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Book Synopsis''Your soul each moment struggles hard with death -Think of your faith as though it''s your last breath.Your life is like a purse, and night and dayAre counters of gold coins you''ve put away''Rumi is the greatest mystic poet to have written in Persian, and the Masnavi is his masterpiece. Divided into six books and consisting of some 26,000 verses, the poem was designed to convey a message of divine love and unity to the disciples of Rumi''s Sufi order, known today as the Whirling Dervishes. Like the earlier books, Book Three interweaves amusing stories with homilies to instruct pupils in mystical knowledge. It has a special focus on epistemology, illustrated with narratives that involve the consumption of food. This is the first ever verse translation of Book Three of the Masnavi. It follows the original by presenting Rumi''s most mature mystical teachings in simple and attractive rhyming couplets.

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Book SynopsisHeal the body, quiet the mind, and find emotional balance with simple practices from Yantra Yoga Modern science and classic spiritual traditions agree: regulating the breath leads to radiance and wellness of body, mind, and spirit. With the simple teachings and cutting-edge research offered in The Tibetan Yoga of Breath, you can start thriving just by integrating breathwork into your daily practice.Basic Yantra Yoga techniques—also called wind energy training—are the key to achieving this kind of vitality, down to the cellular level. Anyen Rinpoche and Allison Choying Zangmo skillfully examine the teachings of Yantra Yoga and Buddhism through the lens of Western medical science. Their wise and accessible instruction reveals practices that are nourishing and transformative, delivering dramatic results—no experience with yoga or Buddhist meditation necessary.

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Book SynopsisWinner of the 2016 IPPY Gold Medal Award for Self Help How making a vow—consciously setting an intention—can be a powerful tool for achieving all sort of goals, from the author of the best-selling Mindful Eating. Making a vow is a powerful mindfulness practice—and all you have to do to tap into that power is set your intention consciously. A vow can be as "small" as the aspiration to smile at someone at least once every day, or as "big" as marriage; as personal as deciding to be mindful when picking up the phone or as universal as vowing to save all sentient beings. It can be deeply spiritual, utterly ordinary, or both. Zen teacher Jan Chozen Bays looks to traditional Buddhist teachings to show the power of vows—and then applies that teaching broadly to the many vows we make. She shows that if we work with vows consciously, they set us in the direction of achieving our goals, both temporal and spiritual.Bays presents secular and spiritual wisdom from both East and West, highlighting figures such as Martha Graham, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Buckminster Fuller. She helps us examine the vows we have already made for ourselves and the vows we’ve unconsciously inherited. She supports us in repairing broken vows, crafting new intentions, and exploring what’s truly on our bucket lists.

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Book SynopsisApophasis has become a major topic in the humanities, particularly in philosophy, religion, and literature. This two-volume anthology gathers together most of the important historical works on apophaticism and illustrates the diverse trajectories of apophatic discourse in ancient, modern, and postmodern times.Trade Review“Any writer worth his salt knows that what cannot be spoken is ultimately the thing worth speaking about; yet most often this humbling awareness is unsaid or covered up. There are some who have made it their business, however, to court failure and acknowledge defeat, to explore the impasse of words before silence. William Franke has created an anthology of such explorations, undertaken in poetry and prose, that stretches from Plato to the present. Whether the subject of discourse is All or Nothing does not matter: the struggle of speech to name the unnameable is the same. This ambitious two-volume undertaking demonstrates a preoccupation as old as Western civilization itself: the limits of language and the virtue of being at a loss for words. How long we have been raiding the Inarticulate!” —Peter S. Hawkins, Boston University“Developments in critical theory during the past two decades have led to renewed interest in negative theology. Books like Languages of the Unsayable (1989), Negation and Theology (1992), Derrida and Negative Theology (1992), and The Otherness of God (1998) have signaled the resurgence of this ancient tradition. William Franke’s distinctive contribution is to provide the background and texts from which these recent developments have emerged.” —Mark Taylor, Williams College"These two volumes successfully realize a massive project: to propose and delineate a new field of discourse that provides a fresh approach to Western thought as a whole. In short, William Franke demonstrates the centrality of apophaticism, 'what cannot be said,' to the Western tradition, from Plato (and before) to Derrida (and beyond). . . . The first volume covers the first 'cycles' of apophasis, as the Western tradition evolves, stretching from the commentary tradition of Plato's Parmenides to Eckhart and his progenitors. . . . Franke's work is nothing short of brilliant." —Religion and Literature“. . . one of the most important and original contributions to the discussion of apophasis in recent years. . . . Franke’s historical and disciplinary range, in light of his well-written and compelling essays, provides an illuminating insight into the pervasiveness of apophatic discourse. . . . Franke’s anthology is a resource which should not be ignored. Few others, maybe no others, provide the same clarity, coherence, and scope.” —Christianity and Literature“The genius of Franke’s two-volume critical anthology on apophatic discourses is the work’s breadth and depth of engagement with the concept in variously distinct and even conflicting contexts. . . . Franke manages his sweeping and inclusive exploration of apophatic discourses by identifying a thematic lens for selecting his sources as part of a larger, conceptually-rooted genre of discourse. . . . the greatest strength of Franke’s two-volume collection resides in the sheer fact that nothing like it exists.” —Essays in Philosophy

