This is a great book for anyone interested in this subject, whether initiate or not. It provides insight from a number of the initial 20th century pioneers, as well as gives us a window into the inner ritual as performed by the more rural indian "initiates". I would recommend this book to anyone interested in using entheogens, writing about entheogens, or anyone who has used them previously and would like a better understanding of their experience. I especially liked the different perspectives such as referring to their experiences as just that-personal experiences rather than simply hallucinations, which implies something false or nonexistant. It provides a profound respect for these experiences rather than a complete dismissal of the experience as nonsense, as our governments and "health" agencies may be tempted to do.

If you want a number of perspectives on the serious use of psychedelics, this is the book! Christian, Buddhist, spiritual, scientific and legal considerations on the subject are presented.

As an anthology, it will familiarize you with key figures in the contemporary psychedelic scene.

This is an intelligent book for people wanting to explore psychedelics for spiritual purposes. It is not a book for "stoners" who just want to trip to see "pink bunnies"

Too often, ethical questions are considered dreary subjects best left to a committee. This book helps us see ethics as integrally related to how we do our work, and to our own personal growth. It also embraces a wide spectrum of consciousness, in a systematic way. It is particularly remarkable for its emphasis on non-ordinary states of consciousness, and how to handle these intense experiences when they occur in our work with clients (whether deliberately induced or occurring spontaneously). The Ethics of Caring will be especially valuable for trainee caregivers, supervisors, clients looking for the appropriate therapist, and any professionals who finds themselves, as we all do from time to time, out of our depth.

This is a very useful tool for any therapist, whether a mainstream counselor or doctor, or practitioners of complementary modalities such as massage. It discusses in plain language the ethical dilemmas we are all confronted by in our daily practice. I particularly appreciated the explanation of a client's vulnerability while in an altered state such as hypnosis or the deep relaxation produced by massage. The author also addresses the vulnerability of the therapist when faced with a client's issues that hook into the therapist's issues, creating a very murky situation indeed. The author assists us to provide appropriate loving care to our clients without violating boundaries.

Thich Nhat Hanh has updated the traditional Buddhist precepts in this book. His version goes beyond "do not kill," for example, to be mindful of that we might be killing inadvertently. He makes us aware of the broadness of the precepts and thus encourages us to be more mindful. If we are not mindful, we break the precepts. Therefore, he calls them Mindfulness Trainings. Thay's approach frames the precepts in a way that is helpful in our daily life. He makes them relevant.

In a world of deceit, excess, killing, lying and stealing, the present moment works with faith FOR A FUTURE TO BE POSSIBLE by enlightenment from the Buddha, the practice of love and understanding, and ever bigger and greater numbers of communities seeking wisdom, harmony and awareness. Art and meditation send energy into cell nutrition and nervous system health. Mindfulness teaches respect for all life, generosity, responsibility, careful speech and healthy diet for concentration and insight. Nobel Prize winner Thich Nhat Hanh's book is a beautifully reader-friendly steppingstone to THE GOOD HEART by the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, AWAKENING THE BUDDHIST HEART by Lama Surya Das, and LOVINGKINDNESS by Sharon Salzberg.

If you live somewhere where you can't find instruction, or simply don't want to go the route of trying to find one, this is a wonderful way to learn. Trying to learn from books is difficult; insight meditation is really a very simple thing, but without someone to 'tell' you about it, there always seems to be a nagging doubt about whether you're doing it correctly. This video really opened our eyes about the practice, along with providing Jack Kornfield's usual excellent advice about spiritual practice in general.

The title of this review tells it all. Jack Kornfield explains and exhibits the essence of the purpose of meditation. His stories and explanations make things "click". I feel like this is the starting point of a major...maybe the major progression...in my ability to manifest the power inherent in meditative exercises. It's a lot to say about a video, I know. I'm sure glad I came across this video. I checked it out at the local library. Now I'm going to buy it and use it everyday and share it with others.

After reading "A Path with Heart" by Jack Kornfield, I found his audio tape to be very informative. If you are having doubts about how to pursue meditation and spiritual life, I would highly recommend this audio. I can never listen to it too often. Jack has a wonderful way of getting his point across.

Jack Kornfield is perhaps the most gifted meditation teacher in the West. His humor, compassion, clarity and insight make this tape series a life-long treasure. Perfect for anyone who is new to meditation or who wantsmore peace and compassion to stream from the heart.

I've read many books on meditation and while each of them answers some of my questions, Jack Kornfield's book, A Path with Heart, answers every one save those that must be experienced first-hand in one's own time. His voice and advice is articulate, intelligent, humorous, open, patient and wise. He starts out by telling you a little about his own experience, goes on to cover the basics of vipassana meditation and then leads you bit by bit deep into the issues every meditator and spiritual seeker must face. What I love most about his teaching style is that he gives gentle, practical advice on the day-to-day, minute by minute stuff to do to explore, commit to, love being on the path. If my house were on fire and I had to grab only one book on my way out the door, it would be A Path with Heart.

. . . let it be "A Path With Heart!" With wise and skillful words, Jack Kornfield is a master of teaching Buddhist practices including insight meditation (known as vipassanna) to Western students for over 20 years. Being a former Buddhist monk with a PHD in psychology, as well as a husband and father, he is able to communicate the practice of Buddhism in everyday life in a way that makes sense to Western minds. Kornfield embraces the stuggles and hindrances that are common to the spiritual path as well as offering timely and useful meditations for awakening, opening the heart and clear and humorous insight into basic Buddhist principles such as the 5 precepts, the Buddhist view of self (or lack thereof) and karma. With open arms and a deep understanding of the Western psyche and it's tangles, Kornfield delivers a book that is a love song, a workout and a survival manual for anyone committed to the spiritual path.

This book has story after story of the most incredible spiritual messages passed down by the centuries from Christian, Buddist, and Sufi monks; Jewish Rabbis; Native Americans; etc....

I have over 13 years of following a spiritual path and if I ever had to choose one book for "to the point" and direct spiritual nourishment, I'd choose this book.

A book of much more depth than the "Chicken Soup" books, though it has something of the same purpose.

this book is a great introdution to the world of self awareness. it give both christian and buddhist approaches to life.

Explains a little about the Theravaden lineage, then dedicates one chapter to each masters' teachings. Anyone looking for a teacher or technique they like, this is a great book to check out. This book is a must read for anyone who is just starting to learn about Buddhist meditation. It also has some very good question and answer sections.

This is the best concise compendium of original Buddhist teachings available in (smooth) English, in my opinion. The selection is excellent and covers the full range of Buddhist traditions. The titles are generally thematic, leaving the designation of the actual sutra to a small note at the end of each selection. It is the perfect and most natural choice for those who are looking for a small bedside edition of concise Buddhist teachings rather than a complete translation of the entire Majjhima Nikaya, or some such (for that check out Wisdom Book's excellent Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, for example). In short, I can't recommend this book highly enough!