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Books > Biography > Religious & spiritual
Fethullah Gulen is an enlightened person who knows well many issues
related to literature, art, philosophy and science, he is a man of
action who has not wasted his life, but struggled to serve
humanity.
A celebration of Neem Karoli Baba, one of the most influential
spiritual leaders of our time, the divine guru who inspired and led
a generation of seekers-including Ram Dass, Daniel Goleman, and
Larry Brilliant-on life-changing journeys that have ultimately
transformed our world. In 1967, Baba Ram Dass-former American
Harvard professor Richard Alpert-left India to share stories of his
mysterious guru, Neem Karoli Baba, known as Maharajji. Introducing
idealistic Western youth to the possibilities inherent in spiritual
development, Ram Dass inspired a generation to turn on and tune in
to a reality far different from the one they had known. From the
spring of 1970 until Maharajji died on September 11, 1973, several
hundred Westerners had his darshan (in Hinduism, the beholding of a
deity, revered person, or sacred object). Those who saw him formed
the Maharajji satsang-fellow travelers on the path. Love Everyone
tells the stories of those who heard the siren call of the East and
followed it to the foothills of the Himalayas. The ways they were
called to make the journey, their experiences along the way, and
their meeting with Maharajji form the core of this multicultural
adventure in shifting consciousness. The contributors share their
recollections of Maharajji and how his wisdom shaped their lives.
All have attempted to follow Maharajji's basic teaching, his
seemingly simple directives: Love everyone, feed everyone, and
remember God. All have found their own way to be of service in the
world and, in so doing, have collectively touched the hearts and
souls of countless others.
"I didn't realize there was another 'hermit' of Walden Pond!" is
the usual response author-historian Terry Barkley receives when he
tells someone the subject of his new book. Henry David Thoreau's
experiment there from 1845-1847 is widely known and immortalized in
his classic Walden; or, Life in the Woods (1854). However, stresses
Barkley, "Neither the world nor even most avid Thoreauvians know
about Edmond Hotham's six-months at Walden Pond during the winter
of 1868-1869," the fascinating story of which is detailed in The
Other "Hermit" of Thoreau's Walden Pond: The Sojourn of Edmond
Stuart Hotham. A generation later and nearly seven years after
Henry Thoreau died in 1862 of tuberculosis in Concord,
Massachusetts, a young theological student from New York City
arrived in Concord in November 1868. Edmond Hotham had never been
there, but he immediately began preparations to pursue the "wild
life." He met transcendentalist poet (William) Ellery Channing, a
former close friend of Thoreau's who had suggested to Thoreau that
he build his cabin at Walden Pond. It was Channing who likely
introduced Hotham to transcendentalist leader Ralph Waldo Emerson
(the "Sage of Concord"), and Emerson who gave Hotham permission,
like Thoreau before him, to build his "Earth-cabin" on the poet's
property at Walden Pond. Edmond Hotham's sojourn at Walden Pond was
the first and only time someone traveled to Walden Pond to emulate
Thoreau's experiment in simplicity. Hotham made his way to Walden
Pond to pursue some "private business" while he was preparing for
Christian ministry and stateside missionary work. He built his
shanty on the pond's shore about 100 yards in front of Thoreau's,
where he attempted to out-economize and out-simplify Thoreau.
Hotham's sojourn as the second "hermit" at Walden Pond exemplified
the growing adulation of Henry David Thoreau and his literary work.
Author Terry Barkley has gleaned archival sources, vital records,
period newspaper accounts, and census rolls for everything that is
known about Edmond Hotham.The Other "Hermit" of Thoreau's Walden
Pond is the first book-length treatise on Hotham, half of which is
wholly new material. It far supersedes the late Kenneth Walter
Cameron's 1962 article on Hotham, which until now was the most
complete study of the man. Barkley's groundbreaking study book is
an important addition to the Concord-Walden Pond story and a
fascinating read. To quote Thoreau, "What is once well done is done
forever."
