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Mark Robert Waldman
How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain:
The New Science of Transformation
MP3 CD – MP3 Audio, 6 June 2017
by Andrew Newberg M.D. (Author), Mark Robert Waldman (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 240 ratings
The bestselling authors of How God Changes Your Brain reveal the neurological underpinnings of enlightenment, offering unique strategies to help readers experience its many benefits.
In this original and groundbreaking book, Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman turn their attention to the pinnacle of the human experience: enlightenment. Through his brain-scan studies on Brazilian psychic mediums, Sufi mystics, Buddhist meditators, Franciscan nuns, Pentecostals, and participants in secular spirituality rituals, Newberg has discovered the specific neurological mechanisms associated with the enlightenment experience—and how we might activate those circuits in our own brains.
In his survey of more than one thousand people who have experienced enlightenment, Newberg has also discovered that in the aftermath they have had profound, positive life changes. Enlightenment offers us the possibility to become permanently less stress-prone, to break bad habits, to improve our collaboration and creativity skills, and to lead happier, more satisfying lives. Relaying the story of his own transformational experience as well as including the stories of others who try to describe an event that is truly indescribable, Newberg brings us a new paradigm for deep and lasting change.
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How God Changes Your Brain
Andrew Newberg
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Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy
Mark Robert Waldman, Andrew Newberg
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Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development
James W Fowler
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Product details
Publisher : Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (6 June 2017)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 1491593792
ISBN-13 : 978-1491593790
Dimensions : 17.15 x 13.97 x 1.27 cmCustomer Reviews:
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 240 ratings
About the author
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Mark Robert Waldman
Mark Robert Waldman is Executive MBA Faculty at Loyola Marymount University where he teaches the NeuroLeadership program. He is the author of 14 books including WORDS CAN CHANGE YOUR BRAIN and HOW GOD CHANGES YOUR BRAIN (picked by Oprah as one of the "Must Read" books for 2012. According to Time, Newsweek, and the Washington Post, Mark and his colleague Andrew Newberg, MD, are considered the world's leading authorities on spirituality and the brain. He teaches throughout the world and his work has been featured on PBS, National Public Radio, Canadian National Television, Oprah and Friends, and in dozens of national magazines. He is also on the faculty of Holmes Institute.
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Julie Lyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! The first book that explained neuroscientifically what I experienced!Reviewed in the United States on 3 August 2019
Verified Purchase
First off, I will say, I had probably heard the term enlightenment before but I didn't really understand what it meant and, therefore, had no interest in it. I didn't know much about other religions or mediation, etc. I associated with the Christian faith in a nondenominational way; however, I haven't stepped foot in a church for at least 20 years. I did, however, pray every day before bed. So what I'm trying to relay is I knew absolutely nothing about any of this stuff.
I had always felt very blessed in my life, was very successful in my career, had great health, etc. Life was great. However, five years ago I hit a very turbulent time...end of a 17-year relationship, rape/beating, and then a terrible boating accident that left me with a broken forehead, smashed nose, broken cheek, broken upper jaw that was driven into my nasal cavity, an upper lip that was hanging on by a thread, and a big chunk out of my lower lip. I was knocked out. Somebody got a life jacket on me. I learned later the boat sank in three minutes.
As an aside, there was a brief mention in the book something about the power of the mind in healing. I will say, my friends were all concerned with me looking in the mirror during my healing and thought they should cover up the mirrors so as not to upset me. I can honestly say, I always thought Why? I knew in my mind and heart wholeheartedly that I would heal and be perfectly fine. I never doubted it for a second. Less than three years have passed since the accident and nobody is the wiser. Between the bottom of my nose and the bottom of my lip, I had three hours worth of stitches. I heart countless times during my recovery from my various doctors, Wow, you are an awesome healer and no doubt, you have a guardian angel.
After healing, when I should have been extremely happy, I hit a period where I didn't feel like I looked at the world the same...to be honest, bitterness and cynicism of the world had crept in. My "heart" didn't feel comfortable with that. I had always been a lover of my fellow man and I knew I needed to bring that part of me back as I honestly didn't feel like myself.
