On Our Bookshelf: Workshop Leaders, Friends, and Inspirations

The founder of Black Boys OM and workshop leader of the upcoming Healing, Rest, and Embodied Liberation for Men of Color has written a thoughtfully curated and structured journal for self-reflection guided by wisdom from African, Yogic, Buddhist, and Indigenous traditions. Flucker, a meditation and yoga instructor, adds special attention to meditation, breathwork, and nervous system regulation techniques and includes a “Mind Mapping” section for readers to bring their needs, intentions, and life plans into crystal clear focus. When recently asked about his favorite aspects of work, he replied, “The ability to make something out of nothing and to help people re-center and remember their own divinity.” With this guide, Fluker is reaching out directly to you.

This “great classic” of mind/body medicine and mindfulness takes its title from the film Zorba the Greek, in which the protagonist is asked if he has ever married. “Am I not a man? Of course I've been married! Wife, house, kids — the full catastrophe!” Zinn asks us to “dance in the gale” of the full catastrophe of life, all of existence’s joys and sorrows, while teaching proven mind-body approaches from meditation and yoga that foster well-being. It has been almost 35 years since this global bestseller, based on Kabat-Zinn’s ten years of experience at a stress reduction clinic at the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, was first published. Since then, it has been the inspiration behind countless mindfulness and stress reduction programs and has changed how the world understands the mind-body connection. In an introduction for the 2005 edition, the author wrote that mindfulness is “now more relevant than ever … to insure and strengthen our health and well-being, and perhaps our very sanity.” Much like this foundational text, those words remain painfully true, so let’s dance!

Kripal, who penned the definitive history of the Institute and its founding, Esalen: America and the Religion of No Religion, draws on, well, just about everything as he argues for a new model of the imagination — one that can fit all the phenomenon dismissed by experts and cynics: UFO encounters, precognitive dreams, telepathic visions, near-death experiences, and more. All that stuff that isn’t supposed to happen but does all the time. With this book, Kripal is developing a theory of mind that can provide greater insight into the too-often-dismissed mysteries. “I’m pushing back against this idea that the imagination is just about imaginary mental states,” says the author. In the words of a very respectable publishing trade magazine’s review: “Kripal bravely dives into fundamental questions, and he offers mind-stretching possibilities as a result.” However, we prefer this post by one of Kripal’s readers: “An electric cornucopia of high powered supercharged Neoplatonic magical-mysticism of such massive voltage & abundance that I reel from it almost every day!”

The answer for anyone looking to finally shut up that belittling eternal whisper: “You’re not good/smart/thin/cool enough!” This volume by Buddhist meditation teacher, founder of the Mindfulness Institute, Esalen workshop leader, and author Coleman (Awake in the Wild, From Suffering to Peace) is filled with compassion to counteract all that negatively-toned self-talk. Make Peace with Your Mind teaches the difference between intrusive judgment and wise discernment and the power of humor and forgiveness, which can benefit everyone — even if they don’t quite know it. “I think people don’t realize they have a critic … don’t even have a word for it,” Coleman explains, “but when I say, ‘Hey, does anyone give themselves a hard time?’ Or when I say, ‘Does anybody have that kind of controlling, demanding, driving voice?” they’ll say, ‘Oh, yeah, I’ve got one of those.’” The simple and effective practices and inspiring stories will help you silence the one you carry inside you for a happier and flourishing life.

Yes, this cookbook has mouthwatering recipes, but it is also a travelog of beautiful places and a wellness guide designed to transform you from the inside out. Twenty years ago, Buettner identified the regions where people live longer, healthier lives. “These longevity hotspots are known as ‘blue zones,’ and I’ve made it my mission to teach people how to embrace the blue zones’ way of life and live to a healthy 100,” writes the explorer, National Geographic Fellow, award-winning journalist, and three-time Guinness World record distance cycling holder. Out of all the books in Buettner’s Blue Zone series (including The Blue Zones, Thrive, and The Blue Zones of Happiness), this one is officially our favorite for merging “scientific reporting, National Geographic photography, and 100 recipes that may help you live to 100.” Also, the life-sustaining food is surprisingly delicious! The Okinawan sweet bread (p.129 in my copy) will leave you deeply satiated at any age.