During our journey we will explore stories from Babylon, Greece, Ireland, Ethiopia, and various other cultures to fill in the missing pieces to one of the biggest mysteries on our planet. This 2nd Edition includes 40+ hours of additional audio and video content for your enjoyment. Make sure you download a free QR code scanner for your smart phone or tablet so you can take full advantage of the features in this book.

    A Mormon woman recounts how she was excommunicated from her church because of her support of the Equal Rights Amendment.

    What is the nature of these close connections? And what if our influence on pets, both in life and especially through sickness and death, is far more powerful than we ever conceived? David Michie draws on ancient Buddhist wisdom, supported by contemporary science, to provide fascinating insights into animal consciousness. He proposes that the pets with whom we share our lives are not there by accident. Whether your animal companion has fur, feathers or fins, he offers a treasury of practical tools to enhance your relationship with them in everyday life, as well as during times of challenge. Written with humour and compassion, and including extraordinary true stories from around the world, Buddhism for Pet Lovers reveals how our animal companions may indeed be among our most precious partners. For in helping them, our own lives are incomparably enriched too. 'If you have ever deeply loved an animal, this is, without doubt, the book for you.' Gail Pope, BrightHaven 'Our pets offer us one of our greatest opportunities to add compassion to the world. This book helps direct us to a path toward the blossoming of that opportunity.' Carl Safina, author of Beyond Words, and What Animals Think and Feel

    Unflinchingly honest yet unfailingly hopeful, Rev. Sarah is a genre unto herself. You've never had this much fun going to church

    Vishvapani Blomfield places Gautama in a credible historical setting without assuming that he was really just an ordinary person, albeit an exceptionally wise and kindly one.

    For centuries practitioners have turned to her for protection from both external and internal dangers, from fire to arrogance. This well-written book presented in conversational style is an authoritative guide to the practice of Tara. It includes very helpful chapters on the whys and hows of various Tara practices as well as a commentary on the "Homage to the Twenty-one Taras."

    This biography of one of the few women in her generation to devote herself entirely to the pursuit of meditation also includes Dipa Ma's spiritual teachings, which have made her a major figure in contemporary Buddhism.

    The eight steps on the path are: right understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. Smith explains exactly what the Buddha had in mind, using translations of his own words and then elucidating them for us. Throughout the book are wonderful quotes from a broad range of Buddhist teachers, giving a taste of the very best each of them has to offer. The Beginner’s Guide to Walking the Buddha’s Eightfold Path is a prescription for happiness, not just for overcoming suffering, which is how many people think of Buddhism. Here is a book for Buddhists of every tradition.

    This book has been designed for people who don't know how to pray yet or those who aren't sure whether they learned correctly or not. In this book you will learn the prayers by reading clear and simple descriptions of what to do along with pictures to make sure you understood correctly. One of the unique features of this book is that it doesn't limit itself to teaching the rituals behind the prayer only. Rather, there is an entire chapter dedicated to learning the meanings behind each statement and action in the prayer.

    Christian and Muslim scriptures provide evidence about this journey.

    In a time when women could not vote, hold public office, or teach outside the home, the charismatic Hutchinson wielded remarkable political power. Her unconventional ideas had attracted a following of prominent citizens eager for social reform. Hutchinson defended herself brilliantly, but the judges, faced with a perceived threat to public order, banished her for behaving in a manner "not comely for [her] sex."Until now, Hutchinson has been a polarizing figure in American history and letters, attracting either disdain or exaltation. Nathaniel Hawthorne, who was haunted by the "sainted" Hutchinson, used her as a model for Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Much of the praise for her, however, is muted by a wish to domesticate the heroine: the bronze statue of Hutchinson at the Massachusetts State House depicts a prayerful mother -- eyes raised to heaven, a child at her side -- rather than a woman of power standing alone before humanity and God. Her detractors, starting with her neighbor John Winthrop, first governor of Massachusetts, referred to her as "the instrument of Satan," the new Eve, the "disturber of Israel," a witch, "more bold than a man," and Jezebel -- the ancient Israeli queen who, on account of her tremendous political power, was "the most evil woman" in the Bible.Written by one of Hutchinson's direct descendants, American Jezebel brings both balance and perspective to Hutchinson's story. It captures this American heroine's life in all its complexity, presenting her not as a religious fanatic, a cardboard feminist, or a raging crank-as some have portrayed her-but as a flesh-and-blood wife, mother, theologian, and political leader.Opening in a colonial courtroom, American Jezebel moves back in time to Hutchinson's childhood in Elizabethan England, exploring intimate details of her marriage and family life. The book narrates her dramatic expulsion from Massachusetts, after which her judges, still threatened by her challenges, promptly built Harvard College to enforce religious and social orthodoxies -- making her midwife to the nation's first college. In exile, she settled Rhode Island (which later merged with Roger Williams's Providence Plantation), becoming the only woman ever to co-found an American colony.The seeds of the American struggle for women's and human rights can be found in the story of this one woman's courageous life. American Jezebel illuminates the origins of our modern concepts of religious freedom, equal rights, and free speech, and showcases an extraordinary woman whose achievements are astonishing by the standards of any era.

    In Broken Into Beautiful, singer and songwriter Gwen Smith's first book, she tells the real-life stories of women with shattered dreams, shameful secrets, and damaged souls, and the God who makes them beautiful again. Each chapter features a compelling personal story coupled with relevant biblical teaching and application. Readers will meet women wounded by infidelity, abortion, widowhood, abuse, and other tragic events, only to discover the joy of being restored by a loving heavenly Father.The book will remind women of all ages of God's willingness to eternally forgive and forget and of His heart to transform broken lives. Readers will be empowered to believe truth, to remember grace, and to live for God's greater purposes. Broken into Beautiful is ultimately about a beautiful Savior who became broken for us so that all who are broken can be transformed to reflect His beauty.

    The first and only authorized book about the band, The Phish Book is an extraordinary verbal and visual chronicle of a year in the life of Phish, featuring extensive interviews with the four band members--Trey Anastasio, Jon Fishman, Mike Gordon, and Page McConnell--conducted by writer Richard Gehr, who also serves as guide to the history, mythology, musical context, and unique audience-band relationship in which the Vermont quartet flourishes.        While it contains many of the trappings of other lavish rock monuments--including more than two hundred pieces of previously unpublished art and photography from the band's private archive--The Phish Book elevates the form by means of an innovative roundtable-style discussion format. Richard Gehr and Phish use the events of 1997 as a jumping-off point from which the band members free-associate about themselves, their music, and the dedicated and colorful community that springs up wherever they perform.        Beginning with the backstage scene at Boston's Fleet Center on New Year's Eve, 1996, The Phish Book explores the band's earliest days in Burlington, Vermont; their musical influences, which include James Brown, Frank Zappa, and the Grateful Dead; their legendary Halloween shows; the two European and two American tours the group undertook in 1997; the stories behind their 1996 studio album, Billy Breathes, and the following year's live Slip Stitch and Pass; life onstage and off; the sixty-thousand-fan Maine campout and art project known as the Great Went; and the experimental recording and performing techniques that informed the band's most recent studio album, The Story of the Ghost.        More than a retrospective journal of the group's evolution, The Phish Book is a glorious snapshot of a band much bigger than its parts and at the height of its collective power.

    Find out what made them consider this in the first place, how they did it, and why they have no regrets! Bonus chapters include Jen’s special recipe for making bite-sized éclairs and a packing list for YOUR move to Costa Rica!

    Perfect for beginning Zen students and for those interested in Buddhism in general or eastern religion, it features deep spiritual insights and playful illustrations that add warmth and approachability to the topic.