Ron Geaves demonstrates how the convergence of Prem Rawat, formerly known as Guru Maharaj Ji, and Glastonbury Fayre in 1971 was a key event in understanding the jigsaw that came to be known as 'New Age' spirituality. The book charts the discovery of Prem Rawat in India in 1969 by a small number of British and North American 'hippies', and explores how his arrival in Britain in June 1971, as well as his speech from the pyramid stage at the Fayre at just 13 years old, escalated his activities to make him one of the key influencers of 1970s counterculture spirituality. Both Glastonbury and Prem Rawat have gone on to re-emerge in significantly different identities to the ones presented in 1971. The meeting between the two demonstrates how alternative spiritualities were being formed in the 1960s and how some strands went on to develop into the 'New Age' counterculture that eventually permeated mainstream cultures in Britain and the USA.

"Tessas deep intimacy with Teresa of Avila . . . creates an invitational space for readers of any tradition (or none) to enter into their own transformational relationship with the wild woman of Avila."Mirabai Starr. This fresh, upbeat, and deftly profound book joyfully reconnects the fullness of our lives and the depth of our prayer. Much more than yet another book about a great saint who once was, it actually rekindles something of St. Teresas outrageous spiritual impulse for contemporary readers, particularly those who describe themselves as "spiritual, not religious." Tessa Bielecki is the author of several books on St. Teresa of Avila, as well as a former Abbess. "

The future of America, in many ways, depends upon an understanding of the proper role of religion in our shared life as a republic. Discussions and debates on the topic have too often generated noise, platitudes, stereotypes, name-calling, and the distortion of vitally important issues, instead of constructive conversation among citizens--until now.

Of all the voices commenting about American religion today, none is more credible or better known than that of historian Martin E. Marty. A respected scholar, author, editor, and media commentator, he has-perhaps better than anyone else in the field-a deep grasp on the complex issues surrounding public religion.

This is Volume XII of sixteen of the Oriental series looking at Buddhism. It was written in 1926, and looks at the Life of Gotama the Buddha, a religious teacher and reformer. This work is complied from the Pali Canon of the three Pitakas.

This study portrays a man and an age. Yom-Tov Lipmann Heller (1578-1654), author of the famous Mishnah commentary Tosafot yom tov, was a major talmudist, a disciple of the legendary Rabbi Judah Loew of Prague, and himself the distinguished chief rabbi of Prague and Cracow. The time in which he lived began as a 'golden age' for the Jews of Prague and the Jews of Poland, an age of prosperity and the rise of Jewish mysticism. During Heller's lifetime, however, the golden age changed to darkness, and prosperity gave way to war, persecution, plague, and massacres. It was the end of the Middle Ages, the last generation before Spinoza and Shabbetai Zevi. Scholar, preacher, religious and communal leader, Heller embodied a religious and cultural ideal; he was the very model of a seventeenth-century rabbi. Born in Germany, he moved from one end of the world of Ashkenazi Jewry to the other, first to Prague, and then to Poland and the Ukraine. His life was enmeshed in a web of family ties, and bounded by complex rules of class and religion. His writing reflects not only the full heritage of medieval Jewish thought and its crystallization in the seventeenth century, but also the time and place in which he lived. In many ways, he exemplified his age, its achievements, and its limitations. Carefully researched and well written, Joseph Davis's work is the definitive biography of Heller. He presents a richly detailed study of Heller's worldview, his conception of Judaism, of the world around him, and of himself within it: the seventeenth century seen through seventeenth-century eyes. Heller was eyewitness to momentous, epoch-making events: the beginning of the Thirty Years' War and the massacres of 1648. He lived through a time of tumultuous change. Texts such as the sermon in which Heller responded to the new astronomy of Brahe and Kepler, or a poem on the massacres of 1648 in which he enlarged the capacity of Hebrew poetry to express horror are significant in the larger context of Jewish and European history. Heller's world-view was not static or motionless. His world changed greatly during his lifetime, and his views of it likewise changed greatly over the fifty years from his first writings to his last, from youth to middle age to old age. His personal circumstances also contributed to this: the experience of betrayal, arrest, imprisonment, the death of his children, and other misfortunes led him to wrestle with such questions as the differences between Jews and non-Jews and the meaning of suffering. Davis weaves these developments succinctly into a fascinating narrative that does full justice both to Heller and the momentous events he experienced.

David Tittensor offers a groundbreaking new perspective on the Gulen movement, a Turkish Muslim educational activist network that emerged in the 1960s and has grown into a global empire with an estimated worth of $25 billion. Named after its leader Fethullah Gulen, the movement has established more than 1,000 secular educational institutions in over 140 countries, aiming to provide holistic education that incorporates both spirituality and the secular sciences. Despite the movement's success, little is known about how its schools are run, or how Islam is operationalized. Drawing on thirteen months of ethnographic fieldwork in Turkey, Tittensor explores the movement's ideo-theology and how it is practiced in the schools. His interviews with both teachers and graduates from Africa, Indonesia, Central Asia, and Turkey show that the movement is a missionary organization, but of a singular kind: its goal is not simply widespread religious conversion, but a quest to recoup those Muslims who have apparently lost their way through proselytism and to show non-Muslims that Muslims can embrace modernity and integrate into the wider community. Tittensor also examines the movement's operational side and shows how the schools represent an example of Mohammad Yunus's social business model: a business with a social cause at its heart. The House of Service is an insightful exploration of one of the largest transnational Muslim associations in the world today, and will be invaluable for those seeking to understand how Islam will be perceived and practiced in the future.

