It is a tradition that may at times, for Christians, feel strangely familiar and will, for Christians and Jews, always challenge you to see yourself and your world through a new lens."--from the IntroductionJewish spirituality is an approach to life that encourages us to become aware of God's presence and purpose, even in unlikely places. "This world and everything in it is a manifestation of God's presence," says Rabbi Lawrence Kushner. "Our challenge and goal is to find it and then act in such a way as to help others find it too."In this special book, Kushner guides Christians through the rich wisdom of Jewish spirituality. He tailors his unique style to address Christians' questions, and, in doing so, opens new windows on their own faith.Jewish Spirituality is a window into the Jewish soul that people of all faiths can understand and enjoy. From the Talmud and Torah, to "repentence" (teshuva) and "repairing the world" (tikkun olam), Kushner shows all of us how we can use the fundamentals of Jewish spirituality to enrich our own lives.

    It is a collection of essays, observations and rituals, and outlines LaVey's Satanic ideology. It contains the core principles of the Church of Satan and is considered the foundation of the philosophy and dogma that constitute LaVeyan Satanism.

    Its first followers guarded them as priceless treasures. After an increasingly rigid hierarchy began to bury these truths in the early centuries A.D., they were known only to a few initiates, who communicated them privately, often in obscure language. In Esoteric Christianity, Besant's aim is to restore the secret truths underlying Christian doctrine. As public interest grows in the Gnostic Gospels and the mystical side of Christianity, Besant's remarkable book, first published in 1901, is attracting new attention.

    Explores the challenges, the rewards, the call, and the possibilities of integrating a sincere inner life with an active life of engagement with the pain of the world.

    An Incendiary Wake-Up Call to the WorldWhat if the Old Testament is a work of fiction, Jesus never existed, and Muhammad was a mobster?What if the Bible and the Qur'an are works of political propaganda created by Taliban-like fundamentalists to justify the sort of religious violence we are witnessing in the world today?What if there is a big idea that could free us from the us-versus-them world created by religion and make it possible for us to truly love our neighbors—and even our enemies?What if it is possible to awaken to a profound state of oneness and love, which the Gnostic Christians symbolized by the enigmatic figure of the laughing Jesus?Discover for Yourself Why the Gnostic Jesus Laughs

    It is not a history; it is not a critique. Instead it explains, simply and sympathetically, the basic tenets of each religion and the reasons why it attracts millions of devout followers. As the author writes in the first chapter, "This is a book about religion that exists...not as a dull habit but as an acute fever. It is about religion alive. And whenever religion comes to life it displays a startling quality; it takes over. All else, while not silenced, becomes subdued and thrown without contest into a supporting role."Thoroughly researched, "The Religions of Man" carries its scholarship lightly. It is a dependable, informative, fascinating presentation of both the differences and similarities in the major religious traditions. And it is essential for anyone who would understand peoples of other lands, other cultures, other religions.

    On Contemplative Prayer, Father Thomas Keating introduces you to the uplifting system of Centering Prayer, a revival of the contemplations practiced in the cloisters and monasteries of Europe since medieval times. This complete three-CD set covers: the contemplative path and true freedom; four steps to prayer; overcoming emotional programs; the psychology of prayer; the seven fruits of contemplative prayer; and much more.

    ***In her most personal book to date, beloved teacher and best-selling author Caroline Myss draws on her own practice to help us regain our fluency in the language of prayer and renew our connection to the sacred.Intimate Conversations with the Divine offers 100 of Myss's personal prayers as a resource and inspiration to start a prayer practice of your own. Each prayer illustrates a different type of grace that feeds the human soul, from awakening, endurance, and healing, to silence, surrender, and trust.We are one holy system of life and great cosmic truth, which is that all life-including all of us-breathes together, Myss writes. I hope this book, these prayers, will bring you comfort and grace, and help you through the difficult times ahead. And I hope they will inspire you to believe that with God, all things are possible.

