“America is in a self-reinforcing spiral of decreasing trust, confidence, and capability. [Howard] shows us how to break out of it . . . short, clear, passionate.” —Jonathan Haidt, New York Times-bestselling author of The Righteous Mind Something basic is missing in our culture. Americans know it. Nothing much works as it should. Simple daily choices seem impossible, or fraught with peril. In the workplace, we walk on eggshells. Big projects—say, modernizing infrastructure—get stalled in years of review. Endemic social problems such as homelessness become, well, more endemic. Yet there’s a glaring vacuum in the 2024 political debate—no party or candidate offers a governing vision that deals with the root causes of alienation and failure. Everyday Freedom pinpoints the source of powerlessness that is fraying American culture and causing public failure, and offers a bold vision of simpler governing frameworks to re-empower Americans in their daily choices. It diagnoses our collective futility as resulting from the assault on authority after the 1960s that, aimed at enhancing freedom, instead created a plague of powerlessness. The teacher in the classroom, the principal in a school, the nurse in the hospital, the official in Washington, the parent on a field trip, the head of a local charity or church . . . all have their hands tied. Who has a vision to revive hope and action? Not political leaders, who are picking the scab of resentment while social media gets rich selling distrust. (Stop the Steal! Defund the Police!) Everyday Freedom, in the tradition of Thomas Paine’s ”Common Sense,” offers a radical vision for change: Re-empower Americans in their everyday choices. Nothing will work sensibly until Americans are free to draw on their skills, intuitions, and values when confronting daily challenges. This is the only cure to alienation—and the only way to deliver good government. Embraced by some of America’s leading economists, jurists, social psychologists, and philosophers, Philip Howard’s understanding of the essential role of human agency is the key to making America a fully functioning democracy again—a place where problems can be solved and positive progress can be made.

Recent scholarship on slavery has explored the lives of enslaved people beyond the watchful eye of their masters. Building on this work and the study of space, social relations, gender, and power in the Old South, Stephanie Camp examines the everyday containment and movement of enslaved men and, especially, enslaved women. In her investigation of the movement of bodies, objects, and information, Camp extends our recognition of slave resistance into new arenas and reveals an important and hidden culture of opposition. Camp discusses the multiple dimensions to acts of resistance that might otherwise appear to be little more than fits of temper. She brings new depth to our understanding of the lives of enslaved women, whose bodies and homes were inevitably political arenas. Through Camp's insight, truancy becomes an act of pursuing personal privacy. Illegal parties ("frolics") become an expression of bodily freedom. And bondwomen who acquired printed abolitionist materials and posted them on the walls of their slave cabins (even if they could not read them) become the subtle agitators who inspire more overt acts. The culture of opposition created by enslaved women's acts of everyday resistance helped foment and sustain the more visible resistance of men in their individual acts of running away and in the collective action of slave revolts. Ultimately, Camp argues, the Civil War years saw revolutionary change that had been in the making for decades.

‘Freedom’ is one of the most fiercely contested words in contemporary global experience. This book provides an up-to-date overview from an anthropological perspective of the diverse ways in which freedom is understood and practised in everyday life, including the emergent relationships between governance, autonomy and liberty. The contributors offer a wealth of ethnographic insight from a variety of geographic, cultural and political contexts. Taken together the essays constitute a radical challenge to assumptions about what freedom means in today’s world.

Why do we choose specific modes of transport and what are the perceived rationalities for our choice? How are different theoretical concepts within mobility research actually perceived and lived in everyday life? At this book's core is a conceptual and empirical contribution to critical mobility research. It focuses on the tension between freedom and unfreedom, articulated through the dichotomy between individuality and community, as well as critical perspectives on the multitude of unintended consequences of mobility. In a range of everyday life narratives, this tension is analyzed through the concept of 'structural stories'. In teasing out the ambivalences of late modern everyday life, Malene Freudendal-Pedersen exposes how mobility both generates and helps to overcome and live with these ambivalences.

Addiction is a rapidly growing problem among Christians and non-Christians alike. Even socially acceptable behaviors, such as shopping, eating, working, playing, and exercising, can quietly take over. Clinical psychologist David Hawkins breaks the silence with this enlightening exposé of the addictions that control people every day. It's loaded with practical information that will help readers... recognize and talk about addiction in their own life or family understand how people become addicted and what can happen when they do break the addictive cycle of thoughts and behaviors create a healthier lifestyle based on scriptural principles build a community of support Virtually everyone is addicted to something or affected by a loved one who is. Many people who appear to live freely are secretly controlled by their compulsion. Breaking Everyday Addictions provides the tools they need to allow the healing power of Christ to permeate their lives.

It's hard to know whether a word can ever be rehabilitated - or whether the attempt should even be made. The word "anarchy" evokes images of dangerous mobs, spiky-haired youths hurling garbage cans through Starbucks windows, and the chaos of the war of all against all. However, the word "anarchy" simply means "without rulers" - and this state of affairs is something we desperately desire and defend in so many areas of our own lives. If a political ruler were to tell us who to marry, what to learn, and which job to take, we would rebel against such tyrannical intrusions on our freedoms. If the government were to tell us what to read, want to watch and what to listen to, we would justifiably cry "censorship" and lead the charge against such mind control. How can we reconcile this contradiction? Is being "without rulers" good, or bad? How can we fear something so terribly, while at the same time treasuring it so mightily? "Everyday Anarchy" addresses this challenge head-on, arguing that being free of rulers is not something to fear - personally or politically - but rather a goal that we must constantly strive towards.