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Book SynopsisMennonite German Soldiers traces the efforts of a small, pacifist, Christian religious minority in eastern Prussia-the Mennonite communities of the Vistula River basin-to preserve their exemption from military service, which was based on their religious confession of faith. Conscription was mandatory for nearly all male Prussian citizens, and the willingness to fight and die for country was essential to the ideals of a developing German national identity. In this engaging historical narrative, Mark Jantzen describes the policies of the Prussian federal and regional governments toward the Mennonites over a hundred-year period and the legal, economic, and social pressures brought to bear on the Mennonites to conform. Mennonite leaders defended the exemptions of their communities'' sons through a long history of petitions and legal pleas, and sought alternative ways, such as charitable donations, to support the state and prove their loyalty. Faced with increasingly punitive legaTrade Review“Jantzen emphasizes not only church and state dynamics but also tensions within the governing party, as well as those within the Mennonite community. The state increased its impact as the population became increasingly nationalistic. Jantzen also observes how theological developments among German Protestants influenced Mennonite pastors and thought leaders. Jantzen portrays an evolving Mennonite identity over a hundred-year period. His book makes a significant contribution to understanding the richness, diversity, and struggle in the Mennonite story.” —Mennonite Weekly Review“Mennonite German Soldiers offers a fascinating, carefully researched study of Prussian Mennonites during much of the nineteenth century. The author describes with exacting detail how persistent state and societal pressures coerced Mennonites into becoming ‘good German citizens.’ The book is organized into ten chapters, the last including observations on how profoundly the self-understanding of this Mennonite community changed, resulting in a culturally adapted Scriptural hermeneutic.” —Mennonite Brethren Herald“[A] fascinating analysis of how Prussian Mennonites adapted so thoroughly between 1772 and 1880 to German national identity and its attendant military responsibilities. . . . Jantzen deftly combines social, political, and family history along with the more traditional religious and political narratives to show us how Mennonites, as individuals, members of their communities, and family members, altered their religious identity. He also reveals the shifting attitudes and approaches taken by various levels and iterations of the Prussian government." —American Historical Review“This book deserves wide readership. The Mennonite experience in nineteenth-century Prussia/Germany is an intriguing example of the complex negotiations between a religious minority and the modern state. Jantzen’s analysis also holds valuable insights for the contemporary German Integrationsdebatte.” —German Studies Review“This is the first full-length study of a problem peculiar to Mennonites, but with implications for other minority religious groups and mainline churches: the issue of full political participation and enthusiastic military service in defense of shared national values. . . . This is a thoroughly researched work, graced by a broad view and written with a clear persuasive style that exhibits frequent poetic touches.” —The Mennonite Quarterly Review“In this engaging historical narrative, Mark Jantzen describes the policies of the Prussian federal and regional governments toward the Mennonites over a hundred-year period and the legal, economic, and social pressures brought to bear on the Mennonites to conform. . . . The public debates over their place in Prussian society shed light on a multi-confessional German past and on the dissemination of nationalist values.” —Canadian Mennonite“Jantzen’s study is highly recommended for anyone interested in Mennonite history. In addition to helping readers better understand the history of this important segment of the Mennonite past, it also sheds light on the character and identity of Mennonites from this community, who migrated to Russia and from there to North America and Latin America.” —Catholic Historical Review“With this highly informative volume, Professor Jantzen takes a major step in correcting the relative neglect, at least in English historical literature, of this period of Mennonite history in central Europe. While a number of German studies have addressed significant issues of this stressful century in German Mennonite history, none has done so with the analysis and Sitz im Leben perspective that Jantzen demonstrates.” —Journal of Mennonite Studies“In his remarkable study of Mennonites in the Prussian East, Mark Jantzen convincingly demonstrates how an examination of a seemingly marginal religious minority can make significant contributions to understanding larger historical processes, in this case those that shaped Prussia and Germany and the development of the modern state in Western Europe.” —Mennonite Life“This abundantly documented study explores the course of acculturation of the Mennonites, who from the sixteenth century on settled in the Vistula Delta and became Prussian subjects in the first partition of Poland. . . . That Jantzen’s discussion of the two literary works frames his social and political interpretation is also a welcome example of how productive it can be to combine one’s specialization with different approaches to history.” —Church History

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Book SynopsisTeachings on the practice of things-as-they-are, through commentaries on a legendary Chinese Zen figure. The joy of “suchness”—the ultimate and true nature inherent in all appearance—shines through the teachings attributed to Dongshan Liangjie (807–869), the legendary founder of the Caodong lineage of Chan Buddhism (the predecessor of Soto Zen). Taigen Dan Leighton looks at the teachings attributed to Dongshan—in his Recorded Sayings and in the numerous koans in which he is featured as a character—to reveal the subtlety and depth of the teaching on the nature of reality that Dongshan expresses. Included are an analysis of the well-known teaching poem “Jewel Mirror Samadhi,” and of the understanding of particular and universal expressed in the teaching of the Five Degrees. “The teachings embedded in the stories about Dongshan provide a rich legacy that has been sustained in practice traditions,” says Taigen. “Dongshan’s subtle teachings about engagement with suchness remain vital today for Zen people and are available for all those who wish to find meaning amid the challenges to modern lives.”

