This volume offers new insights into the radical shift in attitudes towards death and the dead body that occurred in temperate Bronze Age Europe. Exploring the introduction and eventual dominance of cremation, Marie-Louise Stig Sorenson and Katharina Rebay-Salisbury apply a case-study approach to investigate how this transformation unfolded within local communities located throughout central to northern Europe. They demonstrate the deep link between the living and the dead body, and propose that the introduction of cremation was a significant ontological challenge to traditional ideas about death. In tracing the responses to this challenge, the authors focus on three fields of action: the treatment of the dead body, the construction of a burial place, and ongoing relationships with the dead body after burial. Interrogating cultural change at its most fundamental level, the authors elucidate the fundamental tension between openness towards the 'new' and the conservative pull of the familiar and traditional.

The Benefits of Bismillah 'ir-Rahman 'ir-Raheem & Surat al-Fatihah is based on advanced teachings of eminent Islamic scholars and Sufi masters. It details ancient wisdom of God's preference to be known and called upon by His Holy Names Ar-Rahman, The Most Beneficent, and Ar-Raheem, The Most Merciful, and their immense spiritual blessing. In addition, powerful benefits of Surat al-Fatihah, the most read chapter of Holy Quran that is recited in every Muslim prayer, are examined. This book will enhance studies of Islam, Prophet Muhammad, Holy Quran and Islamic mysticism (Sufism).

Back by popular demand, the classic JPS holiday anthologies remain essential and relevant in our digital age. Unequaled in-depth compilations of classic and contemporary writings, they have long guided rabbis, cantors, educators, and other readers seeking the origins, meanings, and varied celebrations of the Jewish festivals. Drawing on Jewish creativity from hundreds of sources-the Bible, postbiblical literature, Talmud, midrashim, prayers with commentaries, Hasidic tales, short stories, poems, liturgical music-and describing Yom Kippur observances in various lands and eras, The Yom Kippur Anthology vividly evokes the vitality of this holiday throughout history and its significance for the modern Jew. Literary works by prominent authors S. Y. Agnon, Martin Buber, Meyer Levin, I. L. Peretz, Franz Rosenzweig, Sholom Aleichem, Elie Wiesel, and Herman Wouk also illuminate the spiritual grandeur of the holiday.

Mufid al-'Ibad, of which this book is a translation, is a summation of all the previous commentaries on the work of Ibn 'Ashir on Ash'ari 'aqida, Maliki fiqh and Junaydi tasawwuf and is augmented not infrequently by the author's own subtle understanding of the finer aspects of the 'amal of the people of Madina. Shaykh Ahmad bin al-Bashir al-Qalawi ash-Shinqiti (1216 AH/1802 CE- 1276 AH/1853 CE), whose lineage can be traced to Abu Bakr as-Siddiq, came from a family and tribe in present day Mauritania renowned for its knowledge and active implementation of the deen. Although he himself refrained from any sufic commentary on Ibn Ashir's work, he was recognised as a wali by the men of this science around him. Dr Yate (Cantab.) has translated works from Arabic, Persian, German and French, and, in collaboration with others, from Turkish. He teaches Arabic and Fiqh at the Weimar Institute, is a Founding fellow of The Muslim Faculty of Advanced Studies, and is active on the shariat board of the World Islamic Mint.

The feast is a meeting place between family and friends, between humans and gods. This decadent collection of enchanting dishes is an indispensable companion to kitchen witchcraft, revealing the storied history and seductive art of magical cooking. With witch, herbalist and chef Melissa Jayne Madara as your guide, explore five facets of the occult through food: traditional recipes, the wheel of the zodiac, devotional meals to the planets, seasonal feasts to celebrate solstices and equinoxes, and practical spellwork. Recreate a pagan feast of lamb roasted with milk and honey, with cheesecake baked in fig leaves for dessert. Celebrate a Gemini birthday with herbed fondue, followed by lemongrass pavlova. Align with the poetic pleasures of Venus with edible flower dumplings, or commune with Saturn over blackberry pulled pork sandwiches. Enjoy the vibrancy of the spring equinox with herb and allium quiche with a potato crust, radish salad with cherry blossom vinaigrette and jasmine tea shortbread. Share an evening of storytelling over mugwort and catnip divination tea, or embody an otherworldly spirit with ritual bread masks. Packed with ancient knowledge, practical advice and witchcraft expertise, this book will help you develop your craft through culinary creativity. Gather, share, and rediscover the most fundamental of human rituals: the divine indulgence of the senses and the soul.

Shows how dance, the highest expression of spirituality in cultures and traditions all over the world, is being integrated into the lives of women today *The first book to explore women's spiritual expression--women's ways--through a study of dance *Investigates how dance came to be excluded from worship, and reveals how dance is once again being brought into spiritual practices *Includes resources for further instruction in sacred dance Today we primarily think of dance as a form of entertainment or as a way to exercise or socialize. There was a time, however, when dance was considered the way to commune with the divine, a part of life's journey, celebrating the seasons and rhythms of the year and the rhythms of our lives. Dance is a language that reunites the body, mind, and soul. While the role of women's sacred dance was most valued in goddess-worshipping cultures where women served as priestesses and healers, dance was once an integral part of religious ritual and ceremonial expression in cultures all over the world, including Judaism and Christianity. In this book the author investigates how dance came to be excluded from worship and reveals how dance is once again being integrated into spiritual practices. Sacred Woman, Sacred Dance is the first book to explore women's spiritual expression--women's ways--through a study of dance. It describes sacred circles, birth rituals, ecstatic dances, and dances of loss and grief (in groups and individually) that allow women to integrate the movements of faith, healing, and power into their daily life.151 b&w illustrations and photographs