So I started reading books on forgiveness and healing after trauma and healing your heart. And I spent countless hours just contemplating life, contemplating why am I here, what gifts was I given that needed to be nurtured and shared with the world. It was a long period of self-discovery, I guess you could say. I also pondered my weaknesses as a human being. It was grueling. There were a lot of tears shed. I didn't meditate or practice any form of ritual...again, I didn't know anything about those things. But after reading this book, it is clear I was in the daydreaming state and just tossing things around in my head and and contemplating and reflecting on things very deeply. This lasted for about two years and I felt great at the end of it and back to my true nature.
A few months later, I experienced another traumatic incident. I felt utterly defeated and abandoned by God. One day I googled something along the lines of "Bible verses when you feel abandoned by God" trying to see if I could get some solace and relief by reading some scripture. The google search lead me to realize what I was experienceing was known as an existential crisis or Dark Knight of the Soul. Yes, the end of a long-term marriage, the rape/beating, and the accident were bad, but that all paled in comparison to what I was experiencing with the existential crisis. It was the most horrifying feeling I had ever felt.
The worst of it lasted about two and a half, three months. It was almost debilitating. I was still able to do my job, but I was just existing, not really participating in life. By this time, I had read some articles online about spiritual awakening and knew that is what I was experiencing. the articles talked about it being life-changing, but at that point I didn't understand and couldn't see how this dark period could be so transformational. Heck, I felt utterly miserable.
One day I woke up and felt such a peace, joy, serenity, gratitude, love permeating my body. It was an amazing feeling, indescribable. I remember calling a close friend who had been watching this all unfold over the last couple years and tried to describe what I was feeling. I told him I thought I was coming out of the crisis. I was absolutely elated. Unfortunately, it only lasted four, five hours. But over the next few months, I would experience it again a handful of times. About two months ago, my friend who has been watching this unfold and who I am confiding honestly about everything I was experiencing, called me on his way to work to see how I was feeling. Well, I was still awake. I hadn't gone to sleep yet. I was in the euphoric state. No words for it. I was sitting on the porch just what I would call daydreaming when he called. I had been sitting out there since 9:00 the night before not really doing anything, just enjoying what I was feeling. It was so otherworldly.
So three weeks ago, I wake up and I'm in the euphoric state but there is a very strong what I would call energy in my body. It is very strong. Although I had never experimented with drugs, I kept thinking I am on the best drug ever imaginable. I felt connected with God. This lasted for three days. Amazing doesn't even describe it. The weird thing was, by the end of the three days, my physical body felt utterly exhausted, but what I call the energy was off the charts. By the end, it was almost unbearable. It was too much. The book had one sentence about people being diagnosed as manic during this time. I wasn't hearing voices or seeing light or anything, but I imagine I could have been diagnosed as manic.
There is something really freaky that happened when I was in the unbearably high energy level. Something that is so unreal. I guessed three things out of 22 that I absolutely would never have known. It was boom, boom, boom, one right after another. I called my friend and explained what happened, and we were both absolutely shocked. Honestly, I would need a statistician to figure out the odds of what happened. It was absolutely unreal. Was it because I was in a higher state of consciousness or what? Was it coincidence? I have absolutely no idea.
So three weeks later, I feel very peaceful and content. I don't get rattled much. I will say, though, there's been a few times I have trouble relating to people. As an example, I was out to dinner with a friend at a very nice restaurant. She started complaining about her baked potato and how grainy it was. She had me taste it and it tasted fine to me. She knew many of the waitstaff, and everybody who would come by, she would stop them and go on and on about this potato. They even sent the chef out. Good grief. This lasted for about 45 minutes. By this time, I say, Can we just stop with the potato? I think the homeless man we passed coming in would be absolutely thrilled with this potato. So I have trouble with pettiness and things that I consider menial things to be complaining about.
So I found an article written about Dr. Newberg's studies and purchased this book last night. I read three-quarters of it last night and finished it up early this morning. Now it is fully clear what I experienced. Definitely the Big E!