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Book SynopsisHarness the mythic power of the Celtic goddesses, gods, heroes and heroines to aid your spiritual quests and magical goals. This book explains how to use creative ritual and pathworking to align yourself with the energy of these archetypes, whose potent images live deep within your psyche. The book begins with an overview of 49 different types of Celtic Paganism followed today, then gives specific instructions for evoking and invoking the energy of the Celtic patheon to channel it toward magickal and spiritual goals and into esbat, sabbat and life transition rituals. Three detailed pathworking texts will take the reader on an inner journey where they will join forces with the archetypal images of Cuchulain, Queen Maeve and Merlin the Magician to bring their energies directly into the reader's life. The last half of the book clearly details the energies of over 300 Celtic deities and mythic figures to evoke or invoke the appropriate deity to attain a specific goal. The book should help solitary pagans who seek to expand the boundaries of their practice to form working partnerships with the divine.

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Book SynopsisAn eye-opening introduction to the complex world of esoteric Christianity—perfect for the general readerThis guide to mystical and esoteric Christianity speaks from a nonsectarian point of view, unearthing insights from the whole of the Christian tradition, orthodox and heretical, famous and obscure. The esoteric tradition has traditionally searched for meanings that would yield a deeper inner knowledge of the divine. While traditional Christianity draws a timeline from Adam''s Fall to the Day of Judgment, the esoteric often sees time as folding in on itself, bringing every point to the here and now. While the Church fought bitterly over dogma, the esoteric borrowed freely from other traditions—Kabbalah, astrology, and alchemy—in their search for metaphors of inner truth. Rather than basing his book around exponents of esoteric doctrine, scholar Richard Smoley concentrates on the questions that are of interest to every searching Christian. How can one attain direct spiritual experience? What does "the Fall" really tell us about coming to terms with the world we live in? Can we find salvation in everyday life? How can we ascend, spiritually, through the various levels of existence? What was Christ''s true message to humankind? From the Gospel of Thomas to A Course in Miracles, from the Jesus Prayer to alchemy and Tarot, from Origen to Dante to Jung, Richard Smoley sheds the light of an alternative Christianity on these issues and more.

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Book Synopsis A NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER AND NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK OF THE YEAR“Vivid, compelling... An embrace of moral and spiritual contemplation.” –The New York Times“A remarkable piece of writing. If read with humility and attention, Kathleen Norris's book becomes lectio divina, or holy reading.” –The Boston GlobeFrom the iconic author of Amazing Grace: A Vocabulary of Faith, a spiritual journey that brings joy to the meanings of love, grace and faith. Why would a married woman with a thoroughly Protestant background and often more doubt than faith be drawn to the ancient practice of monasticism, to a community of celibate men whose days are centered on a rigid schedule of prayer, work, and scripture? This is the question that poet Kathleen Norris asks us as, somewhat to her own surprise, she found herself on two extended residencies at St. John's Abbey in Minnesota.Part record of her time among the Benedictines, part meditation on various aspects of monastic life, The Cloister Walk demonstrates, from the rare perspective of someone who is both an insider and outsider, how immersion in the cloistered world-- its liturgy, its ritual, its sense of community-- can impart meaning to everyday events and deepen our secular lives. In this stirring and lyrical work, the monastery, often considered archaic or otherworldly, becomes immediate, accessible, and relevant to us, no matter what our faith may be.Trade Review"In The Cloister Walk, persisting in [Norris's] wonderfully idiosyncratic ways, she gives us the result of an 'immersion into a liturgical world'... She is one of hisotyr's writing pilgrims but also a contemporary American one, boldly willing to forsake any number of cultural fads, trends, and preoccupations in favor of this 'walk,' this searching expedition within herself." --The New York Times Book Review"Norris continues to write plainspoken meditations that expand the purview of non-fiction... She writes about religion with the imagination of a poet... In reading Norris, one comse to feel like a spiritual collaborate and, when one's spirit fails, like a spiritual rebel." --Chicago Tribune "With her lucid, luminous prose, hardheaded logic, and far-reaching metaphors, Norris has brought us the cloister at its most alive." --San Francisco Chronicle "The Cloister Walk is a new opportunity to discover a remarkable writer with a huge, wise heart... you want to share this great discovery, giving her work as a gift-- or you simply shove a copy in the face of a friend, saying, 'Read this.'" --Minneapolis Star-Tribune"Norris presents ample proof that holy people don't have to be starchy... If you learn anything from The Cloister Walk, it's that monks are people too. They gossip, crack jokes, fall asleep in church, suffer through depression and doubt like the rest of us.... Perhaps there's hope for spiritual life outside the cloister after all." --NewsdayTable of ContentsPrefaceDawnSeptember 3: Gregory the GreatSt. John's Abbey Liturgy ScheduleThe Rule and MeSeptember 17: Hildegard of BingenSeptember 29: Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, ArchangelsThe DifferenceSeptember 30: JeromeOctober 1: Thérèse of the Child JesusOctober 2: Guardian AngelsJeremiah as Writer: The Necessary OtherNovember 1 and 2: All Saints, All SoulsNovember 16: Gertrude the GreatExile, Homeland, and Negative CapabilityNew York City: The Trappist ConnectionLos Angeles: The O AntiphonsBorderlineThe Christmas MusicJanuary 2: Basil the Great and Gregory of NazianzusPassageThe Paradox of the PsalmsBaptism of the Lord: A Tale of IntimacyJanuary 10: Gregory of NyssaFebruary 2: Candlemas/Presentation of the LordCelibate PassionFebruary 10: ScholasticaGood Old SinAcediaPrideAngerNoonDegeneratesNew Melleray Abbey Liturgy ScheduleChicago: Religion in AmericaThe War on MetaphorMarch 18: Mechtild of MagdeburgApril 2: Mary of EgyptSaved by a Rockette: Easters I Have KnownTriduum: The Three DaysTriduum NotesCinderella in KalamazooThe Virgin Martyrs: Between "Point Vierge" and the "Usual Spring"Minneapolis: Cocktails with Simon TugwellMay 15: Emily DickinsonMaria Goretti: Cipher or Saint?EveningGenesisRoad TripPlaces and Displacement: Rattlesnakes in CyberspaceLearning to Love: Benedictine Women on Celibacy and RelationshipThe Cloister WalkThe GardenThe Church and the SermonJune 9: Ephrem the SyrianSmall Town Sunday MorningAt Last, Her Laundry's DoneDreaming of TreesMonks and WomenJuly 11: Benedict's CaveA Glorious RobeWomen and the Habit: A Not-so-glorious DilemmaThe Gregorian BrainOzGenerationsMonastic ParkAugust 28: AugustineThe Lands of Sunrise and SunsetThe Nursing Home on Sunday AfternoonOne Man's Life"It's a Sweet Life"Coming and Going: Monastic Rituals"The Rest of the Community""The Only City in America"NightAcknowledgments

