The sequel to the bestseller The Great Work of Your Life shows us the way through our darkest times to our truest calling. How do we make sense of our lives when our world seems to be falling apart? This beautifully written guide from scholar and teacher Stephen Cope shows that crises don’t have to derail us from our purpose—they can actually help us to find our purpose and step forward as our best selves. In this sequel to his best-loved book, The Great Work of Your Life, Cope again takes the ancient yogic text the Bhagavad Gita—the epic narrative of the warrior Arjuna’s odyssey of self-discovery—as a roadmap for our journey to our own true calling. Then he builds on that foundation using the stories and teachings of famous figures, as well as stories of ordinary people and his own rich personal experience. Along the way, we find striking examples for finding meaning and purpose in our lives: Gandhi shows how to tap our spiritual resources and listen for our inner voice Sojourner Truth and Henry David Thoreau inspire us to seek out the unmistakable signs of dharma in the midst of chaos Marian Anderson and Ruby Sales shed light on dharma’s mystic power and how we learn to trust in it And more In the spirit of Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart, this book is required reading when you find yourself forging a path through crisis—or seeking a way through your darkest times to your truest self.

An inspiring guide to finding your life’s purpose—what spiritual teachers call dharma—through mindfulness and self-exploration. Stephen Cope says that in order to have a fulfilling life you must discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of your self. The secret to unlocking this mystery, he asserts, can be found in the pages of a two-thousand-year-old spiritual classic called the Bhagavad Gita—an ancient allegory about the path to dharma, told through a timeless dialogue between the fabled archer, Arjuna, and his divine mentor, Krishna. Cope takes readers on a step-by-step tour of this revered tale and highlights well-known Western lives that embody its central principles—including such luminaries as Jane Goodall, Walt Whitman, Susan B. Anthony, John Keats, and Harriet Tubman, along with stories of ordinary people as well. If you’re feeling lost in your own life’s journey, The Great Work of Your Life may help you to find and to embrace your true calling. Praise for The Great Work of Your Life “Keep a pen and paper handy as you read this remarkable book: It’s like an owner’s manual for the soul.”—Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion “A masterwork . . . You’ll find inspiration in these pages. You’ll gain a better appreciation of divine guidance and perhaps even understand how you might better hear it in your own life.”—Yoga Journal “I am moved and inspired by this book, the clarity and beauty of the lives lived in it, and the timeless dharma it teaches.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart “A rich source of contemplation and inspiration [that] encourages readers . . . to discover and fully pursue their inner self’s calling.”—Publishers Weekly “Fabulous . . . If you have ever wondered what your purpose is, this book is a great guide to help you on your path.”—YogaHara

Describes a traditional Buddhist approach to suffering and how embracing the painful situation and using communication, negative habits, and challenging experiences leads to emotional growth and happiness.

Why should we be good? How should we be good? And how might we more deeply understand the moral and ethical failings--splashed across today's headlines--that have not only destroyed individual lives but caused widespread calamity as well, bringing communities, nations, and indeed the global economy to the brink of collapse? In The Difficulty of Being Good, Gurcharan Das seeks answers to these questions in an unlikely source: the 2,000 year-old Sanskrit epic, Mahabharata. A sprawling, witty, ironic, and delightful poem, the Mahabharata is obsessed with the elusive notion of dharma--in essence, doing the right thing. When a hero does something wrong in a Greek epic, he wastes little time on self-reflection; when a hero falters in the Mahabharata, the action stops and everyone weighs in with a different and often contradictory take on dharma. Each major character in the epic embodies a significant moral failing or virtue, and their struggles mirror with uncanny precision our own familiar emotions of anxiety, courage, despair, remorse, envy, compassion, vengefulness, and duty. Das explores the Mahabharata from many perspectives and compares the successes and failures of the poem's characters to those of contemporary individuals, many of them highly visible players in the world of economics, business, and politics. In every case, he finds striking parallels that carry lessons for everyone faced with ethical and moral dilemmas in today's complex world. Written with the flair and seemingly effortless erudition that have made Gurcharan Das a bestselling author around the world--and enlivened by Das's forthright discussion of his own personal search for a more meaningful life--The Difficulty of Being Good shines the light of an ancient poem on the most challenging moral ambiguities of modern life.

From the bestselling author of "When Things Fall Apart" comes a book that reveals that the secret to cultivating a compassionate heart and an enlightened mind lies in facing what we are most afraid of.

