Using everyday language to explain difficult theological concepts, Teresa of Avila compares the contemplative life to a castle with seven chambers. Tracing the passage of the soul through each successive chamber, she draws a powerful picture of the path toward spiritual perfection. It is the most sublime and mature of Teresa's works, offering profound and inspiring reflections on such subjects as self-knowledge, humility, detachment, and suffering.One of the most celebrated works on mystical theology in existence, as timely today as when St. Teresa of Avila wrote it centuries ago, this is a treasury of unforgettable maxims on self-knowledge and fulfillment.

    Through it you can change your circumstances, live according to a developing sense of personal responsibility, effect change around you, and stop living as a helpless cog in some clockwork universe. All acts of personal/collective liberation are magical acts. Magic leads us into exhilaration and ecstasy; into insight and understanding; into changing ourselves and the world in which we participate. Through magic we may come to explore the possibilities of freedom.

    Gnostic writings offer striking perspectives on both early Christian and non-Christian thought. For example, some gnostic texts suggest that god should be celebrated as both mother and father, and that self-knowledge is the supreme path to the divine. Only in the past fifty years has it become clear how far the gnostic influence spread in ancient and medieval religions—and what a marvelous body of scriptures it produced. The selections gathered here, in poetic, readable translation, represent Jewish, Christian, Hermetic, Mandaean, Manichaean, Islamic, and Cathar expressions of gnostic spirituality. Their regions of origin include Egypt, the Greco-Roman world, the Middle East, Syria, Iraq, China, and France. Also included are introductions, notes, an extensive glossary, and a wealth of suggestions for further reading.

    WITH SIMPLE SHIFTS OF PERCEPTION, EACH OF US CAN FIND THE SACRED IN EVERY DAY.Like the vibrant yet simple quilts that led her to live within the Amish community and to write about the experience in her bestselling book 'Plain and Simple', the em

    But even while she immersed herself in the punk rock scene and proudly called herself an atheist, something kept pulling her back to the religion of her Irish roots.After running away from the Church for thirty years, Kaya decides to return. Her marriage is under stress, her job is no longer satisfying, and with multiple deaths in her family, a darkness looms large. In spite of her frustration with Catholic conservatism, nothing brings her peace like Mass. After years of searching to no avail for a better religious fit, she realizes that the only way to find harmony—in her faith and her personal life—is to confront the Church she’d left behind.Rebellious and hypercritical, Kaya relearns the catechisms and achieves the sacraments, all while trying to reconcile her liberal beliefs with contemporary Church philosophy. Along the way she meets a group of feisty feminist nuns, a “pray-and-bitch” circle, an all-too handsome Italian priest, and a motley crew of misfits doing their best to find their voices in an outdated institution.This is a story of transformation, not only of Kaya’s from ex-Catholic to amateur theologian, but ultimately of the cultural and ethical pushes for change that are rocking the world’s largest religion to its core.

    This work contains the 26 visions of Hildegard of Bingen (1098-1179), who was the first of the great German mystics, as well as a poet and a prophet, a physician and a political moralist.

    A Vietnamese monk and Buddhist teacher explores the common ground of Christianity and Buddhism on such subjects as compassion and holiness, and offers inspiration to believers in both religions.

    Drawing on the disciplines of history, anthropology, botany, archaeology, and the behavioral sciences, Jeanne Achterberg discusses the ancient cultures in which women worked as independent and honored healers; the persecution of women healers in the witch hunts of the Middle Ages; the development of midwifery and nursing as women's professions in the nineteenth century; and the current role of women and the state of the healing arts, as a time of crisis in the health-care professions coincides with the reemergence of feminine values.

    This landmark book reveals not only that women were priests, bishops, and prophets in early Christianity, but also how and why they were then suppressed.

    This book explores the fundamental beliefs and symbology of Witchcraft, presenting the time-honored texts of its rituals and invocations.

