Kirjahaku

"This book should be made mandatory world-wide for all heads of state." Lissa Wolsak, Author of In Defense of Being."A Future to Believe In is a message the world needs to hear now " Bill McKibben, Author of Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet.After four years in creation, Alan Clements brings us a visionary new book, A Future to Believe In: 108 Reflections On the Art and Activism of Freedom. In it he weaves the wisdom of hundreds of the world's most creative and courageous thinkers - artists, activists, scientists, and risk-takers - in with his own most compelling life-lessons, questions, and discoveries, from his forty-year long pursuit of truth and freedom - an epic journey of world travel, spiritual exploration, scholarly study and political activism, that has taken him from the sacredness of monastic silence deep into the dark heart of war zones.An iconoclastic blend of radical cultural commentary, edgy political punditry and provocative life-inquiry, this field guide for revolutionaries, and a model for a new society, is designed to liberate the human spirit - igniting gutsy transformation in one's daily life and nonviolent political change around the world. Burma's Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom Clements co-authored the acclaimed book of conversations, The Voice of Hope, calls this global movement a revolution of the spirit or the awakening of a new language of freedom. By fearlessly fusing timeless spiritual values with nonviolent political actions, we can unite and co-create a future to believe in."Alan Clements' magnificent book provides a courageous and intelligent compass personifying our aspirations for freedom and wisdom, and in so doing, offers insights on how to shape a future that gives life hope; make this book your guide, mentor and friend." Dr Helen Caldicott, Author of Nuclear Power is Not the Answer and If you Love this Planet, Founding President Physicians for Social Responsibility."In this radiant book is a new consciousness." Lowry Burgess, artist, professor, creator of the first official Non-Scientific Art Payload taken into outer space by NASA in 1989."This book provides the essential wisdom - the spiritual intelligence - to learn to listen to the planet, to life - the core intelligence of nature and the human heart." Derrick Jensen, Author of Culture of Make Believe."A Future to Believe In is a treasure, not a mere book." Paul Hawken, Author of Blessed Unrest. "At a time when the contemporary spiritual landscape has become dangerously gentrified and domesticated, Alan Clements restores us to our senses - wild and elemental. He summons the voices of those who, along side him, have not traded their souls for the market-driven need to be tame or acceptable, and points us to the wilderness of true, engaged, fiercely authentic awakening. This is why we are alive--to set freedom free, in ourselves and for others, in every aspect of our lives from the most mundane daily task, to the most profound political act." Kelly Wendorf, author and editor Stories of Belonging"This book is the music of wisdom, a dance with the finest places of the human heart. You will want to keep this timeless treasure within reach, so you can open it to any page, and let a paragraph or a line ignite you again to the truth of your own being." Joanna Macy, Buddhist teacher, activist and author of World as Lover, World As Self.

