When life gives you lemons, squeeze them into a stiff drink and stir. After twenty years defending the frozen north against some of the most dangerous threats in the nine kingdoms, Rhoren “Bloodbane” has finally earned his retirement. While the blood mage's service to the realm may have ended, burning veins and aching joints remain, and Rhoren soon learns that a warmer climate offers relief from his chronic pain. And a chance at a fresh start. In the warm and relaxing atmosphere of Eastborne, the umbral elf finds a new purpose and a sense of belonging. He may have left the frozen north behind, but he brings with him the skills and strength gained from a lifetime of defending the realm. Along with his most prized possession—a book of drink recipes inherited from his father. Spilled cocktails may not carry the same weight as spilled blood, but opening a tavern brings a unique brand of challenges. With the right friends and a little bit of luck, he might just have a recipe for success.

Tantric Meditations and Practices for Radical and Profound Spiritual DiscoveryThe sensuous and the sublime, the ordinary and the divine—on the Tantric path, all qualities merge as one in the ecstasy and wonder of awakening.Doorways to the Infinite invites us to directly experience the core practices and insights of Tantra from its original Kashmir Shaivism's Vijnana Bhairava. This dialogue between the deity Shiva and his consort Devi unfolds the secrets for moment-to-moment awakening into inner freedom and open-eyed ecstasy. Now, Sally Kempton unpacks the hidden truths of this text, revealing it as a treasury of powerful pathways to direct revelation.With her gift for sharing subtle esoteric wisdom in an immediate and down-to-earth way, Kempton guides us into dozens of meditations and methods to engage our senses, imagination, breath, energy flow, attention, and postures as vehicles for radical and profound spiritual illumination. Doorways to the Infinite breath within the breath, the heart within the heart Listening, seeing, and feeling with full presence Awakening to your inner body as space and light Opening to the flow of your Kundalini energy Engaging intense emotions for Self-realization The spirituality of everyday activities Intimate relationships and lovemaking Physical movement, dance, and moreA graceful gesture can lead to a heart-stopping realization of your body as divine. A long, slow exhalation of the breath can reveal your connection to the Source of everything. A sound—any sound—can take you to the reality beyond sound. Realizations can unfold in a thousand ways. With Doorways to the Infinite, discover your true Self—not by transcending the world, but through the extraordinary hidden within ordinary life.HighlightsThe revelation of the Vijnana Bhairava Tantra The experience of innate divinity Holding the center Emptiness, contemplation, and the senses The yoga of intense experience I am practices for immediate realization

A revelatory Alpine journey in the spirit of the great Romantic thinker Friedrich NietzscheHiking with Nietzsche: Becoming Who You Are is a tale of two philosophical journeys--one made by John Kaag as an introspective young man of nineteen, the other seventeen years later, in radically different circumstances: he is now a husband and father, and his wife and small child are in tow. Kaag sets off for the Swiss peaks above Sils Maria where Nietzsche wrote his landmark work Thus Spoke Zarathustra. Both of Kaag's journeys are made in search of the wisdom at the core of Nietzsche's philosophy, yet they deliver him to radically different interpretations and, more crucially, revelations about the human condition. Just as Kaag's acclaimed debut, American Philosophy: A Love Story, seamlessly wove together his philosophical discoveries with his search for meaning, Hiking with Nietzsche is a fascinating exploration not only of Nietzsche's ideals but of how his experience of living relates to us as individuals in the twenty-first century. Bold, intimate, and rich with insight, Hiking with Nietzsche is about defeating complacency, balancing sanity and madness, and coming to grips with the unobtainable. As Kaag hikes, alone or with his family, but always with Nietzsche, he recognizes that even slipping can be instructive. It is in the process of climbing, and through the inevitable missteps, that one has the chance, in Nietzsche's words, to "become who you are."

