The Wisdom of Our Hands

The Wisdom of Our Hands PDF

Author: Doug Stowe

Publisher: Linden Publishing

Published: 2022-02-22

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13: 9781610355018

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A guide to living fully and humanely by learning the wisdom of authentic manual work. Most of us modern people live in a world of constant abstraction, immersed in our heads and our screens. But there is a deeper wisdom in working with your hands in the real world. In The Wisdom of Our Hands, craftsman and educator Doug Stowe shows how working with handcrafts, either professionally or as a hobby, is essential for a full education and a full life. Based on his 45 years as a woodworker and 20 years as a teacher of handcrafts, Stowe argues that human beings have a natural need to express themselves creatively through tangible work. The use of one's hands and whole body to make physical things promotes both physical and mental health and fosters a sense of mastery in both young and adult students. A life of craftsmanship is also an opportunity and obligation to define one's own values. Drawing on his experiences living and working in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, a town dedicated to handcrafts and arts, Stowe demonstrates how craft work creates community, forges deeper social bounds, and fosters a saner attitude about the value of relative value of human labor and material goods. A quietly radical and spiritual blueprint for a deeper and more connected way of life, The Wisdom of Our Hands is a transformational book.

Rustic Furniture Basics

Rustic Furniture Basics PDF

Author: Doug Stowe

Publisher: Taunton Press

Published: 2012-02-15

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1600857507

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Here's an opportunity to create something truly unique by using woodworking techniques that are as "green" as it gets. By collecting branches and logs, recycled lumber, or scavenged wood from old buildings, you can build rustic furniture with a distinctive look -- and a primitive, earthy charm. But before you get started, you'll need the guidance of a seasoned furniture maker. And it's all here for you in Rustic Furniture Basics -- from professional woodworker, teacher and author Doug Stowe. An ideal guide for beginners, this valuable reference includes 10 diverse projects designed to teach you all the basic techniques you'll need to make a wide range of rustic furniture. Here are a few of the projects you'll find. Rustic white oak chest Western cedar tables Rustic chair Slab-top coffee table By following step-by-step instructions with detailed graphics, you'll learn every procedure -- traditional joinery, cutting round mortises and tenons, weaving twigs, making a webbed seat, and much more. In searching for the natural materials to complete each project, you'll discover a process that challenges your imagination in a new and satisfying way -- as you tap into your own powers of ingenuity. And by using basic hand tools and low-tech procedures, you'll revisit some of the simple pleasures that earlier generations of craftsmen enjoyed. If you've got a cabin in the woods or a country hideaway in need of just the right pieces to suit its rustic character, here's the book you need to make it happen.

Building Small Cabinets

Building Small Cabinets PDF

Author: Doug Stowe

Publisher: Taunton Press

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1600853471

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A thoughtfully designed cabinet, built of carefully selected materials, transcends its utilitarian storage role into functional art. The eight wonderful small cabinets in this book will inspire novice and intermediate woodworkers to create a project that showcases not only their treasures, but also their talent.

A Handmade Life

A Handmade Life PDF

Author: William Coperthwaite

Publisher: Chelsea Green Publishing

Published: 2007-03-07

Total Pages: 146

ISBN-13: 1603581391

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William Coperthwaite is a teacher, builder, designer, and writer who for many years hasexplored the possibilities of true simplicity on a homestead on the north coast of Maine. In the spirit of Henry David Thoreau, Emily Dickinson, and Helen and Scott Nearing, Coperthwaite has fashioned a livelihood of integrity and completeness-buying almost nothing, providing for his own needs, and serving as a guide and companion to hundreds of apprentices drawn to his unique way of being. A Handmade Life carries Coperthwaite's ongoing experiments with hand tools, hand-grown and gathered food, and handmade shelter, clothing, and furnishings out into the world to challenge and inspire. His writing is both philosophical and practical, exploring themes of beauty, work, education, and design while giving instruction on the hand-crafting of the necessities of life. Richly illustrated with luminous color photographs by Peter Forbes, the book is a moving and inspirational testament to a new practice of old ways of life.