I did find a liscensed counselor who has a depth of understanding of these experiences and met with him last week. Since I didn't know much about any of this stuff, after those three days, I was trying to make sense of everything. Was something wrong with me? There's no doubt in my mind what I experienced was absolutely real, but what did it all mean? After devouring this book, I have a much better understanding of what happened. I've been blessed.
Read less
25 people found this helpfulReport
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative!Reviewed in Germany on 10 December 2018
Verified Purchase
I was hoping for even more science to back the spirituality, but it's very informative nonetheless.
One person found this helpfulReport
Jim H. White
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for spiritual readersReviewed in Canada on 15 February 2017
Verified Purchase
I am in the process of rereading this excellent book and marking up items that I will place in my own summary document. It provides many important insights into how our brains are evolving as we push or investigations on who we really are and why we are here. How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gem in scientific spiritualismReviewed in India on 9 April 2017
Verified Purchase
Very good and informative book.The enlightenment principles of ancient Indian system repeated although in science shirt.The same old dog in new skin.Appears too costly to be afforded by public.In fact, spiritually oriented books should be least costly with no profit no loss or marginal profits only to be affordable to all.
I want to tell a true happening in line with this book-
My master was a silent and lover of a ferry girl totally in a mental way,denying external senses.he was also in a constant company of dedicated spiritual master.natural contemplation with girl image he had.when,visual separation of both lovers occurred naturally,my master came into total influence of his master due to which his frontal and parietal lobe activities suddenly dropped which were heightened earlier with girl influence.reduction in activity more than 40 %was caused resulting in his sudden enlightenment. The similar happening appeared with me too.
One person found this helpfulReport
Richard Codjoe
3.0 out of 5 stars Gut.Reviewed in Germany on 25 May 2020
Verified Purchase
Gut.
Report
by Andrew Newberg M.D. (Author), Mark Robert Waldman (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars 240 ratings
The bestselling authors of How God Changes Your Brain reveal the neurological underpinnings of enlightenment, offering unique strategies to help readers experience its many benefits.
In this original and groundbreaking book, Andrew Newberg, M.D., and Mark Robert Waldman turn their attention to the pinnacle of the human experience: enlightenment. Through his brain-scan studies on Brazilian psychic mediums, Sufi mystics, Buddhist meditators, Franciscan nuns, Pentecostals, and participants in secular spirituality rituals, Newberg has discovered the specific neurological mechanisms associated with the enlightenment experience—and how we might activate those circuits in our own brains.
In his survey of more than one thousand people who have experienced enlightenment, Newberg has also discovered that in the aftermath they have had profound, positive life changes. Enlightenment offers us the possibility to become permanently less stress-prone, to break bad habits, to improve our collaboration and creativity skills, and to lead happier, more satisfying lives. Relaying the story of his own transformational experience as well as including the stories of others who try to describe an event that is truly indescribable, Newberg brings us a new paradigm for deep and lasting change.
