I have a very exciting announcement to make...

Eckhart Tolle, Author of the international bestseller "The Power of Now," will be making two personal appearances in California, and you can be there - virtually! Sounds True will be broadcasting live video online from San Rafael, CA. For more details, please click on the link on the left column. This event will be a a rare opportunity to be drawn into the “spaciousness that words can only point to” by the vibrant, conscious presence of Eckhart Tolle himself. I highly recommend it.

Starting the Year with the Tao

At the beginning of the year, I had the wonderful opportunity of watching Dr. Wayne Dyer's new PBS program, "Change Your Thoughts, Change Your Mind." This powerful lecture is an introduction to the ancient teachings of the Tao Te Ching by Lau-tzu. After watching the program, I started reading the book, and I feel that it has really made an impact on my way of thinking and meditations. Basically, the Tao Te Ching is an ancient poem with 81 verses that contains the essence of Lao-tzu's teachings. Each morning and I study a verse along with Wayne Dyer's commentary. I truly feel that Dr. Dyer has done an incredible job of manifesting a new translation of this ancient poem and brings it back to contemporary America.

This is a must read for all spiritual seekers. Here are more details on the book:

Five hundred years before the birth of Jesus, a God-realized being named Lao-tzu in ancient China dictated 81 verses, which are regarded by many as the ultimate commentary on the nature of our existence. The classic text of these 81 verses, called the Tao Te Ching or the Great Way, offers advice and guidance that is balanced, spiritual, and always concerned with working for the greater good.
       In this book, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer has reviewed hundreds of translations of the Tao Te Ching and has written 81 distinct essays on how to apply the ancient wisdom of Lao-tzu to today’s modern world. This work contains the entire 81 verses of the Tao, compiled from Wayne’s researching of 12 of the most well-respected translations of text that have survived for more than 25 centuries.
        Wayne spent one entire year reading, researching, and meditating on Lao-tzu’s messages, practicing them each day and ultimately writing down these essays as he felt Lao-tzu wanted you to know them.
        This is a work to be read slowly, one essay a day. As Wayne says, “This is a book that will forever change the way you look at your life, and the result will be that you’ll live in a new world aligned with nature. Writing this book changed me forever, too. I now live in accord with the natural world and feel the greatest sense of peace I’ve ever experienced. I’m so proud to present this interpretation of the Tao Te Ching, and offer the same opportunity for change that it has brought me.”

Books & Music Reviews (Click Here to See Our Previous Selections)

Echoes of Eternity - The Forgotten Goddess

I found this band while I was searching for new music at the iMusic store. This is a new band from Canada, and they have a very similar sound to Rush. In addition, the female vocals are quite captivating. It is an interesting album to this to, and I do recommend it if you like mystical-rock on the heavy metal side. However, I would not recommend it for your meditation practice. 

If you want a good and mellow CD for your meditation practice, then I would recommend, Winds of Devotion by Nawang Khechog & R. Carlos Nakai. The healing Music of two great traditions-from two world-renowned master flutists from opposite sides of the world, two rich traditions in healing music meet in one beautiful album: Winds of Devotion. Acclaimed Native American flutist R. Carlos Nakai and Tibetan Flute virtuoso Nawang Khechog come together in a cross-continental prayer for compassion, wisdom, healing, and universal love. These Grammy nominated artists offer you four peaceful and uplifting compositions of healing music that express their shared reverence for the divine spirit.

Natural Radiance (Softcover book & CD) by Lama Surya Das

"One moment of total awareness is one moment of perfect enlightenment." This is the ultimate insight of Dzogchen, or "the Great Perfection," the pinnacle teaching of Tibetan Buddhism. With his previous bestselling books, including Awakening the Buddha Within (Broadway, 1997), American-born Tibetan Buddhist teacher Lama Surya Das has taught millions about the innate wakefulness and liberation that can be our natural ways of being. Now, with Natural Radiance, he offers his first complete daily practice program for the personal experience of the "swift and direct path" of Dzogchen. Dzogchen affirms that we are all Buddhas by nature--infinitely open, luminous, compassionate, wise, and free. This profound realization, say the teachings, cannot be understood intellectually or studied mentally, but it can be passed from teacher to student through oral transmission.

How to Meditate with Pema Chodron

When it comes to meditation, Pema Chodron is widely regarded as one of the world's foremost teachers. Yet she's never offered an introductory course on audio --until now. On How to Meditate with Pema Chodron, the American-born Tibetan Buddhist nun and bestselling author presents her first complete spoken-word course for those new to meditation.

Through five CDs of traditional insights and her personal guidance in 12 sitting sessions, Pema Chodron will help you honestly meet and compassionately relate with your mind as you explore:

• The basics of mindfulness awareness practice, from proper posture to learning to settle to breathing and relaxation
   
• Gentleness, patience, and humor --three ingredients for a well-balanced practice.
   
• Shamatha (or calm abiding), the art of stabilizing the mind to remain present with whatever arises
   
• Thoughts and emotions as "sheer delight" --instead of obstacles --in meditation
   

  "From my own experience and from listening to many people over the years. I've tried to offer here what I feel are the essential points of meditation," explains Pema Chodron. Now this beloved voice shares with you her accessible approach --simple and down-to-earth while informed by the highest traditions of Tibetan Buddhism --on How to Mediate with Pema Chodron.