This book provides a framework by which a global audience might think theologically about contemporary films produced in mainland China by Chinese directors. Up to this point the academic discipline of Christian theology and film has focussed predominantly on Western cinema, and as a result, has missed out the potential insights offered by Chinese spirituality on film. Mainland Chinese films, produced within the nation's social structure, offer an excellent lingua franca of China. Illuminating the spiritual imagination of Chinese filmmakers and their yearning for transcendence, the book uses Richard A. Blake's concept of afterimage to analyse the potential theological implications of their films. It then brings Jurgen Moltmann's "immanent-transcendence" and Robert K. Johnston's "God's wider Presence" into conversation with Confucianist and Daoist ideas of there being, spirituality-speaking, "More in Life than Meets the Eye" than simply material existence. This all combines to move beyond film and allow for a Western audience to gain a new perspective on Chinese culture and traditions. One that uses familiar Western terms, while avoiding the imposition of a Western mindset. This is a new perspective on cinema, religion and Chinese culture that will be of keen interest to scholars of Religion and Film, Religious Studies, Theology, Sociology of Religion and Chinese Studies.

A step-by-step guide to developing an embodied relationship with Egyptian divinities * Details the nine stages of the ancient Egyptian initiatory path, describing each stage's powers as well as the culminating ceremony called "The Crown of Isis" * Provides profound guided meditations for each of the nine stages and illustrates the manifestation of this path's principles through stories of awakening * Shares the author's personal journey as a Garment of Isis and her own powerful interactions with Isis, which culminated in her serving as Oracle of Isis at the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago in 1993 The Sacred Science of ancient Egypt was an initiatory spiritual system, a technology of consciousness designed to birth a mystical communion with the divinities, an embodied union of being between the eternal and the mortal. After initiation was completed, the re-identified being, now divinely possessed, was known as a Garment of Isis, signifying that the goddess Isis dwelt within them. Offering a practical guide to the key principles within the Egyptian temple tradition, Naomi Ozaniec explores the process of creating and developing a personal relationship with the Neteru, the divinities and forces of creation of ancient Egypt. She details the nine stages of this initiatory path, which are divided into three phases--heartmind, spiritmind, and soulmind. This step-by-step, interactive process culminates in a ceremony called The Crown of Isis. The author provides profound guided meditations and illustrates the manifestation of the initiate's powers through stories of awakening brought on by this spiritual path. She also shares her personal journey as a Garment of Isis and her own powerful interactions with Isis. An accessible yet substantive guide to initiation into the Egyptian Mysteries, this book details how to gradually awaken and attune your mind to the symbolic, open access to higher realms of consciousness, and enter into a mystical marriage between personal and divine consciousness.

Witty, yet wise with intimate insights, this is a unique journey of sensuous delights, a beautiful and compelling series of adventures that capture the insecurities, pain and ultimate joy of a middle-aged woman facing life and embracing life on her own. When Susan Bloch lost her partner John far too early, she faced her grief with courage - and what many would term a moment of madness. Giving up her successful career in the UK, she moved overnight to India, facing not just the uncertainties and worries of a new life in a strange land - and being one of the only white women in a high-powered corporate role - but coping with her own very real grief at the death of her husband. Susan's brave - and some might say unconventional - approach to tackling her grief provides a compelling and very human insight into loss of a loved one, and at the same time delivers a beautifully written love letter to India in all its vibrant, chaotic, life-affirming glory. Refreshingly honest and highly emotive, Travels with My Grief is as engaging as it is inspiring, and is more than a simple self-help manual or travelogue. This book is a genuinely life-changing read, and one that should be read by anyone who wants an insight into the joys, belief, spirituality and hope that living can bring us all.

