Dennis Waller has 6 audiobooks on Listento.it, narrated by 6 narrators, with an average listener rating of 5★ across 1 ratings. The most-rated is Raven Tales.
Raven Tales
Summary
The Raven is as much a paradoxical creature as he is important in the myths of many native cultures. The central character of these stories, the Raven is considered the benevolent creator, filling the world with beauty and harmony, the master mind behind all that is good and looked upon with warm admiration. On the other hand, he is often viewed as a malevolent conniving, scheming trickster with self-gratification as his only goal. Including stories of the Raven eating the unsuspecting victim out of house and home or bidding someone to do his work, he is still the ultimate larger-than-life heroic figure within the myths. Whether it is creating animals or chasing down a woman to marry, one thing for sure, the Raven has left us with a rich and colorful history recorded in the myths and legends of the indigenous people. While the Raven appears throughout the world in mythology, our focus here will be centered on the Tlingit, Tsimshian, Haida, the Yupiit and Inupiat also known as the Eskimo, and the Athapascan Peoples of Alaska. What follows are 30 stories that seem to contradict each other adding to the confusion as to what or who this Raven really is. The cornerstone of this book is the Tlingit Creation Story which shows why the Raven is regarded as a grandfather to the people and is thought of with respect in asking for good health, good hunting, and for good fortune. It was the Raven that created man, the forest and the animals that inhabited them, the rivers and the fish that live in the water. In this context, the Raven is revered. However there are other stories that portray the Raven as a lazy scavenger, living off the hard work of others, or seeking sexual pleasure, the Raven is a shining example of how multi-faceted a myth can be.
©2014 Dennis Waller (P)2016 Dennis Waller
Tao Te Ching- Lao Tzu, A Translation
Summary
If you have felt a need to connect to something greater than yourself... a longing to find meaning to life... a yearning to discover a sanctuary of serenity and peace... a hunger to have your heart and soul touched by that Divine love that brings comfort to life... a passionate desire to have a closer relationship with your creator, then the Tao Te Ching is for you. The Tao Te Ching provides an intuitive insight into the art of living an authentic life, and introduces you to the laws of nature on how to live in this world in peace and joy. With a knowing of the Tao Te Ching, you will see resistance and opposition fade away. Conflict and stress will become distant memories. The issues of life become irrelevant or will simply disappear once you start living your authentic self with the Tao. The Tao shows how to transcend all those insurmountable obstacles that the ego has created.
©2012 Dennis Waller (P)2013 Dennis Waller
Otter Tales
Summary
Land Otter Man, aka, The Kushtaka Kushtaka or Kooshdakhaa is a Tlingit word meaning “land otter man.” The Kushtaka is on one hand the nemeses of the Tlingit people, yet necessary to their Shamans who play a critical role in the survival of the Tlingits. The Tlingit people are as mysterious in their beliefs as the Kushtaka, making for strange bedfellows. Otter Tales - Stories of the Land Otter Man and Other Spirit Stories Based on the Folklore of the Tlingit of Southeastern Alaska is an excerpt from the book, In Search of the Kushtaka by Dennis Waller. The purpose of these 10 stories is to serve as an introduction into the myths and legends of the Tlingit People.
©2014 Dennis Waller (P)2015 Dennis Waller
Zen and Tao
Summary
Zen and Tao, A Little Book on Buddhist Though and Meditation is really not a short audiobook. It is a collection of Buddhist quotes, thoughts, and meditations from the school of Zen and the Tao. The Translations of the Hsin Hsin Ming, The Tao Te Ching, and Nargarjuna's Tree of Wisdom by Dennis Waller are included along with 50 selected quotes from Chuang Tzu, Okakura Kakuzo, and Buddha. Also included are selected commentaries on Zen and the Tao from the works of Dennis Waller.
