In The Third Jesus, bestselling author and spiritual leader Deepak Chopra provides an answer to this question that is both a challenge to current systems of belief and a fresh perspective on what Jesus can teach us all, regardless of our religious background. There is not one Jesus, Chopra writes, but three.
First, there is the historical Jesus, the man who lived more than two thousand years ago and whose teachings are the foundation of Christian theology and thought. Next there is Jesus the Son of God, who has come to embody an institutional religion with specific dogma, a priesthood, and devout believers. And finally, there is the third Jesus, the cosmic Christ, the spiritual guide whose teaching embraces all humanity, not just the church built in his name. He speaks to the individual who wants to find God as a personal experience, to attain what some might call grace, or God-consciousness, or enlightenment.
When we take Jesus literally, we are faced with the impossible. How can we truly “love thy neighbor as thyself”? But when we see the exhortations of Jesus as invitations to join him on a higher spiritual plane, his words suddenly make sense.

Umbrella, light, landscape, sky–
There is no language of the holy.
The sacred lies in the ordinary.
This treasury of life–enhancing daily readings turns a wise Taoist light on every facet of life. Each daily entry with a one–word title and its Chinese character in elegant calligraphy.
A brief, poetic aphorism provides the theme, followed by a clear, insightful mediation on the day's Taoist principle.

Deng Ming-Dao is the author of eight books, including 365 Tao, Everyday Tao, Scholar Warrior, and Chronicles of Tao. His books have been translated into fifteen languages. He studied qigong, philosophy, meditation, and internal martial arts with Taoist master Kwan Saihung for thirteen years, and studied with two other masters before that. He is an award-winning graphic designer and fine artist whose work is in several collections, including those of the Brooklyn Museum and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Deng’s watercolors appear at the beginning of each chapter in this I Ching.

Less a weight-loss program than an affir-mation of Christian living, this is a revised edition of Showalter's original 1977 book. A faith-based 12-week plan, it relies on the familiar American Diabetes Association food exchange lists for balanced meals. The first half explains how the author's growth in her personal relationship with God led her to her present ministry with the 3D program. Aside from the diet, daily devotional readings (sold separately), journaling, and Bible study are the foundations of this plan. For Christian collections and large public libraries.

It often appears that conflict is the norm and that there's no way to avoid it. We see this in our personal lives and in the entire world around us. We see it on TV and in the movies. We hear it in a lot of popular songs. We read about it in the newspapers.
However, there is an alternative to all this lying within each individual. Careful reading of Gary Simmons' book should help one understand the how and why of this conflict, and how to embrace, rather than resist, it and thus learn the effective way to deal with it.
This isn't Pollyana stuff. The author teaches martial arts, and his teaching comes from strength, not from timidity and passiveness. For those who are super serious in their desire to deal effectively with conflict, I recommend buying the tape EMBRACE TIGER, RETURN TO MOUNTAIN, along with this book. However, if you're not ready for that, than go for the book itself.

When we were children we were also fully engaged in each moment of the day. We were naturally creative, spontaneous, willing to try anything, trusting, and forgiving. It is both astounding and saddening that we lose most of our innocence and zest for life by the time we are nine, and, it continues to go downhill from there.
Dr. John Izzo says emphatically that it doesn't have to be that way, no matter what our experiences have been, we can choose to have a second innocence, one that is 'child-like' and not 'childish.' He says that we need innocence to maintain a healthy and happy lifestyle and that it could mean the difference of adding 20 to 30 years to your life span.
I interviewed John Izzo on "The Inside Success Show" and I went from laughing to crying on the air. He is a master storyteller and each one that he tells is superbly crafted to hit the mark with his point. Here are some other things I learned.
** How John Izzo both joined and then left the Church so he could follow his calling
** Why you simply can't let yourself become cynical (unless you have a death wish for yourself)
** How to tell the difference between 'childish' and 'child-like' innocence
** What kind of attitude will help you to actually grow younger
** Why you must let the stories and experiences of your life be your mentors
If you want to be a happier, healthier, and more fulfilled person, and perhaps you want to live longer too, then I recommend you read this book with rapt attention, as if you were 4 again and sitting on your parent's lap listening to your favorite story, because the information John Izzo has is vital.