In today's secular society, many people struggle with terms like love and happiness. Few consider that these vital concepts are connected with worshipping God, but we know equally that they have little to do with how much we earn and possess. Maybe the answer lies in relationships, but these can be changeable and troublesome. Is there a larger story we can be part of again? A framework within which our lives can make sense? Where can we get good advice? In the style of "The Road Less Travelled", Larry Culliford tells stories of his work as a psychiatrist. Through these, he shows us how to face adversity, protect ourselves and others from self-destructive acts and temptations, and grow in maturity. We have more than our own resources to draw on. Bringing together East and West, ancient and contemporary traditions, he sees his patients using their "wisdom mind" to reach wholeness. This intuitive faculty connects us again with the universe, which science and materialism have rendered remote and uncaring. This is the route to a new sense of belonging and a meaningful life. It is our path to emotional health, happiness and maturity. Much more than self help is involved. Larry shows how, following this path, we will also be helping the world.

An accessible introduction to the life and work of renowned psychoanalyst Michael Eigen. Covers key concepts and explains them clearly. Provides a map of Eigen's background and clinical and theoretical work throughout his life.

In our contemporary post-modern world, popular forms of spirituality are increasingly engaging with notions of re-enchantment - of self and community. Not only are narratives of re-enchantment appearing in popular culture at the personal and spiritual level, but also they are often accompanied by a pragmatic approach that calls for political activism and the desire to change the world to incorporate these new ideas. Drawing on case studies of particular groups, including pagans, witches, radical faeries, post-modern tourists, and queer and goddess groups, contributors from Australia, the UK and North America discuss various forms of spirituality and how they contribute to self-knowledge, identity, and community life. The book documents an emerging engagement between new quasi-religious groups and political action, eco-paganism, post-colonial youth culture and alternative health movements to explore how social change emerges.

?Que pasaria si algunos de nuestros mas grandes teologos no fueran considerados como tales, en absoluto? Kat Armas es una cubanoamericana de segunda generacion que crecio en las cercanias del famoso vecindario La Pequena Habana de Miami. Su temprana formacion teologica provino de su abuela, que huyo de Cuba durante el apogeo de los disturbios politicos y crio a sus tres hijos sola tras la muerte de su esposo. Combinando la narracion personal con la reflexion biblica, Armas nos muestra el modo en que las voces marginadas --las que a menudo son rechazadas, aisladas y oprimidas debido a su genero, estatus socioeconomico o falta de educacion--, tienen mas que ensenarnos en cuanto a seguir a Dios que lo que nos damos cuenta. Abuelita fe cuenta la historia de teologas anonimas e ignoradas en la sociedad y en la Biblia --madres, abuelas, hermanas e hijas-- cuya supervivencia, fuerza, resistencia y perseverancia nos ensenan el verdadero poder de la fe y el amor. La exploracion de la autora en cuanto a la teologia de abuelita ayudara a personas de todos los origenes culturales y etnicos a reflexionar sobre las abuelitas en sus vidas y sus ministerios, y sobre las formas en que pueden vivir la fe de abuelita cada dia. Kat Armas (magister en Divinidades y en Teologia del Seminario Teologico Fuller) es una escritora y oradora cubanoamericana, que presenta el podcast The Protagonistas, en el que destaca historias de mujeres de color comunes y corrientes, incluidas escritoras, pastoras, lideresas de iglesias y teologas. Ha escrito para Christianity Today, Sojourners, Relevant, Christians for Biblical Equality, Fuller Youth Institute, la revista Fathom y Missio Alliance. Armas tambien trabaja en el proyecto Living a Better Story en el Fuller Youth Institute y habla periodicamente en conferencias sobre asuntos raciales y de justicia. Vive en Nashville, Tennessee.

Other poems tell of a path in poetry shared with people the author knows and loves, as well as strangers. Not a path to follow but a path made by walking - a kind of pilgrimage. And there are new poems too ...the walk, the story, the poetry go on ...See how they come: bare feet on the warm earth, disturbing the dust of ages, to the telling place where the joy of birth and beginnings is shared and the colours of hope imagined: for every baby born, a star for all life on earth, a story and a promise. (From A parable of being)

Every significant event in the Bible happened because someone said "yes" to God. Start living the adventure of "yes" today