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Book SynopsisIn this new edition of his acclaimed autobiography — long out of print and rare until now — Alan Watts tracks his spiritual and philosophical evolution from a child of religious conservatives in rural England to a freewheeling spiritual teacher who challenged Westerners to defy convention and think for themselves. From early in this intellectual life, Watts shows himself to be a philosophical renegade and wide-ranging autodidact who came to Buddhism through the teachings of Christmas Humphreys and D. T. Suzuki. Told in a nonlinear style, In My Own Way wonderfully combines Watts’ own brand of unconventional philosophy and often hilarious accounts of gurus, celebrities, psychedelic drug experiences, and wry observations of Western culture. A charming foreword written by Watts’ father sets the tone of this warm, funny, and beautifully written story of a compelling figure who encouraged readers to “follow your own weird” — something he always did himself, as his remarkable account of his life shows.

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Book SynopsisJohn Piper and other contributors explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word, helping readers form a biblical view of suffering.

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Book SynopsisFeinburg tackles claims from modern thinkers who regard a classical view of God as outmoded and unbiblical by seeking to reconstruct a model that reflects the advances in understanding God's revelation and his unchanging nature.

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Book SynopsisAuthor Max Lucado delivers an important message about our true identities through the story of Punchinello's struggle with the latest fad in Wemmicksville. Part of the Max Lucado's Wemmicks series.

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Book SynopsisClowney lays the theoretical foundation for preaching Christ in the whole Bible and offers up practical tips for preparing such a sermon. Book also contains many of the author's own sermons as examples to draw from.

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Book SynopsisThe first volume of Steven Runciman''s classic, hugely influential trilogy on the history of the Crusades''On a February day in the year AD 638 the Caliph Omar entered Jerusalem, riding upon a white camel''An enthralling work of grand historical narrative, Steven Runciman''s A History of the Crusades overturned the traditional view of the Crusades as a romantic Christian adventure, and instead shifted the focus of the story to the East. With verve and drama, volume one of Runciman''s trilogy tells the story of the First Crusade - from its unlikely beginnings in pilgrimage to the horrors of the siege of Jerusalem and the carving out of new territory on the edge of the eastern Mediterranean.''Without question one of the major feats of contemporary historical writing'' The New York Times''The historian whose magisterial works transformed our understanding of Byzantium, the medieval church and the crusades'' Guardian

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Book SynopsisWilliam Lane Craig offers answers to questions commonly asked by Christians struggling with doubt or fear, showing that the only sure foundation for hope is God Himself.

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Book SynopsisMark Greengrass''s gripping, major, original account of Europe in an era of tumultuous changeSUNDAY TIMES and FINANCIAL TIMES Books of the Year 2014This addition to the landmark Penguin History of Europe series is a fascinating study of 16th and 17th century Europe and the fundamental changes which led to the collapse of Christendom and established the geographical and political frameworks of Western Europe as we know it. From peasants to princes, no one was untouched by the spiritual and intellectual upheaval of this era. Martin Luther''s challenge to church authority forced Christians to examine their beliefs in ways that shook the foundations of their religion. The subsequent divisions, fed by dynastic rivalries and military changes, fundamentally altered the relations between ruler and ruled. Geographical and scientific discoveries challenged the unity of Christendom as a belief-community. Europe, with all its divisions, emergeTrade ReviewMark Greengrass succeeds brilliantly in bringing to life a vanished world that is consistently strange and surprising-and sometimes disturbing and repellent-even as he encourages us to recognise the ways in which it prefigures our own -- Peter Marshall * Literary Review *The Penguin History of Europe series ... is one of contemporary publishing's great projects * New Statesman *

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Book SynopsisHere is a reissue of the critically acclaimed bestseller, named one of the 20 books that changed the world in New Age Journal's Annual Source Book for 1995. Maverick theologian Matthew Fox provides a daring view of historical Christianity and a theologically sound basis for personal discovery of spiritual liberation.In this revolutionary work, Fox shows how Christianity once celebrated beauty, compassion, justice, and provided a path of positive knowledge and ecstatic connection with all creation.