Alan Clements is an author, activist, performing artist and one of the first Americans to become a Buddhist monk in the country of Burma (Myanmar), where he lived for years training in intensive mindfulness meditation and existential Buddhist psychology. Since leaving Burma, he has become a spiritual maverick, working for global human rights and sharing his contemporary understanding of liberation to audiences around the world.After decades of leading retreats, Instinct for Freedom is radical book of personal and planetary exploration, a visionary blend of adventurous autobiography, self-inquiry and independent thinking. Here Alan presents what he calls World Dharma, an approach to personal development that mirrors the narrative of his visionary life. He gives voice to an essential calling that is common to all people -- a world dharma based in one precious human value: freedom, the liberation from fear, ignorance and dogma, and the elevation of dignity, conscience, and beauty.For Clements, freedom is rooted in real life experience, in holding life's complexities in balance with its wondrous gifts, and in the transformational power of relationships with other people and with the world. Exploring the nature of consciousness and our place in the mysterious cosmos may be the key to our freedom, he says. In detailing the early years of his Dharma life living in silence in a Burmese monastery, Clements presents a rare, beautiful, and nuanced account of the actual experience of intensive mindfulness meditation and what it can offer. Yet Clements's approach is not a doctrine. It is an intuitive process realized through deep inner trust, gentle self-inquiry and naturalness of spirit and expresses itself in daily acts of courage and love. No amount of spiritual practice or meditative training can adequately prepare us for life, he says. We must find our liberation through living in love, in this very moment, now, in whatever circumstances we face. Clements has been interviewed on ABC National, Talk to America, CBC, VOA, BBC, the New York Times, Time and Newsweek magazines, the Sydney Morning Herald, Utne Reader, Yoga Journal, and scores of other media worldwide. He also delivered a keynote at Amnesty International's 30th Year Anniversary at the John Ford Theater in LA. You can learn more about Alan's work on his website: www.AlanClements.com."Alan's life is material for a legend. An intellectual artist, freedom fighter, former Buddhist monk, he shares his insights and experience with a passion rarely seen and even more rarely lived. He'll make you think and feel in ways that challenge your entire way of being." -- Catherine Ingram, In the Footsteps of Gandhi and Passionate Presence

"This book should be made mandatory world-wide for all heads of state." Lissa Wolsak, Author of In Defense of Being."A Future to Believe In is a message the world needs to hear now " Bill McKibben, Author of Earth: Making a Life on a Tough New Planet.After four years in creation, Alan Clements brings us a visionary new book, A Future to Believe In: 108 Reflections On the Art and Activism of Freedom. In it he weaves the wisdom of hundreds of the world's most creative and courageous thinkers - artists, activists, scientists, and risk-takers - in with his own most compelling life-lessons, questions, and discoveries, from his forty-year long pursuit of truth and freedom - an epic journey of world travel, spiritual exploration, scholarly study and political activism, that has taken him from the sacredness of monastic silence deep into the dark heart of war zones.An iconoclastic blend of radical cultural commentary, edgy political punditry and provocative life-inquiry, this field guide for revolutionaries, and a model for a new society, is designed to liberate the human spirit - igniting gutsy transformation in one's daily life and nonviolent political change around the world. Burma's Nobel Peace laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, with whom Clements co-authored the acclaimed book of conversations, The Voice of Hope, calls this global movement a revolution of the spirit or the awakening of a new language of freedom. By fearlessly fusing timeless spiritual values with nonviolent political actions, we can unite and co-create a future to believe in."Alan Clements' magnificent book provides a courageous and intelligent compass personifying our aspirations for freedom and wisdom, and in so doing, offers insights on how to shape a future that gives life hope; make this book your guide, mentor and friend." Dr Helen Caldicott, Author of Nuclear Power is Not the Answer and If you Love this Planet, Founding President Physicians for Social Responsibility."In this radiant book is a new consciousness." Lowry Burgess, artist, professor, creator of the first official Non-Scientific Art Payload taken into outer space by NASA in 1989."This book provides the essential wisdom - the spiritual intelligence - to learn to listen to the planet, to life - the core intelligence of nature and the human heart." Derrick Jensen, Author of Culture of Make Believe."A Future to Believe In is a treasure, not a mere book." Paul Hawken, Author of Blessed Unrest. "At a time when the contemporary spiritual landscape has become dangerously gentrified and domesticated, Alan Clements restores us to our senses - wild and elemental. He summons the voices of those who, along side him, have not traded their souls for the market-driven need to be tame or acceptable, and points us to the wilderness of true, engaged, fiercely authentic awakening. This is why we are alive--to set freedom free, in ourselves and for others, in every aspect of our lives from the most mundane daily task, to the most profound political act." Kelly Wendorf, author and editor Stories of Belonging"This book is the music of wisdom, a dance with the finest places of the human heart. You will want to keep this timeless treasure within reach, so you can open it to any page, and let a paragraph or a line ignite you again to the truth of your own being." Joanna Macy, Buddhist teacher, activist and author of World as Lover, World As Self.

