The Art of Solitude
By: Stephen Batchelor
3.63
Format: 200 pages, Hardcover
When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his t…
Want to Read $ 11.99"The world is here to surprise us. My most lasting insights have occurred off the [meditation] cushion, not on it."-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
"The world is here to surprise us. My most lasting insights have occurred off the [meditation] cushion, not on it."-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
"That is why it is not enough to remove oneself from people, not enough to go somewhere else. We have to remove ourselves from the habits of the populace that are within us. We have to isolate our own self and return it to our possession. We carry our chains with us; we are not entirely free. We keep returning our gaze to the things we have left behind; we fantasize about them constantly. Our malady grips us in the soul, and the soul cannot flee itself. So we must bring and draw it back into itself. That is true solitude: it can be enjoyed in towns and royal courts, but more conveniently apart. The solitude which I love and advocate is primarily about bringing my emotions and thoughts back to myself, restricting and restraining not my footsteps but my desires and my anxiety, refusing to worry about external things, and fleeing for dear life from servitude and obligations: retreating not so much from the crowd of humanity but from the crowd of human affairs."-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
"That is why it is not enough to remove oneself from people, not enough to go somewhere else. We have to remove ourselves from the habits of the populace that are within us. We have to isolate our own self and return it to our possession. We carry our chains with us; we are not entirely free. We keep returning our gaze to the things we have left behind; we fantasize about them constantly. Our malady grips us in the soul, and the soul cannot flee itself. So we must bring and draw it back into itself. That is true solitude: it can be enjoyed in towns and royal courts, but more conveniently apart. The solitude which I love and advocate is primarily about bringing my emotions and thoughts back to myself, restricting and restraining not my footsteps but my desires and my anxiety, refusing to worry about external things, and fleeing for dear life from servitude and obligations: retreating not so much from the crowd of humanity but from the crowd of human affairs."-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
If you liked the philosophy plot in The Art of Solitude by Stephen Batchelor , here is a list of 13 books like this:
1. How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1)
By: Thich Nhat Hanh
4.33
Format: 117 pages, Paperback
"Sit" = "Meditate." Clear, simple directions for anyone wanting to explore mindfulness meditation. … read more
Want to Read $ 6.99Similar categories in Thich Nhat Hanh's How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1) book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- buddhism
- psychology
- philosophy
- religion
- nonfiction
- spirituality
- self help
"Happiness isn't possible without freedom."-Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1)
"There is nowhere to arrive except the present moment."-Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1)
"Sit in order to sit. Stand in order to stand. There is no goal or aim in sitting."-Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1)
"We sit as if we are sitting on a lotus flower, not on a heap of burning charcoal."-Thich Nhat Hanh, How to Sit (Mindfulness Essentials, #1)
2. The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and its Citrus Fruit
By: Helena Attlee
3.96
Format: 272 pages, Hardcover
The Land Where Lemons Grow uses the colourful past of six different kinds of Italian citrus to tell… read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Helena Attlee's The Land Where Lemons Grow: The Story of Italy and its Citrus Fruit book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- nonfiction
3. The Journey to the East
By: Hermann Hesse , Hilda Rosner
3.87
Format: 400 pages, Paperback
In simple, mesmerizing prose, Hermann Hesse's Journey to the Easttells of a journey both geographic… read more
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- philosophy
- spirituality
4. On Kissing, Tickling, and Being Bored: Psychoanalytic Essays on the Unexamined Life
By: Adam Phillips
3.77
Format: 341 pages, Paperback
Tickle a child, and she peals with laughter. Go on too long, and her laughter is sure to turn to te… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
- psychology
- essays
5. The Book on the Taboo Against Knowing Who You Are
By: Alan W. Watts
3.00
Format: 508 pages, Mass Market Paperback
At the root of human conflict is our fundamental misunderstanding of who we are. The illusion that … read more
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- buddhism
- psychology
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- religion
- nonfiction
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- self help
Similar categories in Peter Matthiessen's The Snow Leopard book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- philosophy
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7. Rest: Why You Get More Done When You Work Less
By: Alex Soojung-Kim Pang
3.44
Format: 48 pages, Hardcover
"Rest is such a valuable book. If work is our national religion, Pang is the philosopher reintegrat… read more
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- nonfiction
- psychology
- self help
8. The Four Foundations of Mindfulness in Plain English
By: Henepola Gunaratana
3.79
Format: 368 pages, Paperback
In simple and straightforward language, Bhante Gunaratana shares what the Buddha said about mindful… read more
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9. Taking the Path of Zen
By: Robert Aitken
4.40
Format: 304 pages,
There is a fine art to presenting complex ideas with simplicity and insight, in a manner that both … read more
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10. Somehow: Thoughts on Love
By: Anne Lamott
3.95
Format: 204 pages, Hardcover
From the bestselling author of Dusk, Night, Dawn and Help, Thanks, Wow , a joyful celebration of lo… read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Anne Lamott's Somehow: Thoughts on Love book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- audiobook
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- spirituality
- essays
- self help
"I don’t know"-Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love
"…nobody in isolation becomes who they were designed to be."-Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love
"Sometimes it all just sucks, as Jesus says somewhere in the Gospels (although off the top of my head I can’t recall chapter and verse."-Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love
"When I first got sober, a man told me that upon waking every morning, instead of reciting the standard flowery recovery prayer, he said, “Whatever,“ and at night when he turned off his lights to go t…"-Anne Lamott, Somehow: Thoughts on Love
11. Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World
By: Pádraig Ó Tuama
4.53
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
Expanding on the popular podcast of the same name from On Being Studios, Poetry Unbound offers imme… read more
Want to Read $ 9.17Similar categories in Pádraig Ó Tuama's Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- nonfiction
- spirituality
- essays
- audiobook
12. How We Live Is How We Die
By: Pema Chodron
4.30
Format: 240 pages, Hardcover
As much as we might try to resist, endings happen in every moment—the end of a breath, the end of a… read more
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- audiobook
- buddhism
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- self help
13. Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
By: James Bridle
4.17
Format: 384 pages, Hardcover
Artist, technologist, and philosopher James Bridle's Ways of Being is a brilliant, searching explor… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in James Bridle's Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- psychology
- audiobook
"What would it mean to build artificial intelligences and other machines that were more like octopuses, more like fungi, or more like forests?"-James Bridle, Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
"We can’t read water in the same way as we can’t read data…Working with it makes us more aware of the distance between ourselves and the matter under consideration: it reminds us that we share this wo…"-James Bridle, Ways of Being: Animals, Plants, Machines: The Search for a Planetary Intelligence
14. You Are Here: Poetry in the Natural World
By: Ada Limon
4.11
Format: 176 pages, Hardcover
Published association with the Library of Congress and edited by the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate o… read more
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- nonfiction
15. Cloistered: My Years as a Nun
By: Catherine Coldstream
3.71
Format: 328 pages, Hardcover
An astonishing memoir of twelve years as a contemplative nun in a silent monastery. Cloistered t… read more
Want to Read $ 14.99Similar categories in Catherine Coldstream's Cloistered: My Years as a Nun book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- biography
- religion
- nonfiction
- spirituality
- audiobook
16. The Art of Solitude
By: Stephen Batchelor
3.63
Format: 200 pages, Hardcover
When world renowned Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his t… read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- audiobook
- buddhism
- biography
- psychology
- philosophy
- religion
- nonfiction
- spirituality
- essays
- self help
"The world is here to surprise us. My most lasting insights have occurred off the [meditation] cushion, not on it."-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
"That is why it is not enough to remove oneself from people, not enough to go somewhere else. We have to remove ourselves from the habits of the populace that are within us. We have to isolate our own…"-Stephen Batchelor, The Art of Solitude
17. Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
By: Kieran Setiya
3.56
Format: 189 pages, Hardcover
Philosophical wisdom and practical advice for overcoming the problems of middle age How can you … read more
Want to Read $ 9.99Similar categories in Kieran Setiya's Midlife: A Philosophical Guide book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- self help
- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- audiobook
"The way in which you relate to the activities that matter most to you is by trying to complete them and so expel them from your life. Your days are devoted to ending, one by one, the activities that …"-Kieran Setiya, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
"In philosophers' terms, the shift in perspective is not temporal, but "epistemic": it has to do with knowledge. Emotionally, there is a fundamental difference between knowing that I will miss out on …"-Kieran Setiya, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
"When the demands of life are pressing, too urgent to be ignored, it would be a mistake to devote all day to contemplation, reading Wordsworth, or playing golf. Being mortal, think of mortal things. Y…"-Kieran Setiya, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
"We can escape the self-destructive cycle of pursuit, resolution, and renewal, of attainments archived or unachieved. The way out is to find sufficient value in atelic activities, activities that have…"-Kieran Setiya, Midlife: A Philosophical Guide
18. The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning
By: A.J. Jacobs
4.08
Format: 304 pages, Hardcover
The New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Living Biblically attempts to follow the origi… read more
Want to Read $ 13.99Similar categories in A.J. Jacobs's The Year of Living Constitutionally: One Man's Humble Quest to Follow the Constitution's Original Meaning book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- nonfiction
- biography
- audiobook
19. When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought
By: Jim Holt
4.04
Format: 368 pages, Hardcover
From Jim Holt, the New York Times bestselling author of Why Does the World Exist?, comes an enterta… read more
Want to Read $ 12.99Similar categories in Jim Holt's When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- biography
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- essays
- audiobook
"The river of time may have its rapids and its calmer stretches, but one thing would seem to be certain: it carries all of us, willy-nilly, in its flow. Irresistibly, irreversibly, we are being borne …"-Jim Holt, When Einstein Walked with Gödel: Excursions to the Edge of Thought
20. At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life
By: Fenton Johnson
3.82
Format: 256 pages, Hardcover
A profound meditation on accepting, and celebrating, one’s solitude. Whether seeking more time for … read more
Want to Read $ 11.99Similar categories in Fenton Johnson's At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life book and Stephen Batchelor's The Art of Solitude
- biography
- psychology
- philosophy
- nonfiction
- essays
- audiobook
"To choose to be alone is to bait the trap, to create a space the demons cannot resist entering. And that's the good news; the demons that enter can be named, written about, and tamed through the mira…"-Fenton Johnson, At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life
"The artist or writer does not impose harmony on reality but—with sufficient reverence and diligence and selflessness and solitude—uncovers the harmony that is always there but that we conceal from ou…"-Fenton Johnson, At the Center of All Beauty: Solitude and the Creative Life
21. Free and Equal: A Manifesto for a Just Society
By: Daniel Chandler
3.97
Format: 432 pages, Hardcover
Imagine: you are designing a society, but you don't know who you'll be within it - rich or poor, ma… read more
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- philosophy
- nonfiction
- essays
