Error loading page.
Try refreshing the page. If that doesn't work, there may be a network issue, and you can use our self test page to see what's preventing the page from loading.
Learn more about possible network issues or contact support for more help.
Title details for Standing at the Edge by Joan Halifax - Available

Standing at the Edge

Finding Freedom Where Fear and Courage Meet

by Joan Halifax
Joan Halifax
Audiobook
1 of 4 copies available
Borrow Listen to a sample Listen to a sample
1 of 4 copies available

"In Standing at the Edge, Joan Halifax weaves together scientific research and her own powerful personal experiences as a social activist and humanitarian to show how we can transform our biggest challenges with compassion and wisdom. Standing at the Edge is essential reading for our time." — Arianna Huffington, founder and CEO of Thrive Global
Standing at the Edge is an evocative examination of how we can respond to suffering, live our fullest lives, and remain open to the full spectrum of our human experience.
Joan Halifax has enriched thousands of lives around the world through her work as a humanitarian, a social activist, an anthropologist, and as a Buddhist teacher. Over many decades, she has also collaborated with neuroscientists, clinicians, and psychologists to understand how contemplative practice can be a vehicle for social transformation. Through her unusual background, she developed an understanding of how our greatest challenges can become the most valuable source of our wisdom—and how we can transform our experience of suffering into the power of compassion for the benefit of others.
In this audiobook, Halifax identifies five psychological territories she calls Edge States—altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement—that epitomize strength of character. Yet each of these states can also be the cause of personal and social suffering. In this way, these five psychological experiences form edges, and it is only when we stand at these edges that we become open to the full range of our human experience and discover who we really are.
Recounting the experiences of caregivers, activists, humanitarians, politicians, parents, and teachers, incorporating the wisdom of Zen traditions and mindfulness practices, and rooted in Halifax's groundbreaking research on compassion, Standing at the Edge is destined to become a contemporary classic.
A powerful guide on how to find the freedom we seek for others and ourselves, this is an audiobook that will serve us all.
Praise for Standing at the Edge:
"...narrator Joan Halifax's meditative voice takes us by the ear and reorients us toward serenity...Her slow and steady pace allows listeners to keep up with the considerable wisdom she is passing along. This title will likely leave listeners feeling serene." - AudioFile Magazine
"Halifax offers an invitation to hold these states not only in our minds, but in our hearts." — Psychology Today

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    May 1, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781427296894
      • File size: 305293 KB
      • Duration: 10:36:01

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      To help listeners cope with today's fast-paced, noisy world, narrator Joan Halifax's meditative voice takes us by the ear and reorients us toward serenity. In doing so, she references years of interviews with a wide range of people, including medical professionals and parents, among many others. To prove the value of slowing down, she outlines five "edge states" that contribute to our increased happiness and willingness to help those around us. These are supported by complex anthropological concepts, which she explains in a measured and straightforward manner. Her slow and steady pace allows listeners to keep up with the considerable wisdom she is passing along. This title will likely leave listeners feeling serene. M.R. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from May 14, 2018
      In this wise exploration of the search for meaning, Halifax (Being with Dying), an anthropologist and Buddhist teacher, lays out a philosophy of life through a central metaphor of “edge states” (interpersonal qualities “where opposites meet”), which she deems key values necessary for a life worth living. These include altruism, empathy, integrity, respect, and engagement. Halifax notes that those who pursue them risk suffering burnout or other emotional distress if they concentrate on one attribute above others. She delves deeply into each value, explaining the ideal and how to achieve it through a combination of personal stories, quotes, and lessons from Buddhist teachers (such as Thich Nhat Hanh and the Dalai Lama) and scientific research. For instance, when talking about respect, she gives an example of the Dalai Lama pausing a lecture to help an insect escape the room, then later contrasts such deep conscientiousness with disturbing statistics about bullying, which she considers a reaction to a perceived lack of respect. Halifax’s personal stories resonate deeply, particularly with regard to her work with incarcerated people in New Mexico and poor communities in Nepal; her life experiences as a scholar, activist, and nun have much to teach any reader, and her generous honesty invites reflection. Clear, detailed, and profound, this remarkable book will be appreciated by anyone seeking a framework for a meaningful life.

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

Loading