Previous page
How God Changes Your Brain
Andrew Newberg
4.5 out of 5 stars 755
Paperback
$27.99$27.99
FREE Delivery Saturday, April 27
Words Can Change Your Brain: 12 Conversation Strategies to Build Trust, Resolve Conflict, and Increase Intimacy
Mark Robert Waldman, Andrew Newberg
4.6 out of 5 stars 537
Paperback
$24.25$24.25
FREE Delivery Sunday, April 28
Stages of Faith: The Psychology of Human Development
James W Fowler
4.6 out of 5 stars 343
Paperback
$20.75$20.75
FREE Delivery Tuesday, May 14
Next page
What Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Page 1 of 3Page 1 of 3
Previous page
Best Sellingin this set of products
Stages of Faith: The…
James W Fowler
4.6 out of 5 stars 343
Paperback
$20.75$20.75
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Highest ratedin this set of products
Medicine, Religion, and…
Harold G Koenig
4.8 out of 5 stars 27
Paperback
$41.79$41.79
FREE Delivery
Lowest pricein this set of products
Why God Won't Go Away:…
M.D., Andrew Newberg,
4.4 out of 5 stars 146
Paperback
$15.41$15.41
FREE Delivery
How God Changes Your Brain
Andrew Newberg
4.5 out of 5 stars 755
Paperback
$27.99$27.99
FREE Delivery
Next page
Product details
Publisher : Brilliance Audio; Unabridged edition (6 June 2017)
Language : English
ISBN-10 : 1491593792
ISBN-13 : 978-1491593790
Dimensions : 17.15 x 13.97 x 1.27 cmCustomer Reviews:
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 240 ratings
About the author
Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
Follow
Mark Robert Waldman
Mark Robert Waldman is Executive MBA Faculty at Loyola Marymount University where he teaches the NeuroLeadership program. He is the author of 14 books including WORDS CAN CHANGE YOUR BRAIN and HOW GOD CHANGES YOUR BRAIN (picked by Oprah as one of the "Must Read" books for 2012. According to Time, Newsweek, and the Washington Post, Mark and his colleague Andrew Newberg, MD, are considered the world's leading authorities on spirituality and the brain. He teaches throughout the world and his work has been featured on PBS, National Public Radio, Canadian National Television, Oprah and Friends, and in dozens of national magazines. He is also on the faculty of Holmes Institute.
Top reviews
Top reviews from Australia
There are 0 reviews and 3 ratings from Australia
Top reviews from other countries
Julie Lyle
5.0 out of 5 stars Wow! The first book that explained neuroscientifically what I experienced!Reviewed in the United States on 3 August 2019
Verified Purchase
First off, I will say, I had probably heard the term enlightenment before but I didn't really understand what it meant and, therefore, had no interest in it. I didn't know much about other religions or mediation, etc. I associated with the Christian faith in a nondenominational way; however, I haven't stepped foot in a church for at least 20 years. I did, however, pray every day before bed. So what I'm trying to relay is I knew absolutely nothing about any of this stuff.
I had always felt very blessed in my life, was very successful in my career, had great health, etc. Life was great. However, five years ago I hit a very turbulent time...end of a 17-year relationship, rape/beating, and then a terrible boating accident that left me with a broken forehead, smashed nose, broken cheek, broken upper jaw that was driven into my nasal cavity, an upper lip that was hanging on by a thread, and a big chunk out of my lower lip. I was knocked out. Somebody got a life jacket on me. I learned later the boat sank in three minutes.
As an aside, there was a brief mention in the book something about the power of the mind in healing. I will say, my friends were all concerned with me looking in the mirror during my healing and thought they should cover up the mirrors so as not to upset me. I can honestly say, I always thought Why? I knew in my mind and heart wholeheartedly that I would heal and be perfectly fine. I never doubted it for a second. Less than three years have passed since the accident and nobody is the wiser. Between the bottom of my nose and the bottom of my lip, I had three hours worth of stitches. I heart countless times during my recovery from my various doctors, Wow, you are an awesome healer and no doubt, you have a guardian angel.
After healing, when I should have been extremely happy, I hit a period where I didn't feel like I looked at the world the same...to be honest, bitterness and cynicism of the world had crept in. My "heart" didn't feel comfortable with that. I had always been a lover of my fellow man and I knew I needed to bring that part of me back as I honestly didn't feel like myself.
So I started reading books on forgiveness and healing after trauma and healing your heart. And I spent countless hours just contemplating life, contemplating why am I here, what gifts was I given that needed to be nurtured and shared with the world. It was a long period of self-discovery, I guess you could say. I also pondered my weaknesses as a human being. It was grueling. There were a lot of tears shed. I didn't meditate or practice any form of ritual...again, I didn't know anything about those things. But after reading this book, it is clear I was in the daydreaming state and just tossing things around in my head and and contemplating and reflecting on things very deeply. This lasted for about two years and I felt great at the end of it and back to my true nature.