In this whimsical yet inspiring book," " Shelene tells the stories of real-life paths God took her on to learn some simple truths that changed everything in her life--everything for the better. By "loving" how our Creator made us to "love"; "skipping" comfort and safety to help those who can never repay us; and taking a risk to "jump" into the epic journey God has for our lives, the reality is we are all just one "yes" away from changing everything. Don't miss out on the incredible adventure God has for you. Say "yes" to God--love, skip, and jump your way to his plans for you

Death and immortality played a central role in Greek and Roman thought, from Homer and early Greek philosophy to Marcus Aurelius. In this book A. G. Long explains the significance of death and immortality in ancient ethics, particularly Plato's dialogues, Stoicism and Epicureanism; he also shows how philosophical cosmology and theology caused immortality to be re-imagined. Ancient arguments and theories are related both to the original literary and theological contexts and to contemporary debates on the philosophy of death. The book will be of major interest to scholars and students working on Greek and Roman philosophy, and to those wishing to explore ancient precursors of contemporary debates about death and its outcomes.

An examination of the beliefs and history of the secretive Yezidi sect * Explains how the Yezidis worship Melek Ta'us, the Peacock Angel, an enigmatic figure often identified as "the devil" or Satan, yet who has been redeemed by God to rule a world of beauty and spiritual realization * Examines Yezidi antinomian doctrines of opposition, their cosmogony, their magical lore and taboos, the role of angels, ritual, and symbology, and how the Yezidi faith relates to other occult traditions such as alchemy * Presents the first English translation of the poetry of Caliph Yazid ibn Muawiya, venerated by the Yezidis as Sultan Ezi The Yezidis are an ancient people who live in the mountainous regions on the borders of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran. This secretive culture worships Melek Ta'us, the Peacock Angel, an enigmatic figure often identified as "the devil" or Satan, hence the sect is known as devil-worshippers and has long been persecuted. Presenting a study of the interior, esoteric dimensions of Yezidism, Peter Lamborn Wilson examines the sect's antinomian doctrines of opposition, its magical lore and taboos, and its relation to other occult traditions such as alchemy. He explains how the historical founder of this sect was a Sufi of Ummayad descent, Sheik Adi ibn Musafir, who settled in this remote region around 1111 AD and found a pre-Islamic sect already settled there. Sheik Adi was so influenced by the original sect that he departed from orthodox Islam, and by the 15th century the sect was known to worship the Peacock Angel, Melek Ta'us, with all its "Satanic" connotations. Revealing the spiritual flowering that occurs in an oral culture, the author examines Yezidi cosmogony, how they are descended from the androgynous Adam--before Eve was created--as well as the role of angels, ritual, alchemy, symbology, and color in Yezidi religion. He also presents the first English translation of the poetry of Caliph Yazid ibn Muawiya, venerated by the Yezidis as Sultan Ezi. Showing the Yezidi sect to be a syncretic faith of pre-Islamic, Zoroastrian, Christian, Pagan, Sufi, and other influences, Wilson reveals how these worshippers of the Peacock Angel do indeed worship "the Devil"--but the devil is not "evil." God has redeemed him, and he rules a world of beauty and spiritual realization.

- Designed and written by Grace Duong, founder of Mystic Mondays: Connect to the guiding power of the cosmos through Mystic Mondays: The Astro Alignment Deck, a brand-new set from Grace Duong, founder and designer of Mystic Mondays. - Features 80 full-color Astro Alignment cards: Discover the insights of each of 80 signs, modalities, planets, cosmic phenomena, and more, rendered in stunning colors and vivid details on these durable divination cards. - Includes flexibound guidebook: An accompanying 112-page guidebook features astrological profiles and enchanted rituals for using the cards. - Deluxe keepsake box: Housed in a magnetic-closure keepsake box, with a separate, shrink-wrapped interior travel box for the cards, this one-of-a-kind collection is a must-have for modern mystics. A note on packaging: In order to help honor our planet and reduce waste, we have only shrink wrapped the interior cosmic creature cards, rather than the keepsake box. Please feel confident that your product is not defective or used, but rather represents a step we are taking to protect our collective home. When you open your deck, you will find that the actual cards inside the box are shrink wrapped for protection and to ensure first use by the buyer.

