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The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling
Original price was: $18.00.$11.17Current price is: $11.17.
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
Publisher : Bantam; Reprint edition (December 15, 2015)
Language : English
Paperback : 304 pages
ISBN-10 : 0553386077
ISBN-13 : 978-0553386073
Item Weight : 9.6 ounces
Dimensions : 5.53 x 0.64 x 8.25 inches
8 reviews for The Great Work of Your Life: A Guide for the Journey to Your True Calling
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Henry –
One of the Great Books of Our Time
Sometimes a book just finds you. In my case I just turned 50 and feel as if my calling has escaped me despite having been successful in business. With a somewhat heavy heart that dharma has escaped my every effort to catch it (there lies the paradox) I downloaded Cope’s book on my new Kindle and read it straight through. And how could I not read this book? My father did his dissertation on Walden’s Pond and Thoreau and HDT and I share the same first and middle name, “Henry David,” as I was named after the great writer. Thoreau is a central figure in Cope’s book.I love spiritual non-fiction and have read well over 100 books on the soul, love, the shadow, spirit, and how to live an abundant and happy life. And while many are dog eared, underlined and highlighted, never before have I ever read a book that was just perfect. I dont purport to be qualified to edit such a great book but had I been put to the task, I wouldn’t have changed, added or subtracted one word. This is a brilliant work of art and although Cope is modest and even comically self-disparaging at times, I believe this book has no peers in uncovering one’s soul purpose in this incarnation–if that is of interest to you. And if you are quite pleased (and fortunate) to have found a meaningful calling, then still read about how some of the world’s most respected and gifted artists, abolitionists, mediators and statesman (Gandhi) and others lived their lives, sometimes crazed and painful, with purpose and with a gift so special that all of them knew that their work flowed through them with divine grace. In short, ego was pushed aside to make room for greatness to blossom.As you go through this book and witness how those graced with a karmic, dharmic bedazzling gift (Thoreau, Whitman, Beethoven, Tubman, Gandhi, et al.,) either read and lived the wisdom from the Bhagavad Vita or if uneducated, like Harriet Tubman, still had the precious gift bestowed upon them, you may get the sense, as I did, that if you seek fame, fortune and ego gratification, dharma will look elsewhere. Yes, you may build skyscrapers and golf courses like Donald Trump, but if you are drawn to this book you will be far more interested by the personal journey of an enlightened monk in his little 10 x 10 room than by someone chasing and succeeding in finding a buck on Wall Street.Maybe I was put on this earth to be good salesman and caring father. There is no crime in or to my life. Yet, I still believe that something has evaded me. Tonight in my meditation practice I asked for guidance from the divine, as Cope suggests in the book. I’ll be watching for the signs.Please read this book and please share it with your friends. It’s a game changer. I once read a quote from the Dalai Lama that said “teach all eight years olds to meditate and war will be eliminated in one generation.” I wholeheartedly agree and will add that if you read this book and live it, you will be more fulfilled, and for the lucky few whose dharmas are finally jarred loose from reading “The Great Work of Your Life,” I imagine that it will be better than finding a gold ticket to Willy Wanka’s Chocolate Factory!I am so happy that this book found me, even if that means that reading about the fulfilled dharma of others is as close as I will ever get to catching that elusive tiger by the tail. Perhaps when I give up the search, my dharma will find me. Perhaps I’ve had it all along.
Elizabeth R. Marston –
Iâve purchased so many
I continue to gift this book to friends. Itâs one I, myself, go back to over and over again when I need a boost. Itâs transformational.
Kathmandu –
The Path of Karma Yoga
A recurring theme of the book is based on a quote from the Gnostic Gospel of Thomas:”If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you; if you do not bring forth what is within you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you.”Now that I’ve completed it, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book. While I had a hard time identifying with some of the people that Cope uses as examples of those that lived out their dharma, I was still able to get something out of almost every story. There were others, on the other hand, with which I really connected, especially the stories of Thoreau, Robert Frost, and Gandhi.While I did enjoy the first half of the book, I feel like it really comes together in the latter sections where Cope gets into the essence of karma yoga, letting go of attachment to outcome and dedicating your actions to God. Somewhere amongst these pages, I began to really understand the concept of not being the “doer” which is something I’ve struggled to wrap my head around for some time. Now, I’m finally able to relate this concept to my own experiences and see how it’s possible for it to play out in all aspects of life.The idea of service as a means to liberation is something frequently talked about by Ram Dass and also something that has been on my mind quite a bit as of late. So, it’s not surprise that this passage really hit home:”If you don’t find your work in the world and throw yourself wholeheartedly into it, you inevitably make your self your work. There’s no way around it; You will take your self as your primary project. You will, in the very best case, dedicate your life to the perfection of your self. To the perfection of your health, intelligence, beauty, home, or even spiritual prowess. And the problem is simply this: This self-dedication is too small a work. It inevitably becomes a prison.”The chapters on the life of Gandhi are very inspiring. I honestly didn’t know much about Gandhi aside from the stories that I’ve heard Ram Dass and others tell. While I knew that the Bhagavad Gita was very central to Gandhi’s life, what I didn’t know, and it was very interesting to learn, is that he actually didn’t read the Gita until he was in his mid-twenties. While I’ve read the Gita, as well as several commentaries on the Gita, I can’t say that I’ve ever really studied it. After discovering how much of an impact it had on Gandhi, how it literally changed the direction of his life, I think this is something that needs to change.
Lourdes S. –
Beautiful, wonderful book. A book I will definitely return to many times
Grok –
Amazingly inspiring read for anyone looking to live a life dedicated to a purpose. Well written. Made me feel connected to many of the great leaders from our past.
Amarylis –
I loved this book. Stephen’s writing style is warm and engaging and I found his use of human stories to illustrate the main message of the Bhagavad Gita, to be both enlightening and inspiring. I have had so many ‘Aha!’ moments while reading this, that I now want to go back and read it over again armed with a highlighter! It’s one of those books that for me is a keeper – one that will stay on my bookshelf for a long time.
Carlos Franco –
I have read all of Mr Cope’s books and this is by far the best. His approach to the Gita and his research on wonderful lives is nothing short of sensational.
Swati –
My favourite work by Stephen Cope is “The Wisdom of Yoga”.A book that changed my life and made meditation a very credible and enticing life practice for me.It’s a very profound, deeply insightful, and incisive treatise on teh subject written in a very light semi-fiction format that makes it readily accessible and digestible by the average reader.My heartfelt gratitude to Stephen Cope for producing such a work of art.Have already gifted that book to atleast six different people!