The Little Book Of Being

A practical guide to experiencing natural awareness—an effortless and spacious state of resting in the depth or our being. Do you recall, as a child, being enthralled by a drifting cloud, a rain-soaked leaf, a wandering ladybug? Or suddenly having a sense of timelessness, contentment, and ease? If so, then you've already had a taste of natural awareness. Known and revered in many traditions as a complement to focused mindfulness training, natural awareness transcends even these wondrous childhood moments. Some describe it as a profound "awareness of awareness"—an effortless, boundless state of resting in the depth of our being. For those new to meditation and experienced meditators alike, these 72 "mini-chapters" guide you on an in-depth odyssey into natural awareness, illuminated by many simple and enjoyable insights and exercises. The Little Book of Being invites you to explore: The spectrum of awareness practices, from focused mindfulness to flexible mindfulness to natural awareness • How classical mindfulness and effortless natural awareness enrich and shape each other, and how to practice both • Three ways to move into natural awareness—relaxing effort, broadening awareness, and dropping objects • A treasury of "glimpse practices" to spark natural awareness anytime, in just a few moments • How to bring this way of "simply being" into your daily life, into your connection with others, and into the world "At first natural awareness may seem far away, just a whisper, but then it will begin to grow and expand and permeate aspects of living. Over time we may feel more peace, more connection to ourselves. We may find ourselves taking life a bit more lightly. We may feel a sense of relaxed ‘beingness’ throughout the day, and when we do get caught in our dramas, we may find ourselves moving out of them quicker than we imagined we could." —Diana Winston

Contentment is a super power. If you can learn the skills of contentment, your life will be better in so many ways: You’ll enjoy your life more. Your relationship will be stronger. You’ll be better at meeting people. You’ll be healthier, and good at forming healthy habits. You’ll like and trust yourself more. You’ll be jealous less. You’ll be less angry and more at peace. You’ll be happier with your body. You’ll be happier no matter what you’re doing or who you’re with. Those are a lot of benefits, from one small bundle of skills. Putting some time in learning the skills of contentment is worth the effect and will pay off for the rest of your life.

The latest and greatest insights on happiness from around the world The Little Book of Being Brilliant is a ‘greatest hits’ compilation of the best and the latest information from the science of positive psychology. Top-selling author Andy Cope exercises his PhD in happiness, along with his decades of experience bringing ‘The Art of Being Brilliant’ to rapt audiences around the world, to distill the tips, techniques, facts and ideas you need to know to achieve sustainable wellbeing and happiness in your own life. Andy’s keen for you to know that he wants you to enjoy the experience, hence his ‘laugh ‘n’ learn’ approach. Inside, you’ll find guidance for taking action in the form of activities and challenges that will help you implement the latest empirical evidence on happiness. You’ll learn why most people are miles away from feeling as great as they could, and what to do about it. Whether you’re motivated to improve your daily life or looking for the insights that will super-charge your career, or in search of inspiration for your students or your team, this little book will set you in motion toward living brilliantly. Develop resilience and embrace positivity by setting goals and taking charge of your life Learn, once and for all, what science says about the connection between money and happiness Overcome road rage and other forms of negativity that are dragging you down in the day-to-day Internalize the latest positivity wisdom for work, sport, parenting, relationships, and more There’s absolutely no filler in The Little Book of Being Brilliant, and no need to sift through half-baked ideas or wisdom that researchers have already overturned. For the latest proven techniques on getting happy and achieving success, along with the motivation required to put those techniques into practice, pick up this energetic and inspiring book today.

Make excellent sleep a life-changing reality for you--now. New science has revealed the importance of sleep as one of the foundations of good health. Take control of your sleep with more than 40 proven strategies, based on a 360-degree approach to achieving excellent sleep. Find targeted meditation, movement, and breathing exercises; discover how light, color, and sound could hold the key to healthy sleep; and find out how to get to the root of the underlying causes of chronic sleep problems. Reset your sleep patterns to suit your lifestyle and draw on practical techniques to overcome common sleep disruptors, including stress, jet lag, and shift work. Let the dream of better sleep become a life-changing reality.

