Spiritwalk Books
- Selections of the Month
- NOVEMBER 1999
- Awakening to the Sacred by Lama Surya Das
- Duck Soup for the Soul by Swami Beyondanda
- Refuge by Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors
- by Lama Surya Das
- About the book
- About the Author
- Reading from the book
- Reviews and Endorsements
- Music to Read By
- Make Your Order at Amazon.com
- Check out our Previous Spiritwalk Selections
- About Awakening to the Sacred: Creating a Spiritual life from Scratch
- by Lama Surya Das
Book Description
A beautifully written, simple guide to creating a spiritual life from scratch and connecting with the sacred in everyday life.
All of us long to connect with something greater than ourselves, to experience the sacred in our daily lives, and to enhance our sense of spiritual enlightenment--yet often we don't know where to begin. Awakening to the Sacred is an extraordinary new book that provides seekers of all faiths with the tools and practices they need to build a spiritual life from the ground up and to cultivate a divine presence in everyday life.
In this elegant, inspiring book, Lama Surya Das--the most highly trained American lama in the Tibetan tradition and author of the best-selling Awakening the Buddha Within ~ integrates essential Buddhist practices with a variety of other spiritual philosophies and wisdom traditions to show you how to create a personalized spiritual practice based on your own individual beliefs, aspirations, and needs. Through reflections on his own life quest, thoughtful essays, and entertaining stories, Surya Das examines the common themes at the heart of any spiritual path, including faith, doubt, love,
compassion, creativity, self-inquiry, and transformation. He then explores prayer, yoga, chanting, guided meditations, breathing exercises, and myriad other rituals, providing practical examples of each that we can use day-to-day to nurture our inner spirit.
Surya Das' unique and accessible approach emphasizes that we are all, by nature, spiritual beings and that our lives are naturally filled with sacred moments. Awakening to the Sacred illuminates the natural meditations already present in daily life and shows how we can use them to awaken our hearts and minds and progress toward inner peace, happiness, and enlightenment.
- Lama Surya Das has spent thirty years studying with the great spiritual masters of Asia, including the Dalai Lama, and is a leading spokesperson for the emerging American Buddhism and contemporary spirituality. He is a poet, translator, and full-time spiritual teacher who leads lectures, workshops, and meditation retreats worldwide. He is the author of three books, including the national bestseller
Awakening the Buddha
Within, is active in interfaith dialogue, and has been featured in numerous publications including New Age Journal, the Boston Globe, the Los Angeles Times, and
Tricycle. He lives outside Boston, Massachusetts.
- What People are saying about Awakening to the Sacred by Lama Surya Das
- The Spiritwalk selection for November 1999
- Surya Das' book, Awakening the Buddha Within demystified Tibetan Buddhism for Westerners and certainly contributed to the current level of interest in Buddhism today. The current book, Awakening to the Sacred, takes a step back to a more general sense of the spiritual. Here is a guidebook for a spiritual life written by a truly spiritual man. You realize this when you are in his presence and in the reading of his books. Here is a man who knows. Who lives as he speaks and seems without pretension. His accumulated wisdom and natural intelligence (annointed with humor) shines through in these books. Borrowing from his teachers, friends and masters of the ages, he generously lets us in on his experience with the sacred. (I suggest the purchase of the hardbound versions, because the paperbacks will require replacement due to continual use.)
