Series: For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback) | Publication Date: September 15, 2000
A quiet voice within is telling you that there is more to life than what you can perceive with your five senses. Sometimes you feel that the material world, with all its cares and vanities is a veil of illusions beyond which lies a truth that transcends race, gender, ethnicity, status, family, job and worldly ambitions. Christ, Buddha, Muhammad, Lao-tsu, Plato, and other spiritual teachers down through the ages dedicated their lives to the pursuit of that that higher truth, and their words live on to inspire us. Because it extends beyond matter, spirituality cannot be fully expressed in words, but the spirit exists inside you, and hearing the right words may trigger your own awakening to higher perception.
A book that will exhilarate your mind and inflame your soul, Spirituality For Dummies puts you on the path to living a more spiritual life. Author Sharon Janis simplifies not-so-simple concepts from an array of spiritual disciplines and shows you how to:
Incorporate spirituality into your everyday life
Uplift relationships with all the people in your life
Strengthen the connection between body and mind
Fulfill your dreams through affirmations
Grow through adversity
Use spiritual practices to bring meaning into your life
In plain English, Janis explores spiritual ideas from a variety of religious and philosophical texts in combination with relevant psychological and scientific research. Topics covered include:
Uncovering your own spirit and expanding your awareness
How science and spirituality fit together
Spiritual practices to energize your body, empower your mind, and nourish your spirit
Cultivating compassion, truthfulness, humility and other spiritual virtues
Moving from greed and worldly attachments to spiritual freedom
Seeking spirituality in every moment
Spirituality For Dummies also includes a bonus audio CD featuring more than 60 minutes of inspirational music, including:
Gospel songs from the Agape international choir
Eastern songs and chants performed in their native languages
Christian chanting by the Desert Fathers
A journey of a thousand miles begins with the first humble step. Spirituality For Dummies brings spirituality down to earth to help you on take your first humble steps toward higher consciousness.
Spirituality for Dummies is for smart souls who know that we are all really beginners when it comes to understanding spirituality. Like all books for dummies, the layout is filled with lots of information boxes, bulleted lists, humorous cartoons, quick tips, and pithy quotes (from Marcus Aurelius to George Carlin).
Fortunately, author Sharon Janis put a lot of research into this informative discussion on spiritual growth. As a result, she maintains a solid voice that transcends the cluttered and sometimes superficial format. Spiritual practices, such as yoga and mediation, are briefly explained along with how to cultivate spiritual values and rise above suffering. At times she offers the kindly voice of experience: "When I'm able to give something to another person, I know it is God giving through me. Then, rather than expecting anything in return I am grateful for having been of service." At other times she is the voice of a well-educated teacher: "Ex means 'out of,' while status is a 'fixed condition.' This means that, in a way, the more fixed conditions you have to move out of, the more ecstatic you can become. Therefore every trouble in your life is really a beautiful gift to be unwrapped." --Gail Hudson
From the Inside Flap
Back of the book: Ever Wonder what spirituality really means- and how you may be able to use it to enhance your life? These pages will enlighten you by simplifying not-so-simple concepts. This guide brings spirituality down to earth for you with explanations of spiritual practices, including meditation, yoga, and prayer.
Sharon Kumuda Janis is an award-winning filmmaker, musician, speaker, and author of books including Secrets of Spiritual Happiness and Spirituality For Dummies.
While living a simple life of creative solitude along coastal California's Cardiff by the Sea for the past twelve years after many years of monastic life and then Hollywood filmmaking, Janis has steadily built and expanded, page by page and file by file, the Night Lotus Website of free multimedia spiritual resources (http://www.nightlotus.com) offers thousands of files of books, videos, music, photos, and more, all available for free in a noncommercial setting, without pop-ups, email harvesting, or google ads. The Night Lotus website draws hundreds of guests from around the world every day, and has been awarded "Cool Site of the Day."
Janis was introduced to the ideas of consciousness by her two psychology teacher parents at an early age, taking a three-month course in hypnosis at age seven and lecturing in her mother's class on dream symbolism at age nine. While studying neuroscience and film at the University of Michigan, she went to the local Ann Arbor ashram as part of a university field trip, experienced a spiritual awakening, and planned a two-month stay at the ashram of Baba Muktananda. Two months turned into a ten-year journey of monastic life, study, practice, service, and deep spiritual immersion, while scripting and editing hundreds of videos for the worldwide spiritual path of Siddha Yoga Meditation.
