To Bless in Challenging Times: A Season of Blessings

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

This collection of blessings was written as a daily practice of sharing experiences of each day, the blessings that were received, and the blessings that were created. Blessings, by their nature, are communal heart blossoms and are a way of celebrating our interbeing and our interconnectedness. To Bless in Challenging Times invites you to join in this practice of blessing and experience how it can influence your own well-being and be another thread in the weaving of a beloved community.

Blessings of the Creative Buddha: Living a Sacred Life

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

Life is a gift and part of what it takes to fully open that gift is to discover and enact the ways you are a gift to life. This book presents a view of Buddhism that captures the full aliveness and creative nature of being human. Blessings of the Creative Buddha celebrates the active creative process of sacralizing life, of growing into a spiritually mature human being, of shaping social justice, and of generating collective blessings in the form of benefit and beauty.

Download PDF

Alchemy of the Soul: The Eros & Psyche Myth as a Guide to Transformation

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

In Alchemy of the Soul, Martin Lowenthal describes how the story of Eros and Psyche illustrates the alchemical process of marrying soul and love so that life can be lived with more joy, meaning, and a tangible sense of divine wisdom. It is an important story of transformation through love—gaining a balanced sense of self and service in order to grow into a higher, more mature love. In Part I, he gives an evocative retelling of the Eros and Psyche myth. Part II examines the power of myth and alchemy and shows how spiritual alchemy can restore and transform the soul. Part III is an initiation into the alchemical mysteries using the Eros and Psyche myth as mentor. Alchemy of the Soul takes alchemy from the realm of the esoteric and places it in practical terms of story—terms that anyone can understand, value, and use as a guide to life.

This is an amazing book! As the profane and the sacred mirror each other, so do careful research (no seed is overlooked) and profound meditation illuminate the way of alchemy and transformation in Martin Lowenthal’s important work on Eros and Psyche.
 
     — Gioia Timpanelli, author of Sometimes the Soul: Two Novellas of Sicily

It is important to keep myth in our lives and consciousness. A good way to do this is through interpretation. Martin Lowenthal interprets the myth of Psyche and Eros in a way that is clear, insightful, and useful to individuals who are seeking to grow and find their own mythic truths. His obvious love for this myth, coupled with a clear and enjoyable style of writing, make this book a delight to read. 

     — Jeffrey Raff, author of Jung and the Alchemical Imagination and The Wedding of Sophia 

Dawning of Clear Light: A Western Approach to Tibetan Dark Retreat Meditation

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

Released by Hampton Roads Publishing, this latest book includes teachings from the Buddhist and Bon traditions on dark retreats, dark retreats in the Western traditions, journals from Marty’s dark retreats, and instructions on preparing for doing one of your own. As the book cover says: “Dawning of Clear Light is a celebration, a joyous invitation to find the treasures that are hidden within your own world and the world around you.”

“It is wonderful that Martin, a long-time, dedicated practitioner who is exploring his own way in the spiritual path, is offering this unique guide to the dark retreat. His wealth of personal experience and insight lends a great deal of guidance and support to other individuals who are in a journey to discovering and abiding in the light that can be found within the darkness… This book offers welcome access to the experience of one¹s self in a variety of ways during dark retreat.”  

     — From the Foreword by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“Tibetan Buddhist practice is elaborate, esoteric and challenging for Westerners. This book by Lowenthal, a psychotherapist, meditation teacher and longtime student of Tibetan Buddhism, breaks ground as an English-language guide to the technique of dark retreat, a traditional Tibetan spiritual practice that a Western, non-monastic Buddhist can experience by sitting in a … light-proof room. The dark retreat affords a clearer view of how mental and physical processes generate an individual’s experience of reality. Lowenthal explains the practice, frames it in the context of teachings from the Buddhist and Bon spiritual traditions of Tibet, and uses his journal, recorded during his own retreats, as an example of the retreat experience. The journal excerpts are especially helpful as a way of concretely describing what a practitioner might encounter under these unconventional circumstances designed to promote spiritual growth. While the author writes clearly and helpfully about techniques-two appendices give useful practical instruction-and is transparent about his experience, Tibetan Buddhist teachings about the nature of reality are complex… (A) …practitioner with good guidance from a teacher can benefit from this clear and helpful introduction to a little-known spiritual practice.” 