These simple and inviting reflections on the Rule of St. Benedict take as their starting point our search for wholeness in a world that is fragmented and increasingly polarized. Many people today struggle to balance the demands of professional and personal lives, and find little satisfaction or peacefulness in either. Yet the ancient wisdom of St. Benedict offers a clear and helpful pathway that leads directly to healing, transformation and new life.

Written in de Waal's inimitable style, this book is for old friends of the Rule of St. Benedict and novices alike. Holding up segments of the Rule, de Waal's meditations on Benedict's words illuminate the wisdom of the Rule not only for those of Benedict's time, but for all of us today as well.

This study examines one aspect of American women's professionalization and the implications of the cross-cultural dialogue between American woman missionaries and Japanese students and supporters at Kobe College between 1873 and 1909.

Modern church leaders need to cultivate innovative and creative leadership skills, as they navigate today s post-Christian world, and as their congregations look to them for insight and guidance. Gil Stafford takes a fresh look at this vital need, drawing upon his experience as a college coach, university president, and parish priest, and interweaving them with ancient spiritual practices found within the discipline of spiritual direction. Personal anecdotes help the reader envision their own life-transforming pilgrimage, as they develop into the type of adaptive leader that churches need in today s rapidly changing world. This book challenges church leaders to foster sacred safe space, holy listening, silence, and wisdom storytelling, in order to create a discerning church community. These techniques of spiritual direction can be applied to every aspect of the church, from small group studies to conducting parish business. Gradually the leader will be able to delegate some of his responsibilities to the congregation, liberating them to be leaders, and rescuing him from trying to be all things to all people."

In this book, Joann Wolski Conn demonstrates how psychology and spirituality are integrally related to human maturity. Her book maintains that Christian spirituality, which encourages self-denial, can be entirely compatible with contemporary psychology which promotes self-fulfillment. Conn uses case studies in the practice of the ministries of pastoral counseling and spiritual direction, especially when these ministries deal woth her inner struggles of spiritual darkness and psychological depression. The author demonstrates the possibility of genuine experimental integration of Christian spirituality and contemporary psychology by paying equal attention to women's and men's experiences. Bringing her own perspective from ministry and feminist theology to a variety of case studies, she illustrates how pastoral counselors and spiritual dictators can enable those in their care to discern God's action in the ordinary events of life. Originally published in 1989 by Paulist Press.

"Creating Success from the Inside Out" shares the inspiring and motivational story of Ephren Taylor, one of the world's youngest-ever CEOs of a publicly traded company. A millionaire by the young age of sixteen, Taylor tells you what it takes to succeed in life by following your own path and refusing to be defeated. When you ignore the voices of negativity and follow our own true passions, there are no obstacles you can't overcome.

The area of Buddhist monasticism has long attracted the interest of Buddhist studies scholars and historians, but the interpretation of the nature and function of monasteries across diverse cultures and vast historical periods remains a focus for debate. This book provides a multifaceted discussion of religious, social, cultural, artistic, and political functions of Buddhist monasteries in medieval China and Japan. With contributions from leading scholars in the field, this volume explores the multiplicity of the institutions that make up "the Buddhist monastery." Drawing on new research and on previous studies hitherto not widely available in English, the chapters cover key issues such as the relationship between monastics and lay society, the meaning of monastic vows, how specific institutions functioned, and the differences between urban and regional monasteries. Collectively, the book demonstrates that medieval monasteries in East Asia were much more than merely residences for monks who, cut off from the dust and din of society and all its entrapments, collectively pursued an ideal cenobitic lifestyle. Buddhist Monasticism in East Asia is a timely contribution to the ongoing attempts to understand a central facet of Buddhist religious practice, and will be a significant work for academics and students in the fields of Buddhist Studies, Asian Studies, and East Asian Religions.

Historically, European churches have played a large part in the provision of welfare. Responsibility, however, has gradually shifted to the state - a shift that forms an integral part of the process of secularization and one that has been readily accepted by European populations. But what happens when the state itself begins to recede - a process that is occurring in most, if not all, European societies for a wide variety of reasons? The implications for welfare are considerable, not least for the role of the churches which begin to resume the responsibilities previously shed but in new and different ways. This book looks at the connections between religion and welfare in Europe, exploring in detail eight European societies - Finland, Norway, Sweden, England, Germany, France, Italy and Greece. The different theological traditions, different church-state relationships and different welfare regimes are all examined. The analysis is based on first hand empirical research which considers not only the changing situation on the ground, but attitudes towards this within a range of different constituencies - the churches, local government and the general public. Particular attention is paid to the significance of gender in both the process of change and in attitudes towards this. Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 1 represents comparative research at its best and highlights key policy implications for the future. A companion book, Welfare and Religion in 21st Century Europe: Volume 2 explores thematically the changing nature of religion and welfare and the new relationships that are emerging between the religious and the secular, and between church and state in the 21st century.

