Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior [Paperback]

Stephen Russell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 1999

Barefoot Doctor's Healing Prescription

Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao is a modern approach to an ancient art that will give you the tools you need to survive and thrive amid the growing pressures of modern life.

Here is the Tao with hipness, humor, and a complete lack of inscrutability. The Tao, which translates roughly as "The Way," is a basic philosophy for focusing the mind, channeling energy, and strengthening the spirit. Genuinely erudite but also highly practical, this book will help you learn the skills of meditation, psychic shielding, mindfulness, and magic to enhance your experience of reality. You'll also pick up instant advice on hundreds of challenges facing today's busy urban warrior:
¸  work  ¸  sex  ¸  money  ¸  success  ¸  politics  ¸  travel  ¸  relationships  ¸  drugs  ¸  healing  ¸  technology  ¸  freedom

For anyone striving for inner harmony on our messy old planet, let Barefoot Doctor walk the Tao for you.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

In ancient China, barefoot doctors traveled from village to village without concern for financial or personal gain. Their aim was helping people stay healthy and in good spirits, explains author Stephen Russell, who for the past 20 years has considered himself to be the modern-day "barefoot doctor." Applying the principles of ancient Chinese Taoism, Russell dishes out irreverent advice for how to find peace and prolong life while keeping one's Donna Karan designer clothing and urban lifestyle.

The first step, claims the barefoot doctor, is to recognize that we're all urban warriors, engaged in a spiritual struggle between the forces of light and darkness within us and around us. Rather than get into "inner street brawls" with these opposing forces, Russell suggests that readers learn to live in balance by following one's Tao or "The Way." Russell humorously yet wisely illustrates how readers can follow the Tao, including short chapters on "Manners," "Condoms," "Cults, Gurus," "People Surfing," and "Intuition." This is a somewhat glib but surprisingly sensible spiritual guidebook for those who like their teachers to be streetwise as well as enlightened. --Gail Hudson

From the Inside Flap

Barefoot Doctor's Healing Prescription

Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao is a modern approach to an ancient art that will give you the tools you need to survive and thrive amid the growing pressures of modern life.

Here is the Tao with hipness, humor, and a complete lack of inscrutability. The Tao, which translates roughly as "The Way," is a basic philosophy for focusing the mind, channeling energy, and strengthening the spirit. Genuinely erudite but also highly practical, this book will help you learn the skills of meditation, psychic shielding, mindfulness, and magic to enhance your experience of reality. You'll also pick up instant advice on hundreds of challenges facing today's busy urban warrior:
¸  work  ¸  sex  ¸  money  ¸  success  ¸  politics  ¸  travel  ¸  relationships  ¸  drugs  ¸  healing  ¸  technology  ¸  freedom

For anyone striving for inner harmony on our messy old planet, let Barefoot Doctor walk the Tao for you.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 224 pages
• Publisher: Three Rivers Press; 1 edition (May 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812931580
• ISBN-13: 978-0812931587
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 6.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #549,974 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple and Deep, Just like Toaism, July 1, 1999

By 

blair "masterblair" (West Hollywood, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior (Paperback)

I found this quite down to earth, no flowery philosophy like other books which had previously made if difficult for me to learn about Taoism. The exercises are straight forward and cover 2-3 pages each. This is a book that works for me as a beginner and will continue to be in my library for years as I refer back to it to get a greater sense of Self Spiritual Understanding. I highly recomend this to anyone who likes answers and straighforward instruction.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Tao for those who don't want to ditch the laptop, October 31, 2000

By 

Craig M. Smith "C.M.Smith" (Davis Square, Somerville, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior (Paperback)

I like my life and my stuff! I don't want to cloister myself on some mountain top and eschew the modern world. This is a great book for all the citizens of the real world who want to explore the Tao, but don't want to become great scholars. Taoism is about being and experiencing, not about pouring through ancient tomes for answers other people have found. If you'd rather get a few pointers on how to be a little more Tao, get this lovely little book. It is truly a diggable and easily portable guide to life on the cooler side of the fence.

10 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A word to the wise, December 22, 2008

By 

Crowhurst (New York, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Barefoot Doctor's Guide to the Tao: A Spiritual Handbook for the Urban Warrior (Paperback)

When I acquired this book several years ago it appealed to me because it seemed to be an up-to-date take on a philosophy which had long interested me. In retrospect I can see that it needlessly steered me into a lot of confusion and uncertainty. In my opinion the product being marketed here is a toxic concoction of New Age quackery and mental hopscotch masquerading as spiritual guidance.

I humbly recommend readers seeking clarity and peace of mind to investigate the book 'Food For the Heart' (available for free online) which contains the collected lectures of the late Buddhist monastic Ajahn Chah. Here you will find tough, no nonsense, gimmick-free insight relating to spiritual practice and the nature of reality.