Little changes can make a big, big difference! In The Little Book of Big Change, psychologist Amy Johnson shows you how to rewire your brain and overcome your bad habits—once and for all. No matter what your bad habit is, you have the power to change it. Drawing on a powerful combination of neuroscience and spirituality, this book will show you that you are not your habits. Rather, your habits and addictions are the result of simple brain wiring that is easily reversed. By learning to stop bad habits at the source, you will take charge of your habits and addictions for good. Anything done repeatedly has the potential to form neural circuitry in the brain. In this light, habits and addictions are impersonal brain wiring problems that result from taking your habitual thinking as truth, and acting on that thinking in the form of doing your habit—over and over. This book offers a number of small changes you can make in your everyday life that will help you stop your bad habit in its tracks. If you want to understand the science behind your habit, make the decision to end it, and commit to real, lasting change, this book will help you to finally take charge of your life—once and for all.

More and more of us are suffering from the stresses and strains of modern life. Mindfulness is an increasingly popular discipline that can not only help alleviate the symptoms of stress, anxiety and depression brought on by the pressures of our daily existence but can actually bring calm, joy and happiness into our lives. In The Little Book of Mindfulness Tiddy Rowan, herself a practitioner for over 30 years, has gathered together a seminal collection of over 150 techniques, tips, exercises, advice and guided meditations that will enable people at every level to follow the breath, still the mind and relax the body, whilst generating and boosting a feeling of well-being and contentment that will permeate every aspect of everyday life. The perfect little gift to bring lasting happiness and peace for friends and family.

In 2005, Joel Greenblatt published a book that is already considered one of the classics of finance literature. In The Little Book that Beats the Market—a New York Times bestseller with 300,000 copies in print—Greenblatt explained how investors can outperform the popular market averages by simply and systematically applying a formula that seeks out good businesses when they are available at bargain prices. Now, with a new Introduction and Afterword for 2010, The Little Book that Still Beats the Market updates and expands upon the research findings from the original book. Included are data and analysis covering the recent financial crisis and model performance through the end of 2009. In a straightforward and accessible style, the book explores the basic principles of successful stock market investing and then reveals the author’s time-tested formula that makes buying above average companies at below average prices automatic. Though the formula has been extensively tested and is a breakthrough in the academic and professional world, Greenblatt explains it using 6th grade math, plain language and humor. He shows how to use his method to beat both the market and professional managers by a wide margin. You’ll also learn why success eludes almost all individual and professional investors, and why the formula will continue to work even after everyone “knows” it. While the formula may be simple, understanding why the formula works is the true key to success for investors. The book will take readers on a step-by-step journey so that they can learn the principles of value investing in a way that will provide them with a long term strategy that they can understand and stick with through both good and bad periods for the stock market. As the Wall Street Journal stated about the original edition, “Mr. Greenblatt…says his goal was to provide advice that, while sophisticated, could be understood and followed by his five children, ages 6 to 15. They are in luck. His ‘Little Book’ is one of the best, clearest guides to value investing out there.”

“Excellent. Fully Present offers one of the clearest introductions to mindfulness in the field.” —Library Journal Mindfulness has attracted ever‑growing interest and tens of thousands of practitioners, who have come to the discipline from both within and outside the Buddhist tradition. In Fully Present, leading mindfulness researchers and educators Dr. Sue Smalley and Diana Winston provide an all‑in‑one guide for anyone interested in bringing mindfulness to daily life as a means of enhancing well‑being. This new edition, how with a new afterword, provides both a scientific explanation for how mindfulness positively and powerfully affects the brain and the body as well as practical guidance to develop both a practice and mindfulness in daily living, not only through meditation but also during daily experiences. Now, you can wait in line at the supermarket, exercise, or face difficult news with calm and mental fortitude. Ditch the absent-minded lifestyle and begin bringing your full self and your full mind everywhere. With research studies, personal accounts, and practical applications, Fully Present highlights how things like simply breathing, listening, and walking can change your perspective--and your life.