermeneutic methods, which are in turn applied to other tantras. In the creation stage, meditators visualize themselves as buddhas at the center of the celestial mandala, surrounded in all directions by male and female bodhisattvas and enlightened beings. Since the core of the practice is visualization, this meditation—perhaps more than other meditations—presumes the creative power of the mind. Visualizations form the basis not only of the creation stage and deity yoga but of all tantric practices and rituals, since tantric practice takes place not in mundane existence but in the illusion-like purity of the enlightened view. While the previously published Essence of the Ocean of Attainments is a concise exposition on the practice of the Guhyasamaja sadhana, Ocean of Attainments is much more detailed, providing extensive scriptural citations, clear explanation of the body mandala, arguments on points of contention, reference to other tantric systems, and critiques of misinterpretations. Complemented by the extensive and clear introduction, this volume is a vital contribution to the growing body of scholarship on Guhyasamaja and on Buddhist tantra in general.By Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu, Emily Popp. 2000
An American Buddhist monk in the Theravada tradition offers wisdom and spiritual practices on attaining mindful presence.Simple and straightforward, this…
“little book” is a distillation of twenty years of a Buddhist monk’s meditation practice. With a sense of reverence and respect for everything, Ajahn Sumano Bhikkhu shows us how to use only what we need, and then to use these few things carefully and with discrimination. Meeting the Monkey Halfway is his personal story, and through his story he will help us to open our hearts and relearn the compassion of the Buddha.By John Edwards. 2016
The elder daughter of Henry VIII, Mary I (1553-58) became England's ruler on the unexpected death of her brother Edward…
VI. Her short reign is one of the great potential turning points in the country's history. As a convinced Catholic and the wife of Philip II, king of Spain and the most powerful of all European monarchs, Mary could have completely changed her country's orbit, making it a province of the Habsburg Empire and obedient again to Rome. These extraordinary possibilities are fully dramatized in John Edward's superb short biography. The real Mary I has almost disappeared under the great mass of Protestant propaganda that buried her reputation during her younger sister, Elizabeth I's reign. But what if she had succeeded?By Dr James Mackay. 1999
In My End Is My Beginning is the story of Mary Queen of Scots (1542–87), the tragic heroine par excellence.…
Queen of an unfamiliar and troubled nation when she was a week old, it was her misfortune to be a pawn in the game of international politics throughout her life. Even in the brief period from 1561 to 1567 when she was ruler of Scotland in fact as well as in name, she was beset with problems that would have defeated a much stronger, more experienced monarch. A talented poet and a charismatic leader, she contended with a treacherous, self-serving nobility, the religious ferment of the Reformation, and the political ambitions of larger and more powerful neighbours. With little real authority and few resources, Mary’s reign was successful, until her disastrous marriage to the dissolute Darnley set in motion the events that brought about her downfall. For the last 20 years of her life she was a prisoner in the hands of her cousin, Elizabeth I of England, and the subject of treacherous plots and conspiracies. A hostage to fortune, she represented a threat and a rallying-point for English Catholics. Her tragic end was inevitable. Yet her life, with all its adventurous, failures and disasters, produced the son – James – who ultimately brought about the union of Scotland and England.In the End Is My Beginning uncovers the true facts of Mary’s life in the context of Anglo-Scottish relations and shows why, after more than 400 years, she remains arguably the greatest character in popular Scottish history.By Katie Nicholl. 2011
Katie Nicholl, Royal Correspondent for the Mail on Sunday, has been at the centre of royal reporting since she joined…
the newspaper in 2001. There is no one who is more intimately acquainted with the lives and loves of Princes William and Harry. Katie has spoken to a wealth of contacts close to William and Catherine Middleton and reveals how their love affair really started at St Andrews, the hurdles the pair overcame and the challenges they still face.Originally published to great acclaim in 2010 as William and Harry, Katie Nicholl has updated and added to her original account of the princes' lives and recounts the definitive story of William's royal romance with the young woman destined to become Queen Catherine.By David Womersley. 2014
'James was a king tragically trapped by principle. Yet was it wise to attempt to change the national religion?'The short…
