New Age and holistic beliefs and practices - sometimes called the "new spirituality" - are widely distributed across modern global society. The fluid and popular nature of new age makes these movements a very challenging field to understand using traditional models of religious analysis. Rather than treating new age as an exotic specimen on the margins of 'proper' religion, "New Age Spirituality" examines these movements as a form of everyday or lived religion. The book brings together an international range of scholars to explore the key issues: insight, healing, divination, meditation, gnosis, extraordinary experiences, and interactions with gods, spirits and superhuman powers. Combining discussion of contemporary beliefs and practices with cutting-edge theoretical analysis, the book repositions new age spirituality at the forefront of the contemporary study of religion.

How close is spirituality to psychosis? Covering the interrelation of psychosis and spirituality from a number of angles, Insanity and Divinity will generate dialogue and discussion, aid critical reflection and stimulate creative approaches to clinical work for those interested in the connections between religious studies, psychoanalysis, anthropology and hagiography. Bringing together an international range of contributors and covering many different types of religious experience, this book presents its theme in three parts: Psychoanalysis, belief and mysticism Anthropology, history and hagiography Psychology, psychosis and religious experience. Each section includes discussion of the hinterland between madness and religious experience from the perspective of a number of religions, autobiographical accounts of those who have experienced a psychosis in which spirituality played a key part and a comprehensive review of the position of psychology research into the meaning and function of spirituality in relation to the psychoses. Insightful, enlightening and wide-ranging, Insanity and Divinity is ideal for clinicians, academics and chaplains working in clinical settings.

The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781472453983, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivative 4.0 license. Experiences of hearing the voice of God (or angels, demons, or other spiritual beings) have generally been understood either as religious experiences or else as a feature of mental illness. Some critics of traditional religious faith have dismissed the visions and voices attributed to biblical characters and saints as evidence of mental disorder. However, it is now known that many ordinary people, with no other evidence of mental disorder, also hear voices and that these voices not infrequently include spiritual or religious content. Psychological and interdisciplinary research has shed a revealing light on these experiences in recent years, so that we now know much more about the phenomenon of "hearing voices" than ever before. The present work considers biblical, historical, and scientific accounts of spiritual and mystical experiences of voice hearing in the Christian tradition in order to explore how some voices may be understood theologically as revelatory. It is proposed that in the incarnation, Christian faith finds both an understanding of what it is to be fully human (a theological anthropology), and God's perfect self-disclosure (revelation). Within such an understanding, revelatory voices represent a key point of interpersonal encounter between human beings and God.

This accessible study of Northern European shamanistic practice, or seidr, explores the way in which the ancient Norse belief systems evoked in the Icelandic Sagas and Eddas have been rediscovered and reinvented by groups in Europe and North America. The book examines the phenomenon of altered consciousness and the interactions of seid-workers or shamanic practitioners with their spirit worlds in historical and political contexts. Written by a follower of seidr, this study not only investigates, but also addresses those new communities involved in a postmodern quest for spiritual meaning.

Glossolalia (paranormal speaking in tongues) and zenolalia (paranormal speaking in allegedly foreign languages) are features of many sub-cultures and religions. The most obvious example is Pentecostalism, where every believer in many denominations is expected to speak in tongues at least once - the gift in other cultures being limited to individuals, shamans and mediums. This book, first published in 1978, surveys the practice of 'speaking in tongues' in anthropology, Christianity and spiritualism, and provides an analysis of the psychological, theological and linguistic considerations of the phenomenon.

This key text presents an accessible and diverse exploration of spirituality in mental health practice, broadening the definition of spirituality to comprise a variety of transcendent experiences. Chapters include a brief history of the tensions of spirituality in mental health practice and consider a range of emerging topics, from spirituality among the elderly and energy work (Reiki), to spirituality in addiction recovery, incarceration, and hospice work. The book offers a close examination of the limits of the medical model of care, making a case for a more spiritually sensitive practice. Rich case examples are woven throughout, and the book is paired with podcasts that can be applied across chapters, illuminating the narrative stories and building active listening and teaching skills. Suitable for students of social work and counseling at master's level, as well as practicing clinicians, Spirituality in Mental Health Practice is an essential text for widening our understanding of how spiritual frameworks can enrich mental health practice.

A devotional-style book for the modern seeker, intended to help them remember the divine wisdom they carry within and utilize it to create a life that is authentic. Are you ready to activate your inner goddess? 365 Days of Divine Feminine Wisdom is a devotional-style book for today's spiritual seeker. In it, you will learn how to deepen your connection with yourself and your spirituality, discover who you really are, and find the courage to create a life you love by using your innate gifts and power. Each daily entry reflects upon the different aspects of Divine Feminine energy that are always active within us, regardless of age or experience: the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. These aspects are linked to the milestones that we experience throughout our lives as we get in touch with the goddess within us. These aspects are also connected to the phases of the moon, as well as to the seasons. Each daily entry draws wisdom from the three-part feminine archetype, according to the time of year: January to April provides inspiration from the Maiden aspect; May to August offers guidance from the Mother aspect; and September to December reveals knowledge from the Crone aspect. This helps readers gain a full understanding of their innate gifts and wisdom, as well the phases they naturally go through each year as they continue to grow, evolve, and live their best life.