Crafting Calm

Crafting Calm PDF

Author: Maggie Shannon

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2013-04-08

Total Pages: 288

ISBN-13: 193674046X

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As our world has become increasingly dependent on technology, and our Western societies have become woefully “Crackberried”— to use the title of a recent documentary on the emotional and social pitfalls of our too-wired ways—an intriguing phenomenon is occurring: There is an increasing amount of interest in returning to some of the simpler arts that were neglected or left behind with the onslaught of technology. Artisans and everyday crafters are finding a renewed satisfaction in making something with their own hands; some are even communicating about the inherent physical- and mental-health benefits found in handwork—and, even more than that, they are framing their handwork as meditation or spiritual practice. In today’s sophisticated and pluralistic society, people are more aware than ever that spiritual practice can be defined more expansively—and the popularity of books focusing on alternative spiritual practices demonstrate that readers are hungry for new (or ancient) ways of enhancing their inner lives. In Crafting Calm the author will explore these new forms of creative spiritual practice and the benefits they provide. The format of With Shannon's book will itself be creative, a rich “potpourri approach” that weaves together interviews, historical facts, projects for readers to do themselves, quotations, and suggested resources. Crafting Calm will serve as an inspirational resource guide to a broad assortment of spiritual practices gathered from the global arts-and-crafts communities, as well as from people who don’t consider themselves artists but who have adopted creatively expressive forms of spiritual practice. While there have been a few books published focusing on a particular form of creative spiritual practice (Skylight Paths, for example, has published books on beading as a spiritual practice; painting as a spiritual practice; and using clay as a spiritual practice), no one has yet explored the breadth of possibilities for creative spiritual practices contained in Crafting Calm.

The Buddha at My Table

The Buddha at My Table PDF

Author: Tammy Letherer

Publisher: She Writes Press

Published: 2018-10-16

Total Pages: 262

ISBN-13: 1631524267

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Can you come sit at the table? Tammy Letherer’s husband of twelve years spoke these words on a Tuesday night, just before Christmas, after he had put their three children in bed. He had a piece of paper and two fingers of scotch in front of him. As he read from the list in his hand, his next words would shatter her world and destroy every assumption she'd ever made about love, friendship, and faithfulness. In The Buddha at My Table, Letherer describes―in honest, sometimes painful detail―the dismantling of a marriage that encompasses the ordinary and the surreal, including the night she finds a silent, smiling Thai monk sitting at the same dining room table. It’s this unexpected visitation, this personification of peace, that sticks with her as she listens to her husband reveal hurtful, shocking things―that he never loved her, he doesn’t believe in monogamy, and he wants to “wrap things up” with her in four weeks―and allows her to find the blessing in her husband’s betrayal. Ultimately, it’s when she realizes that she is participating in her life, not at its mercy, that she discovers the path to freedom.

The Arts and the Creation of Mind

The Arts and the Creation of Mind PDF

Author: Elliot W. Eisner

Publisher: Yale University Press

Published: 2002-01-01

Total Pages: 296

ISBN-13: 9780300105117

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Learning in and through the visual arts can develop complex and subtle aspects of the mind. Reviews in: Journal of aesthetic education. 38(2004)4(Winter. 71-98), available M05-194.

Think Like a Monk

Think Like a Monk PDF

Author: Jay Shetty

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Published: 2020-09-08

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 1982134488

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Jay Shetty, social media superstar and host of the #1 podcast On Purpose, distills the timeless wisdom he learned as a monk into practical steps anyone can take every day to live a less anxious, more meaningful life. When you think like a monk, you’ll understand: -How to overcome negativity -How to stop overthinking -Why comparison kills love -How to use your fear -Why you can’t find happiness by looking for it -How to learn from everyone you meet -Why you are not your thoughts -How to find your purpose -Why kindness is crucial to success -And much more... Shetty grew up in a family where you could become one of three things—a doctor, a lawyer, or a failure. His family was convinced he had chosen option three: instead of attending his college graduation ceremony, he headed to India to become a monk, to meditate every day for four to eight hours, and devote his life to helping others. After three years, one of his teachers told him that he would have more impact on the world if he left the monk’s path to share his experience and wisdom with others. Heavily in debt, and with no recognizable skills on his résumé, he moved back home in north London with his parents. Shetty reconnected with old school friends—many working for some of the world’s largest corporations—who were experiencing tremendous stress, pressure, and unhappiness, and they invited Shetty to coach them on well-being, purpose, and mindfulness. Since then, Shetty has become one of the world’s most popular influencers. In 2017, he was named in the Forbes magazine 30-under-30 for being a game-changer in the world of media. In 2018, he had the #1 video on Facebook with over 360 million views. His social media following totals over 38 million, he has produced over 400 viral videos which have amassed more than 8 billion views, and his podcast, On Purpose, is consistently ranked the world’s #1 Health and Wellness podcast. In this inspiring, empowering book, Shetty draws on his time as a monk to show us how we can clear the roadblocks to our potential and power. Combining ancient wisdom and his own rich experiences in the ashram, Think Like a Monk reveals how to overcome negative thoughts and habits, and access the calm and purpose that lie within all of us. He transforms abstract lessons into advice and exercises we can all apply to reduce stress, improve relationships, and give the gifts we find in ourselves to the world. Shetty proves that everyone can—and should—think like a monk.