Despite the obvious contradictions, complexity, and apparent randomness that assault any human being day after day, everything is somehow nevertheless connected, orchestrated. The universe is filled with meaning .

In Jewish mysticism, the river is a metaphor for the Holy Oneness that unifies all creation. Just imagine it: a sacred stream, luminous and ubiquitous, a river of light. from the Preface to the Anniversary Edition

This is an invitation to wade into a deeper spiritual consciousness. Taking us step-by-step, Kushner helps us to allow the river of light the deepest currents of consciousness to rise to the surface and animate our lives.

Mystical and practical wisdom for daily life.

The least known of the Hasidic masters teachings the "hanhagot, " or spiritual practices are at the heart of this book. These short lists of instructions were created for their followers, inspirational treasures intended to be carried with you at all times. They were to be read again and again providing spiritual guidance, centering, and aid in bringing joy and God s presence into daily life.

Practical, personal, and wise, these brief teachings range from straightforward instructions to visualization exercises, meditations, and mantras. Also included are the "hanhagot" of two neo-Hasidic thinkers: the modern journalist and mystic Hillel Zeitlin (1871 1942), and the contemporary theologian Arthur Green.

"Quiara Hudes is in her own league. Her sentences will take your breath away. How lucky we are to have her telling our stories." - Lin-Manuel Miranda From the Pulitzer-prize winning playwright behind IN THE HEIGHTS comes a spellbinding coming-of-age story, and a vibrant and life-affirming celebration of the women who guide us. Born in Philadelphia to a Jewish father and an enigmatic Puerto Rican mother, Quiara Alegria Hudes had a love-and-trouble-filled upbringing, haunted by the unspoken, untold family secrets of the barrio. In the face of real world wounds, the powerful, Orisha-like women of her family possessed a strength, joy and sensuality that left a young Quiara awe struck. She vowed to tell their stories. But confronted by a world that treated her like an outsider, Quiara knew she must find a new language, one which reflected the multiple cultures that raised this Puerto Rican child of North Philly. Written and spoken, English and Spanish, sacred and profane - as her search for a way to share her family's story deepened, an artist emerged, ready to speak her truth. An inspired exploration of home, family and memory, My BROKEN LANGUAGE is the story of a sharp-eyed observer who finds her voice and learns to boldly tell the stories that only she can tell.

This expanded edition of the authors' original book adds much more into every time period on this misunderstood and enigmatic being. The she-demon from the Babylonian empire is far from an antiquated figure of myth and lore of days gone by. If anything, there has been a renewed interest in Lilith which has led modern artists and writers to embrace the archetype with still more fervor than in any time in the past. Like the phoenix which rises from the ashes of its former self, Lilith is reborn each time her character is reinterpreted and retold. This reshaping of the screeching demoness serves to reflect each generation's views of the feminine role in society, or in our day and age, how we redefine ourselves with one another. As we grow and change with Lilith survives the millennia, because she is truly the singular best archetype for the changing role of women.Learn Lilith's darkest secrets as the author unveils her origins and brings you forward in time to discover this misunderstood figures evolution.

Mysticism is Evelyn Underhill's timeless manual, which offers thorough and rich guidance to the principles of mystical Christianity. A classic since its publication in 1911, Mysticism remains an authority on its subject. Despite more modern works providing a more updated or formal analysis of Christian mysticism, none do so with the passion and splendour with which Underhill tackles the subject. Having herself had spiritual experiences, the author mentions that such events inspire those who feel them to action rather than to continual idle reflection of the divine. This publication is derived from treasured 12th edition, renowned for its mindful revisions and additions Underhill appended. In reaction to earlier reviews, additional notes are appended to clarify some of the deeper passages and aid the comprehensive flow of the chapters.

Rabbinic hermeneutics in ancient Judaism reflects this multifaceted world of the text and of reality, seen as a world of reference worth commentary. As a mirror, it includes this world but perhaps also falsifies reality, adapting it to one's own aims and necessities. It consists of four parts: Part I, considered as introduction, is the description of the "Rabbinic Workshop" (Officina Rabbinica), the rabbinic world where the student plays a role and a reformation of a reformation always takes place, the world where the mirror was created and manufactured. Part II deals with the historical environment, the world of reference of rabbinic Judaism in Palestine and in the Hellenistic Diaspora (Reflecting Roman Religion); Part III focuses on magic and the sciences, as ancient (political and empirical) activities of influence in the double meaning of receiving and adopting something and of attempt to produce an effect on persons and objects (Performing the Craft of Sciences and Magic). Part IV addresses the rabbinic concern with texts (Reflecting on Languages and Texts) as the main area of "influence" of the rabbinic academy in a space between the texts of the past and the real world of the present.

A Hebrew-English text, with both English and Hebrew on each page, read like an English text from left to right

This study challenges the conventional image of the tenth-century Sufi mystic Al-Husayn Ibn Mansur al-Hallag (d. 929) as an anti-philosophical mystic. Unlike the predominantly theological or text-historical studies which constitute much of the scholarly literature on Hallag, this study is completely philosophical in nature, placing Hallag within the tradition of Graeco-Arabic philosophy and emphasizing, in a positive light, his continuity with the pagan Neoplatonism of Plotinus and Proclus.

Often described as the soul of Islam, Sufism is one of the most interesting yet least known facet of this global religion. Sufism is the softer more inclusive and mystical form of Islam. Although militant Islamists dominate the headlines, the Sufi ideal has captured the imagination of many. Nowhere in the world is the handprint of Sufism more observable than South Asia, which has the largest Muslim population of the world, but also the greatest concentration of Sufis. This book examines active Sufi communities in Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh that shed light on the devotion, and deviation, and destiny of Sufism in South Asia. Drawn from extensive work by indigenous and international scholars, this ethnographical study explores the impact of Iran on the development of Sufi thought and practice further east, and also discusses Sufism in diaspora in such contexts as the UK and North America and Iran's influence on South Asian Sufism.