Henry Shukman

One Blade of Grass tells the story of how meditation practice helped Henry Shukman to recover from the depression, anxiety, and chronic eczema he had had since childhood and to integrate a sudden spiritual awakening into his life. By turns humorous and moving, this beautifully written memoir demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language, and takes the reader on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures of life that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.

The essential meditation guide for the twenty-first renowned mindfulness teacher Henry Shukman replaces the concept of original sin with original love, teaching us to tap into the love that shapes our world and can transform who we are. An increasing number of people today feel disconnected, disengaged, and lonely. Many of us are seeking solace, beginning with ourselves. Original Love is the secular spiritual handbook we need to ease our troubles and find the highest possible happiness. Henry Shukman, spiritual director of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, provides a way forward based on four paths—Mindfulness, Support, Absorption, and Awakening—that promote growth and healing through meditation for practitioners of any level. And it works! Shukman includes inspiring stories from the students of his Original Love program that reveal how it has transformed their lives. Urgently needed, Original Love helps us create peace for ourselves and our times by Finding a sense of love is a critical purpose of meditation. Finding your way back to the loving peace that lives at the center of things is Original Love.

Henry Shukman’s debut fiction collection, Mortimer of the Maghreb, was acclaimed as “fearless, brilliantly realized, [and] richly rewarding” (Los Angeles Times Book Review). Now, in his first novel, he tells the story of a British expat searching for treasure and, more important, for connection, amid the seductions and dangers of a rootless life.Jackson Small has just been discharged from the British military after witnessing the violent battlefield death of his closest friend, Connolly. It was Connolly who introduced him to the fascinations of ancient civilizations, enticing him with stories of La Joya, the capital of a vanished Peruvian empire. Coping with his grief, Jackson sets off in search of La Joya, hidden in the cloud forest hanging between the Andes and Amazonia.It’s an arduous journey: through desert, arid mountains, inhospitable villages, and impenetrable jungle. And though he finds unexpected help—from a young boy as wily as he is innocent, from an irreverent village priest, and from a woman who both redefines and fulfills all of Jackson’s expectations—he’s also warned at almost every turn to abandon his search for a place that may not even exist. But he lets nothing stop him from entering the depths of the forest believed to protect the ruins of the lost city—where he will encounter other seekers whose methods are far more sinister than his own.With its starkly lyrical voice, its headlong pace, and the romanticism of the quest that fuels it, The Lost City is at once suspenseful, continually unexpected, and thoroughly mesmerizing.

From the siesta to fiesta, the lifeblood of the Caribbean is in the rhythms of the salsa, calypso and zouk. The author of this book left London for Trinidad seeking to tap some of this bravura by joining a salsa band - the heart of the islands - and this book tells of his experiences. Caught in the exhilaration of carnival in Port of Spain, jamming with a police band in Grenada, witness to the thunderous drumming in the invocation of the god Shango in Trinidad and learning an unfamiliar style of zouk for a one-night stand in Dominica, Shukman's quest to share the musical roots of the people of the islands uncovered a world of powerful eroticism, ritual and mysticism. And on the mainland, the then travel-hardened Shukman was hurled into another world of carnival in the Colombian salsa capital Cali, sang the vallenato in the plaza of the northern town of La Gloria and was awoken in Cartegena to the nightmare of being falsely arrested as a supsected drug trafficker.

More than seventy years after D. H. Lawrence made his "savage pilgrimage" to New Mexico, British twenty-something Henry Shukman set off on his own journey there, in search of the spirit of Lawrence, the rugged and enigmatic beauty of the American Southwest, and answers to questions of love and life.His New Mexico quest takes him to dusty roadside gas stations, cheap Mexican restaurants, and ancient Indian pueblos, and he crosses paths with amiable cowboys and lonesome cowgirls, a plane-flying priest, more than one romantically inclined stranger, and a barroom philosopher at every stop. He's not afraid to strip naked to join strange men in an open-air hot tub, nor is he intimidated by salsa dancing at the Red Dog Saloon. As he finds himself in towns called Truth or Consequence, or just driving along the magical New Mexico roads, his journey becomes one of self-discovery - in the end, he finds exactly what he is searching for in the dusty town of Las Vegas, New Mexico.

