Difficult Times

There is no doubt that we are all living in difficult times. With uncertainty around politics, the economy, our environment and now public health, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and powerless. Information. In today’s uncertain world we are all susceptible to crises of confidence. In these difficult times, it is easy to retreat into ourselves in an effort to hide from the negativity and block out the world around us.

Whether you’re having a moment of minor overwhelm or find yourself in a state of panic, you can turn to this Audible Original for solutions and support. These six messages are simple, reliable, spiritual solutions that will free you from fear and inner turmoil. In order to show up for life and all its challenges, we must be able to regulate our nervous system, calm our mind, and trust our inner wisdom to give us clear direction.

In this beautifully written guide, scholar and teacher Stephen Cope shows that crises don't have to derail us from our purpose - they can actually help us to find our purpose and step forward as our best selves.

In the more than 25 years since she co-founded Omega Institute - now the world's largest center for spiritual retreat and personal growth - Elizabeth Lesser has been an intimate witness to the ways in which people weather change and transition. In a beautifully crafted blend of moving stories, humorous insights, practical guidance, and personal memoir, she offers tools to help us make the choice we all face in times of challenge: Will we be broken down and defeated, or broken open and transformed?

How can we live our lives when everything seems to fall apart—when we are continually overcome by fear, anxiety, and pain? The answer, Pema Chödrön suggests, might be just the opposite of what you expect. Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.

Wintering, the dormant periods in our lives, the dark moments we endure can be lonely and damaging and catch us off guard. Katherine May recounts her own year-long journey through winter and how she found strength and inspiration when life felt frozen. Part memoir, part exploration of a human condition, Wintering explores the healing nature of the great outdoors to help us overcome and embrace our own wintering experiences and how, much like nature, we can learn to appreciate these low periods, and what they have to teach us, before the ushering in of a new season.

The School for Broken Hearts, founded by bestselling mega-monk Haemin Sunim, provides a safe and caring space for people going through a difficult stage in life. Following on from his first two immensely successful books (where the first was about slowing down, and the second was about accepting imperfection), this time, it's about finding one's path. In this book, which offers ancient wisdom for modern living, he shows how you too can find both inner tranquillity and 'small but certain happiness', whatever burden you are carrying.

Here Pema provides the tools to deal with the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This audiobook teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is.

Dillon has the terrifying power to create massive amounts of destruction with the slightest tweak of his will. Deanna is so consumed by fear, it has become like a black hole, drawing to her the very things that terrify her. Then, when the glare of a supernova 16 light-years away illuminates the night sky, they have a vision: There are six of them out there, all teenagers, and all suffering from supernatural afflictions that disfigure their bodies and souls. 

A gifted teacher explores how both hardship and joy can lead us back to the sacredness of ordinary life. Is healing a matter of solving a problem, curing a sickness, or making our wounds disappear? 'In my experience,' states depth psychotherapist and meditation teacher Matt Licata, 'true healing is not a state where we become liberated from uncomfortable feelings, but one in which we are free and flexible to welcome our complete experience - whether happy or difficult - more fully.' With A Healing Space, Dr Licata invites us to explore a more vital sense of wellness.

This book was designed to be listened not just once, or in order, letter by letter, but to be used again and again as a tool when you encounter difficult emotions and experiences, to help you feel less alone. It is based on something that helped Jazz Thornton on her own journey towards mental health. A good friend wrote her a set of letters, each in a separate labelled envelope. Every letter was specifically designed to help fight a particular feeling or situation, and Jazz read them all many times.

The perfect practical pick-me-up for life's tough days, this book is the perfect guide to help you feel happier, healthier and calmer. We all have days where we feel like the world is getting us down. But here's the thing - you're not alone. From helping us see what strong really looks like, to what to do when you have no energy for self-care; Jayne Hardy shows us that even on our most difficult days, a little kindness can go a very long way.

As much as we’d like to avoid suffering in life, all of us will occasionally face earth-shattering hardships. You might be dealing with one now, or perhaps your friend or a loved one is, or maybe you’d just like to prepare yourself for when one inevitably occurs in your life. Self-Discipline in Difficult Times is the right book for you if you want to learn how to press ahead as your world turns upside down.

We all long for certainty in life, yet things often don't go as we expect. When facing illness, job loss, strained relationships, and other struggles, our impulse is to question God and strive to fix things ourselves. In this book, Shelly Miller, a trusted ministry leader, explores how difficult times can actually be purposeful times of spiritual growth.

In modern-day New York, magic is all but extinct. The remaining few who have an affinity for magic - the Mageus - live in the shadows, hiding who they are. Any Mageus who enters Manhattan becomes trapped by the Brink, a dark energy barrier that confines them to the island. Crossing it means losing their power - and often their lives. Esta is a talented thief, and she's been raised to steal magical artifacts from the sinister Order that created the Brink.

No matter how #blessed you are, sometimes life can feel downright overwhelming. Whether it's a breakup or divorce, the loss of a job, or even a global pandemic, you may need a little extra help managing the difficult emotions that can arise when things are not going so great. Dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) is a proven-effective and evidence-based treatment that can help you find balance and improve your ability to handle adversity without losing control and acting destructively.

From the author of The Secret Tale of Starlit Dreams now comes a new story, touched with a heartfelt depth. In The Hidden Ways of Hope Reborn, a visual and musical journey ensues, enfolding the listener with perspectives and reflections that evoke a unique expression of an ancient strength of character. Atmospheric scenery and sights calm the nervous system, engaging the imagination and leading up to the unfolding of a grand story - a story based on true events that has moved countless hearts and left an imprint in the consciousness of humanity.

At some point in everyone's life, everyone will be placed in the position of dealing with the death of a loved one. Arranging all the necessary details at such a difficult time can prove overwhelming. However, help is now at hand in this guide that covers all the essential aspects. Drawing from the counsel of funeral directors, clergy, attorneys, estate planners, and psychologists and with references to Web sites and other sources of further information, this book provides straightforward and reassuring advice that is both practical and comforting at this difficult time.

It is hard enough being a teenager in London during the Blitz, finding yourself in love and wondering every night whether you will survive the bombs. But it is even harder for Anna, who is still officially classified as an 'enemy alien'. Those bombs are coming from Germany – the country that was once her own. If Hitler invades, can she and her beloved refugee family possibly survive?

If you would like to get into a positive, faithful mind-set in this time of global fear, this is the most important book you will hear. The methods shared within have worked great for me and allowed my life to unfold without stress or worry. But I’m not suggesting that everyone who listens to this book is going to become calm or anxiety-free, as I don’t know how committed to creating a better life the people who listen to this are.