Mark W. Muesse has narrated 4 audiobooks on Listento.it by 2 authors, with an average listener rating of 4.1★ across 368 ratings. The most-rated is Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation.
Practicing Mindfulness: An Introduction to Meditation
Summary
Meditation - the technique of mental focusing for enhanced awareness and self-mastery - offers deep and lasting benefits for mental functioning and emotional health, as well as for physical health and well-being. This practice is closely related to "mindfulness," which Professor Muesse defines as "a deliberate way of paying attention to what is occurring within oneself as it is happening. It is the process of attentively observing your experience as it unfolds, without judgment or evaluation." "Meditation," he adds, "refers to certain exercises that can be used to enlarge and refine mindfulness." Meditation cultivates mindfulness by training you to develop deep attention to the present moment, allowing the mind to become settled and centered. These 24 detailed lectures teach you the principles and techniques of sitting meditation, the related practice of walking meditation, and the highly beneficial use of meditative awareness in many important activities, including eating and driving. You will also learn how to use the skills of meditation in working with thoughts and emotional states, in deepening sensory awareness of the body, and in becoming deeply attentive to the operation of your mind. You'll come away with a solid basis for your own meditation practice and for bringing meditation's remarkable and empowering benefits to every aspect of your life. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2011 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2011 The Great Courses
Confucius, Buddha, Jesus, and Muhammad
Summary
No understanding of human life, individual or collective, could be complete without factoring in the role and contribution of these history-shaping teachers. Now, this 36-lecture series takes you deep into the life stories and legacies of these four iconic figures, revealing the core teachings, and thoughts of each, and shedding light on the historical processes that underlie their phenomenal, enduring impact. Speaking from multilevel personal experience with these teachings, Professor Muesse leads you in an inquiry with a dynamic double thrust. First, you'll get the chance to reflect in depth on the most essential values of spirituality and the art of living, seen from four archetypal perspectives. Second, you'll delve into the historical contexts and individual lives of the four sages, and how the religious and philosophical traditions we associate with them came into being. The lectures serve as a unique window on the origins of these traditions, through their focus on the teachings, actions, and historical roles of the sages who inspired them. In uncovering the original wisdom and practices of each sage, you'll grapple with key questions. How did each man understand the nature of the universe? How did each envision the human self? What did they each see as the path to true self-realization? In words reflecting profound and compassionate insight, these lectures bring the teachings vividly alive as they speak to their essential purpose and as they shed light on the choices we all face, moment by moment, in living deliberately and savoring life to the fullest. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2010 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2010 The Great Courses
Great World Religions: Hinduism
Summary
In this 12-lecture series, you'll encounter a religion that is perhaps the most diverse of all; one that worships more gods and goddesses than any other, and one that rejects the notion that there is only one path to the divine. These lectures provide a window into the roots of, perhaps, all religions. You'll explore over the course of Hinduism's 5,000-year journey: the Indus Valley civilization; the sizable variety of Hindu gods and goddess; the sacred writings in the Vedas, Bhagavad Gita, and Upanishads; Hindu ritual purity rites; the Aryan language of Sanskrit, whose roots can be seen in English words such as "divine," "video," and "ignite"; and much more. The story of Hinduism, you'll come to see, is the story of very non-Western traditions (such as arranged marriages and the caste system) that have survived and thrived for thousands of years. It's also home to a wealth of gods, terms, and practices (such as karma, Krishna, yoga, and guru) that have found a home in Western lives and language. Along the way, Dr. Muesse discusses salient aspects of Hindu life and places them in historical and theological context. He also explains that Hinduism honors all seekers of truth, that it contains multiple paths to divine reality (the way of action, the way of wisdom, and the way of devotion), and that it can be both a monotheistic and a polytheistic faith. PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.
©2003 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2003 The Great Courses
Religions of the Axial Age: An Approach to the World's Religions
Summary
These 24 extraordinary lectures offer you the rare opportunity to relate your own spiritual questions to a variety of ancient quests for meaning and transcendence. Professor Muesse looks at the historical conditions in which the world religions arose and explores how they answered shared metaphysical and human dilemmas. The Axial Age - a pivotal era between 800 and 200 B.C.E. - saw the rise of many of the world's religions in Iran, South Asia, and China. On this stirring journey, you'll learn about the rise of Zoroastrianism in Persia (now Iran); Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism on the Indian subcontinent; and Confucianism and Daoism in China. You'll also see how these religions compare, contrast, and contribute to contemporary Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Through sacred texts, modern scholarship, and thoughts arising from his own personal experiences, Professor Muesse reveals what it meant to be a conscious, morally responsible individual in the Axial Age. You'll enjoy a ringside seat as each founding sage wrestles with moral accountability, the nature of self and ultimate reality, good versus evil, suffering and transcendence - all topics that still puzzle us today.
©2007 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2007 The Great Courses