- ~ Roger Ebsen, Director, Spiritwalk Foundation, www.spiritwalk.org
- From Booklist , April 1, 1999
Surya Das, author of the best-selling Awakening the Buddha Within (1997), is an American lama initiated into Tibetan Buddhism and a "Jewish American spiritual activist." This union of Eastern and Western traditions is at the heart of his warm and practical teachings as he guides readers toward an understanding of what a spiritual practice consists of and how to establish one that meets their personal needs. Western seekers are attracted to meditation and yoga in part because they provide a holistic connection between body, mind, and spirit. Surya Das reminds readers, however, that spirituality does not reside in any one religion or technique and suggests that they look to their own
pasts for "spiritual tools" that will help them renew their awareness of the sacred. That said, he strongly recommends meditation for everyone, clearly explains its benefits, and offers instructions for incorporating a simple and significant spiritual practice into even the most hectic of lives. He provides instructions for different types of guided meditation and describes various forms of "natural meditations" in which heightened states of awareness are achieved through such humble activities as washing the dishes or taking a walk. Such specifics are embedded in a narrative rich in philosophical observations, autobiographical anecdotes, and inspiring quotations from poets and sages, including
Thich Nhat Hanh: "It is not a matter of faith. It is a matter of practice." - ~ Donna Seaman
Copyright© 1999, American Library Association. All rights reserved
- *** *** ***
- Surya Das is like a Buddhist Johnny
Appleseed, galavanting across the countryside, planting seeds of spirituality in bare patches of ground. He believes that we are all fertile soil for cultivating the sacred in everyday life. "We all have spiritual DNA," he says. In Awakening to the Sacred, Surya Das heightens his efforts to increase the planet's spirituality quotient by teaching people how to take advantage of their own spiritual resources. Whether Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or atheist, we can all enhance our spiritual side. Certainly meditating is a good way, and there's no one better to teach us than this limpid lama. But even more familiar activities can help, like praying, creating a spiritual notebook, or reading spiritual books--even gardening and walking count. Surya Das excels at demystifying the mystical and urges the reader to capitalize on resources closest at hand. No need to look too far when we can draw inspiration and practices from our own traditions. So take that apple seed, thumb through Awakening to the Sacred, and nourish those precious roots of spirituality.
- ~ Brian Bruya, Amazon.com
- *** *** ***
- From the Back Cover
Advance Praise for Awakening to the Sacred:
"Awakening to the Sacred will bring great gifts into the lives of its readers. It is user friendly--filled with beautiful teachings, gracious stories, dozens of practices, humorous takes, and wise practical ways to invite our hearts to awaken to the highest wisdom in every part of our lives."
- ~ Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart
"Lama Surya Das offers a fresh and invigorating approach to the perennial quest which gives natural spirituality its rightful place at the center of things. It points to a way of being which does not depend on creed or belief, but on the centrality of one's own experience, and it offers a helping hand and open heart to the beginner and seasoned spiritual traveler alike."
~ Mitchell Kapor, founder of the Lotus Foundation
"Awakening to the Sacred is a book of profound beginnings for the spiritual path. Written with tenderness and warmth, it invites all beings to begin the never ending process of their own spiritual unfolding, and is a wonderful companion on the way of the sacred in everyday life."
~ Ken Wilber, author of The Eye of Spirit and The Marriage of Sense and Soul
"Awakening to the Sacred is a feast for the soul. Lama Surya Das gives us the benefit of nearly thirty years of seeking, practice, and study. His vision is our opportunity."
~ Mark Epstein, author of Going to Pieces Without Falling Apart
Highly Recommended Insightful and Inspiring Journey
I couldn't put this book down. Its artful combination of wit and wisdom are a pure joy. Surya Das offers a taste of spiritual-real life through amusing and powerful anecdotes, traditional Tibetan Buddhist (and also less traditional-bound) fundamentals and practices to use each day. How do we lead the right kind of life now, today? Awakening to the Sacred shines a very bright laser-like light in my direction...and maybe yours, too. A very special book.
~ Donald Altman from Los Angeles , August 3, 1999
A warm, concise, humorous road map. Lama Surya Das is such a wonderful communicator of the Dharma as it applies to all of us in this life. If you are just beginning the quest, don’t look to Awakening The Sacred for your answers. But find in this book a friend along the spiritual path, a guide to the answers already inside you. If you are a Buddhist practitioner, a Jewish practitioner, a Christian practitioner...find in this book a friend
who walks beside you. As we strive in the West to adapt spirituality to our lives, we have a gift in Lama Das. Read and re-read and re-read his books, then strive to apply, apply, apply. We’ll all be better for your effort.
~ Jim Fox (StJames539@aol.com) from Detroit, Michigan , May 23, 1999
A wonderful guide for developing a personal spirituality...
Lama Surya Das has written a wonderful sequel to his last book, "Awakening the Buddha Within." This effort connects Buddhist and eastern practices with daily western life. It will help us in the West develop our own spiritual life and practices without the baggage of eastern cultural traditions. Humorous and very personal stories of his own spiritual development sets a wonderful example of western spiritual awakening. Numerous meditations, chants, practices, etc. present many meaningful contributions to a daily practice. I know my personal spiritual practice will bloom as a result of reading this book.