State and Sufism in Iraq is the first comprehensive study of the Iraqi Ba'th regime's (r. 1968-2003) entanglement with Sufis and of Sunni Sufi Islam in Iraq from the late Ottoman period until 2003 and beyond. For far too long, the secular and authoritarian Ba'th regime has been reduced to the dictator Saddam Husayn and portrayed as antireligious. Its growing political employment of Islam during the 1990s, in turn, has been interpreted either as an abstract Ba'thist-nationalist Islam or as an ideological U-turn from secularism to a form of Islamism that ultimately contributed to the spread of Islamist terrorism after 2003. Broadening the narrow focus on Saddam Husayn, this book analyses other leading regime figures, their close entanglement with Sufis, and Ba'th religious politics of a state-sponsored revival of Sufi Islam and Iraq's broad and distinct Sufi culture. It is the story of a secular regime's search for "moderate" Islam in order to overcome the challenges of radical Islamism and sectarianism in Iraq. The book's two-pronged interdisciplinary approach that deals equally with politics and Sufi Islam in Iraq makes it a valuable contribution to scholars and students in Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Religious Anthropology and Sociology, Political Science, and International Relations.

This is the continuing story of Milarepa and his disciple Rechungpa, first encountered in volume 18 of the Complete Works. As portrayed in The Hundred Thousand Songs of Milarepa, Rechungpa is a promising disciple, but he has a lot to learn, being sometimes proud, distracted, anxious, desirous of comfort and praise, over-attached to book learning, stubborn, sulky and liable to go to extremes. In other words, he is very human, and surely recognizable to anyone who has embarked on the spiritual path. He all too often takes his teacher's advice the wrong way, or simply ignores it, and it takes all of Milarepa's skill, compassion and patience to keep their relationship intact and help his unruly disciple to stay on the path to Enlightenment. In the story that begins this volume, matters come to a head when Milarepa burns the books that Rechungpa went all the way to India to acquire, but by the end of the volume, Rechungpa is able to set out on his own mission to teach the Dharma. Much happens in between. Sangharakshita's commentary, based on seminars given in the late 1970s and early 1980s, draws from the stories of Milarepa and his wayward disciple much valuable advice for any would-be spiritual practitioner.

Originally published in 1973, this volume consists of a sequence of essays in religious thinking, responsive to the impact of Quranic style and emphasis. It traces the implications of the Qur'an in the related fields of man and history, evil and forgiveness, unity and worship, wonder and the hallowing of the world. It does so with a critical eye for the classical commentators, three of whom are translated here in their exegesis of three important Surahs. The underlying emphasis of this book is inter-religious converse and responsibility in the contemporary world.

Originally published in 1966, this was the first of Muhammad 'Abduh's works to be translated into English. Risalat al Tauhid represents the most popular of his discussion of Islamic thought and belief. 'Abduh is still quoted and revered as the father of 20th Century Muslim thinking in the Arab world and his mind, here accessible, constituted both courageous and strenuous leadership in his day. All the concerns and claims of successive exponents of duty and meaning of the mosque in the modern world may be sensed in these pages. The world and Islam have moved on since 'Abduh's lifetime, but he remains a source for the historian of contemporary movements and a valuable index to the self-awareness of Arab Islam.

In a society where raging narcissism dominates the moral landscape, the virtue of humility is often dismissed as irrelevant. Not only is humility vanishing from contemporary culture, but we are also witnessing how destructive a lack of humility has become among our churches and ministry leaders. And yet, Richard Foster, the founder of Renovare, insists that humility is central to the journey toward character formation and spiritual transformation. For this reason he decided to spend a year studying the virtue of humility. Using the Lakota calendar as a framework, Foster provides us with a look into the insights he gathered from sources ranging from Native American culture to Julian of Norwich to Scripture to personal friends. By engaging with both the spiritual classics and Foster's own experiences, Learning Humility provides profound insight into what humility can look like in our current cultural climate. Join Richard Foster on the journey toward a life of humility, which he says leads us into "freedom, joy, and holy hilarity."