This book draws on extensive clinical experience to create a useful model for religious diagnosis. Clinicians and clergy will find the book useful in their care of troubled people. Contents: Foreword; Preface; Acknowledgments; Introduction: Patterns of Religious Diagnosis; Ethical Guilt: The Feeling of Blame: Being Punished, Feeling Guilty, Seeking Redress; Idolatry: The Feeling of Betrayal: Being Violated, Feeling Terror or Rage, Recovering the Hope of Ultimacy; Dread: The Feeling of Defilement: Being Abandoned, Feeling Dread, Rediscovering Joy; Summary: Diagnosis, Piety and Theology, Diagnosis and the Transcendent Function; Epilogue; Endnotes; Bibliography; Index.

Intended to be the perfect; companion piece to Stepping Forward, Byachad is a seventy-two page workbook that every synagogue board member should have. One of the signs of a vital congregation is its leadership. This workbook is an attempt to build board consensus about critical governance functions and to create a systematic plan to motivate and support leaders in developing new practices. By focusing on shared congregational goals, leaders will provide the right direction, make the right assessments, and provide the right feedback--building enduring relationships as they do important leadership work.

Muhammad b. OCyUmar al-Waqidi was a Muslim scholar, born in Medina in the 1st Century. Of his several writings the most significant is the Kitab al-Maghazi, one of the earliest standard histories of the life of the Prophet.

Translated into English for the first time, Rizwi Faizer makes available this key text to a new, English-speaking audience. It includes an Introduction authored jointly by Rizwi Faizer and Andrew Rippin and a carefully prepared index. The book deals with the events of the ProphetOCOs life from the time of his emigration from Mecca to his death, and is generally considered to be biographical. Bringing together events in the ProphetOCOs life with appropriate passages of QurOCOan in a considered sequence, the author presents an interpretation of Islam that existed in his times. It includes citations from the QurOCO?n, as well as poetry that appears to have been inspired by activities during his life.

This English translation of a seminal text on the life of Muhammad is an invaluable addition to the existing literature, and will be of great significance to students and scholars in the field of Islamic studies, Islamic history, Medieval history and Arabic literature. "

In a post-Christian culture, parish clergy can find themselves at a loss, ill-equipped to deal with a reality for which seminary did not prepare them. As a result, the Church and its clergy can seem to flounder from one "program" to the next or get enamored with secular self-help strategies. To learn to lead well in this new context, the Church needs to help clergy refocus on what both works and is true to their tradition and theology. Enter Scott Benhase, whose Done and Left Undone proposes an ascetical theology of leadership based in St. Benedict's Promise of Stability, Obedience, and Conversion of Life. The Promise helps clergy move forward from their inward identity to their outward askesis (discipline), their inner life experience of resting in the mercy of God's grace in harmony with their outward role in the church. Benhase believes parish clergy can lead faithfully and well without following a program or leadership style that does not fit them. Leading from ascetical grace does not require parish clergy to be something they are not. It invites them, rather, to a way of being and an askesis that will help them be both faithful and effective in parish leadership.

This is a major anthropological study of contemporary Tibetan Buddhist monasticism and tantric ritual in the Ladakh region of North-West India and of the role of tantric ritual in the formation and maintenance of traditional forms of state structure and political consciousness in Tibet. Containing detailed descriptions and analyses of monastic ritual, the work builds up a picture of Tibetan tantric traditions as they interact with more localised understandings of bodily identity and territorial cosmology, to produce a substantial re-interpretation of the place of monks as ritual performers and peripheral householders in Ladakh. The work also examines the central and indispensable role of incarnate lamas, such as the Dalai Lama, in the religious life of Tibetan Buddhists.

Highly respected counselor guides those who suffered physical, sexual, or emotional abuse as a child to move beyond the lasting impact of that abuse to a healthier future.

The deep pain of childhood abuse--whether physical or emotional, whether a child was neglected or wished nothing more than to be left alone--doesn't just go away. There's simply no just getting over it. Even if no physical scars remain as evidence of the victim's suffering, the deep wounds on their minds, hearts, and souls are still there. But it is possible to become whole and happy.

Author of the successful Healing the Scars of Emotional Abuse, Dr. Gregory Jantz now helps readers understand the effects of childhood abuse on their emotional, intellectual, physical, relational, and spiritual health. He then outlines the steps to lasting healing, including grieving what was lost, learning to balance emotions with intentionality, regaining a positive relationship with one's own body and mind, and coming to an understanding of God not as a frightening authority figure like the abuser or an accusing judge, but as a loving creator, redeemer, and friend.