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Book SynopsisThese are passages that inform and transform: enjoy their poetry, study their wisdom, or use them for Easwaran's "Passage Meditation"."Timeless Wisdom", the companion volume to Easwaran's "Passage Meditation", is a rich collection of spiritual texts from all the world's great traditions, selected by Easwaran for study and for his method of meditation.Here are flashes of insight from the Hindu Upanishads; prayers of comfort from the Christian saints; psalms from the Old Testament; songs of praise from the Sufis; and, deep wisdom from the Buddhist and Taoist traditions. Some of these passages, such as the Prayer of St. Francis, the Buddha's "Twin Verses", and the Twenty-third Psalm, are familiar and well loved, others may be fresh discoveries - all are beautiful. Short texts, easy to read and memorize, are interspersed with longer ones, which the reader can study in depth." Passage Meditation", together with its companion volume, "Timeless Wisdom", are the first two books in Nilgiri Press' "Essential Easwaran Library", a series of ten books that defines Easwaran's legacy and represents the heart of Easwaran's teachings for the serious reader, based on the theme of timeless wisdom for daily living.

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Book SynopsisThe Jefferson Bible, or The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth as it is formally titled, was Thomas Jefferson's effort to extract what he considered the pertinent doctrine of Jesus by removing sections of the New Testament containing supernatural aspects as well as perceived misinterpretations he believed had been added by the Four Evangelists. Using a razor, Jefferson cut and arranged selected verses from the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in chronological order, mingling excerpts from one text to those of another in order to create a single narrative. After completion of The Life and Morals, about 1820, Jefferson shared it with a number of friends, but he never allowed it to be published during his lifetime. The most complete form Jefferson produced was inherited by his grandson, Thomas Jefferson Randolph, and was published in 1895 by the National Museum in Washington.Once published in black-and-white facsimile by the Government Printing Office in 1900 as a gift for new members of Congress, the Jefferson Bible has never before been published in color in its complete form. The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Edition is an exact facsimile reproduction based on the original copy in the Smithsonian collections. The Jefferson Bible, Smithsonian Edition is as beautiful an object as was so painstakingly crafted by Thomas Jefferson himself.

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Book Synopsis“As Alasdair MacIntyre notes in the preface, the work of Pinckaers attracted strongand fully justified notice in this country with the publication in English of his TheSources of Christian Ethics. As Pinckaers himself notes in the text, excellently translatedby Michael Sherwin, the interest should in no way be limited to RomanCatholics. Morality recasts the earlier book in an argument that is both lower andupper case ‘catholic,’ and is accessible to readers and teachers outside the limitedcircle of moral theologians and academic ethicists. Pinckaers contends thatChristian morality is not first of all about obligations but about happiness, understandingthat the happiness of union with God is our natural destiny made possibleby grace. The Sermon on the Mount is at the center of an approach to moralitythat turns on the distinction between ‘freedom for excellence’ and ‘freedom ofindifference,’ the former understood as human flourishing and the latter as a ‘neutral’capacity to choose between controversies. The proposal of Morality is thoroughlyChrist-centered, humanistic, and faithful to the magisterial teaching of theChurch. Warmly recommended.”First Things “If you want to have the experience of reflecting on Catholic morality as thoughyou were reading about it for the first time, treat yourself to Father ServaisPinckaers’ Morality: The Catholic View. He has recovered the classical view of themoral life as the quest for happiness and has presented it with disarming simplicity.Bringing us back to the Sermon on the Mount and Romans 12–15, the writingsof Augustine and Aquinas, and the theme of natural law, he has freed those textsfrom the layers of legalism which has hidden their liberating, spiritual powers formoral living. By distinguishing freedom of indifference from freedom for excellence,he has restored a wise vision of freedom. No one has shown better the roleof virtues as building blocks for morality. Catechists need to read this book.”Rev. Alfred McBride, O.Praem., Professor of Homilectics and Catechetics at BlessedPope John XXIII Seminary, Weston, Massachusetts “Father Pinckaers has given us a masterful exposition of Christian living. The clarityand brevity of his presentation – captured well by the translator – make this bookideal for classroom and parish use. “Readers will find the historical and systematic observations very informative.”Romanus Cessario, St. John’s Seminary, Brighton, Massachusetts

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Book SynopsisThis anonymous fourteenth-century text is the glory of English mysticism, and one of the most practical and useful guides to finding union with God ever written. Carmen Acevedo Butcher’s new translation is the first to bring the text into a modern English idiom—while remaining strictly faithful to the meaning of the original Middle English. The Cloud of Unknowing consists of a series of letters written by a monk to his student or disciple, instructing him (or her) in the way of Divine union. Its theology is presented in a way that is remarkably easy to understand, as well as practical, providing advice on prayer and contemplation that anyone can use. Previous translations of the Cloud have tended to veil its intimate, even friendly tone under medieval-sounding language. Carmen Butcher has boldly brought the text into language as appealing to modern ears as it was to its original readers more than five hundred years ago. Also included in the volume is the companion work attributed to the same anonymous author, The Book of Privy Counsel, which contains further advice for approaching God in a way that emphasizes real experience rather than human knowledge.

