Relax, You're Already Home: Everyday Taoist Habits for a Richer Life - Softcover

Barnett, Raymond

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1585423661 ISBN 13: 9781585423668

Publisher: TarcherPerigee, 2004

Synopsis

Simple ways to a fuller and more vibrant existence, drawn from the Taoist tradition and shaped to fit our modern lives.

Relax, You’re Already Home explores how we can enrich our lives in modern America by incorporating simple habits discovered in the Taoist tradition. We don't have to dramatically reshape our lives or perform time-consuming rituals like meditation, kung fu, or breathing practices. Dr. Raymond Barnett instead shows how we can focus on basic daily Taoist habits through activities like going to the park, gardening, or enjoying a cup of tea. He even helps us create our own rituals around holidays, saints, historical figures or events, or anything else that resonates with us.

This warm and accessible book is ideal for anyone whose life seems too fast and complicated, as well as for those who are interested in Eastern religions but don’t have the time or inclination to take up esoteric practices. Complete with “interactives” that suggest exercises and probing questions, Relax, You're Already Home is a perfect primer for Taoism and a philosophy in its own right.

About this title

About the Author:

Raymond Barnett's lifelong passion for Taoism began when he was a Chinese history undergraduate at Yale, and has resulted in many trips in China, Taiwan, Japan, and Korea over the past three decades. Barnett, who taught at California State University in Chico for twenty-eight years until his recent retirement, lives in a California cohousing community, where he and his wife have developed ways to incorporate Taoist habits into their lives.

From Publishers Weekly:

Calling Taoism "the oldest continuous... approach to living on the planet," Barnett, a retired college teacher, offers ruminations on some 14 Taoist habits that can help people tap into a "richer, more vibrant, steadily focused quality of life." Having traveled frequently in Asia and now living in a close-knit, Taoist-friendly community in Northern California, Barnett knows firsthand how these Taoist habits can be adapted to life in the West. Among his suggestions are getting into nature as frequently as possible; creating individual holidays to celebrate personal heroes (such as Elvis or John Muir—"our guides to the colorful wonder of existence"); and "displaying the sacred" by setting up small family altars containing drawings by the kids and other meaningful mementos. Barnett weaves substantial Taoist teachings into the fabric of his discussions—such as how "Chi" operates to keep the world balanced—but these are never obtrusive. His tone is consistently lighthearted, although at times this becomes breezy and even careless. Nevertheless, his discussions carry weight, for they are grounded in his attempts to incorporate these Taoist habits into his own family life. The result is an inviting primer for those interested in Taoism and how it might help them become "relaxed and utterly at home in a wondrous world."
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About this edition

• Publisher: TarcherPerigee
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 1585423661
• ISBN 13: 9781585423668
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208