'Tonight I Met a Deva, an Angel of Love' tells a timeless and inspiring story delivered by a Deva, an Angel of love from Tusita, the celestial realm from the Buddhist tradition, the heaven where Maitreya, Buddha-to-be, resides. Through flowing, rhyming verses the Deva has a heartfelt conversation with a child, revealing the simple essence of Buddha's Teachings: The Four Noble Truths. In few words, she reveals the true nature of life, the causes of strife, the freedom from it, and the path of living with ethical and mindful intelligence, in the language of children. This simple, yet captivating story, written for ages 7 to 12 years old, and older, is to soften the spirit, open the heart, and create an atmosphere of joy, rest and wonderment. It is designed to nurture seeds of hope and wisdom, and to evoke an intimate discussion between parent and child on the ever-evolving meaning and significance of the Buddha's Four Noble Truths, over years to come. Drawing from classical Buddhism, the story is universal in meaning, as the author, a former Buddhist monk, encourages young people, each in their own way, to discover truth, love and freedom, each and every day.This book provides a colorful beacon of light to the young, in a world of challenges.REVIEW OF THE BOOK, by Tilly Campbell-Allen"Tonight I Mеt A Dеva, An Angel Of Love" is a beautiful new book by Alan Clements with a foreword by H.H.14th Dalai Lama."This book by Alan Clements inspires people, young and old. He addresses that the reality of life can be fraught with difficulties and yet full of joy. If you have the compassion and wisdom, it's always possible to overcome whatever challenges you face. I admire Alan's determination to pass this important message onto the next generation - keeping his daughter especially in mind." With my prayersThe Dalai Lama In Alan Clements' literary gem of mystical realism, Buddhism's essential teachings - The Four Noble Truths - unfold during an enchanted encounter, though the wisdom transcends any one religion. This precious book is a road map for a profoundly healthy way of living, spoken with a poetic voice soft enough to warmly wrap around the shoulders of a sleepy young child. While Buddhist terms dance effortlessly with contemporary rhymes on pages brimming with luminous imagery set to inspire both wonder and reflection at any age. Gone are the pages of heady academic review, instead we are encouraged to slip into the magic of our heart. We are gently reminded of the nature of things and how to swim mindfully through this space called life.The Four Noble Truths were noble over 2500 years ago yet never do they feel more relevant and imperative. As adults, we have a remarkable responsibility to our children to help them know the majesty of this precious life and precious planet. Read this compelling book for yourself and read it to your young ones, and ready yourself for the blossoming, and a true transformation. The illustrations for this book have been generously donated by a small collection of Artists at Dakini As Art."Alan Clements' lovely book is pure and straight from the heart. I recommend it to every living child, to give them a true appreciation of what real life can be if the search for purity and meaning prevails." Helen Caldicott, pediatrician, founder of Physicians for Social Responsibility -1985 Nobel Peace Prize

"A rare and beautiful dialogue on liberating death. Through the wisdom of our grief, we enter into an existential sense door, where death itself becomes a festival of wonder, a heightened radical ride into the heart of the ever-present future, and beyond. Thisis a must read for every person on earth who cares about the future of life and death."- Jeannine Davies, PhD, Psychologist, author, Relational DharmaGreetings. Thank you for being with me on this journey. A preface to my book, Facing Death. A year ago I was diagnosed with a fatal heart condition. An emergency room visit revealed a severely enlarged aortic aneurysm, an often-lethal swelling in the largest vessel leaving the heart. I was told in no uncertain terms that it was like a radiator hose ready to burst, a ticking time bomb on a short fuse, and that death could and likely would come "at any second" if I did not undergo immediate open-heart surgery. I scheduled three surgeries and cancelled them all due to the shock and the tears, inevitably, of facing something so dramatic. I decided to come to Maui, my second spiritual home (after Burma) to enter hospice and apply for the right to take my life. Hawaii allows the right to die by your own choice, and