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Book SynopsisDISCOVER THE ONLY BOOK EVER CHOSEN TWICE FOR OPRAH WINFREY''S BOOK CLUB: A LIFE-CHANGING MASTERPIECE FROM THE MULTI-MILLION COPY BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF THE POWER OF NOW.''A wake-up call for the entire planet. A New Earth helps us to stop creating our own suffering and obsessing over the past and what the future might be and to put ourselves in the now'' OPRAH WINFREY''My No. 1 guru will always be Eckhart Tolle'' CHRIS EVANS THE BOOK THAT INSPIRED THE CHART-TOPPING PODCAST OPRAH & ECKHART TOLLE: A NEW EARTH _________Do you feel unhappy or unfulfilled? Tired and stressed? Lacking focus and energy?Then you need Eckhart Tolle''s A New Earth. In this ground-breaking classic, he gives you the spiritual framework to:- Understand yourself better - Manage, manifest and achieve your goals - Reach your full potential - Channel conflict into something positive - Change negative habits - Live in the momentOpen your mind and follow Eckhart Tolle''s guidance to happiness and health in the modern world. A New Earth is waiting for you. _________''Life-changing'' Caroline Hirons ''I''m gonna have to listen to [this podcast] several times! Too good!'' Fearne Cotton on the ''Oprah and Eckhart Tolle: A New Earth'' podcast ''This book changed my life. It''s a brilliant and very practical spiritual guide that teaches the way to inner peace: how to live in the moment and get beyond the ego'' Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of The Secret HoursTrade ReviewThis book changed my life. It's a brilliant and very practical spiritual guide that teaches the way to inner peace: how to live in the moment and get beyond the ego * Santa Montefiore, bestselling author of The Secret Hours *A mind-blowing read. We get so caught up in the minutiae of everyday life, worrying about things we have no control over. This book helps you take a look at what you can do to change your attitude toward this. It reminds you to stay in the moment and not allow your ego to take over. I would highly recommend it to anyone doing some soul searching or spiritual learning. * Helen James (author of A Sense of Home), Sunday Business Post *An excellent introduction to the world of mindfulness * The Culture Trip *He teaches us how to transcend the ego and live in a more harmonious way. He changed my lifeThis book sheds light on everything we go through as humans but from a different perspective. I think if there were more books like this, people would find more peace which would make the world more peaceful -- Andi OshoAn extraordinary book. I think Eckhart is the most important spiritual teacher of our time -- Santa Montefiore * Prima *For anyone who is truly ready to live your best life. -- Oprah WinfreyIf there is only one book you read this decade, let it be this one * The Mother Magazine *Winfrey's decision to include self help book A New Earth in her book club, and embark on a global promotional campaign, has turned it into this year's publishing sensation * The Observer *

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Book SynopsisA Zen-inspired “physical education” program for martial arts practitioners and anyone interested in mind-body transformation Using simple, clear language to demystify the Zen mindset, Ralston draws on more than three decades of experience teaching students and apprentices worldwide who have applied his body-being approach. More of a transformative guide than a specific list of exercises devoted to any particular physical approach, Zen Body-Being explains how to create a state of mental control, enhanced feeling-awareness, correct structural alignment, increased spatial acuity, and even a greater interactive presence. Exercises are simple, often involving feeling-imagery and meditative awareness, which have a profound and sometimes instant effect. Areas of exploration include: • Beginner’s Body-Being • Three aspects of body awareness • Five principles for an effortlessly effective body • Opening a door--five steps to transformation • Fourteen points on structural alignment Where similar guides teach readers what to do, this book teaches readers how to be.

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Book SynopsisA History of Zhang Zhung and Tibet, Volume One explores ancient Tibet''s Zhang Zhung kingdom and Bon religion that preceded the advent of Buddhism in the seventh century. Countering the long-held idea that Tibet''s pre-Buddhist indigenous culture was primitive and undeveloped, this book shares the rich cultural origins of the kingdom of Zhang Zhung--the "cradle of Tibetan culture," which encompassed a vast area of Western and Northern Tibet in an area that includes sacred Mount Kailash. Presenting the meticulous research of internationally known Dzogchen Buddhist teacher and scholar Chögyal Namkhai Norbu, the book investigates the mysteries of Zhang Zhung''s Bon religion, a set of shamanistic and animistic beliefs and practices only recently studied by a handful of academic scholars. Offering a critical analysis of a vast array of literary and primary sources, Norbu discusses the role of the Bon traditions within Zhang Zhung''s lineages, dynasties, and culture. Examining Zhang Zhung''s written language, sacred ornaments, rock carvings, healing practices, music, and magical divination techniques, Norbu contributes to an understanding of the roots of Tibetan Buddhist culture and modern-day Bon religion--a practice followed by an estimated ten percent of Tibetans.Table of Contents:Translator''s Foreword; A Technical Note about the Translation; I. The Human Generations of Ancient Zhang Zhung; II. The Bon Lineages of Ancient Zhang Zhung; III. The Royal Lineages of Ancient Zhang Zhung; IV. The Written Language of Ancient Zhang Zhung; V. The Civilization of Ancient Zhang Zhung; Indexes--Tibetan and Zhang Zhung Names and Terms, Textual Sources, Sanskrit Names and Terms, Chinese Names and Terms

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Book SynopsisThree best-selling authors. Three possible brides. Three separate tales. They come together for an Amish wedding.Priscilla King has dreamed of being married to Chester Lapp since she was sixteen. With the help of her sister Naomi’s matchmaking skills, Chester proposes to Priscilla on her nineteenth birthday. As the wedding day approaches, problems emerge: an attendant with poison ivy, a failed celery crop, and a torn wedding dress.At the same time, Priscilla’s best friend Rose is convinced her fiancé is hiding something and she is intent on discovering the truth at any cost.Naomi remains hopeful that she, too, will soon find her perfect match. When Chester’s cousin shows up, there’s an immediate attraction between him and Naomi—as well as an obstacle that may just as immediately derail their blossoming love.Is God sending a message to stop the wedding? What is certain is that the hearts of these three women will be forever transformed by this touching Amish wedding.

