Mindfulness for Dummies
by
Shamash Alidina
With this expert, easy-to-follow guide, there's never been a better time to get to grips with mindfulness and the many ways it can help you lead a happier, healthier life. Clear your mind of distracting thoughts. Focus on breathing and other self-control techniques. Change the wiring and makeup of your brain. Free yourself from the stress.
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The Art of Solitude : A Meditation on Being Alone With Others in This World
by
Stephen Batchelor
When Buddhist writer Stephen Batchelor turned sixty, he took a sabbatical from his teaching and turned his attention to solitude, a practice integral to the meditative traditions he had long studied and taught. He aimed to venture more deeply into solitude, discovering its full extent and depth. This literary collage documents his multifaceted explorations. spending time in remote places, appreciating and making art, practicing meditation and participating in retreats, drinking peyote and ayahuasca. Training himself to keep an open, questioning mind have all contributed to Batchelor's ability to be simultaneously alone and at ease. Mixed in with his personal narrative are inspiring stories from solitude's devoted practitioners, from the Buddha to Montaigne, from Vermeer to Agnes Martin..
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The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry : How to Stay Emotionally Healthy and Spiritually Alive in the Chaos of the Modern World
by
John Mark Comer
“Who am I becoming?” That was the question nagging pastor and author John Mark Comer. Outwardly, he appeared successful. But inwardly, things weren’t pretty. So he turned to a trusted mentor for guidance and heard these words: “Ruthlessly eliminate hurry from your life. Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life.” It wasn’t the response he expected, but it was—and continues to be—the answer he needs. Too often we treat the symptoms of toxicity in our modern world instead of trying to pinpoint the cause. A growing number of voices are pointing at hurry, or busyness, as a root of much evil. Within the pages of this book, you’ll find a fascinating roadmap to staying emotionally healthy and spiritually alive in the chaos of the modern world.
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Heaven and Hell: A History of the Afterlife by Bart D. Ehrman An accessible and thought-provoking look at historical conceptions of heaven and hell across continents, cultures, and faiths. Ehrman explores two of the most gripping questions of human existence: where did the ideas of heaven and hell come from, and why do they endure? Subjects explored include the Epic of Gilgamesh, Homeric Hades, Plato's views on the idea of an immortal soul, and what the Bible actually says about the afterlife. | |
Neurodharma : New Science, Ancient Wisdom, and Seven Practices of the Highest Happiness
by
Rick Hanson
Neurodharma shares seven practices for strengthening the neural circuitry of profound contentment and inner peace—qualities that offer essential support in everyday life while also supporting the exploration of the most radical reaches of human consciousness. Step by step, this book explains how to apply these insights in order to cultivate unshakable presence of mind, a courageous heart, and serenity in a changing world. The breakthroughs of the great teachers are not reserved for the chosen few. Dr. Hanson shows how we can embody them ourselves in daily life to handle stress, heal old pain, feel at ease with others, and rest in the sense of our natural goodness.
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In the Name of God : The Role of Religion in the Modern World: a History of Judeo-christian and Islamic Tolerance
by
Selina O'Grady
Told through contemporary chronicles, stories and poems, Selina O'Grady takes the reader through the intertwined histories of the Muslim, Christian and Jewish persecutors and persecuted. From Umar, the seventh century Islamic caliph who laid down the rules for the treatment of religious minorities in what was becoming the greatest empire the world has ever known, to Magna Carta John who seriously considered converting to Islam; and from al-Wahaabi, whose own brother thought he was illiterate and fanatical, but who created the religious-military alliance with the house of Saud that still survives today, to Europe's bloody Thirty Years war that wearied Europe of murderous inter-Christian violence but probably killed God in the process. This book is an essential guide to understanding Islam and the West today and the role of religion in the modern world.
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Veritas : A Harvard Professor, a Con Man and the Gospel of Jesus's Wife
by
Ariel Sabar
The gripping true story of a sensational religious forgery and the scandal that shook Harvard. In 2012, the discovery of a tattered manuscript in which Jesus calls Mary Magdalene 'my wife' made international headlines. It had the potential to upend the 2,000-year history of the world’s predominant faith, threatening not just the celibate, all-male priesthood but sacred teachings on marriage, sex and women’s leadership. Biblical scholars were in an uproar, but King had impeccable credentials as a world-renowned authority on female figures in the lost Christian texts from Egypt known as the Gnostic gospels. As debates over the manuscript’s authenticity raged, award-winning journalist Ariel Sabar set out to investigate a baffling mystery: where did this tiny scrap of papyrus come from? His search for answers is an international detective story—leading from the factory districts of Berlin to the former headquarters of the East German Stasi before winding up in rural Florida, where he discovered an internet pornographer with a prophetess wife, a fascination with the Pharaohs and a tortured relationship with the Catholic Church.
