Stephen Cope

An inspiring guide to finding your life’s purpose—what spiritual teachers call dharma—through mindfulness and self-exploration. Stephen Cope says that in order to have a fulfilling life you must discover the deep purpose hidden at the very core of your self. The secret to unlocking this mystery, he asserts, can be found in the pages of a two-thousand-year-old spiritual classic called the Bhagavad Gita—an ancient allegory about the path to dharma, told through a timeless dialogue between the fabled archer, Arjuna, and his divine mentor, Krishna. Cope takes readers on a step-by-step tour of this revered tale and highlights well-known Western lives that embody its central principles—including such luminaries as Jane Goodall, Walt Whitman, Susan B. Anthony, John Keats, and Harriet Tubman, along with stories of ordinary people as well. If you’re feeling lost in your own life’s journey, The Great Work of Your Life may help you to find and to embrace your true calling. Praise for The Great Work of Your Life “Keep a pen and paper handy as you read this remarkable book: It’s like an owner’s manual for the soul.”—Dani Shapiro, author of Devotion “A masterwork . . . You’ll find inspiration in these pages. You’ll gain a better appreciation of divine guidance and perhaps even understand how you might better hear it in your own life.”—Yoga Journal “I am moved and inspired by this book, the clarity and beauty of the lives lived in it, and the timeless dharma it teaches.”—Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart “A rich source of contemplation and inspiration [that] encourages readers . . . to discover and fully pursue their inner self’s calling.”—Publishers Weekly “Fabulous . . . If you have ever wondered what your purpose is, this book is a great guide to help you on your path.”—YogaHara

A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling

The Great Work of Your Life

Focusing on the spiritual benefits of hatha yoga, the author looks past the "how-two" approach to explore the more subtle, less physical effects of this ancient meditation practice. Reprint.

Yoga and the Quest for the True Self

The author of Yoga and the Quest for the True Self offers spiritual seekers from all traditions a practical introduction to the wisdom and teachings of the Yogasutra, as he brings together insights from yoga philosophy with modern psychology to offer lessons in ethical living, enhanced creativity, and the discovery of one's higher purpose. 20,000 first printing.

A Seeker's Guide to Extraordinary Living

The Wisdom of Yoga

"Most of us will have many friends throughout our lifetimes--friends of all shapes, sizes, and callings. Many of these are wonderful, meaningful friendships. Some are difficult. But some magic few of these are connections that have gone right to our soul. These five or seven or ten friendships have been powerful keys to determining who we have become and who we will become. . . . These are the people I call Soul Friends." As the Senior Scholar-in-Residence for over 25 years at the renowned Kripalu Center, Stephen Cope has spent decades investigating--and writing about--the integration of body, mind, and spirit and the rich complexity of our relationships with others, and with ourselves. Perhaps the central truth that arises from his work is this: human beings are universally wired for one thing--vital connection with one another.Soul Friends invites us on a compelling journey into the connectivity of the human psyche, the study of which has fascinated scholars, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Cope seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on his own life as well as the histories of famous figures--from Eleanor Roosevelt to Charles Darwin to Queen Victoria--whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of friendship itself. In his exploration, he distills human connection into six distinct yet interconnected mechanisms: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, identification, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us to reflect on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of "who we have become and who we will become."Without a doubt, the journey to our most fulfilled selves requires us to look within. But in order to truly thrive, we must make the most of who we are in relation to one another as well. Unsparingly honest, deeply wise, and irresistibly readable, Soul Friends gives us a map to find our way.

