Includes the teachings and a structural analysis.

    Yet while he is best known for his scholarly research into the world's contemplative traditions, Wilber is also an accomplished spiritual practitioner and mystic in his own right. In order to highlight the personal wisdom of this popular author, the editors of The Simple Feeling of Being have assembled a collection of inspirational, mystical, and instructional passages drawn from his publications. These heartfelt writings, born of Ken's own meditation practice and inner experiences, include:    •  Poetic passages of contemplative insights and reflections    •  Inspired descriptions of Spirit, Nondual Awareness, the Witness, One Taste, and other topics    •  Commentary on the spiritual contributions of figures such as Ralph Waldo Emerson, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Meister Eckhart, and Ramana Maharshi    •  Anecdotes of personal experience and glimpses into Wilber's inner world    •  Practical spiritual instructions and guided meditations

    The Intellectual Devotional is a secular version of the same—a collection of 365 short lessons that will inspire and invigorate the reader every day of the year. Each daily digest of wisdom is drawn from one of seven fields of knowledge: history, literature, philosophy, mathematics and science, religion, fine arts, and music.Impress your friends by explaining Plato's Cave Allegory, pepper your cocktail party conversation with opera terms, and unlock the mystery of how batteries work. Daily readings range from important passages in literature to basic principles of physics, from pivotal events in history to images of famous paintings with accompanying analysis. The book's goal is to refresh knowledge we've forgotten, make new discoveries, and exercise modes of thinking that are ordinarily neglected once our school days are behind us. Offering an escape from the daily grind to contemplate higher things, The Intellectual Devotional is a great way to awaken in the morning or to revitalize one's mind before retiring in the evening.

    S. Lewis continues to inspire and fascinate millions. His legacy remains varied and vast. He was a towering intellectual figure, a popular fiction author who inspired a global movie franchise around the world of Narnia, and an atheist-turned-Christian thinker.In C.S. Lewis: A Life, Alister McGrath, prolific author and respected professor at King's College of London, paints a definitive portrait of the life of C. S. Lewis. After thoroughly examining recently published Lewis correspondence, Alister challenges some of the previously held beliefs about the exact timing of Lewis's shift from atheism to theism and then to Christianity. He paints a portrait of an eccentric thinker who became an inspiring, though reluctant, prophet for our times.You won't want to miss this fascinating portrait of a creative genius who inspired generations. (Tyndale House Publishers)

    But we are not referring to just any knowledge. Gnosis is knowledge which produces a great transformation in those who receive it. Knowledge capable of nothing less than waking up man and helping him to escape from the prison in which he finds himself. That is why Gnosis has been so persecuted throughout the course of history, because it is knowledge considered dangerous for the religious and political authorities who govern mankind from the shadows.Every time this religion, absolutely different from the rest, appears before man, the other religions unite to try to destroy or hide it again.Primordial Gnosis is the original Gnosis, true Gnosis, eternal Gnosis, Gnostic knowledge in its pure form. Due to multiple persecutions, Primordial Gnosis has been fragmented, distorted and hidden.By recovering and uniting the scattered fragments, Primordial Gnosis can be reconstructed and brought to the world once again. This book is a complete synthesis of the forbidden theology of Primordial Gnosis.

    A collection of talks she gave between 1987 and 1994, the book is a treasury of wisdom for going on living when we are overcome by pain and difficulties. Chödrön discusses:    •  Using painful emotions to cultivate wisdom, compassion, and courage    •  Communicating so as to encourage others to open up rather than shut down    •  Practices for reversing habitual patterns    •  Methods for working with chaotic situations    •  Ways for creating effective social action

    Father Gary Thomas was working as a parish priest in California when he was asked by his bishop to travel to Rome for training in the rite of exorcism. Though initially surprised, andslightly reluctant, he accepted this call, and enrolled in a new exorcism course at a Vatican-affiliated university, which taught him, among other things, how to distinguish between a genuine possession and mental illness. Eventually he would go on to participate in more than eighty exorcisms as an apprentice to a veteran Italian exorcist. His experiences profoundly changed the way he viewed the spiritual world, and as he moved from rational skeptic to practicing exorcist he came to understand the battle between good and evil in a whole new light. Journalist Matt Baglio had full access to Father Gary over the course of his training, and much of what he learned defies explanation. "The Rite" provides fascinating vignettes from the lives of exorcists and people possessed by demons, including firsthand accounts of exorcists at work casting out demons, culminating in Father Gary's own confrontations with the Devil. Baglio also traces the history of exorcism, revealing its rites and rituals, explaining what the Catholic Church really teaches about demonic possession, and delving into such related topics as the hierarchy of angels and demons, satanic cults, black masses, curses, and the various theories used by modern scientists and anthropologists who seek to quantify such phenomena. Written with an investigative eye that will captivate both skeptics and believers alike, "The Rite "shows that the truth about demonic possession is not only stranger than fiction, but also far more chilling.

