Susan Spence

Firsthand accounts of the life, practice, and teachings of pioneering Aikido master Robert Nadeau, direct disciple of Aikido founder Morihei Ueshiba • Explores Nadeau’s personal journey and pioneering role in the spread of Aikido, including firsthand accounts and historical photographs published for the first time • Explains Nadeau’s unique teaching, his core concepts, and basic practices centered on energy refinement, direct experience and inner transformation • Presents inspiring personal stories about Nadeau contributed by students, including Dan Millman, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Peter Ralston, and Renée Gregorio A widely influential figure in the development of Aikido in America, Robert Nadeau is known as one of the few American direct disciples of Aikido’s founder Morihei Ueshiba Osensei. Now an 8th dan Aikido master teacher, Nadeau has taught generations of students, and several have become prominent teachers in their own right. However, he has never written about his life or philosophy, always reserving his most pointed lessons for those who practice with him in person. This book tells the story of Robert Nadeau’s life journey and his distinctive approach to teaching Aikido as a way to access the inner energetic aspects of the art, a transformational approach with universal applications in daily life, even for non-Aikidoists. The authors explore Nadeau’s early interest in martial arts and all things spiritual as a teenager in California in the 1950s, his seminal training under Morihei Ueshiba at Aikido Hombu Dojo in Tokyo in the 1960s, and the following six decades of training, experimenting, refining, and teaching as he worked to introduce Aikido to the wider world, even beyond the traditional dojo. They lay out Nadeau’s core concepts, describe his simple-but-effective practices for personal development, and convey his time-tested approach to the inner training at the heart of Aikido in a very accessible way. They also include first-person accounts from Nadeau’s students, including Dan Millman, Richard Strozzi-Heckler, Peter Ralston, and Renée Gregorio, who recall their personal experiences of training with him, retell conversations with him, and describe insights and lessons learned, sharing how he affected their lives, sometimes quite profoundly. Bringing the story of Robert Nadeau’s life into focus, this book presents, for the first time, the profound lessons and deep impact of a pioneering teacher who’s been central to the spread of Aikido in the West.

With more than 150,000 copies sold, this fully revised and updated edition of the classic self-help guide for parents offers cutting-edge, proven-effective techniques for helping your child overcome anxiety and thrive. Most children are afraid of the dark. Some fear monsters under the bed. But at least ten percent of children have excessive fears and worries?phobias, separation anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder?that can hold them back and keep them from fully enjoying childhood. If your child suffers from any of these forms of anxiety, this book offers new, practical, and evidence-based proven tools that can help. Now in its third edition, Helping Your Anxious Child has been expanded and updated to include the latest research and techniques for managing child anxiety, and includes new information on helping very young children and adolescents; as well as anxiety in children with behavioral problems, learning difficulties, or medical conditions. The book offers proven-effective skills based in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure therapy, and mindfulness and relaxation techniques to aid you in helping your child overcome intense fears and worries. You'll also find out how to relieve your child's anxious feelings while parenting with compassion. Parents will learn: ·How to help your child practice “detective thinking” to recognize irrational worries ·What to do when your child becomes frightened ·How to expose your child gently and gradually to challenging situations ·How to help your child learn important social skills Also included are links to a free downloadable workbook for parents, and an activity book for kids. The kid-friendly, illustrated activity book will help your child take an active role in learning to manage their anxiety, as they learn and practice the skills outlined in Helping Your Anxious Child.

Matt Daly and his father, John, arrive in Montana Territory driving a herd of Texas longhorns. It is the 1880s and the value of the vast grasslands of the American West has been discovered. The two are eager start a ranch and make their living on the remote frontier. After finding an ideal spot north of the Yellowstone River, they file a homestead claim and begin running cattle on the D Rocking D. Life is hard, but rewarding, as there is a lot of money to be made selling beef to the exploding population back east. When the train comes through, it makes life easier. It also brings more people wanting to claim land and help settle the fertile prairie. Lavina Lavold rides out west with her family and catches Matt's eye as she steps off the train in Miles City. She too wishes adventure rather than the routine of city life. Her dream seems about to be fulfilled when she meets Matt and falls in love with the handsome cowboy. Conflicts are common as there are rustlers who want the Daly cattle and other ranchers who want the land they've claimed as their own. A neighbor, Bully Buehler, is one such man. He will stop at nothing to run them off, but meets more resistance than he anticipates as the Dalys will do whatever it takes to protect their land. When a body is found behind their barn, a range war threatens to erupt. Matt barely escapes the gunmen hired by Buehler and flees Montana, leaving behind death, not only of people he loves, but the death of his dream. Wandering aimlessly as a hunted man, the dark path he finds himself on leads to more bloodshed. Unable to return to the ranch and thinking his family dead, despair overwhelms him. Finally he figures a way out of his situation. It will get the hired guns off his trail and put an end to his misery. The plan nearly kills him and takes a turn he doesn't anticipate, but it does free him. Eventually he makes his way back to Montana and finds unexpected circumstances. His troubles aren't over though, as before he can rebuild the ranch, he must overcome his own demons, brought about by the nightmare of his life when he became an outlaw. With the help of Gray Eagle, a Sioux medicine man, he is finally able to confront his fears and return to the life he loves, although it will never be the same as before the trouble began. The late1800s were called The Wild West for good reason. It was a time when people had free rein, with little law, as a large portion of the United States opened to expansion. Federal land was illegally grabbed with no repercussions as the lawmakers in Washington were a long way off. Hostile takeovers weren't uncommon and many times people did as they pleased, even if it meant pushing others out of the way. That often led to conflicts that were settled with a gun or a noose. Reviewers of this book say they couldn't put it down and that it wasn't at all what they expected of a Western. Sure, there's a dashing cowboy, a lovely lady, an Indian medicine man and Texas longhorns. There's also plenty of action. But that's where the similarities to books about the Wild West end. This is an engaging book of historical fiction that will hold you to the end.