In this psychologically complex and darkly humorous debut collection, awardwinning writer Henry Shukman introduces an unforgettable cast of characters, travelers whose certain paths around the world lead invariably back to the uncertain self.In “The Garden of God” an aging, ailing war reporter reflects on his adventures covering a little-known conflict in the Sahara and the precipitous and disgraced end of his career; In “Old Providence,” a dissolute artist mourns a lost love and the “bloody perfect island” where, through his own callow foolishness, he lost her. In “Darien Dogs” a man goes south to Panama, desperate for a business deal that will restore his finances and sense of mastery, only to find himself on a confounding search for a beautiful, mysterious woman and his stolen wallet. By turns full of suspense, farce and poignance, always alive with energy and atmosphere, these are the stories of a gifted and assured writer.

Explores the world of the Aymaras, once one of South America's greatest Indian empires and now living an isolated existence in an inhospitable area of the Bolivian Andes

Ranging across the globe, from Mexico to Japan, from the States to Southern England, these poems can be lyrical and deeply affecting, wryly funny or wildly imaginative. From a lonely mother attempting to learn the piano to a ski-jump that never ends, from a redemptive encounter with horses on a cold day to a miraculous bowl of chicken soup, these poems display a vibrancy and variety rarely seen in contemporary poetry. But Henry Shukman's great strength is in the domestic—the complexities of love, and the rites of passage of childhood and parenthood.

Former foreign correspondent Charles Mortimer is all washed up, living a hand-to-mouth existence in Manhattan, wondering how things could have gone so wrong for him. A chance discovery of a newspaper obituary takes him back to the beginning of his career, when he was a young, hopeful man reporting from the Sahara Desert in the company of beautiful French photographer Celeste Dumas. The two narrowly escape death by bullet, grenade, thirst and heatstroke and, ultimately, drowning. By the end of their adventure, Mortimer has begun his life as a successful, cynical journalist. Fifteen years roll by, and Mortimer finds himself again in Algeria, where he perpetrates the great error of his professional life and realizes, finally, what it was he lost so long ago in the desert wastes. Building from Henry Shukman's award-winning story 'Mortimer of the Maghreb', Sandstorm is a tale of love, adventure and moral failure. It explores the themes of truth, experience and morality in a world of globalized media.

It has been over a decade since Henry Shukman published his award-winning first collection, In Doctor No’s Garden . Now, in his greatly anticipated second collection, he explores a little-known piece of Jewish history, in a sequence of poems that forms the centerpiece of this book. In 1917, several thousand Jewish tailors were deported from London and shipped back to Archangel and the Russian Empire they had recently fled, ostensibly to fight on the Eastern Front. They arrived just as the Revolution was unfolding and the old regime was collapsing into chaos. Among them were Shukman’s grandfather and great-uncle, and these poems chronicle their four-year struggle to return to their wives and children in London. With poems on loss and mortality, on love in difficult circumstances, and on the familiar themes of childhood and family relationships, Archangel tells the stories of many journeys—from youth to maturity, from loss back into love—and the migrations of Shukman’s Jewish grandparents are echoed in his own move with his wife and family from England to New Mexico. Whatever the theme, though, these are all love poems lucid with intensity, bright with the longing for love—both its fleeting rapture and its slow contentment—and Archangel is a book of great reach, power, and beauty.

Jim Rogers once had a successful career, the love of a beautiful woman, a Manhattan penthouse and more money than he knew what to do with. Now it had all gone wrong and he was in a seedy hotel in Panama realising that the prostitute he'd just been with had stolen his wallet. Though it wasn't the money he was worried about but a sheet of folded paper, which he'd just been given by the mysterious Albert a piece of paper that might have saved his life. The search for the girl and the stolen document lead the two men deep into the Darien archipelago - a primitive, treacherous idyll that seems like Paradise but may in fact be Hell. The short novel, Darien Dogs, and the four stories that accompany it, mark the fictional debut of an assured and thrillingly gifted writer.

