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Spirituality and Religion September 2017
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Woman Most Wild : Three Keys to Liberating the Witch Within
by Danielle Dulsky
What do you think of when you hear the word witch? Through centuries of persecution, our society has been indoctrinated into thinking that witches are evil villains. Author and proud witch Danielle Dulsky debunks this interpretation and reveals the true nature of Witchcraft: an ancient spiritual path that rejects religious dogma in favor of female empowerment and a deep reverence for the Earth. In a collaborative, conversational tone, Woman Most Wild reclaims the Earth-centered power of aligning with our wildest, freest selves to create an inclusive world for all. Dulsky’s tools for embracing and experiencing the power of these keys, including moon rituals, healing meditations, yoga postures, circle work, and Goddess encounters, will guide you toward joining the cosmic dance befitting the divine, limitless woman you are.
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The Triumph of Christianity : How a Forbidden Religion Swept the World
by Bart D. Ehrman
Christianity didn’t have to become the dominant religion in the West. It easily could have remained a sect of Judaism fated to have the historical importance of the Sadducees or the Essenes. In The Triumph of Christianity, Bart Ehrman, a master explainer of Christian history, texts, and traditions, shows how a religion whose first believers were twenty or so illiterate day laborers in a remote part of the empire became the official religion of Rome, converting some thirty million people in just four centuries. The Triumph of Christianity combines deep knowledge and meticulous research in an eye-opening, immensely readable narrative that upends the way we think about the single most important cultural transformation our world has ever seen—one that revolutionized art, music, literature, philosophy, ethics, economics, and law.
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Loveable : Embracing What Is Truest About You, So You Can Truly Embrace Your Life
by Kelly Flanagan
Psychologist, father, and blogger Kelly Flanagan is best known for the beloved letters he writes to his children. Loveable reads like an extended love letter to the reader, who is all too ready to hear three essential truths: you are enough, you are not alone, and you matter. Flanagan answers three fundamental human questions: Am I enough? How do I become unlonely? Do I matter? He shows us how to rediscover our worthiness and remember that we are good enough. He encourages us to shed the false self that keeps us lonely and to find people who accept us as we are. And he inspires us to fully embrace our passions, regardless of how ordinary those passions may be. Reading like an extended love letter to readers, Loveable uncovers three essential truths: you are enough, you are not alone, and you matter. Flanagan invites us to disconnect from the distractions and demands of daily life and to listen more intently for the voice of grace within each of us, so we might fully awaken to the redemptive story we are here to live.
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Spirit Drumming : A Guide to the Healing Power of Rhythm
by Gabriel Horn
Gabriel Horn, White Deer of Autumn, is an award-winning writer who has provided a nuanced look at Native American culture and spirituality for decades. Now, he shows how drumming can take us back to our true selves and connect us to each other and the earth. Spirit Drumming follows his journey to the drums, including a history of drumming in Native American communities, an investigation of drums as living beings, and an authoritative reckoning on vibration as a conduit for healing. In addition to sharing stories of people he has known who have been affected by the drums, he also provides information on how to integrate other sacred elements in your drumming (such as feathers, cedar, sweetgrass, and tobacco), transcripts of chants you can use in your own practice, and ceremonies for thanksgiving, birth, the harvest, children, and more.
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The Dawn of Christianity : How God Used Simple Fishermen, Soldiers, and Prostitutes to Transform the World
by Robert J. Hutchinson
How did Christianity truly come to be? Where did this worldwide faith come from? The Dawn of Christianity tells the story of how the first followers of Jesus survived the terror and despair of witnessing the one they knew to be the messiah—God’s agent for the salvation of the world—suddenly arrested, tried, and executed. Soon after Jesus’ death, his relatives and closest followers began hearing reports that Jesus was alive again—reports that even his most loyal disciples at first refused to believe. Using the most recent studies by top Christian and secular scholars, Robert Hutchinson, known for his popular books on Christianity and Biblical Studies, reconstructs all of the known accounts of these early resurrection appearances and follows the witnesses to the resurrection as they experience brutal persecution at the hands of zealots such as Saul of Tarsus and then become committed evangelists to the major population centers in Antioch, Damascus, Rome, and Athens—and ultimately across the world. A riveting thriller of the most improbable history-changing movement imaginable, The Dawn of Christianity brings to life the compelling story of the birth of Christianity.
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| Benjamin Franklin: The Religious Life of a Founding Father by Thomas S. KiddIn this thoroughly researched and groundbreaking biography, religious studies professor Thomas Kidd examines the religious thought of Founder Benjamin Franklin. As a young man Franklin rejected the Calvinist doctrine of his childhood and embraced deism. However, he later professed a religion-based ethical philosophy that was closer to the beliefs of his upbringing, those of his sister Jane Mecom, and those of his friend George Whitefield, the famous Methodist evangelist. Showing Franklin as a man of religious faith who publicly called for prayers to God to guide the new American nation, Kidd's portrait offers "a new cornerstone of Franklin studies" (Booklist, starred review). |
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Healing Spiritual Wounds : Reconnecting with a Loving God After Experiencing a Hurtful Church
by Carol Howard Merritt
Raised as a conservative Christian, minister and author Carol Howard Merritt discovered that the traditional institutions she grew up in inflicted great pain and suffering on others. Though she loved the spirituality the church provided, she knew that, because of sexism, homophobia, and manipulative religious politics, established religious institutions weren’t always holy or safe. Instead of offering refuge, these institutions have betrayed people’s hearts and souls. “People have suffered religious abuse,” she writes, “which can be different from physical injury or psychological trauma.” Though participation and affiliation in traditional religious institutions is waning, many people still believe in God. Merritt contends that many leave the church because they have lost trust in the institution, not in God. Healing Spiritual Wounds addresses the church’s dichotomous image—as a safe space and as a dangerous place—and provides a way to restore personal faith and connection to God for those who have been hurt or betrayed by established institutions of faith. Merritt lays out a multistage plan for moving from pain to spiritual rebirth, from recovering theological and emotional shards to recovering communal wholeness. Merritt does not sugarcoat the wrongs institutions long seen as trustworthy have inflicted on many innocent victims. Sympathetic, understanding, and deeply positive, she offers hope and a way to help them heal and reclaim the spiritual joy that can make them whole again.