The Transforming Power of Deep Human Connection

Soul Friends

a guide for the journey to your true calling

The great work of your life

New in paperback. Originally published as SOUL FRIENDS. Best-selling author Stephen Cope explores the essence of human connection through five essential types of relationships. "Destined to be a classic. . . . . Cope makes us want to risk making real, intentional human connections-and makes us long to celebrate them, and to allow them to transform us into fully-conscious and fully-alive human beings." - Geneen Roth, New York Times best-selling author of Women, Food and God and Lost and Found Do you long to connect more deeply with other human beings? Do you wonder if you're living up to your human potential to make these deep connections happen-and perhaps missing out on this most compelling aspect of a vital life? In this groundbreaking new book, best-selling author Stephen Cope invites us to explore the most important questions in this domain: What is the nature of human connection? Why, precisely, is a capacity to connect deeply so important to the development of our minds, bodies, and spirits? What are the actual mechanisms of connection that we must master during the course of life? How can our lack of connection inhibit our happiness and satisfaction in life? Can we learn to connect more wisely than we do? Cope is well known as a master storyteller, and in this new book he seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on poignant stories from his own life as well as the lives of famous figures-from E. M. Forster to Sigmund Freud to Queen Victoria-whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of connection itself. In the process, he lays out in stunning detail the precise mechanisms of human connection, which he distills into five helpful categories: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us into a remarkably practical reflection on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of deep human connection-and a more satisfying and fruitful life.

Why We Need It More than Anything Else

Deep Human Connection

“Most of us will have many friends throughout our lifetimes —friends of all shapes, sizes, and callings. Many of these are wonderful, meaningful friendships. Some are difficult. But some magic few of these are connections that have gone right to our soul. These five or seven or ten friendships have been powerful keys to determining who we have become and who we will become. . . . These are the people I call Soul Friends.” As the Senior Scholar-in-Residence for over 25 years at the renowned Kripalu Center, Stephen Cope has spent decades investigating —and writing about —the integration of body, mind, and spirit and the rich complexity of our relationships with others, and with ourselves. Perhaps the central truth that arises from his work is this: human beings are universally wired for one thing —vital connection with one another. Soul Friends invites us on a compelling journey into the connectivity of the human psyche, the study of which has fascinated scholars, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Cope seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on his own life as well as the histories of famous figures —from Eleanor Roosevelt to Charles Darwin to Queen Victoria —whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of friendship itself. In his exploration, he distills human connection into six distinct yet interconnected mechanisms: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, identification, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us to reflect on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of “who we have become and who we will become.” Without a doubt, the journey to our most fulfilled selves requires us to look within. But in order to truly thrive, we must make the most of who we are in relation to one another as well. Unsparingly honest, deeply wise, and irresistibly readable, Soul Friends gives us a map to find our way.

The sequel to the bestseller The Great Work of Your Life shows us the way through our darkest times to our truest calling. How do we make sense of our lives when our world seems to be falling apart? This beautifully written guide from 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 this sequel to his best-loved book, The Great Work of Your Life, Cope again takes the ancient yogic text the Bhagavad Gita—the epic narrative of the warrior Arjuna’s odyssey of self-discovery—as a roadmap for our journey to our own true calling. Then he builds on that foundation using the stories and teachings of famous figures, as well as stories of ordinary people and his own rich personal experience. Along the way, we find striking examples for finding meaning and purpose in our lives: Gandhi shows how to tap our spiritual resources and listen for our inner voice Sojourner Truth and Henry David Thoreau inspire us to seek out the unmistakable signs of dharma in the midst of chaos Marian Anderson and Ruby Sales shed light on dharma’s mystic power and how we learn to trust in it And more In the spirit of Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart, this book is required reading when you find yourself forging a path through crisis—or seeking a way through your darkest times to your truest self.

