Following a helpful introduction about the role of spirituality in
grief, this practical mourning guide suggests activities based on
meditation, prayer, yoga, and contemplative solitude to help with
feelings of despair. For mourners who suffer from anxiety, breathing
exercises are recommended, and massage is suggested for those who
experience fatigue. Each description of these practices offers a
brief activity to try out before continuing to read. Exploring the fascinating world of dreams, this comprehensive
reference examines more than 250 dream-related topics, from art to
history to science, including how factors such as self-healing, ESP,
literature, religion, sex, cognition and memory, and medical conditions
can all have an effect on dreams. Dream symbolism and interpretation is
examined in historical, cultural, and psychological detail, while a
dictionary—updated with 1,000 symbols and explanations—offers further
insights. Dreaming about teeth, for instance, can indicate control
issues, and dreaming of a zoo can indicate that the dreamer needs to
tidy up some situation. Examining these concepts and more, this is the
ultimate dreamer's companion. “Happy 15th birthday to one of the great classics of mind/body medicine! More than any other, Full Catastrophe Living is the book that enabled Americans to discover the inner life. This
book has brought peace of mind to hundreds and thousands of people and
healed countless lives. This is your chance to let it heal yours.” One of the oldest and most respected
divinatory systems in the world, the I Ching is available in two
translations—the Confucian and the Zhouyi—which offer conflicting
interpretations. As opposed to the more standard Confucian version, the
Zhouyi translation was reconstructed by 20th century scholars and
archaeologists and presents the imaginative world of myth and ritual
that is the basis of Eastern thought. This revolutionary volume
utilizes modern scholarship, archaeological and linguistic research,
Eastern philosophy, and comparative religion to fuse these two
traditions and present them in a united, comprehensive, and accessible
new form. Also for the first time, this translation details the mythology of the divinatory system known as the Myths for Change. Perfect for both beginners and experienced meditators, this
practical manual offers an introduction to the expansive inner world of
meditation as well as a series of 21 step-by-step meditations, leading
to increasingly peaceful and beneficial states of mind, which together
form the entire Buddhist path to enlightenment. The program allows
meditators to discover the inner tranquility and lightness of mind that
come from this popular discipline, which can help solve daily problems
and make room for greater happiness through balance and peace. The
resource provides additional meditation break practices, which supply
practical advice on how to integrate the meditations into everyday life
to improve experiences and relationships. According to the Maya calendar, there
have been four Suns throughout history and the ending of every Sun has
been punctuated by a cataclysm and collapse of civilization. According
to this calendar, the current Sun is scheduled to end on December 23,
2012. This clear and accessible introduction to the Maya warnings
explores the full details of the prophecy and how it will affect
civilized life. It also explains how all aspects of Maya culture
provide support for the accuracy of the prophecy—from the planning of
Maya cities and temple systems to the Maya system of mathematics—and
demonstrates the sophistication of Maya astronomy. Information is also
provided on what has been foretold, and how humans can prepare for the
future. Filled with straightforward, accessible information that can be used
in everyday life with dramatic positive results, this compendium of
craft ideas provides clear instructions for constructing 20 practical
magical and spiritual items and shows how to employ simple metaphysical
techniques to maximize their potential. Projects include a magic wand,
a divine dream pillow, a gemstone amulet, a divining pendulum, prayer
beads, power talismans, mystic runes, and magical beeswax candles. Each
chapter features fascinating background information, illustrated
examples, and other creative tools to help stimulate the imagination,
such as chants and prayers. Additional magical association
keys—including guides to color, astrology, moon phases, crystals,
metals, and numerology—help crafters focus their intent to achieve
specific goals, from love and wealth to happiness and health. My new friends have begun to suspect I haven’t told them the full story of my life. A new edition of our classic, The Other Bible, including a new
index, new cover, and a new introduction from the author to bring The
Other Bible up to date. The Other Bible gathers in one comprehensive volume ancient,
esoteric holy texts from Judeo–Christian tradition that were excluded
from the official canon of the Old and New Testaments, including the
Gnostic Gospels, the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Kabbalah, and several more.
The Other Bible provides a rare opportunity to discover the poetic and
narrative riches of this long–suppressed literature and experience
firsthand its visionary discourses on the nature of God, humanity, the
spiritual life, the world around us, and infinite worlds beyond this
one. This new edition will include a full index and a new introduction from editor Willis Barnstone. o The interest in Gnostic texts begun with The Da Vinci Code has
spread to include many of the other "suppressed" early texts of Judaism
and Christianity, and this book contains many of them in one volume. Mainline science rejects the paranormal because it cannot be proven
by the classical methods of controlled experiments. But sciences such
as geology, astronomy, and anthropology also don’t rely on laboratory
testing for repeatable results. Moreover, psi concerns consciousness,
which is by definition nonquantitative. "Psi researchers must stop
acting like science’s poor relations," says author Lawrence LaShan,
"limiting themselves to controlled experiments such as analyzing
statistics of people guessing cards being flipped in the next room." The Enneagram is an ancient tool
for personality typing made popular by the Fourth Way movement as well
as Jesuit sects in the early 20th century. This extensive
guide explores and explains every aspect of the Enneagram, including
its origin, history, and contemporary use. It offers a full explanation
of the nine different personality categories located on the Enneagram
and the attributes, passions, and vices to which they correspond, as
well as information on the location and meaning of stress points and
security points. Complete and insightful, this is a comprehensive study
of a fascinating tool for self discovery.
Alan D. Wolfelt, PhD, is a grief counselor and the director of the Center for Loss and Life Transition. He is the author of Healing a Spouse's Grieving Heart, The Journey Through Grief, Transcending Divorce, and Understanding Your Grief. He lives in Fort Collins, Colorado.