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Seeing Ourselves : Reclaiming Humanity from God and Science
by
Raymond Tallis
Philosopher and neuroscientist Raymond Tallis brings together the preoccupations of some fifty years of writing and thinking about the overwhelming mystery of ordinary human life, and goes in search of what kind of beings we are, and where we might find meaning in our lives. If, asks Tallis, we reject the supernatural belief that we are pure spirits temporarily lodged in bodies, handmade by God, and uniquely related to Him, what should we put in its place? How do we ensure, if we accept the death of God, that something within us does not also die? And if we are simply organisms shaped by the forces of evolution, with no reason to exist and with no objective value, as some scientists claim, where shall we find meaning sufficiently enduring and profound to withstand the knowledge of our own mortality and the certain loss of all that we love or value? How should we think of ourselves if we are neither fallen angels trying to enact the will of God, nor unrisen apes acting out a biological prescription?
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Headscarves and Hymens: Why the Middle East Needs a Sexual Revolution by Mona Eltahawy Drawing on her years as a campaigner and commentator on women's issues in the Middle East, Eltahawy explains that since the Arab Spring began, women in the Arab world have had two revolutions to undertake: one fought with men against oppressive regimes, and another fought against an entire political and economic system that treats women in countries from Yemen and Saudi Arabia to Egypt, Tunisia, and Libya as second-class citizens. Her book is a plea for outrage and action on their behalf, confronting the 'toxic mix of culture and religion that few seem willing or able to disentangle lest they blaspheme or offend'. | | The Witches: Suspicion, Betrayal, and Hysteria in 1692 Salem by Stacy Schiff An electrifying, fresh view of the Salem witch trials. Along with suffrage and Prohibition, the Salem witch trials represent one of the few moments when women played the central role in American history. Drawing masterfully on the archives, Stacy Schiff introduces us to the strains on a Puritan adolescent's life and to the authorities whose delicate agendas were at risk. She illuminates the demands of a rigorous faith, the vulnerability of settlements adrift from the mother country, perched at a politically tumultuous time. In an era of religious provocations, crowdsourcing, and invisible enemies, this enthralling story makes more sense than ever. | |
Consider the women : a provocative guide to three matriarchs of the Bible
by
Debbie Blue
Among the mostly male-dominated narratives in Scripture, the stories of women can be game-changing. Debbie Blue looks closely at Hagar (mother of Islam), Esther (Jewish heroine), and Mary (Christian matriarch)—and finds in them unexpected and inviting new ways of navigating faith and life. As she sets out to explore these biblical characters who live and move in places and ways outside of the strict boundaries of tradition, Blue encounters many real life characters who challenge her expectations and renew her hope—a Muslim tattoo artist, a Saudi Arabian sculptor, a rabbi in a Darth Vader costume, Aztec dancers at a feast of Guadalupe, an Islamic feminist scholar, and more. Readers will be led to envision more expansive and hopeful possibilities for faith, human connection, and love in our divided, violent world.
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Antigone Rising : The Subversive Power of the Ancient Myths
by
Helen Morales
A passionate, deeply felt account of the ways in which myths have reinforced the most harmful narratives of social control – or been unlocked to help lift them. It brings classics into the realm of climate activism, race politics, gender identity, body image, and #MeToo. Morales revisits Greco-Roman myths and demonstrates the power these ancient tales still have to uncover hidden truths and speak to modern readers who want to challenge the status quo, spark resistance, gain empowerment and feel solidarity.
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The Female Archangels : Reclaim Your Power With the Lost Teachings of the Divine Feminine
by
Claire Stone
Why are we only taught about male Archangels, and why has no one ever questioned this phenomenon? Claire Stone has communicated directly with angels since she was a child and therefore knows that the Archeiai, the female archangels, are really twin flames to the male archangels. The collective suppression of the divine feminine has led humanity to believe that there were no female angels of any kind, but as we start to re-awaken to the wisdom of the Mother Goddess, the veils are lifted, allowing us to reclaim our lost spiritual heritage.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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