The Heart of the Fire
A beautiful evocation of a time long past, The Heart of the Fire is Cerridwen Fallingstar's memoir of her previous existence in a Scottish village four hundred years ago. It centers around the life of Fiona McNair as she grows from a six-year-old girl harassed by the local goat into a young woman who becomes ensnared by the witch hunters as they move across Europe wiping out the covens. Fallingstar's magical use of the English language captures the pagan way of life just as it disappeared and a darker side of human nature rose to "sunder soul and body, mind and heart, into ever-warring parts."
Jesus
Apocalyptic Prophet
of the New Millennium
"Imagine playing 'Telephone' . . . over the expanse of the Roman Empire, with thousands of participants . . . some of whom have to translate the stories into different languages, all over the course of decades."
Whether you're a passionate theologian or versed only in Monty Python's Life of Brian, Bart D. Ehrman cannot fail to entertain you as he discusses the current consensus of Biblical historians and a thesis that while common in academia is almost unknown outside it — that Jesus' teachings were based on his assumption that the world would end within his lifetime. Touching upon such topics as how the Bible's authors got their information, why the accounts contradict each other so often, and what one can distill as reasonably believable fact, Jesus is a humorous, but not disrespectful, introduction to the greatest short story collection ever compiled.
The Illustrated Hebrew Bible
75 Selected Stories
Written over the course of a thousand years, the Tanakh, or Hebrew Bible, or Old Testament, is made up of 24 books divided into three sections — Torah, Prophets and Writings. The Illustrated Hebrew Bible pairs 75 of these stories, from Genesis to the Return from Exile, with paintings, pottery, manuscripts, and artifacts dating from 2000 B.C.E. to 1997. 130 full-color reproductions range from a 4,000 year old stone altar to the Old Masters to the Modernists and beyond. The stories are adapted by Dr. Ellen Frankel, Editor-in-Chief of the Jewish Publication Society and a professional storyteller, who has also provided several explanatory essays on the milestones in Israelites' journeys.
The Other Side and Back
A Psychic's Guide
to Our World and Beyond
The Fourth Dimension, the Other Side, the Afterlife: whatever you want to call that part of existence we can't see and have been trained not to believe in, Sylvia Browne's vision of it is a lot more optimistic than the usual spooky, Gothic, creaky-door depictions. Her bestselling book, The Other Side and Back, introduces the uninitiated into the psychic, paranormal aspect of daily life and how you can see it and feel it and become part of it.
Sacred Roads
Adventures from the Pilgrimage Trail
Curious about the huge migrations that have been going on for centuries and millennia, Nicholas Shrady decided to go on his own pilgrimage and see what the fuss is about. In fact, he went on several, hitting holy places in Spain, India, Turkey, and Bosnia. During his adventures, recorded in Sacred Roads, he discovered that the journey, the fellow travelers, and the places themselves seem to fill in the missing pieces to a spiritual experience that many find lacking in our civilized lives.
Soul of a Citizen
Living with Conviction in a Cynical Time
The world is going to hell in a handbasket and I can't do anything about it. Operating on the theory that this kind of thinking just isn't going to get us anywhere, Paul Loeb offers ways to create a more meaningful existence by taking part in one's community more fully. Soul of a Citizen introduces you to Americans who have drawn out of themselves to enjoy the rewards brought by greater involvement and less isolation.
Everyday Immortality
A Concise Course in Spiritual Transformation
Applying an ancient Yoga of Knowledge to modern life, the irrepressible Deepak Chopra has once again put his talents to your mental and perceptual metamorphosis. Here he uses a little quantum physics and the principles of meditation as the foundation for a series of contemplative exercises to free you from the prison of old logic, "a logic founded on the superstition of materialism." The sutras, or insights, in Everyday Immortality build on each other to lead you to a new experience of yourself and the world.
Brush Meditation A Japanese Way to Mind & Body Harmony
Your spirit in black and white. H.E. Davey's little book on shodo isn't just a guide to Japanese calligraphy: it's a way to develop your powers of concentration. He instructs on the best way to sit, relax, and focus as you practice an art that "represents the greatest level of harmony between thought and action." Learn how to follow the rhythm of your soul and the movement of your chi with Brush Meditation.
Awakening to the Sacred Creating a Daily Spiritual Life from Scratch
Get in on the mystery. You've probably been wanting to explore that place where the mind meets the universe but don't know how or where to start in the five hours you're not working or sleeping or commuting or running errands like a headless chicken. Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within, has taken the most powerful aspects of the many enlightenment techniques developed over the past several millenia and adapted them for the Nineties lifestyle. Awakening to the Sacred will get you on your way to a more limber consciousness.
The Seat of the Soul
Just as he found the mysticism in Western science in his prize-winning guide to physics, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, so have millions of people discovered the spirit as another way to experience the world, beyond the traditional five senses. Gary Zukar traces this shift in thinking and perception in The Seat of the Soul -- an addition to the building evidence that our objective, rational minds are asking for a little help.
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Yesterday I Cried Celebrating the Lessons of Living and Loving
Learn to find the hope in hopelessness. Iyanla Vanzant has been through a lot on her road to bestsellerdom. Yesterday I Cried is her testament to the power of tribulation as a tool for self-discovery. Her inspiring lessons in re-interpreting misfortunes and mistakes will enable you to look at your own mire in a better light. (And don't miss her 1997 bestseller: One Day My Soul Just Opened Up.)
Read an excerpt.
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It's Not as Tough as You Think How to Smooth Out Life's Bumps
Who better than a rabbi/psychiatrist to advise on surviving life's little disasters? In It's Not as Tough as You Think, Rabbi Abraham Twerski has whipped up a hundred or so antidotes to dozens of things in contemporary existence that can just suck the life out of you. Criticism, stress, and children are only a few of the subjects covered in his collection of personal anecdotes.
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