Books published by North Atlantic Books,U.S.

Drawing on ideas from classical military strategy, the Yijing (Book of Changes), and Chinese martial arts theory, Tom Bisio presents a fascinating exploration of how insights from these sources can be deployed to manage crisis situations in all aspects of our daily lives. Suggesting approaches for cultivating a strategic mindset that can be applied to one's relationships, work, and personal self-fulfillment, Beyond the Battleground offers methods of adapting to circumstances, conserving one's own resources, and avoiding or dissolving conflict that will aid any reader navigating the uncertainties of the changing world, including the business person, military theorist, or martial artist. Deftly interweaving his background in East Asian philosophy and history and his career in traditional Chinese medicine with his lifelong interest in the martial arts and military science, Bisio also presents examples of successful strategies from history's great commanders such as Sunzi, Alexander the Great, Napoleon, and Mao Zedong.

Internationally known herbalist Matthew Wood takes the guesswork out of the application of medicinal plants and provides an invaluable cross-reference of constitutional types, energetic categories, and specific symptoms that helps the herbalist narrow down the number of possible remedies for a specific condition. Unlike many reference books in which medicinal plants are defined simply by condition or disease name, this book contains tools to differentiate between remedies and analyze each case in a holistic fashion. While this system of cross-referencing is well known to homeopaths, it is less frequently used by herbalists; The Earthwise Herbal Repertory seeks to bridge the gap between different systems, incorporating knowledge from ancient Greek and traditional Native American medicine, nineteenth-century botanical medicine, homeopathy, and modern biomedical research. This definitive repertory proves useful for homeopaths and herbalists, professionals and home practitioners alike.

For the first time in English, Benebell Wen reveals the rich history and theoretical principles underlying the ancient practice of crafting Fu talismans, or magical sigils, in the Chinese Taoist tradition and gives detailed instructions for modern practitioners who would like to craft their own Fu. Fu talismans are ideograms and writings typically rendered on paper and empowered by means of invocations, ritual, and transferences of energy, or Qi. Talismans can be used for many purposes, such as strengthening or weakening personality characteristics, finding love, earning more money, or easing emotional tensions in the home. The Tao of Craft shows how metaphysical energy can be harnessed to amplify, strengthen, weaken, dispel, or block other metaphysical energy and to rectify perceived imbalances in the material plane. Supported by an abundance of detailed charts and images, this book serves as a step-by-step handbook that gives readers the knowledge and confidence to craft their own Fu talismans for personal empowerment. Wen, author of Holistic Tarot, delves into historic and cultural contexts of the Fu, from the neolithic period of Chinese history to contemporary practices of esoteric Taoism. Providing a solid foundation in the principles of Eastern spellcrafting, she highlights the blending of Taoist metaphysical practices with Western approaches to magic by pointing out eclectic, integrating, and harmonizing facets from other cultures and religions. Historically, Fu talismans were used by medieval Chinese for alleviating illness; averting misfortune, magical attacks, and curses; defending against assaults; and avoiding poverty. This book shows Western practitioners that the skill and knowledge to develop an interactive relationship with spirit realms are still available to them today, and serves as a practical handbook for accumulating Qi energy from sources in the environment and channeling it in concentrated form into their own Fu talismans.

Matthew Fox's stirring autobiography, Confessions, reveals his personal, intellectual, and spiritual journey from altar boy, to Dominican priest, to his eventual break with the Vatican. Five new chapters in this revised and updated edition bring added perspective in light of the author's continued journey, and his reflections on the current changes taking place in the Catholic church. Instead of living out his vows as a Dominican brother Matthew Fox was expelled from the Order after 34 years by Cardinal Ratzinger, who later became Pope Benedict XVI. Fox took this as a warning from the Church that henceforth thinkers should not think, but get in line. It is from this anti-intellectual, inquisition-style mentality that the cover-up of priestly pedophilia also grew as the Vatican appointed several generations of bishops and cardinals whose only criterion for selection was that they be uncritical yes-men. Confessions tells the inside story of what it was like "standing in front of the train" when the Vatican was on the attack. It also reflects on the meaning of the encouragingly healthy papacy of Pope Francis, but holds little hope for the institutional church. Rather, this book points to the main interest and accomplishments of the author's work to bring spirituality and prophetic warriorhood alive again in society and religion. Fox draws inspiration from great mystics of the past, such as Hildegard of Bingen (a champion of the Divine Feminine) and Meister Eckhart (a profoundly mystical and ecumenical champion of those without a voice), and the return of the archetype of the Cosmic Christ alongside the teachings of the historical Jesus and the bringing forth of the wisdom traditions from all the world's spiritual traditions to stand up for eco-justice, gender justice, economic justice and social justice.