From the ashram, Sharon moved to Hollywood for an award-winning career as film editor, director, and producer, working on many news feature shows and television programs including Hard Copy, The Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, and X-MEN. These mainstream avenues honed Sharon's creative skills and brought her in touch with speaking to mainstream audiences.
The combination of monastic life and Hollywood creativity paved the way for Sharon to share her offerings with the worldwide community in a vibrant, down-to-earth style. She soon launched a new career as a professional spirituality speaker, author, and documentary filmmaker. Today, Janis lives in Cardiff by the Sea, California, as a spirituality speaker, author, and documentary filmmaker, sharing a universal view of spirituality with humor and insight.
Fun Facts from Sharon's Eclectic Journey
* Sharon Janis was born Jewish, brought up atheist, and then spent a decade living in an Indian Ashram. She now follows a universal spirituality that includes all faiths, and spent several years going to a different denominational service every week.
* Sharon's parents were both psychology teachers - she took a 3-month course in hypnosis at age seven, was reading books by Freud and other psychologists at age nine, and wrote a paper contrasting Freud's structural and topological theories at age twelve.
* Sharon double-majored in neuroscience and film/video at the University of Michigan, where she began using the self-hypnosis techniques she'd learned during childhood to do what she called "Exploring the Unconscious," and was known to do a bit of faith healing in her college dorm.
* The ashram where Sharon lived, studied, practiced, and served for ten years is the same ashram path described in the "pray" section of Elizabeth Gilbert's bestselling book, Eat, Pray, Love.
* After ten years of monastic ashram life, Sharon moved to Hollywood, where she edited and produced many popular television shows and movies, including X-Men, the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, Candid Camera, Hard Copy, and many news and news feature programs, winning local, national, and international awards for her work.
* Sharon offers a popular and extensive website with hundreds of pages of free multimedia spiritual resources - videos, music, writings, photos, and more - often on a shoestring budget (generally living under the poverty line), believing that spiritual teachings and blessings should be offered as freely as possible and that the universe provides the daily bread, even if it's not always as fancy a bread as we might like to enjoy.
* Sharon produced a powerful documentary about the American sage Peace Pilgrim for the Friends of Peace Pilgrim foundation, and found great inspiration in Peace's story about living a simple life that is in harmony with your life's mission.
Sharon has been a frequent lecturer at the Golden Door Spa, where copies of Spirituality For Dummies are in every guest room, with the owner's apology for the title and personal endorsement of the book's value.Sharon also offers sacred music concerts with songs and chants from various spiritual traditions (view video clips from Sharon's talks and sacred music concerts at: http://www.spiritualityspeaker.com)
This review is from: Spirituality for Dummies (Paperback)
This is truly a gem of a book. It is inspiring and illuminating. The author helps us to recognize (and live) the spirituality in every day life. I find it incredibly uplifting. If I am feeling down, I need only open it to a random page, and I find something helpful. It is not a book only to be read, but to be experienced as well. There are many helpful tools to help drive home many of the points. Don't be put off by this, though. You can still get a lot out of it even if you choose not to partake in the exercises. Even if you don't agree with my five stars, I recommend you buy this book anyway. It is well worth the cost of the included CD alone.
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This review is from: Spirituality for Dummies (Paperback)
As a serious spiritual seeker for over 26 years, I deeply appreciate Sharon Janis sharing her revelations of the simple wisdom of a true spiritual perspective. Having read Janis' beautiful first book, "Never to Return," I had already discovered the honesty and penetrating depths of her own personal spiritual journey. Now, in "Spirituality for Dummies," she reveals even more how very special it is to approach life with a simple and open heart, and humor...always appreciating the cosmic giggle at the center of it all. I applaud Janis' literary gift for writing from the profound and eloquent openheartedness of her own search for universal truths. I strongly recommend this book, for yourself and as the perfect gift for those you love.
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This review is from: Spirituality for Dummies (Paperback)
After years of wondering what the meaning of life was, and what my purpose here on earth is, I found this book! It helped me uncover the world of spirituality, which in turn helped me answer some of these most fundamental questions!
The book is such an easy read, and the author has a brilliant sense of humor. I often reference the book over and over, for information on certain specific subjects, which is very easy to do in the "Dummies" format. It is also written to embrace all religions, non-religions, races, genders, etc. It truly is a book for everyone!
I recommend this book to anyone seeking to grow spiritually, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did (and still do)!
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