     — From Publishers Weekly/ August 4, 2003 Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

“In Dawning of Clear Light, Martin has written a profoundly moving account of the Dark Retreat – the first such account by a western master of the process. This book is both deeply personal and comprehensive in its view of Dark Retreat. Page by page, you are led into one of Tibet’s most powerful spiritual practices – in a way that is both engaging and illuminating. I recommend Martin’s superb book without reservation to all who wish to take a deep dive into the Clear, Spacious Essence of Being.”  

     — John P. Milton, author of Author of Sky Above, Earth Below; Founder of Sacred Passage Retreats

Embrace Yes: The Power of Spiritual Affirmation

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

This book distills much of the wisdom of Marty¹s years of practice and study to create a work of teachings on accessing the positive powers of Presence, Openness and Wonder, Celebration and Service, Love, and Learning and Dedication–all different aspects of the sacred.

“Yes! By all means Embrace Yes! Martin Lowenthal has crafted an inspirational classic. His positive message is mined from the intrinsic gold of all spiritual traditions. Affirming the beauty of life, he has succeeded in showing us how to transform our own negativity and cynicism into hope, perspective, and appreciation. This should be required reading for all who seek happiness. Yes!”
  
     — Charles Atkins, author of Modern Buddhist Healing

“Embrace Yes inspires us to live life from moment to precious moment, greeting all experience‹both painful and joyous with equal gratitude.” 

     — Madeline Ko-i Bastis, author of Heart of Forgiveness and founder of Peaceful Dwelling Project

“Martin Lowenthal has given us a way to affirm each moment, every action and reaction, and the totality of life itself. I am grateful for this gentle reminder to create goodness from even the most difficult of circumstances.”  

     — Subagh Singh Khalsa, author of Anatomy of Miracles

Opening the Heart of Compassion: Transform Suffering Through Buddhist Psychology and Practice

by Martin Lowenthal and Lar Short

Purchase Online

In this intriguing book, Martin Lowenthal and Lar Short explain how Buddhism uses the practice of compassion as a way to transcend everyday suffering. They present a helpful and friendly introduction to Buddhist teachings on the habitual ways of thinking and feeling which characterize the six realms of experience. They integrate this ancient knowledge with modern psychological insights to guide readers in their quest for freedom from unnecessary pain.  

Included are many meditative exercises that will help the reader to achieve a greater understanding of self and of others, and to cultivate joy in daily life. This is a remarkable book that presents a path of spiritual development rooted in creative action guided by compassion. (From the back cover.)

Download PDF

“This volume not only provides a brilliant presentation of the ancient Buddhist teaching on the 6 realms of experience as they relate to the fundamental predicament of modern man. It also describes the skillful means of a series of simple, clear, but nevertheless profound meditative practices. This is a work of deep understanding and the product of vast practical experience.”  

     — John Mann, Author of Rudi: 14 Years with My Teacher   

“This work is an important contribution to the ongoing vital field of East/West psychology and spirituality.”  

     — Lama Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche

“This book is easily the most understandable text on Buddhist practices that I have ever read… This is a good book with which to grow and mature.”  

     — Debbie Stewart in New Age Retailer, January/February 1994

Buddha and the Art of Intimacy: Weaving Sacred Connections of Love

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

When we are intimate in all domains of our lives, every activity becomes a way of making love. In the freshness of each moment we learn the secret of falling in love over and over again, not only with our partner but with life itself. Buddha and the Art of Intimacy is a celebration of this profound experience and of the critical role of intimate connections in both everyday and spiritual life. In this pioneering book, Martin Lowenthal presents a path of spiritual development rooted in love and conscious relationships and a path for deepening relationships grounded in wisdom and sacred connection. Our relationships are an opportunity to integrate the head and the heart in the embodiment of a sacred way of loving and living.