In a book that reframes the mental health debate, Robert L. Gallon challenges the widely-held notion that mental disorders are medical diseases. Drawing on his extensive experience as a psychologist who has worked with thousands of patients, he argues that there are no objective indicators of mental disorders and therefore no way of drawing a distinct line between people who have them and people who don't. He outlines an alternative to the disease model defined by nine dimensions of dysfunction that encompass the range of human dysfunctions typically classified as mental disorders. He explains the origin of these problems, not as chemical imbalances and genetic abnormalities, but as the complex interaction of biological, psychological and social factors, called the Biopsychosocial model. Gallon explains the history of psychiatry and how it came to develop a medical model that codifies mental disorders in the psychiatric bible, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), now in its fifth edition. He demonstrates how, in 1950s and 1960s when the miracle psychiatric drugs came on the market, it was to the great economic advantage of both pharmaceutical companies and psychiatrists to describe people's problems in the language of medicine. His alternative to this disease model suggests descriptive types--Reality Misperception, Mood Dysfunction, Anxiety, Cognitive Competence, Social Competence, Somatoform Dysfunction, Substance Dependence, Motivation and Impulse Control, and Socialization Dysfunction--that we can construct to discuss the kinds and severities of problems people experience. These are not discrete abnormalities, but are sorts of dysfunction that can be placed on dimensions of dysfunction. Table of Contents Part I History of Madness 1. Introduction and Some Definitions 2. How madness became Medical 3. The Rise of Psychiatric Diagnosis 4. An Alternative Model Part II Dimensions of Madness 5. Reality Misperception 6. Mood Dysfunction 7. Anxiety 8. Cognitive Competence 9. Social Competence 10. Somatoform Dysfunction 11. Substance Dependence 12. Motivation and Impulse Control 13. Socialization Dysfunction Part III Treatment and Other Issues 14. What is Mental Health Treatment? 15. The Future

In Trauma and Memory, bestselling author Dr. Peter Levine (creator of the Somatic Experiencing approach) tackles one of the most difficult and controversial questions of PTSD/trauma therapy: Can we trust our memories? While some argue that traumatic memories are unreliable and not useful, others insist that we absolutely must rely on memory to make sense of past experience. Building on his 45 years of successful treatment of trauma and utilizing case studies from his own practice, Dr. Levine suggests that there are elements of truth in both camps. While acknowledging that memory can be trusted, he argues that the only truly useful memories are those that might initially seem to be the least reliable: memories stored in the body and not necessarily accessible by our conscious mind.While much work has been done in the field of trauma studies to address "explicit" traumatic memories in the brain (such as intrusive thoughts or flashbacks), much less attention has been paid to how the body itself stores "implicit" memory, and how much of what we think of as "memory" actually comes to us through our (often unconsciously accessed) felt sense. By learning how to better understand this complex interplay of past and present, brain and body, we can adjust our relationship to past trauma and move into a more balanced, relaxed state of being. Written for trauma sufferers as well as mental health care practitioners, Trauma and Memory is a groundbreaking look at how memory is constructed and how influential memories are on our present state of being.

This stunning English translation of a medieval Japanese text is at once an illustrated martial arts manual and a historical account of the teachings of a samurai grandmaster Available for the first time in English, this book explores the essential practices of the samurai school known as Mubyoshi Ryu. Complete with more than 350 images, The Lost Samurai School collects and translates ancient documents that contain the teachings of grandmaster Hagiwara Juzo-revealing for the first time to western readers the enthralling martial arts, secret weapons, magic, and espionage as they were practiced by samurai in their daily lives. The ancient Mubyoshi Ryu scrolls contain fascinating descriptions of "civilian" samurai skills-which concentrate more on personal protection than battlefield warfare-including the full ninja curriculum and elements of esoteric magic. Martial arts expert Antony Cummins contextualizes these translated documents by providing a history of the era and the school itself. The abundant illustrations form a useful martial arts manual, bringing to life the skills required to master everything from jujutsu and shuriken-jutsu (throwing blades) to swords, chain weapons, and the quarterstaff. The Lost Samurai School is a journey into the past that will preserve such skills for future generations and will appeal to anyone interested in martial arts or Japanese history.