reign of James II is generally seen as one of the most catastrophic in British history, ending in his exile after he unsuccessfully tried to convert England to Catholicism, a crisis that would haunt the monarchy for generations. Ultimately, David Womersley's biography shows, James was a man whose blindness to subtlety and political reality brought about his ruinous downfall.By Thomas Cogswell. 2016
James's reign marked one of the very rare major breaks in England's monarchy. Already James VI of Scotland and a…
highly experienced ruler who had established his authority over the Scottish Kirk, he marched south on Elizabeth I's death to become James I of England and Ireland, uniting the British Isles for the first time and founding the Stuart dynasty which would, with several lurches, reign for over a century. Indeed his descendant still occupies the throne. A complex, curious man and great survivor, James drastically changed court life in London and presided over such major projects as the Authorized Version of the Bible and the establishment of English settlements in Virginia, Massachusetts, Gujarat and the Caribbean. Although he failed to unite England and Scotland, he insisted that ambassadors acknowledge him as King of Great Britain and that vessels from both countries display a version of the current Union Flag. He was often accused of being too informal and insufficiently regal - but when his son, Charles I, decided to redress these criticisms in his own reign he was destroyed. How much of the roots of this disaster were to be found in James's reign is one of the many problems dramatized in Thomas Cogswell's brilliant and highly entertaining new book.By Nicholas Vincent. 2009
King John ruled England for seventeen and a half years, yet his entire reign is usually reduced to one image:…
of the villainous monarch outmanoeuvred by rebellious barons into agreeing to Magna Carta at Runnymede in 1215. Ever since, John has come to be seen as an archetypal tyrant. But how evil was he? In this perceptive short account, Nicholas Vincent unpicks John's life through his deeds and his personality. The youngest of four brothers, overlooked and given a distinctly unroyal name, John seemed doomed to failure. As king, he was reputedly cruel and treacherous, pursuing his own interests at the expense of his country, losing the continental empire bequeathed to him by his father Henry and his brother Richard and eventually plunging England into civil war. Only his lordship of Ireland showed some success. Yet, as this fascinating biography asks, were his crimes necessarily greater than those of his ancestors - or was he judged more harshly because, ultimately, he failed as a warlord?By Stephen Church. 2017
Henry III was a medieval king whose long reign continues to have a profound impact on us today. He was…
on the throne for 56 years and during this time England was transformed from being the private play-thing of a French speaking dynasty into a medieval state in which the king answered for his actions to an English parliament, which emerged during Henry's lifetime. Despite Henry's central importance for the birth of parliament and the development of a state recognisably modern in many of its institutions, it is Henry's most vociferous opponent, Simon de Montfort, who is in many ways more famous than the monarch himself. Henry is principally known today as the driving force behind the building of Westminster Abbey, but he deserves to be better understood for many reasons - as Stephen Church's sparkling account makes clear.Part of the Penguin Monarchs series: short, fresh, expert accounts of England's rulers in a highly collectible formatBy Richard Barber. 2014
Henry II (1154-89) through a series of astonishing dynastic coups became the ruler of an enormous European empire. One of…
the most dynamic, restless and clever men ever to rule England, he was brought down both by his catastrophic relationship with his archbishop Thomas Becket and his debilitating arguments with his sons, most importantly the future Richard I and King John. His empire may have ultimately collapsed, but in Richard Barber's vivid and sympathetic account the reader can see why Henry II left such a compelling impression on his contemporaries.By Edmund King. 2018
'To be a medieval king was a job of work ... This was a man who knew how to run…
a complex organization. He was England's CEO'The youngest of William the Conqueror's sons, Henry I came to unchallenged power only after two of his brothers died in strange hunting accidents and he had imprisoned the other. He was destined to become one of the greatest of all medieval monarchs, both through his own ruthlessness, and through his dynastic legacy. Edmund King's engrossing portrait shows a strikingly charismatic, intelligent and fortunate man, whose rule was looked back on as the real post-conquest founding of England as a new realm: wealthy, stable, bureaucratised and self-confident.As Meghan Markle once said: 'With fame comes opportunity, but it also includes responsibility - to advocate and share, to…