Download PDF

“Sip and savor the vast insights and wisdom in this book, and you will be gracefully guided beyond the trappings of the material and superficial world to that place in your depth, in your core, in your soul, where your capacity for truly intimate relationships can be found and needs to be developed.  
“Dr. Lowenthal eloquently applies the teachings of the Buddha (dharma) to the often turbulent waters of our relationships with our partners and loved ones. We learn that, as with the lotus flower, whose magnificent bloom derives from muddy waters, that our own spiritual maturity, and the fulfillment we seek in our relationships, require us first to be aware of, and then to transform, our own emotional and cognitive mudslides into the magnificent bloom of lasting love.”  

     — Brian Ackerman, MD Psychiatrist, Founding Member American Family Therapy Association

“Dr. Lowenthal writes with such warmth and intimacy that he invites you into your heart. He is deeply practiced and the wisdom he has gathered over decades of personal and professional work is right here for the reader to pick up. To live from our real nature, our Buddha nature, is to live consciously in the many relationships we are in. There’s no escaping relationship, we live in the web of live. To do so joyously, lovingly, patiently, compassionately is the way of the heart. Martin Lowenthal makes that way easier to discern, easier to follow and easier to delight in!”  

     — Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.

Heart to Heart, Hand in Hand, and Shoulder to Shoulder: a guide to strengthening intimate relationships

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

What is the nature and potential of intimacy? How can we discover and cultivate this nature personally and collectively as a couple? How can we move from the superficial patterns in ourselves and in our relationship to the realization of the sacred qualities of our marriage? How does personal spiritual development contribute to relationship development? How does our intimate relationship contribute to spiritual development? What are the exercises and tools that will support a marriage, a family, friendships and partnerships?
 
Based on his work counseling couples for more than thirty years as well as his own life experiences, Dr. Lowenthal reveals the principles and presents the practices that are useful for strengthening relationships in a simple and understandable way.

Download PDF

“Dr. Lowenthal offers very concrete and practicable ways to bring the ideals of compassion, loving kindness, patience and mindfulness into our relationships. We live in a web of relationships and this book will help you to bring the true nature of your loving heart into each of them.”
 
     — Lawrence Edwards, Ph.D.

Writing in the Dark: Unseen Poems

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

The poems in this collection were all written during retreats in total darkness, a practice that Martin Lowenthal has been doing since 1993. In the last decade, writing has become a spontaneous part of his annual dark retreat when he lives and meditates in darkness for generally two weeks and as much as one month.

Download PDF

Blessings of Mind, Heart and Creation

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

The Blessings of Mind, Heart and Creation are an invitation to reflect on the nature of living. These blessings point the way for an awakened, loving and fully engaged life. The book presents the Dedication Blessings line by line. Each line is a meditation and the commentaries that follow are explanations, explorations and elaboration that support making them your own. This book brings the reading into a dynamic and evolving process of spiritual conversation that becomes an unfolding and enriching sacred activity.

The Blessings and the commentaries in this book are designed to be studied, played with and re-interpreted so that they are continuously reinvigorated, reflecting the dynamic qualities of ongoing growth in a sacred life. In this book, Martin Lowenthal opens up ancient teachings in new ways. He integrates the power or recitation of blessings, the presence that flows from meditation practice, the deepening that comes with reflection on sacred text, and the maturing participation that emerges with conscious cultivation of our full sacred nature. 

Download PDF

YES… And SUTRAS: Common Sense for a Dedicated Life

by Martin Lowenthal

Purchase Online

The YES… And SUTRAS are an invitation to reflect on wise passages that are designed for reflection, inspiration and insight. YES affirms life, the nature of the world, and the sacred truths that become accessible to us when we are fully present. AND invites us to continually open, both to the next moment and to further insights about ways to live more meaningfully and joyfully. 

Download PDF