~ A reader from California , May 13, 1999
- Reading from the Book Awakening to the Sacred by Lama Surya Das
- Matters of The Spirit
-
-
Who is holy? What is sacred?
-
-
As spiritual wayfarers, what do we think about? What do we talk
-
about? Divine presence, God,
spirit, soul, reality, truth,
-
self-knowledge, mystical
experience, inner peace, enlightenment.
-
The spiritual life is concerned
with issues such as these. And
-
when
we talk about our experiences of the divine, we don't all
-
use the same vocabulary.
Sometimes we use the same words
-
and mean different things;
sometimes we use different words
-
and
mean the same things.
-
-
We share an intuitive sense that we are on a journey and that
-
we must search for real answers
to our real questions. We do
-
this even knowing that we may
find out that the answer is that
-
there is no ultimate answer;
some things remain unknowable.
-
And that answer may well be
enough. Nonetheless, as seekers
-
we choose to live out our
questions. Infinity is open-ended.
-
That's what the Buddhists call
"sunyata," or emptiness.
-
-
Whatever words we choose to use, spiritual matters concern
-
themselves with the true bottom
line, with those things that
-
really matter in the long run.
As spiritual seekers, we think about
-
how we can learn to love more
deeply, know ourselves more
-
truly, and connect with the
divine more fully.
-
-
We
think about those things that are beyond the self; we think
-
about the intangible as well as
the tangible; we think about the
-
visible and the invisible; we
think about touching the palpable
-
sweetness of spirit; we think
about how we can find ourselves in
- the whole, the bigger picture, the universal "mandala."
-
-
-
-
-
-
Finding a Deeper Silence
-
-
Silence is the universal language of the soul. True inner silence
-
is unpolluted by anxieties,
habitual preoccupations and refrains,
-
noisy internal static,
innuendoes, or agendas. Inner silence
-
speaks directly to inner peace,
which is beyond the dualism of
-
noise and quiet. To question
the purpose of silence is like asking
-
about the purpose of fresh air,
for no one can live without at
-
least a modicum of it.
-
-
Many of the qualities we attribute to a divine spirit of love or
-
sacred presence
reflect the truest and most sacred silence.
-
Divine silence is accepting,
non-judgmental, forgiving,
-
open-minded, and great hearted.
Divine silence implies the
-
ability to listen, to hear, and
to love. When we communicate
-
with the sacred, whether we
think of it as being an inner or outer
-
presence, these are the
qualities we take for granted. These are
-
the qualities we are seeking to
nurture in ourselves as we
-
cultivate the sacred within...
-
-
- More Passages from Awakening to the Sacred by Lama Surya Das
- http://www.surya.org/passages.html
-
-
This is a great read ~ very light, enlightening & entertaining. -
Collecting some new stuff and -
this is the book to buy. This Swami B is a very witty guy. -
And such marketing ~ A GREAT GIFT just in time for the holidays!!! -
There's even a way to get this book for free. -
All you have to do is buy audiotapes. They're also very funny. -
Catch the details at Swami B's website http://www.beyondananda.com/ -
-
Spiritwalk would even be o.k. with you buying the book -
from the Swami himself and if you tell him Spiritwalk Roger sent you -
he might even autograph it for you. -
There is more Swami Stuff at Spiritwalk's Swami Beyondananda page... -
-
Refuge by Gabrielle Roth and the Mirrors
-
- Music to help tune the body and the spirit.
- "REFUGE is good for meditation and contemplation, and the effective combination of
- lush vox and tranquilizing rhythms create the soporific effects of a gentle lullaby,
- making this record a potent tool for counteracting stress after a frenetic day."
- ~ BRYAN REESMAN
- Make Your Purchase at Amazon.com
- Order Awakening to the Sacred by Lama Surya Das
- Order Awakening the Buddha Within by Lama Surya Das
- Order Duck Soup for the Soul by Swami Beyondanda
- Order Driving Your Own Karma by Swami Beyondananda
- Order Refuge by Gabriel Roth and the Mirrors
- Thank You for your patronage and support of Spiritwalk.
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- [Spiritwalk Bookstore: Selections for October 1999 http://www.spiritwalk.org/bom9910.htm