    Some Christians have responded to this trend with fear and derision, while some Pagans have reacted to that fear with anger and mistrust. Much of the problem is due to misunderstandings and lack of communication. This can change with Gus diZerega's "Pagans & Christians." Here you will find a penetrating and illuminating comparison, showing that neither path has the single correct approach to the Divine. Rather, either or both can be authentic and legitimate expressions of the appreciation of the Ultimate Source of All. "Pagans & Christians" is an ideal way to help bridge what at time seems a wide chasm between Christian and Pagan beliefs. By sharing core ideas of both paths, this book provides a way to give deeper mutual understanding and unity among the religions of the world. Although "Pagans & Christians" accepts both paths as valid, the book provides a more in-depth explanation of Paganism o  the minority religion because in some ways, Paganism demands a greater defense and explanation of its beliefs and ideas to dispel misunderstandings. The author is a Third Degree Gardenerian Elder and in "Pagans & Christians" has presented nothing less than a brilliant defense of Paganism, clearly showing how it should stand beside all of the major religions of the world as an equal. As part of this defense, diZerega gives a listing of biblical contradictions and Christian philosophical difficulties which can help any Pagan responding to a negative attack, and will help any Christian to view his or her religion as a way, not the way. Winner of the 2001 Coalition of Visionary Resources (COVR) Award for Best Non-fiction Book

    It resonates with those who yearn to express their inherent spirituality in a joyous, meaningful manner; who sense their wild heart and soul nature; who know there is beauty, magic, and meaning in the world if only we want to find it. It is a magical path for those with poetry in their souls. Evocative and compelling, Craft of the Wild Witch reveals how to practice a form of Witchcraft that is both wild and free. Within these pages you will discover the wild Witch's way of seeing and knowing, how to discern one's suitability for the wild Witch's path, and the fundamental themes of green spirituality. Also covered in this guidebook: --Rituals, chants, pathworkings, and seasonal prayers--Tree meditations, spell-weaving, and trance work --The Fey and other-worldly companions--Herbs as helpers --Other-life memories--Sacred intent and safe practice

    It is essentially a call to arms for women to rise up, tell their truth, and lead. Most women have spent much of their working lives “making it” in a man’s world, leaning on patriarchal methods of survival in order to succeed, dulling down their intuition, and ignoring the fierce power of their feminine. They have ignored the cycles of the feminine in order to survive in a patriarchal linear system – but now the world has changed.   Rise Sister Rise is a transmission that calls the innate feminine wisdom to rise. It is about healing the insecurities, the fears, and the inherited patterns that stop women trusting the Shakti (power) and wisdom (intuition) that effortlessly flows through them. It's about recognizing all of the ways we have been keeping ourselves contained and restrained in effort to fit into a certain archetype of woman. It’s about co-creating a whole new archetype of woman – a woman who does not keep herself small in order to make others feel more comfortable. A woman who knows like she knows like she knows that she is not her body weight, her sexual partners, or her career. A woman who deeply respects the wise woman in her life and cultivates her own wisdom every single day.   Full of tools, calls to action, contemplative questions, rituals, and confrontational exercises, this book teaches women that it is safe to let Shakti rise, safe to trust their intuition, and safe to take leaps of faith – because in healing ourselves we are healing the world.

    Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work.

    These aren't simple stones; when the right crystal is used appropriately, it's power can physically heal, invigorate, cultivate love, and even boost creativity. In The Encyclopedia of Crystals, crystal expert Judy Hall draws on over 30 years' experience of working with crystals to provide the definitive reference. When you turn to The Encyclopedia of Crystals, you not only experience a lavishly illustrated compendium of crystals, you will also get information on newly discovered stones, see learn material on geology and fluorescent properties. This is an essential addition to the libraries of everyone working with crystals. Organized by crystal color for easy reference, The Encyclopedia of Crystals explains how the colors of crystals relate to the chakras, shows you how to cleanse and activate your crystals, and provides helpful, authoritative advice on healing, meditating, energizing and more with nothing more than the power within your crystals.