Books about Practicing from Amazon.com

.
Price: $13.27 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Who Moved My Cheese? showed readers how to adapt to change.

Fish! helped raise flagging morale.

Execution guided readers to overcome the inability to get things done.

QBQ! The Question Behind the Question, already a phenomenon in its self-published edition, addresses the most important issue in business and society today: personal accountability.

The lack of personal accountability has resulted in an epidemic of blame, complaining, and procrastination. No organization-or individual-can achieve goals, compete in the marketplace, fulfill a vision, or develop people and teams without personal accountability.

The solution involves an entirely new approach. We can no longer ask, "Who dropped the ball?" "Why can't they do their work properly?" or "Why do we have to go through all these changes?" Instead, every individual has to ask the question behind the question: "How can I improve this situation?" "What can I contribute?" or "How can I make a difference?"

Succinct, insightful, and practical, QBQ! The Question Behind the Question provides a method for putting personal accountability into daily action, which can bring astonishing results: problems get solved, barriers come down, service improves, teamwork grows, and people adapt to change..
Price: $5.91 [Notify me when price goes down.]

.
Price: $8.00 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Present moment awareness is an essential ingredient in life if one expects to experience any degree of authentic peace and contentment It has been acknowledged for centuries as the cornerstone of spiritual awakening in all traditions of Eastern thought. In the West, however, it is still a relatively unrecognized concept of living. The Western mind is always restless, never content with the moment. Its internal dialogue is always firing off thoughts filled with emotional content and pulling the individual out of the present and into the past or future. But individuals raised in Western culture are becoming increasingly more aware of their overall sense of mental exhaustion, their lack of discipline and their inability to focus on demand. They are willing to expend the energy necessary to experience inner peace and a quiet mind that is waiting to follow the direction of their will. They are realizing that the endless struggle to fulfill the insatiable appetite of instant gratification is fruitless and tiresome at best. They are ripe for a new path in life and eager for a new set of instructions. This is the purpose of The Practicing Mind. It comprehensively deals with helping the individual understand exactly what present moment awareness is, how we are raised in a manner contradictory to this, and how we change our mindset to make this a part of our daily living. This book is accessible to readers of all philosophical backgrounds. Regardless of your perspective, you will find the book's insights most compelling.
Now the wisdom of both The Practicing Mind and The Meditating Mind are available in the new package: The Total Mindset..
Price: $16.95 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Already Not Yet

When Jesus announced, “the kingdom of God is at hand,” what did He mean? Uncover the reality of the kingdom of God and what it might look like if followers of Christ practiced its in-breaking presence. What happens when we view life through the lens of the kingdom? How does the beauty of Jesus’ reign break into the mess of our broken lives and world? What if we lived as though a world other than this one was here today? This Beautiful Mess launches a paradigm-shifting journey inviting us to experience the kingdom of God in the ordinary miracle of our everyday lives.

"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field.

When a man found it, he…

sold all he had and bought that field.”

—Matthew 13:44

Jesus’ sayings about the kingdom of God just might be the most overlooked of his teachings. Yet the Good News of the kingdom—a treasure beyond price—was what he came to preach.

It’s time to ask:

What is the kingdom Jesus talked about?

Could it be already here, hidden from sight? If so, where is it?

How can I be a part of it?

A new generation is tuning in to the teachings of Jesus and to their revolutionary implications. Could it be that living under Christ’s reign is not merely a future vision but a present reality?

Rick McKinley’s exploration is fresh, accessible, and timely. With careful attention to historical texts, he unveils new understandings of authentic personal and social transformation. The time is now. Your opportunity is here. In the mess of everyday life, you can live in the beautiful presence of the kingdom.

Story Behind the Book

”When we started Imago Dei Community, it was with a passion to be people who live in love with Jesus and live out the values of His kingdom in our city. But we had no idea how to do that. God let us stumble into grace and discover the wide-open plains of His kingdom. This has ruined us in the best way possible. Because once you taste untamed life in the kingdom, you will never go back to the sterile hallways of religion. The beautiful, transforming grace of Christ shows up in the messiness of life and the kingdom breaks in as a beautiful mess.”—Rick McKinley.
Price: $5.59 [Notify me when price goes down.]

In a remarkable memoir written with insight and humor, Glenn Kurtz takes us from his first lessons at the age of eight to his acceptance at the elite New England Conservatory of Music. After graduation, he attempts a solo career in Vienna but soon realizes that he has neither the ego nor the talent required to succeed and gives up the instrument, and his dream, entirely.

But not forever: Returning to the guitar, Kurtz weaves into the narrative the rich experience of a single practice session. Practicing takes us on a revelatory, inspiring journey: a love affair with music..
Price: $8.29 [Notify me when price goes down.]

If you wish to know your Lord in a deeper way, you are invited to join the vast host of Christians who, over three centuries, have turned to this book more than any other--except the Scriptures--in order to begin that journey to the depths of Christ.

Imagine a book that is 300 years old and has never been out of print! Such is the book you hold in your hands. Other than Pilgrim's Progress, there is probably no other piece of Christian literature that has stood the test of the centuries so well. An estimated 22 million copies of the original The Practice of the Presence of God have been printed in the English language alone. In recent years, however, interest in this book has waned as the original English edition became so outdated that it was virtually unreadable. The publishers have now revised and reissued this book under the title Practicing His Presence and the profundity, depth, and beauty of Brother Lawrence's masterpiece lives again!

We have included in this edition, not only the letters of Brother Lawrence--from the 17th century--but also those of Frank Laubauch--from the 20th century--who, like Brother Lawrence before him, wrote a series of letters chronicling his experiences in practicing the presence of Jesus Christ..
Price: $5.25 [Notify me when price goes down.]

Practising the true spirit of Zen.

Not Always So is based on Shunryu Suzuki's lectures and is framed in his own inimitable, allusive, paradoxical style, rich with unexpected and off–centre insights Suzuki knew he was dying at the time of the lectures, which gives his thoughts an urgency and focus even sharper than in the earlier book.

In Not Always So Suzuki once again voices Zen in everyday language with the vigour, sensitivity, and buoyancy of a true friend. Here is support and nourishment. Here is a mother and father lending a hand, but letting you find your own way. Here is guidance which empowers your freedom (or way–seeking mind), rather than pinning you down to directions and techniques. Here is teaching which encourages you to touch and know your true heart and to express yourself fully, teaching which is not teaching from outside, but a voice arising in your own being.

.
Price: $6.56 [Notify me when price goes down.]

As wise as grandparents, a good guide to living within our families and communities with integrity and generosity.
-- Kathleen Norris, author of Dakota and The Cloister Walk

Many people are looking for ways to deepen their relationship with God by practicing their faith in everyday life. Some go on retreats but are often disappointed. Many thoughtful, educated people search for spiritual guidance in Eastern religious traditions, unaware of the great riches within their own heritage. Dorothy Bass and the other contributors to this multi-denominational collection show how they can shape a faithful way of life during challenging times at work, at home, and in the community. This book explores the stuff of everyday life, placing ordinary activities in a biblical and historical context, and discovering in them opportunities to realize God's active presence in life.

Practices include:
* Honoring the body
* Hospitality
* Household economics
* Saying yes and saying no
* Keeping Sabbath
* Testimony
* Discernment
* Shaping Communities
* Forgiveness
* Healing.
Price: $6.35 [Notify me when price goes down.]