From central ideas like the Eight Fold Path and the Four Noble Truths to the role of meditation, Buddhism offers an indispensible introduction to the wisdom tradition that has shaped the lives of millions of people across centuries and continents. Writing in an engaging, approachable style, author Joan Duncan Oliver outlines the key tenants of Buddhism for every reader, unpacking complex philosophies and revealing the beauty of the timeless faith.A practitioner of Buddhist meditation for over thirty years, Oliver has written extensively on the subject and is uniquely well versed in Buddhist practice. Her expert knowledge and understanding make Buddhism an essential modern guidebook to an ancient tradition.

    One-tenth of that amount will lower IQ.Nearly two out of every five African-American homes in Baltimore are plagued by lead-based paint. Almost all of the 37,500 Baltimore children who suffered lead poisoning from 2003 to 2015 were African-American.From injuries caused by lead poisoning to the devastating effects of atmospheric pollution, infectious disease, and industrial waste, Americans of color are harmed by environmental hazards in staggeringly disproportionate numbers. This systemic onslaught of toxic exposure and institutional negligence causes irreparable physical harm to millions of people across the country--cutting lives tragically short and needlessly burdening the health care system. But these deadly environments create another insidious and often overlooked consequence: robbing communities of color, and America as a whole, of intellectual power.The 1994 publication of The Bell Curve and its controversial thesis, catapulted the topic of genetic racial differences in IQ to the forefront of a renewed and heated debate. Now, in A Terrible Thing to Waste, award-winning science writer Harriet A. Washington adds her incisive analysis to the fray, arguing that IQ is a biased and flawed metric, but that it is useful for tracking cognitive damage. She tears apart the spurious notion of intelligence as an inherited trait, using copious data that instead point to a different cause of the reported African American-white IQ gap: environmental racism--a confluence of racism and other institutional factors that relegate marginalized communities to living and working near sites of toxic waste, pollution, and insufficient sanitation services. She investigates heavy metals, neuro-toxins, deficient prenatal care, bad nutrition, and even pathogens as chief agents influencing intelligence to explain why communities of color are disproportionately affected--and what can be done to remedy this devastating problem.Featuring extensive scientific research and Washington's sharp, lively reporting, A Terrible Thing to Waste is sure to outrage, transform the conversation, and inspire debate.

    In Shamanic Journeying, Sandra Ingerman draws from over 20 years' experience as a student and teacher of shamanism to share the core insights of this transformative practice. Join her to learn the original role of the shaman in indigenous societies; how to meet and work with your "power animal" and other spirit teachers; and the keys to successful journeying in our modern culture. With fascinating accounts of the powerful results of shamanic journeying and answers to the questions you may face as you begin your practice, Shamanic Journeying includes everything you need to explore the visionary worlds of the shaman. Book jacket.

    On the surface, it may appear that Keke has it made, but under the success, she has grappled with the same issues all young women wrestle with—identity, pressure, self-worth, love, sexuality, heartbreak, and family. With this in mind, she created I Don’t Belong To You—an inspirational guide that encourages young people to change their mindset and live with more freedom, confidence, and love as they navigate the rough terrain of the twenty-first century. Full of revealing stories from Keke’s personal and professional life, this book tackles twelve topics—sexuality, race, anxiety, success, bullying, and body image to name a few—with refreshing honesty. Within each chapter are quotes, texts, song lyrics, and funny memes that have inspired her; and practices that can help you stay on a path of always growing, never grown. With a voice of empathy, tough love, and determination, Keke speaks about the challenges and triumphs she has experienced on her journey to finding her own voice and creating a beautiful life. I Don’t Belong To You is the motivation you need to move past pain and fear to lead a life full of creativity, spirituality, passion, and unlimited success.

    Human and divine energies complement each other; when joined, they become a potent catalyst for true magick and change. Celtic Myth & Magick describes the energies of over 300 cross-referenced Celtic deities and heroic figures so you can quickly determine which one can best help you in attaining specific goals through magick--such as greater prosperity (Cernunnos), glowing health (Airmid), or a soul partner (Aengus MacOg). This guidebook explains how to use creative Pagan ritual and pathworking to align yourself with the energy of these powerful archetypes. Undertake three magickal quests to the inner plane--where you'll join forces with Cuchulain, Queen Maeve, and Merlin the Magician to bring their energies directly into your life. This inspiring, well-researched book is written especially for solitary Pagans who seek to expand the boundaries of their practice to form working partnerships with the divine.