This is the story of how a meditation practice gave Henry Shukman a context for integrating a sudden spiritual awakening into his life and how his depression and anxiety were gradually healed through this practice. In sharing how he grew into a Zen teacher, Shukman demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language. Along the way, One Blade of Grass guides listeners on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us.One Blade of Grass recounts Shukman's journey from academia to life as a wandering poet and writer, until he finally settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he now runs Mountain Cloud Zen Center. A child of professors at Oxford University, he received a classical humanist education and threw himself onto the path to academia in order to cope with the pain of his parents' divorce and the chronic eczema that had plagued him since childhood - until one day as a young man he encountered a spontaneous, powerful awakening experience.By turns humorous and moving, this beautiful memoir takes listeners on the journey of a lifetime - into the depths of humanity, following an ancient path to freedom and love.

Jackson Small is eenentwintig als hij, getraumatiseerd door de dood van zijn beste vriend Connolly, uit het leger wordt ontslagen. Overmand door verdriet besluit hij in Peru een krankzinnige tocht te ondernemen, op zoek naar een stad die Connolly ooit vanuit de verte zei te hebben gezien... La Joya: de hoofdstad van een verdwenen rijk, verborgen in de de mistige oerwouden tussen de Andes en de Amazone. Maar in de schaduwen van dit woud zijn meer mensen op pad, ieder met zijn eigen motieven.

A Sounds True Audio Intimate, life-changing programs with the leading voices in spirituality, personal growth, and healingExperience great healing, joy, and peace as you open to the radiant shared oneness that is your true nature. When you hear the words “spiritual awakening,” what stirs within you? Perhaps you think of it as a sudden, profound moment in time that changes your life forever. Or maybe you sense it more as a gradual unfolding, a continual deepening of an expanded, intuitive presence that you return to again and again. “It may be different for all of us,” says Henry Shukman. “I prefer to think of it not as one goal or mountain, but as a mountain range—a variety of discoveries that guide how we heal, forgive, and care for ourselves and the world.”Here, Henry Shukman guides us in creating the groundwork for our own awakening through a series of guided meditations—a gateway to illumination. Weaving together personal stories, Zen teachings, poetry, and music, he reveals how evoking this state of awareness can profoundly enrich and transform our everyday lives. Each audio session peels back the illusion of self, bringing us home to the infinitely good, all-pervading, and all-encompassing love that is our true nature. These insights will nurture and support you Effortless Presence. Recognizing awareness itself as something that is ever-present and always available to you, without formality or lengthy practice. Non-Dual Awareness. Dissolving the illusion of duality and opening intuitive insight about who you are when you are not identifying as a separate self. Deep Personal Healing. Holding your wounds, vulnerabilities, and shortcomings alongside your joy and well-being, all with nonjudgmental compassion. Liberating Who You Really Are. Transcending limiting concepts and notions and awakening to the oneness that is found in the ground of being.The gift of these practices is their simplicity and accessibility. You don’t need a special setting, prescribed beliefs, or the perfect conditions—only a willingness to begin. Even the smallest glimpse can change everything—freeing you from the loops and dynamics of reactivity, into a place of lasting peace and equanimity.

