New Self, New World: Recovering Our Senses in the Twenty-First Century

Name: New Self, New World: Recovering Our Senses in the Twenty-First Century
Price: 20.00 USD
Availability: InStock
Author: Shepherd, Philip; , Harvey, Andrew
ISBN: 9781556439117

✍️ Shepherd, Philip; , Harvey, Andrew

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20 $

📚 ABOUT THE BOOK

Reconnect with your authentic presence and rediscover the profound wisdom of being.

Philip Shepherd's transformative work invites us to question the foundational narratives that shape our contemporary existence. It challenges the prevalent 'head-consciousness' that keeps us trapped in mental constructs, often leading to a fragmented and superficial experience of life. Instead, this book offers a profound path to reconnect with the body, not as a separate entity to manage, but as an integral source of unmediated experience and intelligence. Through its insights, readers are guided toward a more holistic awareness, fostering creativity, freedom, and a deep sense of presence in the everyday.

Key themes

{'title': 'Challenging Modern Myths', 'body': 'The book critically examines the unspoken assumptions of our materialistic society, which often lead to a sense of alienation and disconnection. It encourages readers to dismantle these ingrained beliefs about human nature and identity, paving the way for a more genuine and integrated understanding of self beyond societal conditioning and cognitive biases.'} {'title': 'Embodied Presence', 'body': "Shepherd masterfully articulates the distinction between merely 'having' a body and truly 'inhabiting' it. This theme explores how re-engaging with our physical being through sensory awareness can unlock profound insights, grounding us in the present moment and fostering a direct, unmediated experience of life that transcends intellectualizing."} {'title': 'Beyond the Known Self', 'body': "This concept delves into the limitations of the ego-driven identity, the 'known self,' which often keeps us bound by past experiences and future anxieties. The book advocates for a surrender to 'what is,' embracing the simple grace of being present and allowing for an authentic, fluid self to emerge, unburdened by preconceived notions."}

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🏛 North Atlantic Books 📅 2010 📖 512 pages 📔 Paperback 📐 Paperback ISBN: 9781556439117

Fun fact

Shepherd’s 'New Self, New World' is a vital philosophical and practical guide for navigating the complexities of modern existence. It excels at articulating the subtle yet profound ways we become disconnected from ourselves, offering a compelling vision for embodied living. While those seeking instant spiritual gratification might be disappointed, readers prepared for deep introspection and transformative exercises will find immense value. This book stands as a significant contribution to the growing body of literature advocating for a holistic return to our intrinsic human wisdom, moving beyond the purely intellectual.

📝 Description: New Self, New World: Recovering Our Senses in the Twenty-First Century

In the tradition of Quantum Healing and Guns, Germs and Steel, Philip Shepherd's New Self, New World makes an intellectual inquiry into how we might restore freedom, creativity, and a sense of presence in the moment by rejecting several fundamental myths about being human New Self, New World challenges the primary story of what it means to be human, the random and materialistic lifestyle that author Philip Shepherd calls our "shattered reality." This reality encourages us to live in our heads, self-absorbed in our own anxieties. Drawing on diverse sources and inspiration, New Self, New World reveals that our state of head-consciousness falsely teaches us to see the body as something we possess and to try to take care of it without ever really learning how to inhabit it. Shepherd articulates his vision of a world in which each of us enjoys a direct, unmediated experience of being alive. He petitions against the futile pursuit of the "known self" and instead reveals the simple grace of just being present. In compelling prose, Shepherd asks us to surrender to the reality of "what is" that enables us to reunite with our own being. Each chapter is accompanied by exercises meant to bring Shepherd's vision into daily life, what the author calls a practice that "facilitates the voluntary sabotage of long-standing patterns." New Self, New World is at once a philosophical primer, a spiritual handbook, and a roaming inquiry into human history.

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⭐ Esoterica editorial review Editorial rating 4.4/5

★★★★★

If you feel a persistent disconnect from yourself or the world, or if the endless chatter of your mind obscures your true joy, this book is for you. It offers profound insights and practical pathways for those yearning to move beyond intellectual understanding into a deeply felt, embodied…

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❓ Frequently asked questions

While it shares some common ground with mindfulness, 'New Self, New World' delves much deeper than simple observation. It challenges fundamental Western paradigms of self and reality, offering a comprehensive philosophy and practical exercises for an embodied, rather than just mental, shift in consciousness.

This work doesn't offer 'quick fixes' but rather a profound reorientation of how you relate to your experience. It's an invitation to a sustained journey of self-discovery and reconnection, which, while deeply transformative, requires engagement and presence rather than passive consumption.

📖 Who should read this

🎯 Key themes and symbolism

Challenging Modern Myths

The book critically examines the unspoken assumptions of our materialistic society, which often lead to a sense of alienation and disconnection. It encourages readers to dismantle these ingrained beliefs about human nature and identity, paving the way for a more genuine and integrated understanding of self beyond societal conditioning and cognitive biases.

Embodied Presence

Shepherd masterfully articulates the distinction between merely 'having' a body and truly 'inhabiting' it. This theme explores how re-engaging with our physical being through sensory awareness can unlock profound insights, grounding us in the present moment and fostering a direct, unmediated experience of life that transcends intellectualizing.

Beyond the Known Self

This concept delves into the limitations of the ego-driven identity, the 'known self,' which often keeps us bound by past experiences and future anxieties. The book advocates for a surrender to 'what is,' embracing the simple grace of being present and allowing for an authentic, fluid self to emerge, unburdened by preconceived notions.

💬 Quotes from the book

«Our modern mind, severed from its bodily roots, fabricates a reality divorced from genuine presence, leaving us adrift in a sea of manufactured anxieties.»

«True freedom begins not in endless analysis, but in the quiet, visceral surrender to the raw sensation of being, allowing the world to flow through us, not just around us.»

📜 Historical context

Emerging within a tradition that seeks to bridge ancient wisdom with contemporary psychological insights, Shepherd's work resonates with modern spiritual inquiry and somatic practices. It builds upon ideas found in Eastern philosophies emphasizing presence and non-duality, while offering a Western framework for understanding and reclaiming our intrinsic connection to the world, akin to other influential texts exploring mind-body unity and societal critique.

📚 Glossary

Shattered Reality
Head-Consciousness
Known Self

📔 Questions to reflect on

{'q': "In what ways do I perceive my body as something I 'have' rather than something I 'am'? How might this distinction impact my daily life?"}
{'q': 'Reflect on a time when you felt truly present and unmediated by thought. What were the circumstances, and how did that experience differ from your usual state of being?'}
{'q': "What 'fundamental myths about being human' do I unconsciously hold that might be contributing to a sense of fragmentation or disconnection?"}