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Book SynopsisThe moving sequel to bestselling author Charles Martin’s The Dead Don’t Dance. After slipping into a four-months-long coma following the tragic loss of their son in childbirth, Dylan’s wife, Maggie, finally awakens—but can the young couple pick up the broken pieces of their lives and move forward?In a sleepy rural town in South Carolina, Dylan and Maggie Styles were a young couple in love, preparing eagerly for the birth of their first son. When the child was delivered stillborn and Maggie hemorrhaged and slipped into a coma, Dylan’s entire world shattered, but he never gave up hope that she would awaken. And four months later, she did.“When Maggie opened her eyes that New Year's Day some seventeen months ago, I felt like I could see again. The fog lifted off my soul, and for the first time since our son had died and she had gone to sleep–some four months, sixteen days, eighteen hours, and nineteen minutes earlier–I took a breath deep enough to fill both of my lungs.”Life begins again for Dylan when his beloved wife wakes, but so many things have changed. In this poignant love story that is redolent with Southern atmosphere, Dylan and Maggie must come to terms with their past before they can embrace their future. Full-length emotive Southern fiction The sequel to New York Times bestselling authorCharles Martin’s debut novel Part of the Awakening series Book one: The Dead Don’t Dance Book two: Maggie Also by Charles Martin: The Mountain Between Us, Chasing Fireflies, When Crickets Cry, and The Water Keeper

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Book SynopsisThis is not merely the only complete summary of Christian doctrine that St. Thomas has written, but also a creative and even revolutionary work of Christian apologetics composed at the precise moment when Christian thought needed to be intellectually creative in order to master and assimilate the intelligence and wisdom of the Greeks and the Arabs.

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Book SynopsisMyths and Legends of the Celts is a fascinating and wide-ranging introduction to the mythology of the peoples who inhabited the northwestern fringes of Europe - from Britain and the Isle of Man to Gaul and Brittany.Drawing on recent historical and archaeological research, as well as literary and oral sources, the guide looks at the gods and goddesses of Celtic myth; at the nature of Celtic religion, with its rituals of sun and moon worship; and at the druids who served society as judges, diviners and philosophers. It also examines the many Celtic deities who were linked with animals and such natural phenomena as rivers and caves, or who later became associated with local Christian saints. And it explores in detail the rich variety of Celtic myths: from early legends of King Arthur to the stories of the Welsh Mabinogi, and from tales of heroes including Cúchulainn, Fionn mac Cumhaill and the warrior queen Medb to tales of shadowy otherworlds - the homes of spirits and fairies. What emerges is a wonderfully diverse and fertile tradition of myth making that has captured the imagination of countless generations, introduced and explained here with compelling insight.

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Book SynopsisThe volume The Many Faces of Beauty joins the rich debate on beauty and aesthetic theory by presenting an ambitious, interdisciplinary examination of various facets of beauty in nature and human society. The contributors ask such questions as, Is there beauty in mathematical theories? What is the function of arts in the economy of cultures? What are the main steps in the historical evolution of aesthetic theories from ancient civilizations to the present? What is the function of the ugly in enhancing the expressivity of art? and What constitutes beauty in film? The sixteen essays, by eminent scientists, critics, scholars, and artists, are divided into five parts. In the first, a mathematician, physicist, and two philosophers address beauty in mathematics and nature. In the second, an anthropologist, psychologist, historian of law, and economist address the place of beauty in the human mind and in society. Explicit philosophical reflections on notoriously vexing issues,Trade Review“In 2012, the Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study (NDIAS) sponsored “The Many Faces of Beauty” conference, which offered a deep dive into the debate on beauty and aesthetic theory. This collection of 16 essays from prominent artists, scientists, mathematicians and critics features three Notre Dame scholars: The Huisking Professor of Theology Cyril O’Regan, the Rev. Joyce Professor of German Language and Literature Mark Roche, and J. Dudley Andrew ’67.” —Notre Dame Magazine

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Book SynopsisColossians and Philemon delivers to students and teachers an exhaustive and thoughtful translation of the Greek in these two Pauline texts. Constantine R. Campbell reveals the lexical, syntactic, and grammatical features of these New Testament epistles in order to provide readers with an intermediate knowledge of biblical Greek a guide through Paul's words. The result is a comprehensive study of Pauline Greek that can be used alongside commentaries to understand better the world of the Apostle.Trade Review"This concisely written handbook is rich with semantic and grammatical insights that will prove very helpful to pastors and teachers who are serious about reading the Greek New Testament carefully and accurately. Readers will also find Campbell's rigorous and sustained application of verbal aspect theory enlightening for understanding how this contributes to a proper interpretation of the verbal elements in the text." -- Clinton E Arnold, Dean & Professor of New Testament, Talbot School of Theology, Biola UniversityOne could hardly ask for a more reliable guide than Constantine Campbell. -- John K. Goodrich -- Religious Studies ReviewTable of Contents Series Introduction Preface Abbreviations Introduction Colossians 1:1-2 Colossians 1:3-8 Colossians 1:9-14 Colossians 1:15-20 Colossians 1:21-23 Colossians 1:24-29 Colossians 2:1-5 Colossians 2:6-15 Colossians 2:16-19 Colossians 2:20-23 Colossians 3:1-4 Colossians 3:5-11 Colossians 3:12-17 Colossians 3:18-4:1 Colossians 4:2-6 Colossians 4:7-9 Colossians 4:10-14 Colossians 4:15-18 Philemon 1-3 Philemon 4-7 Philemon 8-16 Philemon 17-22 Philemon 23-25 Glossary Bibliography Grammar Index Author Index