©2012 Dennis Waller (P)2013 Dennis Waller
The Way of the Tao, Living an Authentic Life
Summary
The Tao is an ancient philosophy of living in the natural world and The Way of the Tao, Living an Authentic Life is a treatise and interpretation of Lao Tzu's Tao Te Ching. It shows you how to get back to being your authentic self, your spiritual self. The Tao has the power to help you reclaim your life from the ego-based identity that imprisons you. You can discover your authentic identity by learning to live in divine consciousness. In discovering these truths, we become the creators of the universe instead of the passive observers we have been - we learn how to live life in the now. By learning to detach from our ego we are able to come into direct contact with our true intent and motives. When we do, we begin to see ourselves as we truly are and we are able to reconnect with the divine source. What is the way of the Tao? It is the way things are in the natural progression of life and death, the way of intelligent design as shown in nature. It is a way without dogmas, formalities or religion. To live in the Tao is to live in peace and harmony, giving you the knowledge of being one with the higher realm of divine consciousness. It is to have the awareness of being in this world: You are one and 10,000 things at the same moment. You are the song that the bird sings, the breeze blowing through the trees, the fish swimming in a brook, the warmth of the sun shining from above, the coolness of the earth below your feet, for you are life and death, all at once and not at all. There is no separation in the divine oneness. The Tao offers the power to liberate you from the ego-imposed prison of the dualistic world. Living in the Tao can bring a deep inner peace. The wisdom of the Tao is practical, a way of living with the clarity and knowledge of universal truth. When you are living in the Tao, you will see resistance and opposition fade away. Conflict and stress become distant memories. The issues of life become irrelevant or will simply disappear as you start living with your authentic self. For it is the Tao that teaches you how to transcend the insurmountable obstacles which the ego has created.
©2012 Dennis Waller (P)2013 Dennis Waller
Nagarjuna's Tree of Wisdom
Summary
The Tree of Wisdom is about the love you find and how you share it with others. It's about how you're going to spend your time, about the give-and-take, and how we treat each other. It's all about the friends you make. It's all about the choices you make. It's on the importance of forgiving and being forgiven. To live a life that is pure in faith and heart. To strive to stay on the path. To find the way of the masters that have gone before us. To recognize the path that they forge for us and the wisdom to see it. All of our lives we have pretended and hidden our feelings from others. We have tried hard to believe that there is this distance between us. In this misperception, we thought we could find comfort in isolation. But this comfort is fleeting when the soul speaks up in a longing for something more meaningful. It's about how to stop pretending and start being true to yourself. It's about stopping to make excuses and taking responsibility for your actions. All of our life has been a struggle in trying to be free but the reality is the life you have created has been all about you. This is because you have allowed your ego to rule over you. In this realization comes a sense of freedom, a release from your self-imposed prison. When you have the key, you can unlock the doors of this dungeon and step into the light of the divine love of the way. Once in the light, you'll see that we all are brothers and sisters, all part of something bigger than we can imagine. In this oneness, there is a liberation of knowing that life and death are only illusions. Yes, the Tree of Wisdom contains this timeless knowledge for those who quest for it, that have a thirst for the cool waters of the fountain of life. The Tree of Wisdom by Nagarjuna is a treatise on morals and ethics written over 2,000 years ago. This commentary on moral living is very similar to other text such as the Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu, the Hsin Hsin Ming by Seng Ts'an, the Enchiridion by Epictetus, and Meditations by Marcus Aurelius. It's remarkable that this is only the second English translation of this ancient text from this incredible Indian philosopher. The first translation into English was done by W.L. Campbell in 1918. At the time of Campbell's translation, there was so already much lost to history in the allegories that the meaning couldn't be extrapolated for all the verses. This version has been interpreted into a more modern new age style yet it still possess the essence of the message that Nagarjuna implied. I prefer to use the word interpretation over the word translation as this is more of a rendering constructed to clarify the meaning in such a way that it is easy to grasp the concepts. However, there are a few verses that have been left in the original Campbell translation as their relevance hasn't changed. The primary difference between the Tree of Wisdom and the Tao Te Ching is the Tree of Wisdom takes a more "matter of fact" practical approach to life where the Tao Te Ching is more spiritual and esoteric. Both texts have the same basic underlying principles, they are just different paths to the same goal. The text itself consists of 260 verses containing just over 8,000 words. In the tradition of Buddhism, there are a few verses that will leave you confused. This is natural as in the contemplation of the verse, the understanding will become clear. One major difference in this translation and Campbell's is the use of the word "way". Where the word "way" is used, it is to imply the way of the Tao Te Ching. This is to serve in helping give a clearer understanding the principles that the text is conveying. I encourage those who are not familiar with the Tao Te Ching to read it as the two texts complement each other.
©2012 Dennis Waller (P)2013 Dennis Waller