First Person Fiction is dedicated to the immigrant experience in modern America. "Flight to Freedom" is closely based on Suarez's own story of leaving Cuba during the Freedom Flights of the 1960s. Yara Garcia and her family live a middle-class life in Havana, Cuba. But in 1967, as Communist ruler Fidel Castro tightens his hold on Cuba, the Garcias, who do not share the political beliefs of the Communist Party, are forced to flee to Miami, Florida. There, Yara encounters a strange land with foreign customs. She knows very little English, and she finds that the other students in her new school have much more freedom than she and her sisters. Tension develops between her parents, as Mami grows more independent and Papi joins a militant anti-Castro organization.

Do you ever feel like life's problems are controlling you? Do you feel stuck? ... Kenneth Brown has formulated six principles that will propel you to your destiny. To live in freedom and accomplish our dreams, we each must have faith, vision, purpose, and passion. In addition, we must take ownership of our lives and associate with people who will lift us up. Kenneth Brown offers encouragement and practical steps for victory in life. Success is yours for the taking--P. [4] of cover.

This essay is a summary of the key points of authentic spiritual practice, which are presented in detail in the book «Dharma - The Way Things Are. Real Experiences and Realizations of a Spiritual Practitioner» (© V. Sychevskiy, 2022, © AEGITAS Publishing House, 2022). Unfortunately, nowadays it is very often believed that «going into the astral» is a spiritual practice. This is a very dangerous misconception. To put it briefly, the Lower Astral World are the images of our worldly desires. Therefore, a simple «going into the Astral» outside the context of proper spiritual practice are nothing but horrifying visions of Hell, the Animal World, and the World of Hungry Spirits in the Lower Astral World and, accordingly, a serious blow to the psyche. However, if you read the original Buddhist or yogic sutras, you will not find in their descriptions anything about «entering the Astral», «contact with astral entities», «connection to the streams of energy» and further immersion in pitch darkness. Because true spiritual practice based on the True Dharma, which was given to the world by the Great Teachers of the past, is completely opposite to the nonsense and lies broadcast by the urban crazies. They think they are masters of meditation, because they practice under the influence of drugs. Their practice is often only technical and in instead of immersing themselves in the Practices of Goodness, Merit, Law, and Tranquility they engage in religious activities to satisfy their egoism and wealth. In meditation, only the data that we have accumulated will manifest. Therefore, what we experience after we sit down to meditate is very important. Further, when the data manifests, we completely stop its action through concentration and Contemplation. But what happens if from the very beginning we do not change the initial data and do not master Calmness and Contemplation? For example, although meditation has become very fashionable, hasn't the world been getting worse and worse? The fact is that if you do not change the initial data with the help of preliminary practices, then it will remain at the level of the lower worlds, full of worldly desires and, accordingly, suffering. Moreover, if the internal data is of a low level, and there is no ability to stop the action of this outgoing data, then no matter how much you meditate, you will not get better from this. Nevertheless, ordinary people, trying to «be in the trend», sit and think: «I meditate». But there is no point in sitting in your pants. The meaning will come only when we persistently change the data of our Five Aggregates, controlling the actions of the body, speech and thoughts based on the True Dharma fixed in memory.

'Freedom In Every Moment: Transcending the Struggles of Daily Life' provides a succinct program of 21 spiritual lessons from early to more advanced stages of spiritual development. Each lesson is rooted in a teaching from an Eastern or Western spiritual tradition, which we believe gives this volume broad appeal. Readers learn how to overcome negative thinking and mood states, how to deal with fears and doubts, what their true identity is, and how to find contentment. The lessons contain timeless teachings and exercises to bring the teachings to life on a daily basis. What is different about this book from other self-help books? First, it is the topics we have selected, which strike at the heart of the daily struggles of those who seek to uplift their mental and emotional states: the nature of the mind, overcoming fear, our purpose in life, and uniting with Higher Consciousness. Second, it is the depth of explanation and information we provide from teachers such as - Lao Tzu, St. Francis, Albert Einstein, among others - and the applicability of the teachings for daily life. Third, it is the types of activities we incorporate, which can make the teachings come alive in minutes per day. Fourth, this book presents a PROGRAM of study; it is not simply a book offering a different teaching each day. Readers who apply the program are expected to notice concrete changes in reducing stress and uplifting their emotional states. Finally, we have synthesized both spiritual and psychological wisdom in a readily understandable format.Freedom in Every Moment is targeted to an audience that includes spiritual seekers, psychotherapy and addictions clients, and the general public. The reader is invited to study a different lesson each day, week, or month. We envision the possibility of a companion workbook, which may be well-suited for persons in addictions recovery centers, for example.