focus less on the glass slipper and more on pushing through glass ceilings. And, if I'm lucky enough, to inspire.'Inspired by the Royal Wedding on 19 May, this beautiful collection of light-hearted stories celebrates what it takes to be a modern princess. Smart, strong, kind and brave, every princess here - whether they be fictional or real - is awesome.Including: Meghan, Ameera, Elizabeth II, Elsa, Leia, Moana, Tiana, Fiona, Haya, Lalla, Akishino, Maha, Diana, Catherine, Grace, Maxima, Rania AND princesses ahead of their time: Margaret, Elizabeth I, Pingyang, Hatshepsut, Nzinga and Seondeok.This book will make you smile and inspire you to make your own happy ending.By John Guy. 2014
Charismatic, insatiable and cruel, Henry VIII was, as John Guy shows, a king who became mesmerized by his own legend…
- and in the process destroyed and remade England. Said to be a 'pillager of the commonwealth', this most instantly recognizable of kings remains a figure of extreme contradictions: magnificent and vengeful; a devout traditionalist who oversaw a cataclysmic rupture with the church in Rome; a talented, towering figure who nevertheless could not bear to meet people's eyes when he talked to them. In this revealing new account, John Guy looks behind the mask into Henry's mind to explore how he understood the world and his place in it - from his isolated upbringing and the blazing glory of his accession, to his desperate quest for fame and an heir and the terrifying paranoia of his last, agonising, 54-inch-waisted years.By James Ross. 2016
Henry VI, son of the all-conquering Henry V, was one of the least able and least successful of English kings.…
His long reign, which started when he was only nine months old, ended in catastrophe, with the loss of England's territories in France and a bankrupt England's long decline into civil war: the wars of the Roses. Yet, failure though Henry undoubtedly was, he remains an enigma. Was he always, as he became in the last disastrous years of his rule, a holy fool, simple-minded to the point of insanity and prey to the ambitions of others? Or was he more active and, as some have suggested, actively malign? In this groundbreaking new portrait, James Ross shows a king whose priorities diverged sharply from what England expected of its monarchs, and whose fitful engagement with government was directly, though not solely, responsible for the disasters that engulfed the kingdom during his reign.By Anne Curry. 2015
Foremost medieval historian Anne Curry offers a new reinterpretation of Henry V and the battle that defined his kingship: AgincourtHenry…
V's invasion of France, in August 1415, represented a huge gamble. As heir to the throne, he had been a failure, cast into the political wilderness amid rumours that he planned to depose his father. Despite a complete change of character as king - founding monasteries, persecuting heretics, and enforcing the law to its extremes - little had gone right since. He was insecure in his kingdom, his reputation low. On the eve of his departure for France, he uncovered a plot by some of his closest associates to remove him from power. Agincourt was a battle that Henry should not have won - but he did, and the rest is history. Within five years, he was heir to the throne of France. In this vivid new interpretation, Anne Curry explores how Henry's hyperactive efforts to expunge his past failures, and his experience of crisis - which threatened to ruin everything he had struggled to achieve - defined his kingship, and how his astonishing success at Agincourt transformed his standing in the eyes of his contemporaries, and of all generations to come.By Joyce Tyldesley. 1996
Queen - or, as she would prefer to be remembered King - Hatchepsut was an astonishing woman. Brilliantly defying tradition…
she became the female embodiment of a male role, dressing in men's clothes and even wearing a false beard. Forgotten until Egptologists deciphered hieroglyphics in the 1820's, she has since been subject to intense speculation about her actions and motivations. Combining archaeological and historical evidence from a wide range of sources, Joyce Tyldesley's dazzling piece of detection strips away the myths and misconceptions and finally restores the female pharaoh to her rightful place.By Andrew Gimson. 2015
NEWLY REVISED AND UPDATEDA book for all lovers of history: the experienced and the novice, the serious and the silly.Gimson's…
Kings and Queens whirls us through the lives of our monarchs - from 1066 and William the Conqueror right up to Queen Elizabeth II and the present-day - to tell a tale of bastardy, courage, conquest, brutality, vanity, vulgarity, corruption, anarchy, absenteeism, piety, nobility, divorce, execution, civil war, madness, magnificence, profligacy, frugality, philately, abdication, dutifulness, family breakdown and family recovery.Written in Andrew Gimson's inimitable style, and illustrated by Martin Rowson, this is both a primer and a refresher for anyone who can't quite remember which were the good and bad Edwards or Henrys, or why so-and-so succeeded to the throne rather than his second cousin.'The most entertaining and instructive book on the English monarchy you will ever read' Daily Telegraph