Retreat takes us on a stunning journey through the many ways humans step back from daily life, both in today's world and in our past.'Open-minded, elegantly written and comprehensive' Daily TelegraphFrom mindfulness and meditation to yoga breaks and spiritual bootcamps, stepping back from daily life remains a human obsession. In this endlessly enlightening book, Nat Segnit experiences retreats around the w...

Pub Walks in Underhill Country by Nat Segnit is a cunning, hilarious and heartbreaking novel that takes the form of a guide for walkers but is really a whole lot more . . .'Start by turning right out of the main entrance of Malvern Link railway station . . .'So begins Graham Underhill's guide to rambling in the West Midlands. But it is not many yards before Graham has gone completely off track, all but abandoning the route ahead to...

22 writers talk about their memorable excursions and the act of walking, and share their creative observationsIn these six series, taken from BBC Radio 3's The Essay, an array of novelists, poets, journalists and biographers chart the varied and inspiring walks they have taken around Britain and elsewhere. Here are treks taken at daybreak and after dark; in winter and in spring; in the footsteps of the past; and - in the case of Robert Macfarlane - along t...

Brought to you by Penguin.Stepping back from the world has always been part of human life. We're social animals but sometimes we want to be alone.That impulse is as old as civilisation but has never been more urgent. Today, mindfulness and meditation are everywhere and wellness tourism is booming. Whether it's a yoga break, an app or something more like boot camp, retreat is a feature of our lives now.Retreat journeys into this human obsess...

In this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography - long out of print and rare until now - Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution from a child of religious conservatives in rural England to a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. From early in this intellectual life, Watts shows himself to be a philosophical renegade and wide-ranging autodidact who came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humph...

This book is about the starting point of all personal and spiritual growth, the realization of your own reality.Osho introduces George Gurdjieff, one of the most significant masters of this age. He used to say, "You are in prison." If you wish to get out of prison - the first thing you must do is realize that you are in prison... or you are the prison. Osho emphasizes this as something to be always remembered as one of the first principles for any seeker of truth.From a ser...

Based in a deep understanding Osho responds to a very personal question related to issues of suicide. "In this neurotic world, if you are sane, sensitive, intelligent, either you have to go mad, or you have to commit suicide or you have to become a meditator, a seeker." This new book from the series "OSHO Solutions" is a sample how difficult appearing issues which usually create a kind of helplessness in people can be turned around to an incredible opportunity for personal growth.

This celebration of the English countryside does not only focus on the rolling green landscapes and magnificent monuments that set England apart from the rest of the world. Many of the contributors bring their own special touch, presenting a refreshingly eclectic variety of personal icons, from pub signs to seaside piers, from cattle grids to canal boats, and from village cricket to nimbies.First published as a lavish colour coffeetable book, this new expanded paperback edition has...

Father Thomas Keating is the founder of the Centering Prayer movement, based on the retreat into the inner room mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 6:6, where the individual is able to meet God. From the book Manifesting God, Father Keating explains the process of divine therapy and the process of purification in contemplative prayer.

Would you cheer if they sent you to Coventry? Could you stick up for Stoke or big-up Bracknell?Can you handle the thrill of Rhyl, the heaven of Hull or the mirth of Tydfil?In You are Awful, Tim Moore drives his Austin Maestro round all the places on our beloved island that nobody wants to go to - our most miserable towns, shonkiest hotels, scariest pubs, and silliest sea zoos...But as the soggy, decrepit quest unfolds he finds himself oddly smitten...

Osho describes humanity as "superficially civilized'. Underneath of our so-called civilization we are still animals but our cultures cannot accept this fact.This Osho talk is about about unconsciousness, repression and expression of emotions. In responding to two personal questions Osho describes unconsciousness as the basement of our minds in which many things are buried which find expression through your conscious. Like, millions of people watch boxing or football matches and the...

For Gervase Phinn growing old is not about a leisurely walk to the pub for a game of dominoes or snoozing in his favourite armchair. As this sparkling collection of his very best humorous writing shows, he may be ‘out of the woods’ but he is certainly not ‘over the hill’. Looking back over more than sixty years of family life, teaching, inspecting schools, writing and public speaking, Gervase never fails to unearth humour, character, warmth and wisdom from the most diverse of experiences, ...