A master teacher offers a fresh and faithful approach for invoking the power of the five dakinis―the fierce and loving goddesses of Tibetan Buddhism. Female energy is on the rise. Courageous women everywhere are bursting through the seams of the patriarchy. Yet tearing down old barriers is not enough―how can we access the power of the feminine in a way that heals wounds and brings our world into balance? Lama Tsultrim Allione invites you to discover the five dakinis of Tibetan Buddhism, luminous “sky dancers” who carry the feminine’s transformative gifts. With The Empowered Feminine, this bestselling author presents an in-depth learning course for creating profound change―to accelerate your spiritual growth and serve the needs of our planet. A Practical Approach for Embracing Archetypal Feminine Forces Lama Tsultrim begins by introducing you to the five dakinis, and explores how this tradition has evolved from the time of the Buddha into the modern age. Then she takes you step-by-step into the mandala of the five a versatile framework for meditation, self-examination, connecting with nature, and healing. In ten audio sessions, you’ll • The history and practice of feminine energy in Buddhism • The energies of each dakini―and how to tell which dakini “family” you belong to • How to transform the “five poisons” of the ego into the “five medicines” of awakening • The Dakini Mandala―a template for returning to our innate wholeness • How the feminine can come into wise partnership with the masculine • The outer, inner, and secret dakini • In-depth practices for realizing the transformative power of the five dakini virtues “A dakini is both compassionate and relentless, burning away the ego,” says Lama Tsultrim. “Wherever we cling, she cuts; whatever we hide from ourselves, she reveals.” Discover how you can bring the wisdom, grace, and fierceness of the dakinis into spiritual practice and everyday life with The Empowered Feminine.

Researchers have shown that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure lifelong symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain, fatigue, illness, and harmful "acting out" behaviors reflecting these painful events. Today, millions in both the bodywork and the psychotherapeutic fields are turning to Peter A. Levine's breakthrough Somatic Experiencing™ methods to effectively overcome these challenges. Healing Trauma offers readers the personal how-to guide for using the theory Dr. Levine first introduced in his highly acclaimed work Waking the Tiger, including: • How to develop body awareness to "re-negotiate" and heal traumas—rather than relive them • Emergency "first-aid" measures for emotional distress • A 60-minute CD of guided Somatic Experiencing techniques "Trauma is a fact of life," teaches Peter Levine, "but it doesn't have to be a life sentence." Now, with one fully integrated self-healing tool, he shares his essential methods to address unexplained symptoms of trauma at their source—the body—to return us to the natural state we are meant to live in.

Researchers have shown that survivors of accidents, disaster, and childhood trauma often endure lifelong symptoms ranging from anxiety and depression to unexplained physical pain, fatigue, illness, and harmful "acting out" behaviors reflecting these painful events. Today, millions in both the bodywork and the psychotherapeutic fields are turning to Peter A. Levine's breakthrough Somatic Experiencing™ methods to effectively overcome these challenges. Healing Trauma offers readers the personal how-to guide for using the theory Dr. Levine first introduced in his highly acclaimed work Waking the Tiger, including: • How to develop body awareness to "re-negotiate" and heal traumas—rather than relive them • Emergency "first-aid" measures for emotional distress • A 60-minute CD of guided Somatic Experiencing techniques "Trauma is a fact of life," teaches Peter Levine, "but it doesn't have to be a life sentence." Now, with one fully integrated self-healing tool, he shares his essential methods to address unexplained symptoms of trauma at their source—the body—to return us to the natural state we are meant to live in.