A few months later, I experienced another traumatic incident. I felt utterly defeated and abandoned by God. One day I googled something along the lines of "Bible verses when you feel abandoned by God" trying to see if I could get some solace and relief by reading some scripture. The google search lead me to realize what I was experienceing was known as an existential crisis or Dark Knight of the Soul. Yes, the end of a long-term marriage, the rape/beating, and the accident were bad, but that all paled in comparison to what I was experiencing with the existential crisis. It was the most horrifying feeling I had ever felt.
The worst of it lasted about two and a half, three months. It was almost debilitating. I was still able to do my job, but I was just existing, not really participating in life. By this time, I had read some articles online about spiritual awakening and knew that is what I was experiencing. the articles talked about it being life-changing, but at that point I didn't understand and couldn't see how this dark period could be so transformational. Heck, I felt utterly miserable.
One day I woke up and felt such a peace, joy, serenity, gratitude, love permeating my body. It was an amazing feeling, indescribable. I remember calling a close friend who had been watching this all unfold over the last couple years and tried to describe what I was feeling. I told him I thought I was coming out of the crisis. I was absolutely elated. Unfortunately, it only lasted four, five hours. But over the next few months, I would experience it again a handful of times. About two months ago, my friend who has been watching this unfold and who I am confiding honestly about everything I was experiencing, called me on his way to work to see how I was feeling. Well, I was still awake. I hadn't gone to sleep yet. I was in the euphoric state. No words for it. I was sitting on the porch just what I would call daydreaming when he called. I had been sitting out there since 9:00 the night before not really doing anything, just enjoying what I was feeling. It was so otherworldly.
So three weeks ago, I wake up and I'm in the euphoric state but there is a very strong what I would call energy in my body. It is very strong. Although I had never experimented with drugs, I kept thinking I am on the best drug ever imaginable. I felt connected with God. This lasted for three days. Amazing doesn't even describe it. The weird thing was, by the end of the three days, my physical body felt utterly exhausted, but what I call the energy was off the charts. By the end, it was almost unbearable. It was too much. The book had one sentence about people being diagnosed as manic during this time. I wasn't hearing voices or seeing light or anything, but I imagine I could have been diagnosed as manic.
There is something really freaky that happened when I was in the unbearably high energy level. Something that is so unreal. I guessed three things out of 22 that I absolutely would never have known. It was boom, boom, boom, one right after another. I called my friend and explained what happened, and we were both absolutely shocked. Honestly, I would need a statistician to figure out the odds of what happened. It was absolutely unreal. Was it because I was in a higher state of consciousness or what? Was it coincidence? I have absolutely no idea.
So three weeks later, I feel very peaceful and content. I don't get rattled much. I will say, though, there's been a few times I have trouble relating to people. As an example, I was out to dinner with a friend at a very nice restaurant. She started complaining about her baked potato and how grainy it was. She had me taste it and it tasted fine to me. She knew many of the waitstaff, and everybody who would come by, she would stop them and go on and on about this potato. They even sent the chef out. Good grief. This lasted for about 45 minutes. By this time, I say, Can we just stop with the potato? I think the homeless man we passed coming in would be absolutely thrilled with this potato. So I have trouble with pettiness and things that I consider menial things to be complaining about.
So I found an article written about Dr. Newberg's studies and purchased this book last night. I read three-quarters of it last night and finished it up early this morning. Now it is fully clear what I experienced. Definitely the Big E!
I did find a liscensed counselor who has a depth of understanding of these experiences and met with him last week. Since I didn't know much about any of this stuff, after those three days, I was trying to make sense of everything. Was something wrong with me? There's no doubt in my mind what I experienced was absolutely real, but what did it all mean? After devouring this book, I have a much better understanding of what happened. I've been blessed.
Read less
25 people found this helpfulReport
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Informative!Reviewed in Germany on 10 December 2018
Verified Purchase
I was hoping for even more science to back the spirituality, but it's very informative nonetheless.
