Living With Uncertainty

Instant bestseller: Buddhist teacher Pema Chödrön shares life-changing practices for living with wisdom, confidence, and integrity amidst confusing situations and uncertain times We live in difficult times. Life so often seems like a turbulent river threatening to drown us and destroy our world. Why, then, shouldn’t we cling to the certainty of the comfortable—to our deep-seated habits and familiar ways? Because, Pema Chödrön teaches, that kind of fear-based clinging keeps us from the infinitely more powerful experience of being fully alive. The Buddhist teachings she presents here—known as the “Three Commitments”—provide a treasure trove of wisdom for learning to step right into the unknown, to completely and fearlessly embrace the groundlessness of being human, for people of all faiths. When we do, we begin to see not only how much better it feels to live an openhearted life, but we find that we begin to naturally and more effectively reach out to help and heal all those around us.

Tibetan Buddhist nun Pema Chodron offers short, stand-alone readings designed to help readers cultivate compassion and awareness amid the challenges of daily living.

To seek, pursue, and fall in love with Jesus with radical abandon. Single Woman Mandy Hale shares with readers what can happen in their lives by praying this powerful prayer. She has shown women how important it is to be secure in singleness by being smart, strong, and independent. In this all new book, she will prompt readers to never settle and not miss out on the beauty that can be found in times of “waiting.” The Single Woman Says: “Whether you’re idling in stubborn sinfulness or walking in seeming never-ending singleness or living with any sort of waiting: Waiting for love, waiting for babies, waiting for marriage, waiting for a cure, or a miracle, or a sign, or for GOD . . . I hope my journey will make the wait a little easier and the uncertainty a little bit more beautiful.” Starting with relationships, but going beyond into areas like career, friendships, and life, Mandy will guide readers through what you can achieve if you look beyond your current circumstances, never settle for less than what God has for you, and find beauty in the waiting.

Here you have the product of my thinking as an anthropologist who has studied and traveled to Japan for over thirty years. In one sense, the book is an anthropological memoir in which I work through ideas of uncertainty and undifferentiation evident in the writings of Dogen as they relate to ethics and culture, but also explore other thinkers like philosopher Richard Rorty and anthropologist Clifford Geertz. I describe what I call the ethnographic outlook, which has the potential to generate humility, as a potentially powerful means to transform both self and society. A central goal of the book is to explore the idea that all knowledge is inherently uncertain, including knowledge of right and wrong, and that the quest for certainty leads to many of the problems we see in the modern world. The book threads a discussion of jazz improvisation as a way of thinking about the human experience and presents the idea of the lead sheet as a metaphor for culture and the ongoing process of change that is the world.

This is the inspiring true story of a young confident Australian born Lebanese woman of Islamic faith suffering from a rare autoimmune disease... Claudia Sultan shares her life of uncertainty; from her young life of dealing with her loud but lovable-and gossipy-extended family, to thinking about love and dealing with her family's concept of her marriage... Up to the moment her life suddenly crumbled with battling Scleroderma, an auto-immune group of rare diseases that involve the hardening and tightening of the skin and connective tissues, and a lifelong affliction of pain and ongoing treatment. Divided into three stages if her journey; before, during and presently living with Scleroderma, we experience through Claudia's words the struggle for her survival becoming real and the faith she deepens for her guidance. Claudia Sultan was born and raised in NSW Australia. In 2013, she was diagnosed with a autoimmune disease which hijacked her life. After undergoing a Stem cell transplant, she has regained her quality of life and independence back. She enjoys baking (still finding her way around the kitchen), dancing, creative writing and listening to 80's music. For now she continues being the better version of herself by creating new memories and appreciating the littlest things of life. "An emotional journey of life, love and faith that made me smile, weep and exclaim all in the same moment...a treasure of humanness and humility from a woman who is stronger than many of us combined to endure...loved this book..." Bethany, Indiebook reviewer 

The astonishing, Job-like story of how an existence filled with loss, suffering, questioning, and anger became a life filled with shocking and incomprehensible peace and joy. Vaneetha Risner contracted polio as an infant, was misdiagnosed, and lived with widespread paralysis. She lived in and out of the hospital for ten years and, after each stay, would return to a life filled with bullying. When she became a Christian, though, she thought things would get easier, and they did: carefree college days, a dream job in Boston, and an MBA from Stanford where she met and married a classmate. But life unraveled. Again. She had four miscarriages. Her son died because of a doctor's mistake. And Vaneetha was diagnosed with post-polio syndrome, meaning she would likely become a quadriplegic. And then her husband betrayed her and moved out, leaving her to raise two adolescent daughters alone. This was not the abundant life she thought God had promised her. But, as Vaneetha discovered, everything she experienced was designed to draw her closer to Christ as she discovered "that intimacy with God in suffering can be breathtakingly beautiful."

Karen Dunn and her family were living a normal life. They celebrated holidays, went to church, and did all of the things that happy families do. It all changed following the utterance of two simple words: invasive melanoma. With a poor prognosis, Karen and her family were forced to prepare for the worst case scenario. Invasive melanoma is not called "the deadly skin cancer" for nothing. The rosy prospective for Karen's life suddenly vanished into a dark horizon. They found themselves living with uncertainty because they no longer knew what their future would hold. Following a career as a mental health therapist, Karen was aware of the challenges that accompany such traumatic news. Serving as a pastoral counselor, Karen was also aware of the powerful combination of positive mental outlook, effective treatment decisions, and spiritual connectedness. As Karen engaged in treatment and prepared for the possibility of a negative outcome, she also learned how to hope, pray, worship, and continue to enjoy her family, even in the midst of her trials. There are many different situations that can result in trauma. Cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease, accidents with permanent injuries, alienation from loved ones, financial ruin, loss of a loved one, mental illness, abuse, political angst, can all be devastating events. With the proper outlook you can make the most of the time that you have left, while you seek out the best treatment options available. Living with uncertainty while still enjoying life is an attainable goal! This book will familiarize you with some useful tools to regain hope, peace and joy despite uninvited life circumstances. You will learn to overcome the devastating effects of a painful event by employing a deliberate approach. It does not matter if you are the one in crisis, or if it is a friend, family member, coworker, or bible study partner: this book is for you! Karens professional accomplishments have earned her the honor of being listed in: Whos Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges Whos Who in Medicine and Healthcare Whos Who Among Human Services Professionals Whos Who in the South and Southwest Whos Who in America Whos Who in the World Karen maintains an encouraging blog on her website, CopingwithLossandGrief.com

The author of Placebo: The Belief Effect draws on real-life examples and detailed research findings to counsel readers on how to make appropriate decisions based on accurate assessments of risk, revealing common flaws in human thinking processes that compromise personal judgment. 40,000 first printing.