    A cow stands inside, angled diagonally to fit. It doesn’t look uncomfortable, merely impatient. “It is for the housewarming ceremony on the third floor,” explains the woman who stands behind the cow, holding it loosely with a rope. She has the sheepish look of a person caught in a strange situation who is trying to act as normal as possible. She introduces herself as Sarala and smiles reassuringly. The door closes. I shake my head and suppress a grin. It is good to be back. When Shoba Narayan—who has just returned to India with her husband and two daughters after years in the United States—asks whether said cow might bless her apartment next, it is the beginning of a beautiful friendship between our author and Sarala, who also sells fresh milk right across the street from that thoroughly modern apartment building. The two women connect over not only cows but also family, food, and life. When Shoba agrees to buy Sarala a new cow, they set off looking for just the right heifer, and what was at first a simple economic transaction becomes something much deeper, though never without a hint of slapstick.The Milk Lady of Bangalore immerses us in the culture, customs, myths, religion, sights, and sounds of a city in which the twenty-first century and the ancient past coexist like nowhere else in the world. It’s a true story of bridging divides, of understanding other ways of looking at the world, and of human connections and animal connections, and it’s an irresistible adventure of two strong women and the animals they love.

    Contents: * Judika Illes explores the history, folklore, spirituality, and mythology of witchcraft. Wicca will be discussed, but the focus will not to limited to Wicca. As with Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, this book's focus will be cross-cultural and will span the centuries right up to the present day and popular culture. * Meet mythic witches, modern witches, sacred goddess witches, even demon witches, male and female witches, witches from all over the globe. * Includes a miscellany of facts including magic spells, rituals, potions, recipes, celebrations, traditions, and much more. * This is a reference book that appeals to both insiders and outsiders; that is of appeal to those who adhere to the tenets of some form of witchcraft, as well as those general interest readers interested in folklore, mythology and history.

    Beautifully illustrated and designed, this book will appeal to readers searching for ways to practice spirituality, offering blessings, prayers and devotions.

    As well as illuminating her early childhood and wartime experiences, the book offers a fresh perspective on the role she played in the infamous Babalon Working magick rituals, that were conducted by her husband, the maverick rocket scientist and Aleister Crowley disciple, Jack Parsons, and the future founder of Scientology, L Ron Hubbard. Following Parsons death in 1952 from a chemical explosion, Cameron inherited her husband's magickal mantle and embarked on a lifelong spiritual quest, a journey reflected in the otherworldly images she depicted, many of them drawn from the Elemental Kingdom and astral plane. The biography also takes an in-depth look at Cameron's artistry and film appearances, and features reminiscences from the many artists, poets and movie star friends she inspired along the way. With so much of her life and work shrouded in mystery, Wormwood Star sheds new light on this most remarkable artist and elusive occult icon.

    They've also worked with countless clients who report that their predictions later came to be true. Although the Twins have an undeniable gift in this area, we all have psychic capabilities-- and in this book they show you how to strengthen your own, look into your future, and change your destiny. In PSYCHIC INTELLIGENCE, Terry and Linda Jamison explain, step-by-step, how to dissolve the blocks that can prevent you from using and trusting your own intuition. By exploring what they call the Four Clairs: clairvoyance, clairaudience, clairsentience, and claircognizance, you will be able to tap into these feelings and in turn:--Create strong and worthwhile relationships, including finding true love--Attract wealth and abundance-Know when to make a career change, and what the new path should be--Experience vibrant health--Discover your authentic self and life's purposeNow, at a time of real economic and social uncertainty, when hope is needed and so many are feeling confused and fearful, PSYCHIC INTELLIGENCE will show readers that we all have the power to tap into and control our own destiny.

