A spiritual quest typically begins with a critical shock or loss, one that casts us back upon ourselves to question the meaning of life. Should our suffering affect us deeply enough, it will plummet us into our hearts, where the hidden treasures of life are to be found. Should we happen to fully let go, we will let go into what IS; and thus, adversity and pain fulfill their natural roles. From that point onward, our emphasis and priorities change. But discovering our truth and living by it are entirely different things. Obstacles frequently beset our path, some without, the greater part within. Everything is Useful identifies such obstacles. It offers strategies for overcoming them by seeing them as what they are, cosmic strength-building exercises that empower us to learn, to grow, and, ultimately, to transcend; for like the pain that sparked our quest, the obstacles in our way, double as a means to enlightenment.

Humanity now stands at a crossroads between a world of unimaginable wonders and one of unprecedented terrors. The choices we make now will determine not only the shape of our future, but whether there will be, for us as a species, a future at all. But, if we are at such a crossroads, are we even properly aware of it? Governed by instincts rooted in the past, are we prepared to see what we need to see, to do what we need to do? As technology evolves, so must we; but how and in what direction? Are we unavoidably fated to trade liberty for security in ridding the world of terror and war? Humanity at the Crossroads attempts to answer all of these critical questions, while opening the dialogue for further debate. It arrives, in the process, at the startling conclusion that the very technology which threatens to destroy us, not merely its more favorable offshoots, is itself the catalyst for that better world we may yet hope to inhabit.

The book you are now examining can radically change your life, or if you are already a serious practitioner in one of the world's meditative traditions, it can accentuate the value of the changes you may have already experienced. It is for such rare individuals, unflinching in their commitment to truth, and uncompromising in their personal values, that this book has been lovingly written. Composed in the time-honored style of The Tao Te Ching, and The Golden Sayings of Epictetus, Guideposts to the Heart is a wise collection of individual "thought-nuggets" that can be easily read in a day, yet absorbed only through the course of a lifetime. It is best read slowly, a bit at a time, on a bus or train, at a lake or park, or during the interstices of a busy day. If you are sincere, you will discover the best of yourself in its pages. Garth J. Hallett is a nonfiction book and article writer, and a Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP). His official credentials also include an MA in Political Science from the University of Connecticut, and a BA in History and English from Fairfield University. His spiritual quest began in earnest during his early-to-mid twenties, when he became an avid practitioner of insight meditation, and of the teachings and techniques of Paramahansa Yogananda, as imparted through The Self-Realization Fellowship Lessons. He came to experience, through his dedicated efforts, and through the insistent promptings of an evidently cooperative universe, the shock and wonder of a kundalini awakening. He thus became intensely aware, in a manner reminiscent of Hamlet in his words to Horatio, of how much more there was to life than was dreamt of in the world's (materialistic) philosophies. Though immersed in Eastern practices, he retains a respectful regard for his earlier Catholic training, and seeks to live his life from that spiritual center from which all true religions are one.