La guía de meditación esencial para el siglo el renombrado profesor de mindfulness Henry Shukman sustituye el concepto de pecado original por el de amor original, y nos enseña a aprovechar el amor que da forma a nuestro mundo y puede transformarnos.«Henry Shukman es uno de los maestros de dharma más sabios y poéticos que tenemos hoy en día. En un mundo cada vez más fragmentado, es una compañía inusualmente buena». —Sam Harris, autor de Despertar, un bestseller del New York Times, y presentador del podcast Making SenseCada vez más personas se sienten desconectadas, desvinculadas y solas, sin saber dónde buscar ayuda. Amor original es el manual espiritual secular que necesitamos para enfrentar nuestros problemas y aprender a ser felices.Henry Shukman, director espiritual del Centro Zen Mountain Cloud de Santa Fe, Nuevo México, ofrece un camino basado en cuatro vías —conciencia plena, apoyo, absorción y despertar— que promueven la sanación y el crecimiento espiritual a través de la meditación para practicantes de cualquier nivel. ¡Y funciona! Shukman incluye historias inspiradoras de los estudiantes de su programa Amor Original que revelan cómo ha transformado sus vidas.Más necesario que nunca, Amor Original nos ayuda a crear paz para nosotros mismos y para nuestro tiempo enseñándonos a- reducir el estrés, la ansiedad y la depresión;- relajar la mente y el cuerpo;- aliviar los sentimientos de preocupación, arrepentimiento, ira e irritación;- mejorar la toma de decisiones y el funcionamiento ejecutivo.Encontrar el sentido del amor es un propósito fundamental de la meditación. Encontrar el camino de vuelta a la paz amorosa que vive en el centro de las cosas es el Amor Original.----The essential meditation guide for the twenty-first renowned mindfulness teacher Henry Shukman replaces the concept of original sin with original love, teaching us to tap into the love that shapes our world and can transform who we are."Henry Shukman is one of the wisest and most poetical teachers of dharma we have today. In an increasingly fragmented world, he is unusually good company." — Sam Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Waking Up and host of the Making Sense podcastAn increasing number of people today feel disconnected, disengaged, and lonely. Many of us are seeking solace, beginning with ourselves. Original Love is the secular spiritual handbook we need to ease our troubles and find the highest possible happiness.Henry Shukman, spiritual director of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, provides a way forward based on four paths—Mindfulness, Support, Absorption, and Awakening—that promote growth and healing through meditation for practitioners of any level. And it works! Shukman includes inspiring stories from the students of his Original Love program that reveal how it has transformed their lives.

La guía de meditación esencial para el siglo el renombrado profesor de mindfulness Henry Shukman sustituye el concepto de pecado original por el de amor original, y nos enseña a aprovechar el amor que da forma a nuestro mundo y puede transformarnos.«Henry Shukman es uno de los maestros de dharma más sabios y poéticos que tenemos hoy en día. En un mundo cada vez más fragmentado, es una compañía inusualmente buena». —Sam Harris, autor de Despertar, un bestseller del New York Times, y presentador del podcast Making SenseCada vez más personas se sienten desconectadas, desvinculadas y solas, sin saber dónde buscar ayuda. Amor original es el manual espiritual secular que necesitamos para enfrentar nuestros problemas y aprender a ser felices.Henry Shukman, director espiritual del Centro Zen Mountain Cloud de Santa Fe, Nuevo México, ofrece un camino basado en cuatro vías —conciencia plena, apoyo, absorción y despertar— que promueven la sanación y el crecimiento espiritual a través de la meditación para practicantes de cualquier nivel. ¡Y funciona! Shukman incluye historias inspiradoras de los estudiantes de su programa Amor Original que revelan cómo ha transformado sus vidas.Más necesario que nunca, Amor Original nos ayuda a crear paz para nosotros mismos y para nuestro tiempo enseñándonos a- reducir el estrés, la ansiedad y la depresión;- relajar la mente y el cuerpo;- aliviar los sentimientos de preocupación, arrepentimiento, ira e irritación;- mejorar la toma de decisiones y el funcionamiento ejecutivo.Encontrar el sentido del amor es un propósito fundamental de la meditación. Encontrar el camino de vuelta a la paz amorosa que vive en el centro de las cosas es el Amor Original.----The essential meditation guide for the twenty-first renowned mindfulness teacher Henry Shukman replaces the concept of original sin with original love, teaching us to tap into the love that shapes our world and can transform who we are.""Henry Shukman is one of the wisest and most poetical teachers of dharma we have today. In an increasingly fragmented world, he is unusually good company."" — Sam Harris, New York Times bestselling author of Waking Up and host of the Making Sense podcastAn increasing number of people today feel disconnected, disengaged, and lonely. Many of us are seeking solace, beginning with ourselves. Original Love is the secular spiritual handbook we need to ease our troubles and find the highest possible happiness.Henry Shukman, spiritual director of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, provides a way forward based on four paths—Mindfulness, Support, Absorption, and Awakening—that promote growth and healing through meditation for practitioners of any level. And it works! Shukman includes inspiring stories from the students of his Original Love program that reveal how it has transformed their lives.