New Books in Spiritual Practice and Mindfulness

With Buddhism entering the mainstream of American society, it inevitably encounters the cultural and social forces that make ours a postmodern society. Ann Gleig’s new book traces out the multifaceted ways in which Buddhism is engaging and adapting to this new world. After tracing the rise of Buddhist modernism, both in Asia and in this country, American Dharma examines how Buddhist practitioners and communities are exploring the Dharma in new ways. Separate chapters cover the rise of secular mindfulness and the backlash it has provoked, the interplay of Dharma and psychotherapy in light of the sexual scandals that have upended many communities, the Buddhist response to issues of racism, social justice and inclusivity, techno-Buddhism, and the shift from Boomer Buddhism to NextGen Buddhism.Jack Petranker is the director of the Center for Creative Inquiry and Mangalam Buddhist Research Center, and founding teacher of Full Presence Mindfulness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Is love between man and woman the source of wisdom and the cornerstone of moral life? Naftali Rothenberg says it is, based on the works and life of the first century Jewish scholar and sage, Rabbi Akiva.In Rabbi Akiva’s Philosophy of Love (Palgrave Macmillan, 2017) Rothenberg explores the philosophy of love through the thought and life of Rabbi Akiva whose life was transformed by the love of his wife, Rachel. From this starting point, Naftali Rothenberg conducts a thorough examination of the harmonious approach to love in the obstacle-laden context of human reality. Discussing the deterioration of passion into simple lust, the ability to contend with suffering and death, and so forth, Rothenberg addresses the deepest and most pressing questions about human love. The readings and observations offered here allow readers to acquire the wisdom of love—not merely as an assemblage of theoretical arguments and abstract statements, but as an analysis of the internal contradictions and difficulties revealed in the context of attempts to realize and implement harmonious love.Renee Garfinkel is a Jerusalem-based psychologist, writer, and television & radio commentator. Write her at r.garfinkel@yahoo.com or tweet Renee Garfinkel@embracingwisdom Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Rachel Stolzman Gullo Practice Dying (Bedazzled Ink, 2018) is about twins, David and Jamila, who seek meaning and connection from opposite ends of the world. Just as she turns 30, Jamila falls in love with an Indian pastry chef who is temporarily in New York City. When that doomed relationship falters, she unsuccessfully tries to commit suicide, and David flies immediately home from Tibet. David is a devoted Buddhist who has been mentored by the 14th Dalai Lama. He is obsessed with a rash of self-immolations by Tibetan monks who are protesting China’s occupation of their country and attempts to annihilate their culture. In alternating chapters, the twins grapple with family bonds, spirituality, illness, death, and love.Rachel Stolzman Gullo is the author of The Sign for Drowning (Shambhala, 2008). Her poetry and fiction have appeared in various publications. Practice Dying was a semi-finalist for Best Novel in the William Faulkner-William Wisdom Literary Competition, received a fellowship from Summer Literary Seminars, and was a finalist for the Inkubate Literary Blockbuster Challenge. She received her MFA in Creative Writing from Sarah Lawrence College and lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons.G.P. Gottlieb is the author of the Whipped and Sipped Mystery Series and a prolific baker of healthful breads and pastries. Please contact her through her website (GPGottlieb.com) to listen to her previous podcast interviews, to read her mystery book reviews, to check out some of her awesome recipes, or to recommend an author (of a beautifully-written new novel) to interview. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In this interview, George Kinder, a global thought leader and mindfulness meditation teacher, talks about his latest book, A Golden Civilization & The Map of Mindfulness (Serenity Point Press, 2018).  He states, “If we want our children to live in a Golden Civilization, the first step is for each of us to imagine it.” To do this, we must reflect upon what really matters and endeavor to work collectively to make mindful changes.George Kinder, known as the father of the Life Planning movement, revolutionized the profession of financial advice by training over 3,000 professionals world-wide in the field of Financial Life Planning.  Harvard educated, he is the recipient of numerous professional awards, a sought after speaker at industry events and conferences, a regular guest on media programs, and the founder and CEO of the Kinder Institute of Life Planning.His expertise extends beyond the role of speaker or advisor.  He is an artist, poet, photographer, author, mindfulness practitioner and teacher. He leads weekly meditation classes and retreats around the world.  His articles have appeared in The Financial Times, The Wall Street Journal, New Model Adviser, Forbes, and Time magazine. He is the author of Life Planning for You: How to Design & Deliver the Life of Your Dreams (2014), Transforming Suffering into Wisdom: The Art of Inner Listening (2011), A Song for Hana & the Spirit of Leho’ula (2007) and The Seven Stages of Money Maturity: Understanding the Spirit and Value of Money in Your Life (2006).  Elizabeth Cronin, Psy.D., is a licensed psychologist and mindfulness teacher with offices in Brookline and Norwood, MA.  You can follow her on Instagram or visit her website at https://drelizabethcronin.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Sutra is the Sanskrit name for a short spiritual teaching, and it comes from the same root as the English word suture, or stitch. This story of motherhood as a path to awakening is, says yoga and meditation teacher Anne Cushman, “an homage to the long threads that run through all human lives, stitching up what’s shredded in our hearts.”In this interview, Anne Cushman, a longtime yoga and dharma teacher, talks about her new book The Mama Sutra: A Story of Love, Loss, and the Path of Motherhood(Shambala, 2019).  This thoughtful book spans an eighteen-year journey through motherhood as a spiritual practice, chronicling Cushman’s first pregnancy, her daughter's tragic stillbirth, the joyful birth of her son, the “home retreat” of early motherhood, the challenges of parenthood, the diagnosis and gifts of her son’s developmental differences, the meltdown of her nuclear family and its reconfiguration into a new and joyful form, and more. This is a powerful story of the rawness and beauty of life.Anne Cushman is a creative writer and mindfulness meditation teacher whose work focuses on the intersection between spiritual practice and the wild, messy, heartbreaking, and hilarious details of ordinary life.  She is the author of Enlightenment for Idiots, From Here to Nirvana, and the meditative yoga program Moving Into Meditation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In this this interview, Carrie Tippen talks with Nico Slate, professor of history at Carnegie Mellon University, about the intersections between diet, spirituality, health, and politics for one of the world’s most famous nonviolent political activists, Mahatma Gandhi. Dr. Slate, who researches anti-racist activism in the United States and India, researched Gandhi’s experiments with vegetarianism and veganism (and vegetarianism again), raw food, nut milks, fasting, and prohibitions against salt, chocolate, coffee, and flavorful foods like ginger and mangoes that might inflame the passions. In Gandhi’s Search for the Perfect Diet: Eating with the World in Mind (University of Washington Press, 2019), Slate explores the ways that Gandhi linked his diet to nonviolent political action through protesting salt taxes, fasting for peace, and abstaining from chocolate produced by slave-like labor. But more importantly, Slate examines the moments when Gandhi’s diet turned from purposeful action to unhealthy obsession, as well as the moments when Gandhi humbly changes his diet to accept new information or welcomes cooperation with individuals and groups who cannot share his convictions. This episode brings a new perspective to a familiar figure through an investigation of the archive of diet.Nico Slate is a professor of history and director of graduate studies at Carnegie Mellon University and founder and director of Bajaj Rural Development Lab and SocialChange101.org.Carrie Helms Tippen is Assistant Professor of English at Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, where she teaches courses in American Literature.  Her new book, Inventing Authenticity: How Cookbook Writers Redefine Southern Identity (University of Arkansas Press), examines the rhetorical strategies that writers use to prove the authenticity of their recipes in the narrative headnotes of contemporary cookbooks. Her academic work has been published in Food and Foodways, American Studies, Southern Quarterly, and Food, Culture, and Society. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Alan Watts (1915-1973) was one of the first to interpret Eastern wisdom for a Western audience. Joan Watts, Alan's eldest daughter, is the co-editor (along with her sister, Anne) of the new volume, The Collected letters of Alan Watts, out now in hardback and paperback from New World Library (2017). This is part one in a two-part series on the life of Alan Watts, featuring Joan and Anne Watts.Greg Soden is the host “Classical Ideas,” a podcast about religion and religious ideas. You can find it on iTunes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Anne Watts is one of the co-editors of the new book, The Collected letters of Alan Watts, released in January 2018 from New World Library. Anne Watts is a facilitator and educator who is committed to creating a world where everyone wins.  She honors each individual for the gift she or he is, and believes that love and nurturance are the most important aspects in human healing. She regularly leads workshops at the Esalen Institute and you can find her upcoming events online at www.annewatts.org.Greg Soden is the host “Classical Ideas,” a podcast about religion and religious ideas. You can find it on iTunes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

