Banyen Books ~ Branches of Wisdom

Mirabai Starr and Sr Greta Ronningon discuss Mirabai Starr's new book, Ordinary Mysticism, where she reveals how to discover the sacred in everyday life. In Ordinary Mysticism, Mirabai Starr invites us to embrace mysticism not as a distant or exclusive practice, but as a direct, personal experience of the divine woven into the fabric of our daily routines. Drawing on wisdom from spiritual luminaries like Julian of Norwich and Ram Dass, along with her own journey through love, loss, and healing, Starr offers profound insights, storytelling, and practices to awaken to the magic in ordinary moments. Ordinary Mysticism has received praise from the likes of Anne Lamott, V (formerly Eve Ensler), Mark Nepo, Valarie Kaur, Pete Holmes.Mirabai Starr is an award-winning author, internationally acclaimed speaker, and leading teacher of interspiritual dialogue. In 2020, she was named one of Watkins’ 100 Most Spiritually Influential Living People. Drawing from 20 years of teaching Philosophy and World Religions at the University of New Mexico-Taos, she now travels globally, sharing her insights on contemplative living, writing as a spiritual practice, and the transformative power of grief. Her books include Wild Mercy, Caravan of No Despair, and God of Love. Mirabai’s acclaimed translations of mystics like John of the Cross and Teresa of Ávila offer a fresh, lyrical voice. She lives in northern New Mexico and teaches through her online community, Wild Heart. More at www.mirabaistarr.com.Sister Greta Ronningen is an Episcopal monastic, spiritual teacher, and chaplain. She began her journey in the 1970s at the Ojai Foundation with Dr. (Roshi) Joan Halifax, exploring various Eastern traditions, and later traveled to Nepal, where she took refuge with His Holiness Dudjum Rinpoche. In the 1980s, she co-founded Yoga Works in Santa Monica and Yoga Zone in New York with her husband, a second-generation yoga master of the ISHTA tradition. After 35 years of yoga teaching, she felt drawn to the Christian contemplative path, co-founding the Community of Divine Love in San Gabriel, CA. Greta holds an MA in Spiritual Formation from Claremont School of Theology and serves as a chaplain at Twin Towers Correctional Facility and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall.

Internationally celebrated Qi Gong master Lee Holden shares wisdom from his latest book, Ready, Set, Slow: How to Improve Your Energy, Health, and Relationships Through the Power of Slow.In this guide, Holden explores the power of slowing down to find balance and peace amidst the chaos of modern life. Drawing from Eastern meditation, martial arts, and Western science, he will introduce The Slow Method—a collection of practical tools to help you regain time, energy, and clarity. Discover techniques for calming the mind, nurturing the body, and deepening relationships as you learn how slowing down can lead to greater productivity, vitality, and inner harmony. Rady, Set, Slow has received praise from Deepak Chopra, James Nestor, Vishen Lakhiani, Mantak Chia and more.Lee Holden is an internationally celebrated Qi Gong master recognized by the International Qi Gong Association. He is the author of 7 Minutes of Magic and a beloved television personality who has been aired in over 50 million households in the US alone. Lee is a licensed Chinese medical doctor and acupuncturist and the cofounder of the Santa Cruz Integrative Medicine and Chi Center.

Deb Dana discusses The Nervous System Workbook: Practical Exercises to Ease Anxiety, Find Safety, and Come Home to Yourself Using Polyvagal Theory.Deb Dana offers tools for understanding and befriending your unique nervous system, providing practical exercises and insights rooted in Polyvagal Theory—a groundbreaking approach that explains how our nervous systems shape our behaviors, emotions, and relationships. Dana presents a layperson-friendly overview of Polyvagal Theory, guiding you through practices and reflections to help you understand, soothe, and train your system, cultivating a sense of safety and well-being.Discover how to manage stress, anxiety, and overwhelm with effective strategies tailored to your body's unique needs. As Dana writes, “There is no right or wrong way—there is the way of your nervous system.” This event is perfect for anyone looking to enhance their mental health and live with greater resilience and connection.Deb Dana, LCSW, is a clinician and consultant specializing in using the lens of Polyvagal Theory to understand and resolve the impact of trauma and create ways of working that honour the role of the autonomic nervous system. She is a founding member of the Polyvagal Institute and lectures internationally. She is the author of several books, including Anchored and Polyvagal Exercises for Safety and Connection.

Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor share authentic wisdom from their new book, Feeling Happy: The Yoga of Body, Heart, and Mind. Richard Freeman and Mary Taylor have both studied yoga for over 50 years. Together they teach workshops and training throughout the world and have authored several influential books. Their new book, Feeling Happy, draws from their decades practising and teaching yoga, meditation, and Buddhism to explore what happiness is and to offer practical steps toward cultivating happiness as a deep, embodied expression of life. Freeman and Taylor offer insights from yoga philosophy and Buddhism as well as accessible practices to help readers develop true happiness, (self)compassion, and equanimity.Richard Freeman has studied Ashtanga, Iyengar, bhakti, and traditional hatha yoga; Western and Eastern philosophy; and Sanskrit, all of which he incorporates into his Ashtanga yoga practice. Richard teaches at his studio, the Yoga Workshop, in Boulder, Colorado, as well as at studios and conferences throughout the world. He is also a frequent contributor to Yoga Journal and his video series, Yoga with Richard Freeman, inspires many people to take up yoga. Mary Taylor is the cofounder, with Richard Freeman, of the Yoga Workshop in Boulder, Colorado, which they started in 1988. Mary travels and teaches Ashtanga yoga throughout the world, both independently and in collaboration with Richard. In addition to teaching, Mary works closely with programs focused on bringing contemplative and yoga practices into the health care system for integrative therapies and self-care, and she is active in Donna Karan’s Urban Zen Foundation.

Rob Wipond, author of Your Consent Is Not Required, discusses the alarming rise of psychiatric coercion—and how we can push for ethical, person-centred alternatives.Asylums may have closed, but their practices persist in troubling ways. More people than ever are being involuntarily committed and forcibly treated. In Your Consent Is Not Required, investigative journalist Rob Wipond exposes how psychiatric incarceration, forced medication, and coercive interventions extend beyond hospitals into homes, schools, prisons, and social services—impacting not only those deemed "dangerous" but also schoolchildren, the elderly, whistleblowers, and marginalized communities. While revealing these hidden injustices, the book also explores humane, consent-based alternatives for supporting people in crisis.Rob Wipond is a freelance investigative journalist who writes about the intersections of psychiatry, civil rights, policing, surveillance, and social change. His work has been nominated for seventeen magazine and journalism awards for reporting on science, medicine, law, business, and community issues.