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| How to Be a Muslim: An American Story by Haroon MoghulOn September 11, 2001, Pakistani-American author Haroon Moghul was an undergraduate at New York University. The terrorist attacks on that day pushed him into the spotlight, where he became a spokesman for American Muslims. Meanwhile, he was struggling with his own relationship to Islam. In How to Be a Muslim, Moghul relates his hopes, fears, doubts, and personal challenges, liberally employing both references to pop culture and allusions to the Qur'an. This book, which Publishers Weekly (in a starred review) strongly recommends "for its candor and relatability," provides a compelling account of what it means to be an American Muslim. |
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| The Art of Living: Peace and Freedom in the Here and Now by Thích Nhất HạnhIn The Art of Living, acclaimed Vietnamese Buddhist teacher Thích Nhất Hạnh offers techniques for living happily in a challenging world. His lectures about these techniques develop the practice of mindfulness to show how it applies pragmatically to ordinary life. As he often does, Nhất Hạnh focuses on the importance of breathing and the interconnectedness of everything. The talks collected in this book can be read in any order and are accessible to those who are new to Buddhism and informative to people already familiar with Nhất Hạnh's teachings. |
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The Dharma of the Princess Bride : What the Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships
by Ethan Nichtern
Friendship. Romance. Family. These are the three areas Ethan Nichtern delves into, taking as departure points the indelible characters—Westley, Fezzik, Vizzini, Count Rugen, Princess Buttercup, and others from Rob Reiner’s perennially popular film—as he also draws lessons from his own life and his work as a meditation teacher. Nicthern devotes the first section of the book to exploring the dynamics of friendship. Why do people become friends? What can we learn from the sufferings of Inigo Montoya and Fezzik? Next, he leads us through all the phases of illusion and disillusion we encounter in our romantic pursuits, providing a healthy dose of lightheartedness along the way by sharing his own Princess Buttercup List and the vicissitudes of his dating life as he ponders how we idealize and objectify romantic love. Finally, Nichtern draws upon the demands of his own family history and the film’s character the Grandson to explore the dynamics of “the last frontier of awakening,” a reference to his teacher Chogyam Trungpa’s claim that it’s possible to be enlightened everywhere except around your family.
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| In the Days of Rain: A Daughter, a Father, a Cult by Rebecca StottAs a child, acclaimed author Rebecca Stott belonged to a separatist Christian fundamentalist sect in Britain called the Exclusive Brethren. Her father, Roger, was a leader in the group, which shunned all kinds of worldly things, but he later left the cult and became an actor and filmmaker. In the Days of Rain details Rebecca's experiences with the Exclusive Brethren, Roger's struggles, and her own gradual understanding of the sect and its effect on her family over four generations. Reflecting on her relationship with her father, Rebecca pens a thought-provoking and absorbing memoir. |
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Why Buddhism is true : The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment
by Robert Wright
Robert Wright famously explained in The Moral Animal how evolution shaped the human brain. The mind is designed to often delude us, he argued, about ourselves and about the world. And it is designed to make happiness hard to sustain. But if we know our minds are rigged for anxiety, depression, anger, and greed, what do we do? Wright locates the answer in Buddhism, which figured out thousands of years ago what scientists are only discovering now. Buddhism holds that human suffering is a result of not seeing the world clearly—and proposes that seeing the world more clearly, through meditation, will make us better, happier people. In Why Buddhism is True, Wright leads readers on a journey through psychology, philosophy, and a great many silent retreats to show how and why meditation can serve as the foundation for a spiritual life in a secular age.
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Fulfilled : How the Science of Spirituality Can Help You Live a Happier, More Meaningful Life
by Anna Yusim
Psychiatrist Anna Yusim knows just how you feel. Not only has she struggled with these feelings herself, but she has also worked with patients upon patients who have expressed the same bewildering concern: they have everything they've always wanted, and yet deep down they don't feel fulfilled. Determined to help herself and her patients, Dr. Yusim spent more than fifteen years studying and conducting research and came to a startling conclusion: this lingering feeling of dissatisfaction coincides with spiritual neglect. Once she helped her patients address their spiritual and psychological needs, she saw radical improvements in their happiness levels and quality of life. Now science is catching up with her innovative approach to therapy as groundbreaking medical research and studies substantiate what Dr. Yusim and many others have suspected for years: spirituality is a powerful path to healing. Drawing from the best in Western medicine, as well as teachings from Kabbalah, Buddhism, and shamanistic traditions, Dr. Yusim has developed a program that marries empirical science and spirituality to hel
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