Sailing Home and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle. Learn more

FREE Shipping on orders over $25.

Used - Very Good | See details
 
   
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
Start reading Sailing Home on your Kindle in under a minute.

Don't have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here, or download a FREE Kindle Reading App.
Sorry, this item is not available in
Image not available for
Color:
Image not available

To view this video download Flash Player

 

Sailing Home: Using Homer's Odyssey to Navigate Life's Perils and Pitfalls [Hardcover]

Norman Fischer
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)


Available from these sellers.


Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
Kindle Edition $14.44  
Hardcover --  
Paperback --  
Image
Save on Popular Books This Summer
Browse our Bookshelf Favorites store for big savings on popular fiction, nonfiction, children's books, and more.

Book Description

June 3, 2008
Homer's Odyssey has a timeless allure. It is an ancient story that is significant for every generation: the struggle of a homesick, battle-weary man longing to return to love and family. Odysseus's strivings to overcome divine and earthly obstacles and to control his own impulsive nature hold valuable lessons for people facing their own metaphorical battles and everyday conflicts -- people who are, like Odysseus, "heartsick on the open sea," whether from dealing with daily skirmishes at the office or from fighting in an international war. Sailing Home breathes fresh air into a classic we thought we knew, revealing its profound guidance for navigating life's pitfalls, perils, and spiritual challenges.

Norman Fischer deftly incorporates Buddhist, Judaic, Christian, and popular thought, as well as his own unique and sympathetic understanding of life, in his reinterpretation of Odysseus's familiar wanderings as lessons that everyone can use. We see how to resist the seduction of the Sirens' song to stop sailing and give up; how to bide our time in a situation and wait for the right opportunity -- as Odysseus does when faced with the murderous, one-eyed Cyclops; and how to reassess our story and rediscover our purpose and identity if, like the Lotus-Eaters, we have forgotten the past.

With meditations that yield personal revelations, illuminating anecdotes from Fischer's and his students' lives, and stories from many wisdom traditions, Sailing Home shows the way to greater purpose in your own life.You will learn a new way to view your path, when to wait and when to act, when to speak your mind and when to exercise discretion, how to draw on your innate strength and distinguish between truth and deception, and how to deal with aging and changing relationships. Sailing Home provides the courage you need for your journey, to renew bonds with your loved ones, and to make the latter portion of life a heartfelt time of spirit and love, so that -- just as Odysseus does -- you can defeat the forces of entropy and death.



Editorial Reviews

Review

"We all sail across the wine-dark sea, and Sailing Home gives humane, wise instruction for our voyage. In these pages, Zen master and poet Norman Fischer, beloved for his forthright honesty and kind heart, guides us to understand our own odyssey, our own hard-earned, vulnerable, mysterious life journey, with genuine compassion and newfound understanding." -- Jack Kornfield, author of The Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist Psychology and A Path with Heart

"It is not so easy to come home to yourself, although it may be the most important journey any of us will ever take. This profoundly inspiring book reminds us of why the cultivation of awareness and kindness is so necessary and so difficult. By exploring The Odyssey and tying it to the travails of our personal lives and to a very human understanding of Zen and Buddhist meditation from decades of practice and teaching, Norman Fischer brings it all to life, and us as well, so that we can remember what muses are best listened to, especially when we are so easily captivated by false dreams of security and attainment." -- Jon Kabat -Zinn, author of Coming to Our Senses and Arriving at Your Own Door

"Norman Fischer is a wise guide and wonderful companion who teaches us the essentials: that knowing when to set sail is an art in itself, and that our destinations will appear on the horizon when we are ready to see them." -- Priscilla Warner, coauthor of The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew -- Three Women Search for Understanding

"Sailing Home is delightful and insightful. Reflecting on the wanderings of the wily Odysseus in light of the wisdom of the Zen tradition is surprisingly relevant to the modern heroic journey. The central narrative of Greek culture comes alive for modern readers." -- Sam Keen, author of Sightings and Fire in the Belly

"This book reminds us that the great literature of the world and the great religions of the world share something in common. They each reveal us to ourselves. Fischer focuses on the actual experience of our life as an odyssey -- a journey toward our unknown fulfillment, which is welling up in the ground beneath our feet." -- James Finley, author of Merton's Palace of Nowhere and The Contemplative Heart

About the Author

Norman Fischer is one of the best-known Zen teachers in the country, both through his extensive teaching and traveling, and through his writing.  In addition to his own retreats and events, Fischer participates frequently at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in California, the largest of all Western Buddhist establishments, where he gives frequent talks and leads retreats on creativity and interfaith issues, as well as on mediation and conflict resolution. 

                    Fischer has been publishing in Buddhist magazines for many years, and is on the advisory board of BuddhaDharma magazine. His essays have been anthologized in many Buddhist and other spiritual books and have been included in every annual edition of the Best Buddhist Writing (Shambhala).  He has written two books, Opening to You: Zen-Inspired Translations of the Psalms (Putnam, 2002) and Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up (HarperSF, 2003). A graduate of the Iowa Writer’s Workshop, he has been associated with the lively San Francisco Bay Area literary scene since the 1970s. Fischer has published a dozen collections of poetry; the most recent are Slowly But Dearly (Chax Press, 2003) and I Was Blown Back (Singing Horse Press, 2005).


