The Second Hand Parrot

Unlike any other book, Avian Cognition thoroughly examines avian intelligence, behavior, and individuality. Preferences, choices, motivation, and habits of species, flocks, and individual birds are discussed and compared. This book investigates who birds are and why they do what they do. Daily, seasonal, and play activities, creativity, reasoning a

Whether you already own a companion parrot or plan to acquire one, you'll value Athan's helpful information on everyday care and advice on dealing with potential problems.

Explores and explains the fundamental difference between psychology, therapy and meditation. "Enlightenment” in Western cultures has long been associated with the 18th century movement that brought about a new “age of reason.” As Zen, Buddhism, and other eastern wisdom traditions have captured the imagination of the West, “enlightenment” has come to be known as a specific state of consciousness attained by an individual on a spiritual or meditative path. However, the Judeo-Christian context, with its belief in a divine power “out there” and separate from the individual, hinders most Westerners’ ability to comprehend “enlightenment” in the Eastern sense. Our theistic conditioning leads to such common misunderstandings as perceiving enlightenment as the attainment of supernatural powers, or as something achievable only by those who are somehow “special.” In this work, Osho deconstructs these misunderstandings and offers a radically different view of enlightenment, freed from all spiritual and religious beliefs – including the distortions of asceticism and renunciation that have arisen in Eastern and Western cultures both. Taking the reader step by step through the history of how both East and West have approached the mysteries of the human mind and spirituality, Osho offers a simple science of consciousness that he calls “the psychology of the buddhas.” It is a science that in very clear terms shows how one can, through awareness and taking full responsibility for one’s life, go beyond all limited belief systems, habits, and superstitions of the mind. That process, he says, brings us back to our nature – and that is enlightenment.

In a world that feels increasingly dark and dangerous, how do we find a bright spot? How do we navigate the violence, war, racism, hate, and sexism that surround us? In Are You Kindful?,Bhante Saranapala—also known as the Urban Buddhist Monk— shows us a way out of the negativity and into a kinder, more positive world. Kindfulness is the radical act of being both kind and mindful. By combining these two qualities, we are able to bring good to the world. In the pages of this book, you will learn about the concept of kindfulness and how its presence can have widereaching impacts. But what makes this book even more valuable is the practical application of this concept. You will first learn how to apply kindfulness toward yourself. As Bhante explains, “If you are not happy, calm, and kind, the people around you cannot be happy, calm, and kind.” Once you can find grace within yourself, you will be ready to find it in others. And so, you will learn how to spread kindfulness beyond yourself and out into the world. A simple shift in perspective can be revolutionary. This book is not a religious text. Though Buddhist, Bhante does not address the precepts of Buddhism. Rather, he addresses the principles of what it is to be a kind and good human being. These are lessons that will last a lifetime. These are lessons that can change the world.

Animal Companions explores how eighteenth-century British society perceived pets and the ways in which conversation about them reflected and shaped broader cultural debates. While Europeans kept pets long before the eighteenth century, many believed that doing so was at best frivolous and at worst downright dangerous. Ingrid Tague argues that for Britons of the eighteenth century, pets offered a unique way to articulate what it meant to be human and what society ought to look like. With the dawn of the Enlightenment and the end of the Malthusian cycle of dearth and famine that marked previous eras, England became the wealthiest nation in Europe, with a new understanding of religion, science, and non-European cultures and unprecedented access to consumer goods of all kinds. These transformations generated excitement and anxiety that were reflected in debates over the rights and wrongs of human-animal relationships. Drawing on a broad array of sources, including natural histories, periodicals, visual and material culture, and the testimony of pet owners themselves, Animal Companions shows how pets became both increasingly visible indicators of spreading prosperity and catalysts for debates about the morality of the radically different society emerging in eighteenth-century Britain.