Pride, lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, and anger.They’re considered “deadly” because of their capacity to generate other evils.  The truth is, we all sin and we do it all the time—in fact, usually several times over before breakfast!  But human behavior, argues social psychologist Simon Laham, is more complex than “good” or “evil.”  In psychology, these sins aren’t considered morally wrong or even uniformly bad, but are treated rather as complex and interesting psychological states that if, indulged wisely, can be functional, adaptive, and lead to a range of positive effects.     The Science of Sin takes on these so-called sins one by one and through psychological research shows that being bad can be oh-so-good for you.  Did you know that:   ·         Being slow and lazy can help you win the race? ·         Anger makes you more open-minded? ·         Coveting what others have not only makes you more creative but bolsters self- esteem?   So go ahead, eat that last cookie and kick back on the couch for a day of TV with your neighbor’s boyfriend—from gluttony to greed, envy to lust, Laham shows how even the deadliest, most decadent of vices can make you smart, successful, and happy.

Are you wrestling with your demons? Struggling with depression, anxiety, illness, an eating disorder, a difficult relationship, fear, self-hatred, addiction, or anger? Renowned American Buddhist leader Tsultrim Allione explains that the harder we fight our demons, the stronger they become. If we want to liberate ourselves from the fight once and for all, we must reverse our approach and nurture our demons. In Feeding Your Demons , Allione adapts the revolutionary wisdom of Tibet’s greatest female spiritual master for the first time, providing a powerful method for coping with the inner enemies that undermine your best intentions. Based on an extraordinarily simple yet effective five-step practice, Feeding Your Demons outlines a strategy for transforming negative emotions, relationships, fears, illness, and self-defeating patterns. By recognizing your demons, giving them form, and then feeding them, you can free yourself from the battle. And the paradigm shift from fighting to feeding demons can apply not only to your personal challenges but also to the challenges of the world at large.  Enriched with detailed examples to show how others have transformed their demons, Feeding Your Demons will give you remarkable new insight into the forces that threaten to defeat you, along with the tools to achieve inner peace.

A master teacher offers a fresh and faithful approach for invoking the power of the five dakinis―the fierce and loving goddesses of Tibetan Buddhism. Female energy is on the rise. Courageous women everywhere are bursting through the seams of the patriarchy. Yet tearing down old barriers is not enough―how can we access the power of the feminine in a way that heals wounds and brings our world into balance? Lama Tsultrim Allione invites you to discover the five dakinis of Tibetan Buddhism, luminous “sky dancers” who carry the feminine’s transformative gifts. With The Empowered Feminine, this bestselling author presents an in-depth learning course for creating profound change―to accelerate your spiritual growth and serve the needs of our planet. A Practical Approach for Embracing Archetypal Feminine Forces Lama Tsultrim begins by introducing you to the five dakinis, and explores how this tradition has evolved from the time of the Buddha into the modern age. Then she takes you step-by-step into the mandala of the five a versatile framework for meditation, self-examination, connecting with nature, and healing. In ten audio sessions, you’ll • The history and practice of feminine energy in Buddhism • The energies of each dakini―and how to tell which dakini “family” you belong to • How to transform the “five poisons” of the ego into the “five medicines” of awakening • The Dakini Mandala―a template for returning to our innate wholeness • How the feminine can come into wise partnership with the masculine • The outer, inner, and secret dakini • In-depth practices for realizing the transformative power of the five dakini virtues “A dakini is both compassionate and relentless, burning away the ego,” says Lama Tsultrim. “Wherever we cling, she cuts; whatever we hide from ourselves, she reveals.” Discover how you can bring the wisdom, grace, and fierceness of the dakinis into spiritual practice and everyday life with The Empowered Feminine.

Having married her childhood sweetheart, Riko now finds herself trapped in a relationship that has been soured by infidelity. One day, by chance, she runs into her old friend Mr Takaoka, who offers friendship, love, and an unusual escape: he teaches her the trick of living inside her dreams. And so, each night, she sinks into another life: first as a high-ranking courtesan in the 17th century, and then as a serving lady to a princess in the late Middle Ages. As she experiences desire and heartbreak in the past, so Riko comes to reconsider her life as a 21st century woman, as a wife, as a mother, and as a lover, and to ask herself whether, after loving her husband and loving Mr Takaoka, she is now ready for her third great love.