The definitive guide to feeding your dog a balanced and nutritious raw and home-cooked diet, from the founder of a natural pets product company with over thirty years of experience working with dogs.Many people want to prepare their dog's meals at home, but feel it is too complex. Raw and Natural Nutrition for Dogs provides a road map to the essentials of canine nutrition, written in easy-to-understand language.Pet owners seeking to give their dogs a better coat, better skin, and healthier teeth and gums, as well as longer lives and more stable temperaments, will benefit not only from the background data in this book, but also the step-by-step instructions and recipes for preparing these diets. The book includes charts with the recipes, instructions on keeping diets simple and balanced, guidelines on preparation, suggestions for finding ingredients, and how much to feed a dog by body weight. There are recipes for healthy adult dogs, as well as guidelines for puppies, senior dogs, and dogs with health conditions including pancreatitis, renal problems, gastric issues, allergies, heart disease, liver disease, and cancer.Tracing the history of feeding dogs, the author shows when commercial dog food rose and took hold of the market. She discusses canine nutritional needs and provides research on how home-prepared foods can meet pets' needs better than commercial, processed dog food. Written with thorough information for the seasoned raw feeder, this guide can also be easily followed by any newcomer to home-feeding.This revised edition includes new information on special care and feeding of pregnant, newborn, performance, and toy breed dogs as well as senior dog considerations and the safety of the raw food diet for dogs.

An Approach to Ip Man Style Wing Chun is a practical new beginner's guide to Wing Chun by a certified instructor in the Ip Man lineage. Pan American Triple Gold Medalist Wayne Belonoha provides the fundamentals of the art as a comprehensive mind/body training program. Written in accessible language and including more than 400 full-color photos, the book emphasizes benefits including weight reduction, stress management, personal defense and safety, and self-discipline through meditation.

Inspiring hope, solace, and courage in living through our losses, author Martín Prechtel, trained in the Tzutujil Maya shamanic tradition, shares profound insights on the relationship between grief and praise in our culture--how the inability that many of us have to grieve and weep properly for the dead is deeply linked with the inability to give praise for living. In modern society, grief is something that we usually experience in private, alone, and without the support of a community. Yet, as Prechtel says, "Grief expressed out loud for someone we have lost, or a country or home we have lost, is in itself the greatest praise we could ever give them. Grief is praise, because it is the natural way love honors what it misses." Prechtel explains that the unexpressed grief prevalent in our society today is the reason for many of the social, cultural, and individual maladies that we are currently experiencing. According to Prechtel, "When you have two centuries of people who have not properly grieved the things that they have lost, the grief shows up as ghosts that inhabit their grandchildren." These "ghosts," he says, can also manifest as disease in the form of tumors, which the Maya refer to as "solidified tears," or in the form of behavioral issues and depression. He goes on to show how this collective, unexpressed energy is the long-held grief of our ancestors manifesting itself, and the work that can be done to liberate this energy so we can heal from the trauma of loss, war, and suffering.At base, this "little book," as the author calls it, can be seen as a companion of encouragement, a little extra light for those deep and noble parts in all of us.

