PlainZen vs Sleighbear

A simple, easy to understand, tutorial of Zen and how to use it in your life. Written in plain language, this hopefully dispels the reputation of Zen as being 'mysterious', 'mystical', 'deep', 'hard to get' because of the difficulty in explaining its practice. Zen is actually very practical and simple if what is explained is what it's for and how to practice it. Other teaching books tend to get bogged down in Zen history, Zen terms and rituals. This tutorial tries to put those things aside first and concentrate on the essence of Zen: how it works, why it works, and how it makes our life better. Not a religion nor a cult nor a philosophy, Zen is a healthy mental attitude that can help anyone of any religious background or philosophy. Remembers your place in the book. Tap on 'Bookmarks' icon to jump to your personal bookmarks. Tap on 'Contents' icon to jump to the different topics: CONTENTS Learning Zen is no big deal How our mind works Realization#1: Thoughts and the thinker are no big deal Meditation/Practice#1:Do an activity... Realization#2: You and perfection The Self Reality: only one self The outside world: The world is out there Reality: no separation Freedom from fear: Two kinds: regular and premium Source of fear What's there to lose? Meaning: Life is a river Outside looking in Getting back in the flow Zen practice: Meditation: calm you down Koans: shake you up Enlightenment vs guilt: aha! Conclusion: Zen is yoga for the mind Meditation/Practice #2: Severing duality Meditation/Practice#3: When waking or before sleeping Q&A Is thinking or thought bad? So how is Zen different from thinking? How do I get that 'insight' or 'enlightenment' and how do I retain it? How are people related, connected? Is it okay to follow a person, a movement, a philosophy, a religion without doubt, without question? How does Zen view money, jobs, unemployment, wars, sex, hate, love?

"Once there was a baby bear who lived at the top of the world..." So begins Sleighbear, a gentle, often humorous Christmas story by award-winning author/illustrator Virginia Wright-Frierson. With a tap of the screen, you can watch her original watercolors come to life! The animations, music, and sound effects let you feel the Christmas magic in a way that no traditional holiday book can bring. Sleighbear is a story of friendship, determination and the joy of Christmas. A polar bear baby sees her reindeer friends flying and wants to help carry Santa's sleigh too! You'll fall in love with the little bear and her owl, fox, and reindeer friends. Play hide and seek, tug of war, and practice flying with the little bear and her friends. Santa and Mrs. Claus come up with a wonderful solution that makes little bear so happy! The text appears on the pages in either English or Spanish, chosen by touching the language button in the main menu hidden at the top of each page. Accompanied by soft music, the story is beautifully read in either language or can be muted so that it can be read to a younger child by an adult or older child. Children can interact with the text by touching a small red mitten on each page to produce sound and action events. Touching the Christmas tree green arrow turns each page. As an author/illustrator, Virginia Wright-Frierson is most noted for her scrapbook series of three nature books, each of which won placement on the John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers (A Desert Scrapbook, An Island Scrapbook, and a North American Rainforest Scrapbook). Virginia is also a fine artist, most well known for the large, inspiring mural painted on canvas and installed permanently on the ceiling of the Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado. Her recent exhibitions have included watercolor and oil paintings.