It's Not Out There: How to see differently and live an extraordinary, ordinary life

by Danapriya

Overview

Most of us are constantly looking outside ourselves for something: happiness, love, contentment. But this something, this ‘it’, is not out there. ‘It’ is within us. We are full of these qualities: happiness, love, contentment . . . and more. In 'It’s Not Out There', Buddhist teacher and mentor, Danapriya, helps you see clearly how to stop looking outside yourself for happiness, success, and love. If you look inside yourself, life becomes more vivid, joyful and extraordinary. We can so easily trip ourselves up through our thoughts, views and habits. By really taking the time – stopping, looking, feeling, being mindful – we gain a new level of awareness that radically shifts the way we see things. This book is for you if you want to suffer less and to live life more. It’s about seeing the reality of the human predicament, seeing through the illusions that create unnecessary pain for yourself and others. This book uncovers the fertile ground of your own potential, and enables you to live the life you are here for. Stop, look, listen and sense, you are worth it.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781911407591
Publisher:	Windhorse Publications
Publication date:	12/15/2020
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.80(h) x (d)

About the Author

Danapriya, born Ian Dixon in 1959, has been involved in personal growth and healing work for over three decades. He is a fully qualified acupuncturist, having studied at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine from 1993 to 1996, and has been in private practice ever since. He has also studied cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and neuro linguistic programming (NLP). On being ordained into the Triratna Buddhist Order in 2001 he was given the name Danapriya, meaning ‘one who loves giving’. He lived at the London Buddhist Centre for nine years before moving to Deal in Kent, where he set up the Deal Buddhist Group. He was chair of the group for eleven years, stepping down from the role in 2018. Over the years Danapriya has led many retreats and taught hundreds of people to meditate. He now leads courses in positive thinking and meditation, as well as running a counselling business. 'It’s Not Out There' is his first book. For Danapriya’s led meditations outlined in 'It’s Not Out There' as well as more information on his counselling, go to www.danapriya.org.

Table of Contents

About the author xi

Acknowledgements xii

Publisher's acknowledgements xiii

Foreword Dhiramuni xv

Introduction: It's not out there, it's here 1

1 Even pain can bring blessings 5

2 It's never not now 11

3 We live such rich lives 15

4 It's not out there 19

5 I don't have enough time 25

6 I can't change 31

7 What we dwell on we become 37

8 We get in our own way 41

9 The human condition, lost in thought 47

10 Mindfulness - be here now 51

11 Grief and love 55

12 Talk that perfumes the air 61

13 Have courage and be kind 67

14 Heroes and heroines 69

15 Giving creates love 73

16 Let your love live 79

17 Discipline is enjoyable 87

18 Listening deeply 93

19 Imagination 99

20 Seeing differently and accepting difference 105

21 Other power and consciousness 111

22 The great value of facing our own death now 117

23 Complexity versus simplicity 121

24 Nature's message 125

25 Meditation helps all of the above 131

Epilogue: Now is the time to act 137

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Reading this book is like having a super-encouraging and wise friend who really believes in you, and wants you to be the best you can possibly be!" Vajragupta, Buddhist teacher and writer, author of 'Buddhism: Tools for Living Your Life' "Bravo Danapriya! You have managed to put down concisely yet amusingly the complete guide to a more complete life. I wish I had had access to this book whilst still practising as a GP, it could help so very many sufferers; and I wish I had had it when younger and suffering the vagaries of life myself. The text is dense and requires slow contemplative reading, which is a virtue in itself. It is well worth putting in the time and concentration to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest!" Dr. Ingrid Dodd, retired GP and Medical Herbalist "We are 'stuffed full of love”, Danapriya tells us and this book is stuffed full of Buddhism wisdom. Reading it is like having a conversation with a wise friend - someone who doesn't just talk at you but who is interested in your thoughts and experience too. Buy one for everyone you know who is serious about life and how to live it well." Subhadramati, author of Not About Being Good "This thoughtful little book will help you reassess how to live your best life. Using techniques of mindfulness Danapriya explains how to reap the enjoyment from everyday moments. In the manic pace of today’s world he helps provide a much needed space for reflection." Lindsay Powell Thirty years in the book trade and avid reader "Danapriya communicates his hard-won wisdom and love in a way that is simple and easy to follow, yet somehow the simplicity makes it all the more challenging. Each short chapter prompted me to ask myself: what more could I be doing to enrich my life and the lives of others? We get some good pointers for the journey." Satyadasa, founder of Standing Body Health and Buddhist Tutor at Eton College "This is a very practical book that can help anyone attempting to navigate life’s unpredictable currents without capsizing or being blown off course. The ideas are easy to grasp and Danapriya gives a wealth of useful advice about how to put them into practice. The simplicity of how to stop, look, listen and sense is a message that the world desperately needs at the moment. I’m trying to practice it myself." Manidhara (Graham Titus) Buddhist musician "Written in simple, down-to-earth language, It’s Not Out There is brimming with practical wisdom. Positive and encouraging, Danapriya shares ways to help anyone who wants to change their life and find greater happiness and fulfilment." Dr Paramabandhu Groves Co-author of Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction and Mindful Emotion: A Short Course in Kindness, founding director of Breathing Space at the London Buddhist Centre "Danapriya has written a little gem of a book. It's Not Out There is concise, straightforward, engaging, accessible and eminently practical. A starter-kit for making the most of your life." Maitre'yabandhu author of 'Life with Full Attention' and 'The Journey and the Guide "The path of love is bound up with sorrow, the path of beauty with loss. Danapriya’s feeling for the deep truth of this – of how to live through and past it – is evident from his own story. His is a life changed by struggle and by his discovery of the Dharma as a pole star for love and the down-to-earth, everyday work that lets it shine." Candradasa Director of The Buddhist Centre Online "“It’s not out there, it’s here” is a timely reminder of how we all shape our own lives. Danapriya has given us a gentle yet provocative, personal yet universal, straightforward yet tender, account of what it means to be human and the choices and responsibilities that go with it. He gives us the benefit of his years of experience as a Buddhist practitioner to give us frank, accessible insights into the ways we choose or not to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. At times powerfully honest, Danapriya lays it all out on the dinner table in front of us, and in so doing invites us to fully contemplate the meals we are eating and the diet we are choosing." Paul Swift, Psychotherapist