    Providing an intimate window into a loving Muslim home, Qureshi shares how he developed a passion for Islam before discovering, almost against his will, evidence that Jesus rose from the dead and claimed to be God. Unable to deny the arguments but not wanting to deny his family, Qureshi's inner turmoil will challenge Christians and Muslims alike. Engaging and thought-provoking, Seeking Allah, Finding Jesus tells a powerful story of the clash between Islam and Christianity in one man's heart---and of the peace he eventually found in Jesus.

    Don't they? We overlook that Jesus wasJudgmental?preaching hellfire far more than the apostle PaulUncompromising?telling people to hate their familiesChauvinistic?excluding women from leadershipRacist?insulting people from other ethnic groupsAnti-environmental?cursing a fig tree and affirming animal sacrificeAngry?overturning tables and chasing moneychangers in the templeHe demanded moral perfection, told people to cut off body parts, made prophecies that haven't come true, and defied religious and political authorities. While we tend to ignore this troubling behavior, the people around Jesus didn't. Some believed him so dangerous that they found a way to have him killed. The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He's a figure we've created in our own minds. Strauss believes that when we unpack the puzzling paradoxes of the man from Galilee, we find greater insight into his countercultural message and mission than we could ever have imagined.

    He makes the provocative case that to remedy this problem, we should return to teaching religion in the public schools. Alongside "reading, writing, and arithmetic," religion ought to become the "Fourth R" of American education.Many believe that America's descent into religious illiteracy was the doing of activist judges and secularists hell-bent on banishing religion from the public square. Prothero reveals that this is a profound misunderstanding. "In one of the great ironies of American religious history," Prothero writes, "it was the nation's most fervent people of faith who steered us down the road to religious illiteracy. Just how that happened is one of the stories this book has to tell."Prothero avoids the trap of religious relativism by addressing both the core tenets of the world's major religions and the real differences among them. Complete with a dictionary of the key beliefs, characters, and stories of Christianity, Islam, and other religions, Religious Literacy reveals what every American needs to know in order to confront the domestic and foreign challenges facing this country today.

    

    The newly revised and expanded edition of this cult classic features photos and illustrations throughout, and adds the Lucifer Rebellion, the solar storm, and the final three breaths of the merkaba meditation. The author emphasizes the importance of meditation for promoting the understanding of and connection to the metaphysical.

    'With the elegance of simplicity and the precision of science, Dossey shows us how we can create a lasting partnership between faith and medicine.'DEEPACK CHOPRA, M.D.Experience the Healing Power of PrayerFrom the author of 'The New Y

    But for those who identify with Western culture, Western religious traditions have their own wisdom teachings that are more suitable to their needs and expectations. Many of those searching for alternative religions are not even aware that Western civilization has always had its own traditions, which are often hidden. In this fascinating introduction to non-mainstream Western spirituality, the coeditors of Gnosis magazine -- today's leading journal of mystical spirituality -- guide you through the teachings of Jung and Gurdjieff, the Kabbalah, neo-paganism, shamanism, alchemy, Sufism, and more. Explaining the history and practice of each tradition and describing its important figures, the authors present the ideas, strengths, and weaknesses of each tradition and offer a wealth of resources for those interested in pursuing these paths further.

    Embracing all eras and highlighting the many faces of Sufism, this collection provides a matchless overview of the complex, rich traditional that has touched a dozen cultures and endured for more than fifteen hundred years.Selected works from ancient prophets and sages to contemporary Sufi poets and teachers – including Ibn, Arabi, al-Ghazzali, Hafiz, Attar, Koranic writers, and, of course, the enduringly popular Rumi – make up a delectable feast of writings that will be treasured by devoted Sufi lovers as it will stir the souls of newcomers to this mystical, passionate faith."A treasure of jewels in the tradition of Sufi soul-work. I really love and value this book."COLEMAN BARKS, author of 'The Essential Rumi'