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Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior
Chögyam Trungpa
The Shambhala teachings are founded on the premise that there is basic human wisdom that can help solve the world’s problems. It doesn’t belong to any one culture or religion. If you are seeking the principles of dignity, sacredness, and warriorship in your everyday life, I recommend this classic guide to enlightened living.
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Start Here Now: An Open-Hearted Guide to the Path and Practice of Meditation
Susan Piver
While meditation helps in all sorts of useful, everyday ways (making you more patient, helping you get a better night’s sleep, relieving stress), it also helps in amazing, inexplicable ways that change your experience of being human. In straightforward language, Susan discusses the many layers of meditation and also explains how to practice.
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The Five Keys to Mindful Communication
Susan Gillis Chapman
Whether pleasant, irritating or seemingly unimportant, all the conversations in our lives are opportunities. With a “we-first” view of relationships, Susan teaches five key elements that make it possible for us to increase our capacity to listen and be touched by others, developing clarity and confidence about how to respond.
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Training the Mind and Cultivating Loving-Kindness
Chögyam Trungpa
Practicing these seven points of mind training and their accompanying fifty-nine slogans—some of which appear in my book—is a practical and earthy way to reverse self-centeredness and cultivate tenderness and compassion. This ancient method of training increases the ability to meet ordinary life situations with intelligence and compassion.
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The Buddha Walks into the Office: A Guide to Livelihood for a New Generation
Lodro Rinzler
Apply the simple teachings and practices Lodro provides, and whatever you do for a living, you’ll discover practical ways to bring mindfulness into it, as well as genuine empathy for the folks you might find difficult. With tips on applying compassion to management in a way that increases happiness along with efficiency.
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Featured Book
The Lost Art of Good Conversation
Sakyong Mipham
Especially in challenging times like ours, leading a happy and rich life means communicating more mindfully, becoming better listeners, appreciating the people around us, and just being more genuinely engaged. While training in conversational skills is at the crux of my new book, The Lost Art of Good Conversation, it is just as crucial to acknowledge that good conversation is rooted in the principles that enable us to be truly human, including meditation, kindness, and recognizing the innate worthiness of oneself and others—the basic principles of the Shambhala tradition.
This is the common theme among the books included here, which present ways to enhance our lives by cultivating a mindful and openhearted approach that allows us to connect with others and communicate more authentically.
Featured image: John Devolle/ Getty Images