    Following in the footsteps of Christopher Hitchens, Roger Penrose, and even Stephen Hawking, Jim Holt now enters this fractious debate with his lively and deeply informed narrative that traces the latest efforts to grasp the origins of the universe. The slyly humorous Holt takes on the role of cosmological detective, suggesting that we might have been too narrow in limiting our suspects to Yahweh vs. the Big Bang. Tracking down an eccentric Oxford philosopher, a Physics Nobel Laureate, a French Buddhist monk who lived with the Dalai Lama, and John Updike just before he died, Holt pursues unexplored angles to this cosmic puzzle. As he pieces together a solution--one that sheds new light on the question of God and the meaning of existence--he offers brisk philosophical asides on time and eternity, consciousness, and the arithmetic of nothingness.“The pleasure of this book is watching the match: the staggeringly inventive human mind slamming its fantastic conjectures over the net, the universe coolly returning every serve.... Holt traffics in wonder, a word whose dual meanings—the absence of answers; the experience of awe—strike me as profoundly related. His book is not utilitarian. You can’t profit from it, at least not in the narrow sense.... And yet it does what real science writing should: It helps us feel the fullness of the problem.” (Kathryn Schulz, New York Magazine)" Jim Holt leaves us with the question Stephen Hawking once asked but couldn't answer, ‘Why does the universe go through all the bother of existing?’” (Ron Rosenbaum, Slate )

    Risking her own health, she moved to Togo, West Africa-ranked by the United Nations as the least happy country in the world-to care for sick and suffering patients.Serving without pay in a mission hospital, she pondered the intersection of faith and medicine in her quest to help make the world "well."In the hospital wards, she witnessed death over and over again. In the outpatient clinic, she daily diagnosed patients with deadly diseases, many of which had simple but unavailable cures. She lived in austere conditions and nearly succumbed herself in a harrowing bout with malaria.She describes her experiences in gripping detail and reflects courageously about difficult and deep human connections-across race, culture, material circumstances, and medical access. Her experience exemplifies the triumph of surviving in order to share the stories that often go untold. In the end, WELL is an invitation to ask what happens when, instead of asking why God allows suffering to happen in the world, we ask, "Why do we?"

    The story of High-Ranking Mormon leader Hans Mattsson seeking sincere answers from his church but instead finding contempt, fear, doubt...and eventually peace

    I mention this because I do not feel that I was in any way predisposed for what was about to occur. In fact, my scientific training would seem to have preprogrammed me against such an experience." -- From SpiritwalkerThe astonishing true story of an anthropologist's quest into a spiritual world of magic, mysticism, and meaning. Not since Castaneda's tutelage under the Yacqui Indian guide Don Juan has there been a spiritual autobiography quite like Spiritwalker.Hank Wesselman's incredible story of a series of encounters that would forever change his life began with what he at first tried to explain away as particularly vivid dreams, but which grew increasingly intense and insistent, ultimately propelling him on twelve fantastic journeys across time and space. Over the next three years, his journeys proved to be far more important than mere reason could explain. Eventually, Dr. Wesselman became convinced that he'd been granted a visionary encounter with what tribal people from millennia past have called the "spirit world." During his epic travels,  Dr. Wesselman met shape-shifting entities, spirit helpers, and guardians, and found himself traversing a mental, physical, andspiritual landscape on a path intersecting that of a fellow traveler, a Hawai'ian kahuna mystic named Nainoa. Five thousand years into the future, Nainoa had been sent by his Chief on a journey into what used to be America, a once-powerful land of machines and magic, from which no previous voyagers had ever returned. What did Nainoa seek from Dr. Wesselman? What did the anthropologist have to learn about his own world from this exotic traveler from another time and place? Together, scientist and mystic are initiated into knowledge of non-ordinary levels of reality and given foreshadowings of imminent environmental, political, and spiritual challenges to their civilization.   Without abandoning his scientific objectivity, Dr. Wesselman abandoned himself to the mystical, sometimes frightening, yet always luminous experiences that brought him beyond the boundaries of ordinary consciousness.  The result is a fascinating and suspenseful adventure, an exciting and important archeological discovery, and the story of how a hard-headed scientific-realist stumbled on an important piece of the puzzle of human evolution. Socially urgent and disturbingly prophetic, Spiritwalker has a universal mythic resonance and an undeniable relevance for today as it challenges ourperceptions of our world, our reality, and our future.

    Even though apartheid itself had no virtue, the author, himself a young black man who spent his childhood under apartheid, insists that it was not a vast moral desert in the lives of those living in townships. In this deep meditation on the experiences of those who lived through apartheid, it points out that despite the poverty and crime, there was still art, literature, music, and morals that, when combined, determined the shape of black life during that era of repression.