Whether one is a serious student of dreams, or wishes merely to
peruse the volume for pleasure, one cannot help but learn something
about the fascinating world of dreams from Lewis's helpful contribution
to the literature on the subject.
James R. Lewis is a professor of philosophy at the University of
Wisconsin–Stevens Point and the author of Angels A to Z, The Astrology
Book, Doomsday Prophecies: A Complete Guide to the End of the World,
Legitimating New Religions, and Modern Witchcraft and Odd Gods: New
Religions and the Cult Controversy. He lives in Stevens Point,
Wisconsin.
–Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom
It is everywhere around us. Even worse, it gets inside us: sapping our
energy, undermining our health, and making us more vulnerable to
anxiety, depression, and disease. Now, based on Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn’s
renowned mindfulness-based stress reduction program, this
groundbreaking book shows you how to use natural, medically proven
methods to soothe and heal your body, mind, and spirit. By using the
practices described within, you can learn to manage chronic pain
resulting from illness and/or stress-related disorders…discover the
roles that anger and tension play in heart disease…reduce anxiety and
feelings of panic…improve overall quality of life and relationships
through mindfulness meditation and mindful yoga. More timely than ever
before, Full Catastrophe Living is a book for the young and the old, the well, the ill, and anyone
trying to live a healthier and saner life in today’s world.The founder of the Stress Reduction Program at the University of
Massachusetts Medical Center explains how to use
"mindfulness"--moment-to-moment awareness--to cope with both illness
and the everyday tensions encountered in life.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D., is the founding director of the Stress
Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health
Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, as
well as professor of medicine emeritus. He lives in the Boston area.
Hor Tuck Loon has been guiding meditation for the past twenty years,
drawing parallels from many ancient wisdom teachings and also from his
years of experience in the journey of mindfulness. He lives in
Malaysia.
Stephen Karcher is an expert on the psychological and spiritual uses of divination and the author of several books, including I Ching, The Kuan Yin Oracle, Symbols of Love, and The Way of I Ching.
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso is a Buddhist monk, a meditation master, and
an international teacher who has founded more than 1,000 Kadampa
Buddhist meditation centers. He is the author of more than 20 books,
including Eight Steps to Happiness, How to Solve Our Human Problems,
Introduction to Buddhism, and Transform Your Life.
Dr. Ronald Bonewitz is the author of Egyptian Power Stamps, Rock and Gem, and Wisdom of the Maya.
Carol Holaday is the owner of Wisdom Crystals, a magical crafts
business where she teaches monthly spiritual and metaphysical classes.
She is a regular contributor to the online magazine Planetlightworker,
for which she also writes The Crystal Star Oracle, an exclusive monthly
forecast. She lives in San Diego.
“Why did you leave Sierra Leone?”
“Because there is a war.”
“You mean, you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?”
“Yes, all the time.”
“Cool.”
I smile a little.
“You should tell us about it sometime.”
“Yes, sometime.”
This is how wars are fought now: by children, hopped-up on drugs and
wielding AK-47s. Children have become soldiers of choice. In the more
than fifty conflicts going on worldwide, it is estimated that there are
some 300,000 child soldiers. Ishmael Beah used to be one of them.
What is war like through the eyes of a child soldier? How does one
become a killer? How does one stop? Child soldiers have been profiled
by journalists, and novelists have struggled to imagine their lives.
But until now, there has not been a first-person account from someone
who came through this hell and survived.
In A Long Way Gone, Beah, now twenty-five years old, tells a riveting
story: how at the age of twelve, he fled attacking rebels and wandered
a land rendered unrecognizable by violence. By thirteen, he’d been
picked up by the government army, and Beah, at heart a gentle boy,
found that he was capable of truly terrible acts.
This is a rare and mesmerizing account, told with real literary force and heartbreaking honesty.In 1993, when the author was twelve, rebel forces attacked his home
town, in Sierra Leone, and he was separated from his parents. For
months, he straggled through the war-torn countryside, starving and
terrified, until he was taken under the wing of a Shakespeare-spouting
lieutenant in the government army. Soon, he was being fed amphetamines
and trained to shoot an AK-47 (“Ignore the safety pin, they said, it
will only slow you down”). Beah’s memoir documents his transformation
from a child into a hardened, brutally efficient soldier who high-fived
his fellow-recruits after they slaughtered their enemies—often boys
their own age—and who “felt no pity for anyone.” His honesty is
exacting, and a testament to the ability of children “to outlive their
sufferings, if given a chance.”
Ishmael Beah came to the United States when he was seventeen and
graduated from Oberlin College in 2004. He is a member of Human Rights
Watch Children’s Division Advisory Committee and has spoken before the
United Nations on several occasions. He lives in New York City.
Willis Barnstone is a poet and Distinguished Professor Emeritus of
Comparative Literature at Indiana University. He is the author of The Poetics of Ecstasy: From Sappho to Borges; The Poetics of Translation: History, Theory, Practice; and The Gnostic Bible; and has been a Guggenheim Fellow and a Pulitzer Prize nominee.
This provocative book outlines the principles of making a real study of
the large, exciting events — clairvoyance and precognition; mediumship
and spirit controls; psychic healing — that would bring mainline
science into and revitalize the whole field. "And the issue is not just
academic," says LeShan. "The old, materialistic worldview has not
worked. Psychic research," he argues, "can transform our sense of
reality itself to offer a new and more hopeful picture of ourselves and
of the world."
Simon Parke has written for The Evening Standard and the Independent on Sunday and is the author of The Learning of Love and Origins.
A Grandparent's Book offers a unique opportunity for grandmothers
and grandfathers to create a lasting story about themselves and their
family. With the help of hundreds of thought-provoking questions, this
book makes recording family history easy.