In this final volume of the series "Jesus, the Christ", Dr. Bhagat Singh Thind continues his careful and critical examination of the scriptures and practices of Christianity, and contrasts them with the requisites of true spiritual growth and the unification of man and God. Dr Thind asks hard questions, and answers them with keen and cutting insight. Why was God's greatest creation -- man -- so imperfect as to require a saviour? Why did God wait millennia before sending him; and why is man's redemption still incomplete, two thousand years later? How -- and by whom -- were the gospels composed, and why is there no record of Jesus' life other than the brief period of his ministry? What meaning can we ascribe to some of Jesus apparently irrational words and deeds? And why does Jesus never smile, but often weep? No defunct saviour -- be he Christian or Sikh, Jew or Gentile -- can ever save mankind. Rather, a living and present guru is needed to assist each individual in seeking his own perfect unification with God, which can only be accomplished through meditation on His Holy Nam. The seeker must transcend both his human and animal nature, and all other pairs of opposites, knowing that struggle and suffering are essential to the growth of the soul on its Godward path. Ultimately, we must learn to see reality with God's eyes, as He Himself sees it. This rational, pragmatic, and testable approach to religion is the essence of Sant-Mat, or Spiritual Science. Indeed, science and religion are complementary, not opposites -- for, as Dr Thind points out, what is true in one cannot be false in the other.

WORLD-RENOWNED BESTSELLING AUTHOR CARLOS CASTANEDA'S SELECTION OF HIS WRITINGS ON THE SHAMANS OF ANCIENT MEXICO

Near the end of his life, Carlos Castaneda gathered together and reviewed his seminal works on his training as a shaman initiate, recorded in a literary career that spans over thirty years. The result is this groundbreaking collection of quotations -- the essence of Carlos Castaneda, drawn from his landmark volumes including The Teachings of Don Juan, Journey to Ixtlan, A Separate Reality, and Tales of Power. Enhanced with an introduction and original commentary by the author, this powerful work illuminates the shaman's life as never before. Castaneda's words explore how the ancient shamans could literally touch and direct the wheel of time -- a profound yet pragmatic tradition that can be felt even in our day.

Dr Deepak Chopra, the world-famous pioneer in the field of mind-body medicine, addresses one of the fundamental questions of existence: what happens when we die?. Drawing upon personal experience, the wisdom of ancient Vedic philosophy and state-of-the-art particle physics, Chopra helps us to overcome our fears about dying and to consider the fantastic possibilities that may await us in the afterlife. This is the book that Dr Chopra has been preparing to write his entire life. In it, he considers the theory that death is an illusion of the senses and that the soul survives in an ongoing spiral of refinement, ending in enlightenment. Thought-provoking exercises offer a first-hand experience of these and other ideas, helping you to make sense of your own spirituality whatever path you choose to follow, and offering you your very own map of eternity.

ECPA Christian Book of the Year Christianity Today Book of the Year Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Finalist IVP Readers' Choice Award How can we trust God in the dark? Framed around a nighttime prayer of Compline, Tish Harrison Warren, author of Liturgy of the Ordinary, explores themes of human vulnerability, suffering, and God's seeming absence. When she navigated a time of doubt and loss, the prayer was grounding for her. She writes that practices of prayer "gave words to my anxiety and grief and allowed me to reencounter the doctrines of the church not as tidy little antidotes for pain, but as a light in darkness, as good news." Where do we find comfort when we lie awake worrying or weeping in the night? This book offers a prayerful and frank approach to the difficulties in our ordinary lives at work, at home, and in a world filled with uncertainty.

Rosemary Ellen Guiley Ask The Angels Bring Angelic Wisdom Into Your Life Bestselling author Rosemary Ellen Guiley's easy-to-use, practical guide for opening to angelic guidance and wisdom, focusing on how to communicate with angels and how you know when you've got an answer. Contents: Rosemary addresses our most important questions about angels: - who are they? - how do we establish communication with them? - how do we distinguish between wishful thinking or imagination and a real answer from an angel? She also examines the 22 Master Angels of Life, who govern aspects of our daily lives: love, relationships, healing, strength and forgiveness, and addresses the Nine Angels of the Higher Order, who guide our spiritual growth: faith, charity, enlightenment and grace.

With their origins in prehistory, pagan sigils were part of our ancestor's pictorial language, created in a golden age of symbol literacy. Following a millennia of religious repression and demonization by the Christian church, they were rediscovered and revived in the 18th and 19th centuries. Since that time pagan sigils have functioned as a spiritual and graphic resource for the modern, Earth centered, religious movement of Neopaganism. In the late 20th century, they were assimilated by the Counter Culture and New Age movements as symbols of ageless wisdom. Pagan sigils continue to inspire the Earth centered movements of Eco paganism.

Within the general chaos that is our daily lives, there is a perspective where everything falls into place and finally makes sense. H.E. Tsem Rinpoche brings this perspective through explaining the mechanism of life based on the fundamental principles of Buddhism. In his characteristically logical and down-to-earth manner, Rinpoche introduces the vast topics of reincarnation and karma in a way that anyone can understand. He also provides easily applicable guidelines on how we can immediately unlock the liberating powers within us to lead a happy and harmonious life, simply by finding the living Buddha within each and every one of us.

How did the Oracle of Delphi obtain her prophecies? Can you access information just by holding an object? Are itches actually messages? Is it really possible to read the future in the bottom of a teacup? In this condensed book, experienced seer Jewels Rocka outlines the theory and practice of divination, using illuminating examples from all over the world. Packed with useful information and miniturised reference tables, this is the essential pocket volume for the travelling prophet. "Fascinating" FINANCIAL TIMES. "Beautiful" LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS. "Rich and Artful" THE LANCET. "Genuinely mind-expanding" FORTEAN TIMES. "Excellent" NEW SCIENTIST. "Stunning" NEW YORK TIMES. Small books, big ideas.