The internet has changed every aspect of life in the modern world, providing us with myriad new ways to communicate, work and learn. For a growing number of people it is also transforming the way they practise their religion. In America today, online spaces serve as critical alternatives for tech-savvy Muslims seeking a place to root their faith, forge religious identity, and build communities. With a particular focus on the Inayati Order, a branch of the oldest and most prominent Sufi order in the West, Robert Rozehnal explores the wider trends emerging where digital and religious worlds meet. He examines how the Cyber Sufis are revolutionising internal communication, spiritual pedagogy and public outreach, and looks ahead to the future of digital Islam in the age of Web 3.0. The first introductory roadmap to navigating this new landscape, Cyber Sufis will be a vital resource for students and general readers interested in how the internet is reshaping religious practice in the twenty-first century.

Min HaOo aretzOo fosters discussion of the ways both contemporary and Jewish values can help us make choices.

The 'mirror for princes' genre of literature offers advice to a ruler, or ruler-to-be, concerning the exercise of royal power and the wellbeing of the body politic. This anthology presents selections from the 'mirror literature' produced in the Islamic Early Middle Period (roughly the tenth to twelfth centuries CE), newly translated from the original Arabic and Persian, as well as a previously translated Turkish example. In these texts, authors advise on a host of political issues which remain compelling to our contemporary world: political legitimacy and the ruler's responsibilities, the limits of the ruler's power and the limits of the subjects' duty of obedience, the maintenance of social stability, causes of unrest, licit and illicit uses of force, the functions of governmental offices and the status and rights of diverse social groups. Medieval Muslim Mirrors for Princes is a unique introduction to this important body of literature, showing how these texts reflect and respond to the circumstances and conditions of their era, and of ours.

THE HIERARCHY OF SAINTS is an intermediate level work of Sufi beliefs about the status of saints and specific their roles and duties. Based on evidence in the Quran and Holy Traditions of Prophet Muhammad, and the ancient teachings of masters of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order, four levels of saints are described in detail, along with guidelines to identify such holy souls. This title is recommended for anyone engaged in the study Sufism.

THIS 20 PAGE ARTICLE WAS EXTRACTED FROM THE BOOK: Paradoxes of the Highest Science, by Eliphas Levi. To purchase the entire book, please order ISBN 1564590208.

Reprint of 1920 Edition This book is a reprint of the first and most important volume of The International Jew. The International Jew is a four volume set of booklets or pamphlets originally published and distributed in the early 1920s by Henry Ford in his newspaper, the Dearborn Independent. The first volume of the series, The International Jew, The World's Foremost Problem is published herein. It is a compilation consisting of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion as the main and most important source

Peace is not something we can buy. It is something we must learn to find within ourselves. This wise and soothing guide demonstrates how we can be "actively calm" by creating peace through meditation, and "calmly active" -- centered in the stillness and joy of our own essential nature while living a dynamic, fulfilling, and balanced life.

Practical, inspiring, and highly effective, this book empowers the reader to transform anxiety and stress into happiness and peace. Inner Peace offers a potent antidote to our fast-paced world.

"The Essentials of Buddhist Meditation" is a classic Buddhist meditation instruction manual deeply rooted in the Indian Buddhist "calming-and-insight" meditation tradition. Within its tradition, it is the universally-acknowledged standard beginning-to-intermediate meditation manual, one which offers perhaps the most reliable, comprehensive, and practically-useful Buddhist meditation instruction currently available in English. The author of "The Essentials" is the sixth-century monk and meditation master, Shramana Zhiyi (Chih-i), one of the most illustrious figures in the history of Chinese Buddhism. Master Zhiyi is famous for his role in the founding of the Tiantai teachings lineage and for his authorship of a quartet of meditation manuals of which this is one. The translator of this volume is the American monk, Bhikshu Dharmamitra, a translator of numerous classic works from the Indian and Chinese Buddhist traditions.

Voices of the Ritual analyzes the revival of rituals performed at female saint shrines in the Middle East. In the midst of turbulent political contention over land and borders, Nurit Stadler shows, religious minorities lay claim to space through rituals enacted at sacred spaces in the Holy Land. Using ethnographic analysis, Stadler explores the rise of these rituals, their focus on the body, female materiality, and their place in the Israeli-Palestinian landscape. Stadler examines the varied features of the practice and implications of the rituals, looking at themes of femininity and material experience. She considers the role of the body in rituals that represent the act of birth or the circle of life and that aim to foster an intimate connection between the female saint and her worshippers. Stadler underscores the political, cultural, and spatial elements of this practice, bringing attention to how religious minorities (Jews, Christians, Muslims, and Druze, among others) have utilized these rituals to assert their right to the land. Voices of the Ritual offers a valuable assessment of religious ritual practice that encrypts female themes into a landscape that has historically been defined by war and conflict.

A collection of prayers to propitiate the lord Buddha. The various prayers have been presented in English, Chinese and Hindi to make these prayers available to the vast majority of humankind.