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Book SynopsisThis handbook in the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible series provides students of Hebrew with the translation of Esther paired with an exhaustive word by word morphological analysis of the text. Through careful syntactic and textual investigation, Holmstedt and Screnock bring to life one of the most loved biblical books. Esther enables a linguistic understanding of the Old Testament Hebrew text through solid contextual interpretation.Trade ReviewAs an aid to understanding how the Hebrew in the book of Esther functions, and how the linguistic structures contribute to the book's meaning, this compact volume is worth its weight in gold. -- D.W. Rooke -- Journal for the Study of the Old TestamentThis handy volume, part of the Baylor Handbook on the Hebrew Bible series, offers students of Biblical Hebrew a translation and exhaustive word-by-word morphological analysis of the MT of Esther. -- Gerald A. Klingbeil -- Bulletin for Biblical Research[ Esther ] is a helpful guide through the Hebrew text of the book of Esther. Dividing the narrative into four parts, each with its own set of episodes, Screnock and Holmstedt carefully pick their way through the grammar, morphology, and syntax of nearly every clause and phrase of the book. -- Kurtis Peters -- Expository TimesThe authors bring the latest linguistic research on diachronic study of the Hebrew Bible, valency, and the relative clause, to name just a few, to an accessible format that serves the novice as well as the expert. -- Ethan C. Jones -- Review of Biblical LiteratureTable of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I: Esther Becomes Queen of Persia (1:1â2:23) Episode 1âVashtiâs Downfall (1:1-22) §1: The Kingâs Banquet (1:1-9) §2: Vashtiâs Removal (1:10-22) Episode 2âEsther is Chosen as Queen (2:1-23) §1: Ahashverosh Seeks a Replacement for Vashti (2:1-4) §2: Esther Wins the Kingâs Favor (2:5-20) §3: Mordecai Saves the King (2:21-23) Part II: Haman and Mordecai in Conflict (3:1â7:10) Episode 1âThe Rise of Haman (3:1-15) §1: Hamanâs Rage against Mordecai and the Jews (3:1-7) §2: Hamanâs Plot (3:8-15) Episode 2âMordecaiâs Response (4:1-17) §1: Mordecai and the Jews Lament Hamanâs Plot (4:1-3) §2: Mordecai Convinces Esther to Intercede (4:4-17) Episode 3âEstherâs Plan (5:1-8) §1: Esther Invites the King and Haman to a Banquet (5:1-4) §2: Esther Issues a Second Invitation (5:5-8) Episode 4âHamanâs Plan Implodes (5:9â6:14) §1: Hamanâs Hubris (5:9-14) §2: Mordecaiâs Fortunes Reversed (6:1-10) §3: The Rise of Mordecai (6:11-14) Episode 5âThe End of Haman (7:1-10) §1: Estherâs Banquet (7:1-8) §2: Hamanâs Death (7:9-10) Part III: The Jews and the Peoples in Conflict (8:1â9:32) Episode 1âA Plan to Save the Jews (8:1-17) §1: The King Empowers Mordecai and Esther (8:1-8) §2: The Conter-edict Is Issued (8:9-17) Episode 2âThe Jews Prevail (9:1-19) §1: The First Day of Fighting (9:1-10) §2: The Second Day of Fighting (9:11-19) Episode 3âThe Jewsâ Victory Commemorated and Reprised (9:20-32) §1: Mordecai Establishes the Festival (9:20-25) §2: The Festival and Lots (Purim) (9:26-28) §3: Esther and Mordecai Confirm the Festival (9:29-32) Part IV: Epilogue (10:1-3) Appendix A: Numeral Syntax in Esther Appendix B: Bergeyâs Features for Diachronic Analysis Appendix C: Glossary of Linguistic Issues Bibliography Index of Linguistic Issues

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Book SynopsisFriedrich Nietzsche''s Beyond Good and Evil is translated from the German by R.J. Hollingdale with an introduction by Michael Tanner in Penguin Classics. Beyond Good and Evil confirmed Nietzsche''s position as the towering European philosopher of his age. The work dramatically rejects the tradition of Western thought with its notions of truth and God, good and evil. Nietzsche demonstrates that the Christian world is steeped in a false piety and infected with a ''slave morality''. With wit and energy, he turns from this critique to a philosophy that celebrates the present and demands that the individual imposes their own ''will to power'' upon the world. This edition includes a commentary on the text by the translator and Michael Tanner''s introduction, which explains some of the more abstract passages in Beyond Good and Evil. Frederich Nietzsche (1844-1900) became the chair of classical philology at Basel University at the age of 24 until his bad health forced him to retire in 1879. He divorced himself from society until his final collapse in 1899 when he became insane. A powerfully original thinker, Nietzsche''s influence on subsequent writers, such as George Bernard Shaw, D.H. Lawrence, Thomas Mann and Jean-Paul Sartre, was considerable. If you enjoyed Beyond Good and Evil you might like Nietzsche''s Thus Spoke Zarathustra, also available in Penguin Classics. ''One of the greatest books of a very great thinker'' Michael TannerTable of ContentsOn the prejudices of philosophers; the free spirit; the religious nature; maxims and interludes; on the natural history of morals; we scholars; our virtues; people and fatherlands; what is noble?; from high mountains - epode.

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Book SynopsisThe Jordan represents the barrier God is calling you to cross over. It represents the transition between where you are now, and where He wants you to be.

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