One person found this helpfulReport
Jim H. White
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for spiritual readersReviewed in Canada on 15 February 2017
Verified Purchase
I am in the process of rereading this excellent book and marking up items that I will place in my own summary document. It provides many important insights into how our brains are evolving as we push or investigations on who we really are and why we are here. How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation
Report
Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Gem in scientific spiritualismReviewed in India on 9 April 2017
Verified Purchase
Very good and informative book.The enlightenment principles of ancient Indian system repeated although in science shirt.The same old dog in new skin.Appears too costly to be afforded by public.In fact, spiritually oriented books should be least costly with no profit no loss or marginal profits only to be affordable to all.
I want to tell a true happening in line with this book-
My master was a silent and lover of a ferry girl totally in a mental way,denying external senses.he was also in a constant company of dedicated spiritual master.natural contemplation with girl image he had.when,visual separation of both lovers occurred naturally,my master came into total influence of his master due to which his frontal and parietal lobe activities suddenly dropped which were heightened earlier with girl influence.reduction in activity more than 40 %was caused resulting in his sudden enlightenment. The similar happening appeared with me too.
One person found this helpfulReport
Richard Codjoe
3.0 out of 5 stars Gut.Reviewed in Germany on 25 May 2020
Verified Purchase
Gut.
Report
==
https://www.friendsjournal.org/book/enlightenment-changes-brain-new-science-transformation/
How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain: The New Science of Transformation
Reviewed by Phila Hoopes
August 1, 2017
By Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman. Avery, 2016. 288 pages. $26/hardcover; $17.99/paperback; $12.99/eBook.
Buy from QuakerBooks
“Based on our scientific evidence, I now believe that the stories found in sacred texts describing Enlightenment are real in that they are related to specific neurological events that can permanently change the structure and functioning of the brain.”
How many of us have rebelled against Descartes’s severance between the physical brain, its workings, and our most mystical experiences? Authors Newberg and Waldman have pursued this question in How Enlightenment Changes Your Brain, exhaustively measuring a broad range of spiritual experiences in an equally broad range of subjects via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT).
But ultimately they are pursuing a deeper goal: to define the elusive nature of the enlightenment experience—ranging from the “small-e” enlightenments of insights and eurekas that yield a flash of awareness but then recede without long-term effect, to the “big-E” life-changing mountaintop experiences of oneness with the Universe and the Divine.
Through surveys, interviews, and lab experiments with subjects spanning a range of religious traditions, the authors identify the common points of small-e enlightenment experiences:
instant illumination of difficult problems
immediate interruption of worries, fears, or doubts
deepened kindness, compassion, and empathy
increased open-mindedness and tolerance
deep sense of peace
Large-E experiences build on this foundation with the following:
a sense of unity or connectedness
an incredible intensity of experience
a sense of clarity and new understanding in a fundamental way
a sense of surrender or loss of voluntary control
a sense that something—one’s beliefs, one’s life, one’s purpose—has suddenly and permanently changed
The authors detail their studies of the effect of mediumship and channeling supernatural entities; the effect of healing prayer and ritual on the person praying and the recipient; the effect of praying at different intensities; and the effect of enlightenment on anger and conflict, to name only a few. Their studies encompass a broad spectrum of spiritual traditions, from Brazilian psychic mediums, Buddhist monks, Franciscan nuns, and Sufi dancers to atheists and non-practicing members of a faith. In one particularly fascinating encounter, they explore the impact of dogma, cognitive dissonance, and intuitive leading on the small-e experience of prayer in a non-practicing Muslim man, learning that it is the authenticity of the prayer that leads to enlightenment.
Newberg and Waldman’s experiments demonstrate that not only can everyone, regardless of religious belief or tradition, attain both small-e and large-E enlightenment experiences, but certain practices speed that attainment. They expand on this in the second half of the book, providing detailed instructions for the experience of small-e and large-E enlightenment. Their exercises range from simple breathing patterns to deepen shifts in consciousness, to ecstatic practices such as automatic writing, Sufi chanting and dance, kirtan (call-and-response chant), and Zen meditation; they also offer an audio training of their own design among other tools and resources.
Ultimately, this is a guidebook intended to lead the reader to personal large-E transformation over an extended period of time. Grounded, practical, and spiritually challenging, it’s one book I intend to use in personal explorations for some time to come.
