Showing results by publisher "Spoken Realms" in Religion & Spirituality

Little is known of the life of Zen master Huang-Po (Obaku in Japanese). He was born in Fuzhou, China, and died about 850 AD. His main teacher was Pai Chang (Hyakujo) (720 - 814). The main source for Huang-Po's teaching is the Treatise of the Essentials of the Transmission of the Mind, compiled by his student, Pei Xiu. Huang-Po's teaching is focused on the concept of Mind, the essence of intrinsic Buddahood. According to the master, the search for enlightenment was a useless distraction, as seeking for something inevitably separates the seeker from what is being sought.

The Heavenly Life is one of James Allen's lesser-known but most aphoristic works. His basic thesis is that total absorption in the eternal Now is the true path to discovering the divine center within oneself. The past is a dream and the future is just a speculation: man can only act and live in the present. He can change his world only by changing himself.

In this book, New Thought philosopher James Allen explores various approaches to the concept of fate, or destiny, and its relationship to personal empowerment.

James Allen (1864 - 1912) was an evangelist for the emerging New Thought movement and wrote over twenty books that explored many aspects of his universalist philosophy. Many of James Allen's prose works contain snippets of verse, which are generally devotional and reflective. A significant number of these poetic excerpts were composed by Allen himself. This collection, which was first published in 1907, contains 37 short poems, illustrative of Allen's idiosyncratic views of the spiritual path and the personal search for truth.

James Allen consistently taught that personal development was based on the application of certain permanent and unchanging principles. In this book, he examines the various systems—social, political, economic, and technological—that man has developed to enhance and enrich his life experience. His conclusion is that to be effective all systems must operate according to fundamental ethical and moral laws. The effect of the correct application of these spiritual principles will be a state of true peace, free from any taint of passion or conflict.

Lao Zi is believed to have been born in 604, during the Chou Dynasty. Little is known of his life and there is some speculation that he was mythical.

In James Allen's view, the "Shining Gateway" to self-realization was meditation, which he defines as a process of transmutation of crass and limiting perceptions into higher and more refined states of awareness. As in his other works, he states the principle that all activity is generated by thought, and that by disciplined regulation of thought processes man can avoid undesirable actions and achieve a mode of life that is happy and successful. 

This self-help treatise by prominent New Thought author Christian D. Larson explores the accumulation and preservation of personal power, an essential ingredient in success. Larson defines this management of power as poise, an attitude that prevents the unnecessary loss of vital force. The title page bears the following epigraph: "A genius is slumbering in the subconscious of every mind. This genius can be awakened."

A prominent focus of the works of New Thought author Christian Larson (1874-1954) was the cultivation of positive mental states for the attainment of success and happiness. In this short treatise, he analyzes some common mental maladies and gives suggestions for their treatment.

Thomas Troward (1847-1916) was the founder of a syncretic metaphysical system, which he called Mental Science. He claimed that his philosophy was supported by the Bible, which he quoted copiously in his various books. In this pamphlet, published while the First World War was raging, Troward sought to demonstrate that the prophetic utterances in the Bible indicated that his readers were living in the End Times. However, Troward claimed that this apocalyptic period was not the end of the world, but the end of an age.