When the path ahead is dark, how can we keep from stumbling? How do we make our way with courage and dignity? "Inside each of us is an eternal light that I call 'the One Who Knows,'" writes Jack Kornfield. "Awakening to this wisdom can help us find our way through pain and suffering with grace and tenderness." For anyone seeking answers during a time of trial, he offers A Lamp in the Darkness, a program filled with spiritual and psychological insights, hope-giving stories, and special guided meditations for skillfully navigating life's inevitable storms. The practices in this book are not positive thinking, quick fixes, or simplistic self-help strategies. They are powerful tools for doing "the work of the soul" to access our inner knowing and to embrace the fullness of our life experience. With regular practice, these teachings and meditations enable you to transform your difficulties into a guiding light for the journey ahead. Join Jack Kornfield as your trusted guide and friend as you explore: Shared Compassion—a guided practice for planting the seeds of compassion and opening the heart to all that life bringsThe Earth Is My Witness—a meditation to establish firm footing in the midst of darkness, centered by a steady witnessing presenceThe Practice of Forgiveness—what Kornfield calls "the only medicine that can release us from the past and allow us to truly begin anew"The Temple of Healing—a guided visualization to meet your own inner healerEquanimity and Peace—a meditation for maintaining balance and acceptance regardless of the situation Just as it is certain that each life will include suffering, explains Kornfield, it is also true that in every moment there is the possibility of transcending your difficulties to discover the heart's eternal freedom. With A Lamp in the Darkness, he offers you a beacon for yourself and others until joy returns again. Foreword by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Includes digital access to audio tracks.

In a commentary on the Buddhist poem "Training the mind in seven points," a Tibetan Buddhist teacher presents a series of methods for developing unconditional love and compassion.

“Lovingly crafted, deep, richly engaging, and wise.” —Jack Kornfield “An important resource...for many years to come.” —Sharon Salzberg “...brilliant and utterly engaging.” —Tara Brach This “glorious book” explores the essence of connection through 5 essential types of relationships, “[guiding] us into the infinite mysteries of human attunement” (Bessel van der Kolk, New York Times–bestselling author of The Body Keeps the Score). Do you long to connect more deeply with other human beings? Do you wonder if you’re living up to your human potential to make these deep connections happen—and perhaps missing out on this most compelling aspect of a vital life? In this groundbreaking book, bestselling author Stephen Cope invites us to explore the most important questions in this domain: What is the nature of human connection? Why, precisely, is a capacity to connect deeply so important to the development of our minds, bodies, and spirits? What are the actual mechanisms of connection that we must master during the course of life? How can our lack of connection inhibit our happiness and satisfaction in life? Can we learn to connect more wisely than we do? Cope is well known as a master storyteller, and he seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on poignant stories from his own life as well as the lives of famous figures—from E. M. Forster to Sigmund Freud to Queen Victoria—whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of connection itself. In the process, he lays out in stunning detail the precise mechanisms of human connection, which he distills into five helpful categories: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us into a remarkably practical reflection on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of deep human connection—and a more satisfying and fruitful life. Deep Human Connection was originally published as Soul Friends.

Finding Peace in Difficult Times is a guide to how to feel grounded and safe during times of challenge. A gentle yet powerful toolkit for support during stressful periods, such as illness or bereavement, financial worries or simply feeling burnt out. Mental, physical and emotional overwhelm, distraction, device addiction, sleep deprivation, information overload and feeling unable to switch off are conditions symptomatic of the modern age. The good news is that there is growing awareness about this and more and more people are seeking ways to address these states of being in their personal lives. This calming supportive book offers grounding techniques which are particularly helpful to everyone experiencing fear, loneliness and overwhelm in response to our current global situation. It provides practical, in-the-moment tools to promote resilience and self-compassion. Finding Peace in Difficult Times meets the widespread and growing need in our busy modern lives for strategies to manage attention and to be able to live life on your own terms. The ebook shows how we can create deep reserves of resilience for the challenging times we are currently in.

Is Yoda a Zen Master? Is the story of Luke Skywalker a spiritual epic? The answers, as well as excitement, adventure, and a lot of fun, are here! This revised and expanded edition of The Dharma of Star Wars uses George Lucas’ beloved modern saga and the wise words of the Buddha to illuminate each other in playful and unexpectedly rewarding ways. Matthew Bortolin writes an inspiring and totally new take on this timeless saga, from A New Hope through Revenge of the Sith and television's Clone Wars. Great fun for any Star Wars fan. Includes instruction in The Jedi Art of Mindfulness and Concentration and The Padawan Handbook: Zen Contemplations for the Would-Be Jedi.