Andrea Miller is the deputy editor of Lion's Roar magazine (formerly the Shambhala Sun)  and the author of two picture books: The Day the Buddha Woke Up and My First Book of Canadian Birds. She's also the editor of three anthologies, most recently All the Rage: Buddhist Wisdom on Anger and Acceptance. I spoke with Andrea on the heels of her trip to India to attend the International Buddhist Conclave, which afforded her the chance to attend sacred Buddhist sites. She has a brand new piece out in December, 2018 called “The Buddha Was Here.” This conversation discusses the impetus and creative process behind The Day The Buddha Woke Up, out now from Wisdom Publications (2018).Greg Soden is the host “Classical Ideas,” a podcast about religion and religious ideas. You can find it on iTunes here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness

In today's podcast, I speak with American professor Ira Helderman about his newly published book, Prescribing the Dharma: Psychotherapists, Buddhist Traditions, and Defining Religion (University of North Carolina Press, 2019) which surveys the diversity of Buddhist practices used in psychotherapy today. Ira shows that psychotherapists approaches to Buddhist traditions are moulded by how they relate to what is and is not religion. This book will be of interest to scholars of psychotherapy, religion, and Buddhism as well as anyone interested in the relationship between psychotherapy and Buddhism in the West today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/spiritual-practice-and-mindfulness