Transformative Practices

A work from the heart that calls us to look within and grow.

A longer life. A happier life. A healthier life. Above all, a life that matters—so that when you leave this world, you’ll have changed it for the better. If science said you could have all this just by altering one behavior, would you?

Dressage is often seen as the most formal and controlled of the equine sports, following an ancient, standardized training progression. For philosopher and dressage instructor Dr. Sherry Ackerman, dressage is much more. It — along with riding in general — can be a transformational art and an avenue for reflection, exploration, and self-knowledge through which a rider can experience liberation from the individual, egoistic self.

You have within you unlimited capacities for love, for joy, for communion with life, and for unshakable freedom—and here is how to awaken them. In The Wise Heart, one of the leading spiritual teachers of our time offers the most accessible and illuminating guide to Buddhism’s transformational psychology ever published in the West.

Tapping into the heart's wisdom through creative visualization is an ancient practice, but today guided imagery is used as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies for health issues ranging from cancer and heart disease to post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. This inspiring guide provides contemporary techniques for using it to transform moments of pain, emotional turmoil, and interpersonal conflict into opportunities for growth and self-realization.

Using creative ritual, successful leaders such as Mohandas Gandhi build bridges between a culture’s core and its periphery, and in the process ignite renewal.

The symbolism of dreams can awaken us to our creative potential.

Stress and negative mood during pregnancy increase risk for poor childbirth outcomes and postnatal mood problems and may interfere with mother-infant attachment and child development. However, relatively little research has focused on the efficacy of psychosocial interventions to reduce stress and negative mood during pregnancy. In this study, we developed and pilot tested an eight-week mindfulness-based intervention directed toward reducing stress and improving mood in pregnancy and early postpartum.

Matters of Consequence is a cross-disciplinary map of reality that addresses human concerns at the beginning of the twenty-first century. Among these are personal concerns such as living a creative and significant life, and societal ones such as sustainability and economic justice. The book’s underlying assumption is this: If we come to understand the interior and exterior aspects of the human situation — deeply, comprehensively, clearly — then what needs to be done, both in our personal lives and the world around us, becomes clear.

Feelings of oneness with other people, nature, and the universe. Encounters with extraterrestrials, deities, and demons. Out-of-body experiences and past-life memories. Science casts a skeptical eye. But Dr. Stanislav Grof—the psychiatric researcher who cofounded transpersonal psychology—believes otherwise. When the Impossible Happens presents Dr. Grof 's mesmerizing firsthand account of over 50 years of inquiry into waters uncharted by classical psychology, one that will leave readers questioning the very fabric of our existence.