    We’re experiencing a worldwide crisis of attention in which information overwhelms us, corrodes true communion with others, and leaves us anxious, unsettled, bored, isolated, and lonely. These pages provide the time-tested antidote that enables you to regain an ordered and peaceful mind in a technologically advanced world. Drawing on the wisdom of the world’s greatest thinkers, including Plato, Aristotle, St. Augustine, and St. Thomas Aquinas, these pages help you identify – and show you how to cultivate – the qualities of character you need to survive in our media-saturated environment. This book offers a calm, measured, yet forthright and effective approach to regaining interior peace. Here you’ll find no argument for retreat from the modern world; instead these pages provide you with a practical guide to recovering self-mastery and interior peace through wise choices and ordered activity in the midst of the world’s communication chaos. Are you increasingly frustrated and perplexed in this digital age? Do you yearn for a mind that is more focused and a soul able to put down that IPhone and simply rejoice in the good and the true? It’s not hard to do. The saints and the wise can show you how; this book makes their counsel available to you.

    Astral projection, lucid dreaming, out-of-body experiences and vision quests are all part of the extensive practical science of Dream Yoga, the sacred knowledge of consciously harnessing the power of the dream state. Any sincere practitioner who actively utilizes the clues in this book can open the doors to the inner dimensions of nature and the soul, and thereby come to know the truth of the mysteries that exist beyond the reach of our physical senses."Whosoever awakens the consciousness can no longer dream here in this physical plane or in the internal worlds. Whosoever awakens the consciousness stops dreaming. Whosoever awakens the consciousness becomes a competent investigator of the superior worlds. Whosoever awakens consciousness is an illuminated one. Whosoever awakens the consciousness can study at the feet of the master. Whosoever awakens the consciousness can talk familiarly with the Gods who initiated the dawn of creation. Whosoever awakens the consciousness can remember his innumerable reincarnations." - Samael Aun Weor• Provides step-by-step guidance leading to personal experience in the internal worlds• Explains how to remember dreams and how to understand them• Filled with examples from all the world’s religions

    Every people or nation has its own way of experiencing this psychic reality, and so a study of the world's fairy tales yields a wealth of insights into the archetypal experiences of humankind. Perhaps the foremost authority on the psychological interpretation of fairy tales is Marie-Louise von Franz. In this book—originally published as An Introduction to the Interpretation of Fairy Tales —she describes the steps involved in analyzing and illustrates them with a variety of European tales, from "Beauty and the Beast" to "The Robber Bridegroom." Dr. von Franz begins with a history of the study of fairy tales and the various theories of interpretation. By way of illustration she presents a detailed examination of a simple Grimm's tale, "The Three Feathers," followed by a comprehensive discussion of motifs related to Jung's concept of the shadow, the anima, and the animus. This revised edition has been corrected and updated by the author.

    They are tales of human passion in all of its infinite variety: adultery, seduction, incest, rape, mutilation, assassination, torture, sacrifice, and murder. . . ."Sex. Violence. Scandal. These are words we rarely associate with the sacred text of the Bible. Yet in this brilliant book, Jonathan Kirsch recounts shocking tales that have been suppressed by religious authorities throughout history. Kirsch places each story within the political and social context of its time, delves into the latest biblical scholarship to explain why each one was originally censored, and shows how these ancient narratives hold valuable lessons for all of us.

    Simply translated, the title means "love of the beautiful," which reflects the text's emphasis on mystical and contemplative practices to engage all of our senses in the acts of worship and prayer.This introduction to the wisdom of the Philokalia illuminates a text that until now has intimidated the general reader in its scholarly translations from Greek and Russian. Allyne Smith focuses his thoughtful selection on seven themes that recur throughout the five-volume work--repentance, the heart, prayer, the Jesus Prayer, the passions, stillness, and theosis. Smith's enlightening, accessible facing-page commentary fills in the historical and spiritual context, clarifies core teachings, including the Eastern understanding of salvation, and draws connections to modern-day practices, such as contemplative prayer.Now you can experience the spiritual wisdom of the Philokalia even if you have no previous knowledge of Eastern Christianity. This SkyLight Illuminations edition takes you on a journey through this beloved text, showing you how the teachings of Eastern monks can help you become by grace what God is by nature.

    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.

    The selections, which are substantial in length, provide a generous sampling of Merton's vast output. +