In Original Thinking, Glenn Aparicio Parry delves into the evolution of Western thought to recover the living roots of wisdom that can correct the imbalances in our modern worldview. Inspired by groundbreaking dialogues that the author organized between Native American elders and leading-edge Western scientists to explore the underlying principles of the cosmos, this book offers a radical revisioning of how we think. Asking questions such as, Is it possible to come up with an original thought?, What does it mean to be human?, and How has our thinking created our world today?, Parry challenges us to consider many of our most basic assumptions. To think originally--as in thinking new thoughts that have never been thought or said before--is according to Parry, largely an illusion. So, too, is the idea of linear human progress. Most of us have traveled far from our ancestral lands, and in so doing, lost connection with place, the origin of our consciousness.Original Thinking offers a radical revisioning of how we think and what it means to be human. It invites us to reintegrate our hearts with our heads and to expand our self-imposed narrowing of consciousness. In doing so we reconnect with the living, original source--nature and her interconnected elements and cycles--and embrace the communion of old and new, rational and intuitive, and masculine and feminine. Ultimately, Parry shows us how to create the tapestry of truly original thinking and to restore thought as a blessing, as a whole and complete transmission from Spirit.ContentsPART ONE (ORIGIN): Is it possible to come up with an original thought?Chapter 1. Original Thought, Time, and the Unfolding of ConsciousnessChapter 2. Looking Backward to Go ForwardChapter 3. Wheels Within Wheels Chapter 4. It''s About Time PART TWO (DEPARTURE): What does it mean to be human? Chapter 5. Purpose, Potential, and Responsibility of Being Human Chapter 6. Rational Thought and Human Identity Chapter 7. Re-thinking Language Chapter 8. Beyond Rationality Chapter 9. A Tale of Two Directions PART THREE (RETURN): How has our thinking created the world today,and what is emerging? Chapter 10. The Essence of Thought Chapter 11. To Make Thought Whole Again Chapter 12. To Think Without Separation Chapter 13. Re-Thinking the "Dismal Science" Chapter 14. Toward An Original Economics PART FOUR (RENEWAL): Can education promote the renewal of original thinking? Chapter 15. Education as Renewal Chapter 16. Childhood and EducationChapter 17. Higher Education Chapter 18. A New (and Ancient) Vision Chapter 19. A Vision for Higher Education

Both science and spirituality agree that every particle of matter, every phenomenon we experience, is a form of resonance or vibration. The human voice is quite literally a mouthpiece of this truth; there is no form of expression more personal, more tied to our identities, than our voices. With simple inspirational exercises, this book by renowned voice teacher Chloe Goodchild gives readers the tools to guide them in a process of sound healing and soul communication that is guaranteed to open the heart and restore forgiveness, compassion, and interconnectedness between individuals and in their communities. At the heart of every human journey exists the longing to feel at home in one''s self and in the world. In a unique response to meet this longing, Chloe Goodchild invites you on a compelling adventure of self-discovery and creative fulfillment through a direct experience of your own authentic voice--the voice of your personal authority, the song of your soul. Going beyond traditional vocal training guides, this book will appeal to anyone wishing to encounter themselves at a primal level through the medium of the voice.

Self-Defense for Gentlemen and Ladies is the treatise of Colonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery, a master swordsman who participated in more than fifty duels, fought under twelve flags, battled gangsters, and was constantly involved in the great conflicts and upheavals of his time. This book is the magnum opus of this remarkable and colorful character, originally published in the 1870s as a series of newspaper articles and collected here for the first time. Colonel Monstery presents a unique look into the Victorian-era fighting world, describing styles such as British “purring” (shin-kicking), Welsh jump-kicking, and American rough-and-tumble fighting, and provides illustrated instruction in the art of gentlemanly self-defense with a cane, staff, or one’s bare hands. Fifty rare drawings and photographs from the period illuminate Monstery’s world, while an extensive glossary of terms and an introductory biography of Colonel Monstery—including fascinating details of his many duels as well as his groundbreaking devotion to teaching fencing and self-defense skills to women—update his text to make it accessible and useful to gentlemen and ladies of any era.CONTENTSColonel Thomas Hoyer Monstery: The Unknown American Martial Arts MasterI. Introduction.II. The Logic of Boxing.III. Standing and Striking.IV. Advancing to Strike and Feinting.V. Simple Parries in Boxing.VI. Parries with Returns.VII. Effective or Counter Parries in Boxing.VIII. Offence and Defense by Evasions.IX. Trips, Grips, and Back-Falls.X. Rules for a Set-to with Gloves.XI. Observations on Natural Weapons.XII. The Use of the Cane.XIII. The Use of the Cane (continued).XIV. The Use of the Staff.XV. The Use of the Staff (continued).Appendix: Monstery''s Rules for Contests of Sparring and FencingGlossary