Finding Your Calling in Times of Loss, Change, Struggle, and Doubt

The Dharma in Difficult Times

For modern spiritual seekers and yoga students alike, here is an irreverent yet profound guide to the most sophisticated teachings of the yoga wisdom tradition–now brought to contemporary life by a celebrated author, psychotherapist, and leading American yoga instructor. While many Westerners still think of yoga as an invigorating series of postures and breathing exercises, these physical practices are only part of a vast and ancient spiritual science. For more than three millennia, yoga sages systematically explored the essential questions of our human existence: What are the root causes of suffering, and how can we achieve freedom and happiness? What would it be like to function at the maximum potential of our minds, bodies, and spirits? What is an optimal human life? Nowhere have their discoveries been more brilliantly distilled than in a short–but famously difficult–treatise called the Yogasutra. This revered text lays out the entire path of inner development in remarkable detail–ranging from practices that build character and mental power to the highest reaches of spiritual realization. Now Stephen Cope unlocks the teachings of the Yogasutra by showing them at work in the lives of a group of friends and fellow yoga students who are confronting the full modern catastrophe of careers, relationships, and dysfunctional family dynamics. Interweaving their daily dilemmas with insights from modern psychology, neuroscience, religion, and philosophy, he shows the astonishing relevance and practicality of this timeless psychology of awakening. Leavened with wit and passion, The Wisdom of Yoga is a superb companion and guide for anyone seeking enhanced creativity, better relationships, and a more ethical and graceful way of living in the world.

Lo yoga è una tradizione di saggezza vecchia di tremila anni. Per suo tramite si sono dischiuse enormi possibilità per l’esistenza umana e si sono fatte scoperte sulla mente e sul corpo che tuttora sbalordiscono le neuroscienze. Il trattato di riferimento fondamentale per lo yoga e la meditazione, noto come Yogasutra e attribuito a Patanjali, è uno dei più brillanti testi di psicologia mai scritti. La saggezza dello yoga parte da questi antichi precedenti per scoprire come lo yoga risponda ancora oggi, e con forza, ai nostri bisogni. Stephen Cope si è accostato a questa disciplina molti anni fa e col tempo ha potuto apprezzare gli immensi benefici di posizioni ed esercizi di respirazione, accrescendo con una pratica regolare energia, resistenza, concentrazione, capacità di recupero e gioia di vivere. Agli inizi, tuttavia, non aveva colto sino in fondo il senso della ricerca di una vita straordinaria, sotto l’aspetto fisico, mentale e spirituale, implicito in questa tradizione di saggezza, che in quanto raja yoga o via nobile sta a monte dell’hatha yoga, ossia le posture e gli esercizi. Gli yogi tremila anni fa si chiedevano quale fosse la vita ottimale, e come sarebbe stato possibile esprimere tutte le potenzialità della mente e del corpo. E si chiedevano anche quali fossero le radici profonde della sofferenza, e se si potesse imparare a essere felici anche nei momenti difficili. E in entrambi i casi si sono dati risposte stupefacenti: le potenzialità umane hanno enormi margini di attuabilità e la sofferenza si può estinguere. I principi e le pratiche degli Yogasutra potrebbero sembrare adatti solo agli asceti dell’India antica dediti a un rigoroso addestramento dello spirito, ma in realtà, se correttamente intesi, sono molti utili ai moderni praticanti per conseguire una nuova libertà. Lo studio e la pratica regolare dello yoga permettono infatti di vivere una vita con minore sofferenza, una vita più piena, e possono anche indurre sostanziali cambiamenti nel carattere.

La saggezza dello yoga

The best-selling author of The Great Work of Your Life shows us the way through our darkest times to our truest calling. How do we make sense of our lives when our world seems to be falling apart? 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. The Dharma in Difficult Times extends the message of Cope’s best-loved book, The Great Work of Your Life, which gave readers a roadmap for the journey to their true calling. As in Great Work, Cope here takes the ancient yogic text the Bhagavad Gita—the epic narrative of the warrior Arjuna’s odyssey of self-discovery—as a model for the reader’s journey. Then he builds on that foundation using the stories and teachings of famous figures, as well as stories of ordinary people and his own rich personal experience. Along the way, we find striking examples for finding meaning and purpose in our lives: • Gandhi shows how to tap our spiritual resources and listen for our inner voice • Sojourner Truth and Henry David Thoreau inspire us to seek out the unmistakable signs of dharma in the midst of chaos • Marian Anderson and Ruby Sales shed light on dharma’s mystic power and how we learn to trust in it • And more In the spirit of Pema Chödrön’s When Things Fall Apart, this book is required reading when you find yourself forging a path through crisis—or seeking a way through your darkest times to your truest self.

Stephen Cope

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