Product Details

  • Hardcover: 256 pages
  • Publisher: Free Press; First Free Press Hardcover Edition edition (June 3, 2008)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1416560211
  • ISBN-13: 978-1416560210
  • Product Dimensions: 0.8 x 5.8 x 8.6 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #420,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars return to your true nature September 29, 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
I just finished this book at a critical time when I was involved with major life decisions. It was helpful to me to gain understanding of what I was going through and feeling, as I travel. This book weaves new meaning into the story of Odysseus. I love how Fischer uses the Odyssey as a way to explain a new way of working with life's "twists and turns" through awareness of life, and integrates his years of zen practice into understanding deeper levels of this ancient human story. The Odyssey, Fischer says, is about coming home, for people who "have encountered twists and turns of pain and suffering, and so are ready to come home." Fisher has a delightful way of explaining how a Odysseus, a human, is at the mercy of the sea and life, and at the mercy of his own human failings, yet he goes on. He states "To respect the sea is to trust that we can welcome life's immense and unknowable currents rather than resist them. .. " This book is for seekers of all faiths, yet makes the practice and principles of zen accessible to the average person through this story. The book is broken into Parts: Setting Forth (waiting, grief, body practice, etc) and Disaster (working with disaster, pleasure and time; death, desire, the siren's call and impossible choices); and Return (revealing yourself, love's risk, and forgivenss) particularly good for those practicing meditation and particularly zen practice, but I would recommend this book to non meditators who are interested in a different way to view life's hard times, and to gain a new perspective of faith, practice on living truly, and finding love and compassion for ourselves and others by not resisting life's offerings.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
24 of 25 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A Modern "Classic" September 27, 2008
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Norman Fischer has written a "classic" commentary on The Odyssey. What I mean by "classic" is that it is one of first rank as Norman Fischer makes Odysseus' journey of almost a generation ours. With heartfelt prose, Mr. Fischer shares his experience as someone deeply immersed in his Buddhist tradition to find his way home. Not preachy, through the travails of Oddysseus, Mr. Fischer offers a way to show the readers how to reconsider what it means to live a good life, to ask the right questions and give due care to those we love. I wished the book went on and on after I finished it. In graceful ways, Mr. Fischer shows us how to separate the wheat from the chaff in our lives. I wish him many more books to write which are as conversational and as learned as this book.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
18 of 18 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A wonderful journey to oneself September 18, 2008
Format:Hardcover
I found this book to be one of the most enjoyable and life changing moments in my life. I was so engaged and intrigued by the premise and the easy way Norman Fischer was able to convey his profound understanding of the human condition. The honesty and integrity of his experiences are so wonderfully shared through the trials and tribulations from Homer's Odyssey as the ground for our personal work. It is a book that you just want to savor every word. Besides, at the end of each chapter are wonderful guided meditations.
Comment | 
Was this review helpful to you?
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent
I love this book. Norman Fischer's writing is clear, lucid and engaging. Fischer has the ability, possibly due to his long and deep experience of meditation, to clarify as he... Read more
Published 6 months ago by CissyM
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant Spiritual Classic
This book is a modern spiritual classic like few others. The basic conceit of the book is at once both strikingly original and strangely essential--a Buddhist reading of the... Read more
Published 18 months ago by Michael Dow
5.0 out of 5 stars Sailing Home as holiday gifts
When a friend phoned 4 days straight to read me sections of Sailing Home, I knew I needed my own copy. I ordered 2 more as holiday gifts for girlfriends. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Linda Missouri
5.0 out of 5 stars Crystal clarity
One of the most profound books of any kind that I have read in my fifty years, including as a Ph.D. student in English many years ago. That's how wonderful it is.
Published 20 months ago by Plutonium57
5.0 out of 5 stars Moving Home
This is one of the most helpful books I have read in years. Moving home literally (which is what I was in the process of doing)or as an internal process can evoke strong emotions,... Read more
Published on November 23, 2010 by dsp
4.0 out of 5 stars Green Light at the End of Daisy's Dock
Just finished reading this after reading and very much enjoying Norman Fischer's "Taking Our Places: The Buddhist Path to Truly Growing Up" which is a more enjoyable read. Read more
Published on August 8, 2010 by Daisy Gatsby
5.0 out of 5 stars Again, this is about growing up...returning to SELF as home
In "Taking Our Places," Fischer writes in an anecdotal format--he is trying to get to know a small group of male teen-agers, about accepting
responsibility as a step in... Read more
Published on May 11, 2010 by Kay D. Weeks
5.0 out of 5 stars That Bright Familiar Sun
THE ODYSSEY has been around a long time, since at least 800 BC. Each generation finds its own meaning in the tale of Odysseus, the lost sailor whose ten years of peregrinations... Read more
Published on April 11, 2010 by J. H. Minde
5.0 out of 5 stars Already a Classic!
This book is simply a must-have: combining western cultural roots -the famous Oddessey- with eastern wisdom. There is a lot of soul in this one. Read more
Published on February 12, 2010 by G. Couwenbergh
1.0 out of 5 stars A mishmash of soft pulp, unfaithful to the Odyssey and to Buddhism
This is an utterly disappointing and frustrating book. I got this book thinking it was primarily about The Odyssey without realizing that it's actually intended to be a book about... Read more
Published on January 2, 2010 by Carl
Search Customer Reviews
Only search this product's reviews


Forums

There are no discussions about this product yet.
Be the first to discuss this product with the community.
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 



So You'd Like to...


Create a guide


Look for Similar Items by Category