Rather than encouraging us to seek God, Jason Shulman believes we need only make ourselves available to receive God, who is always present and awaiting us. In The Instruction Manual for Receiving God, you will encounter the presence of God through 108 "seed passages"-profound and insightful statements that are meant to unlock your mind and open your heart. Shulman offers generous reflection of each seed passage, illuminating the depth and meaning of its precious message. Reading this book is like a personal sanctuary where you will:
Experience complete liberation-the "act" of being truly human
Feel the constant rain of compassion washing over your spiritual life and receive the sacred blessings that are endlessly offered by reality itself
Learn practical ways to connect to the Divine each and every day
Whether read cover-to-cover or opened to a random verse for inspiration, The Instruction Manual for Receiving God is a book readers of all faiths will cherish and return to again and again. Here, Jason Shulman offers contemplations that access the reality of God, "who is always knocking at the door of our hearts...and whose Voice is always speaking."

Everyone has had luminous moments in their lives. It's the "a-ha" moment when one experiences the beauty and grace of life, whether it be when looking into the eyes of a newborn child or watching the sun set over the ocean. But those moments are usually too brief. Too often, people walk around in a fog, feeling vaguely frustrated, resigned, and cynical and asking all the wrong questions about how to make life better. They miss the purpose for being alive: to wake up and become oneself, to allow others to contribute to them and to, in turn, contribute their gifts to the world. This book gives readers specific methods for allowing luminosity into their lives on a consistent basis, allowing them to view the world with much younger, more vibrant eyes.

Food is our most intimate and telling connection both with the living natural order and with our living cultural heritage. By eating the plants and animals of our earth, we literally incorporate them. It is also through this act of eating that we partake of our culture’s values and paradigms at the most primal levels. It is becoming increasingly obvious, however, that the choices we make about our food are leading to environmental degradation, enormous human health problems, and unimaginable cruelty toward our fellow creatures. Incorporating systems theory, teachings from mythology and religions, and the human sciences, The World Peace Diet presents the outlines of a more empowering understanding of our world, based on a comprehension of the far-reaching implications of our food choices and the worldview those choices reflect and mandate. The author offers a set of universal principles for all people of conscience, from any religious tradition, that they can follow to reconnect with what we are eating, what was required to get it on our plate, and what happens after it leaves our plates. The World Peace Diet suggests how we as a species might move our consciousness forward so that we can be more free, more intelligent, more loving, and happier in the choices we make.

At the age of thirty-one, Gilbert moved with her husband to the suburbs of New York and began trying to get pregnant, only to realize that she wanted neither a child nor a husband. Three years later, after a protracted divorce, she embarked on a yearlong trip of recovery, with three main stops: Rome, for pleasure (mostly gustatory, with a special emphasis on gelato); an ashram outside of Mumbai, for spiritual searching; and Bali, for "balancing." These destinations are all on the beaten track, but Gilbert's exuberance and her self-deprecating humor enliven the proceedings: recalling the first time she attempted to speak directly to God, she says, "It was all I could do to stop myself from saying, 'I've always been a big fan of your work.'"

Sit at the foot of a native elder and listen as great wisdom of days long past is passed down. In The Four Agreements shamanic teacher and healer Don Miguel Ruiz exposes self-limiting beliefs and presents a simple yet effective code of personal conduct learned from his Toltec ancestors. Full of grace and simple truth, this handsomely designed book makes a lovely gift for anyone making an elementary change in life, and it reads in a voice that you would expect from an indigenous shaman. The four agreements are these: Be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't make assumptions. Always do your best. It's the how and why one should do these things that make The Four Agreements worth reading and remembering.

This is the only comprehensive guide for socially and environmentally responsible consumers available. It contains over 15 years comprehensive research distilled into a pocket-sized, shopping-friendly format, ranking every product on the shelf from A to F - turning your grocery list into a most powerful tool to change the world.
Ellis Jones has been teaching students to make a difference in the world for the past 15 years. A scholar of social responsibility, social change and everyday activism, he founded and directs the Better World Network, giving presentations throughout the US. He currently teaches sociology at University of California, Davis.

A fascinating discovery in southern India has caught the attention of spiritual teachers from every tradition, leaders from around the world, and millions more. It is the phenomenon called the Oneness Blessing (also known as "deeksha" in the East), a powerful transfer of energy believed to elicit the realization of unitive consciousness. Awakening into Oneness: The Power of Blessing in the Evolution of Consciousness tells the remarkable story of this radical new gateway to personal and global transformation.
Arjuna Ardagh shares dozens of firsthand accounts of the Oneness Blessing's life-changing effects on individuals from all over the world, from the mystical children who first experienced it nearly two decades ago to its continuing exploration at the Oneness University under the guidance of esteemed teachers Sri Bhagavan and his wife, Sri Amma. "The Blessing is something few will be able to ignore in the years ahead," Ardagh writes. "It has proven to be the fastest- growing spiritual development in living memory." Join him in this exciting investigation of: * The most common effects of the Oneness Blessing, from reduced mental chatter and heightened awareness to effortless peace and the cessation of unwanted habits