through a rigorous process I was granted the pharmaceutical substance necessary, should I make this decision.I took care of business. I went to see my beloved daughter, Sahra Bella, in Vancouver. I wrote my will and my Five Wishes. I looked deeply into who would handle my burial and my body. Reverend Bodhi Be, here on the island, at his green funeral organization, Doorway Into Light, had attracted me. I had known of him, had respect for him, and he agreed to handle my body and bury it, whether I die by natural causes or choose to consciously, mindfully euthanize on my most sacred terms. I've had this vision for some months, and the only thing that was left was a heart-to-heart with the man that I entrusted, who bequeathed me with his compassion to take care of my body and bury it, should I die here. I felt pressing questions in perhaps a little sharper detail; "Who are you? Who are we?" I wanted to get to know him. This book, Facing Death, is perhaps the most sacred conversation I've ever had. It was deliberately designed to be one sitting, to be read in an hour to an hour and a half, to be felt, to be resonated with, to cry along with us.We sit and talk in the context of Ukrainian/ Russian war, and with it the threat of a new world war. Countries are on nuclear alert as global meltdown unfolds and climate catastrophe brings with it some of the most biting questions and difficult answers. Even as we speak, multiple extinctions go on in multiple universes and multiple galaxies. Inbuilt into the system, to state the unthinkably obvious, is death. Within it, we each have our religion, our prayer, our miracle, our hope, our mindfulness, our Dharma. This conversation is meant to illuminate, in the humblest way, this epic issue of life and death. What does it mean to mindfully inhabit the inevitable? As Bodhi Be says, "We all know we're going to die but we don't know when." It's inbuilt into the system. This book is part prayer, part scream, part hymn, part meditation; a sonnet, a love song to God, to each of us. It's not meant to teach anything except to inspire our own humble, vulnerable, dignified way to face the inevitable. So, may I invite you to enter this portal with us, an existential human conversation of the heart. I hope there's something beautiful in it for you, as there was for me, and I know the Reverend Bodhi Be. Alan Clements

CONVERSATION WITH A DICTATOR A Challenge to the Authoritarian Assault A Fictional Dialogue with Myanmar's Senior General An Illustrated Novel Art as Activism A Call to Free Aung San Suu Kyi In the wake of Myanmar's 2021 military coup, democracy was decimated. Thousands of citizens-including poets, monks, students, mothers-have been imprisoned, tortured, or killed. Among the silenced is Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, once the face of Burma's democratic movement, now held incommunicado by the regime that fears her voice. This book imagines what the world has been denied: a direct confrontation with tyranny. Told as a fictional yet psychologically forensic dialogue between an exiled journalist and Senior General Min Aung Hlaing-the ruthless architect of Myanmar's dictatorship-Conversation with a Dictator plunges readers into the heart of authoritarian pathology. Through piercing prose and haunting visual storytelling, it lays bare the machinery of repression: the seduction of power, the perversion of Buddhism, and the fetishization of control masked in the language of patriotism and security. But this is more than a reckoning. It is a weapon of truth. A call to global conscience. A luminous act of defiance. Boldly blending literature, journalism, spiritual insight, and political resistance, this illustrated novel challenges not only the junta in Myanmar but authoritarianism in all its modern disguises-from digital surveillance states to populist strongmen. About the Author Alan Clements is an author, journalist, spoken word artist, and former Buddhist monk-one of the first Westerners ordained in Myanmar, later expelled for exposing the regime's crimes. For decades, he's stood with Burma's pro-democracy movement, including Aung San Suu Kyi, bearing witness through literature and activism. His work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, TIME, Newsweek, and more. His books include Burma: The Next Killing Fields?, A Future to Believe In, and The Voice of Hope-a landmark dialogue with Suu Kyi. Conversation with a Dictator is his most unflinching work to date: a literary confrontation with tyranny, and a call to remember those still imprisoned for speaking truth.