Josiah's Fire is an amazing true story of family, hope, and hearing
God's voice through a speechless boy. Joe and Tahni Cullen were
thrust into a nightmare when their two-year-old son, Josiah, a
typical toddler, suddenly lost his ability to speak, play, and
socialise. The diagnosis was Autism Spectrum Disorder. Tahni felt
like she had been handed a prison sentence. How could a good God
have allowed this to happen, and how can Tahni find hope for their
future? In their attempts to see Josiah recover and regain speech,
the Cullens underwent huge physical, emotional, and financial
struggles. While other kids around him improved, Josiah only got
worse. Five years later, Josiah, who had not been formally taught
to read or write, suddenly began to type on his iPad profound
sentences about God, science, history, business, music, strangers,
and his heavenly encounters. Josiah's ongoing visions, revelations,
and heavenly visits forced his family out of their comfort zone,
predictable theology, and stagnant relationship with God,
catapulting them into a mind-blowing adventure with Jesus. Josiah's
contagious love for God and the Bible, along with his eye-opening
visions of biblical proportions, unveil God's glory and majesty and
incite a fresh outpouring of joy and hope. Follow a trail of truth
into Josiah's mysterious world, and see why his family and friends
can no longer stay silent.
For almost two thousand years devoted believers, mystics,
innocents, and even non-believers have reported to have
near-to-life, fully perceptual, visitations with Jesus Christ. In
1992 He appeared to Glenda Green and spoke with her daily for
almost four months. The expressed purpose of their visit was to
paint His portrait, but nothing in the history of her career as an
artist or university professor had prepared her for the life
transformation that was about to take place. During this time, they
spokeA...as friends do, of many wonderful thingsA-both miraculous
and practical. Nothing would ever be the same. Her penetrating
report of this experience is sincere, unbiased, and free of
religious contrivance. In many ways her perceptions provide a
bridge to the new millennium. Never before has language or a state
of consciousness been present to examine the nature of such a
miraculous occurrence as well as to develop the profound
implications of it. Here is a brilliant glimpse of eternity, rich
with practical applications to life. These messages are sparkling
and direct with great contemporary relevance, Imparting in every
way the impact of Divinity in communion with a thoughtful and well
educated woman of our generation. Amazing answers are given to more
than 300 penetrating questions.
St Paul is known throughout the world as the first Christian
writer, authoring fourteen of the twenty-seven books in the New
Testament. But as Karen Armstrong demonstrates in St Paul: The
Misunderstood Apostle, he also exerted a more significant influence
on the spread of Christianity throughout the world than any other
figure in history. It was Paul who established the first Christian
churches in Europe and Asia in the first century, Paul who
transformed a minor sect into the largest religion produced by
Western civilization, and Paul who advanced the revolutionary idea
that Christ could serve as a model for the possibility of
transcendence. While we know little about some aspects of the life
of St Paul - his upbringing, the details of his death - his
dramatic vision of God on the road to Damascus is one of the most
powerful stories in the history of Christianity, and the life that
followed forever changed the course of history.
"You have a call, Elder Wilder." When missionary Micah Wilder set
his sights on bringing a Baptist congregation into the Church of
Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he had no idea that he was the
one about to be changed. Yet when he finally came to know the God
of the Bible, Micah had no choice but to surrender himself-no
matter the consequences. For a passionate young Mormon who had
grown up in the Church, finding authentic faith meant giving up all
he knew: his community, his ambitions, and his place in the world.
Yet as Micah struggled to reconcile the teachings of his Church
with the truths revealed in the Bible, he awakened to his need for
God's grace. This led him to be summoned to the door of the mission
president, terrified but confident in the testimony he knew could
cost him everything. Passport to Heaven is a gripping account of
Micah's surprising journey from living as a devoted member of a
religion based on human works to embracing the divine mercy and
freedom that can only be found in Jesus Christ.
The Book of Sarah is missing from the bible, so artist Sarah
Lightman sets out to make her own: questioning religion, family,
motherhood and what it takes to be an artist in this quietly
subversive visual autobiography from NW3. The Jerusalem Bible,
Ellerdale Road, St Paul's Girls School and a baby monitor: books
and streets, buildings and objects ll this bildungsroman set in
Hampstead, North West London. Sarah Lightman has been drawing her
life since she was a 22-year-old undergraduate at The Slade School
of Art. The Book of Sarah traces her journey from modern Jewish
orthodoxy to a feminist Judaism, as she searches between the
complex layers of family and family history that she inherited and
inhabited. While the act of drawing came easily, the letting go of
past failures, attachments and expectations did not. It is these
that form the focus of Sarah's astonishingly beautiful pages, as we
bear witness to her making the world her own.
Pope John Paul II is one of the pivotal figures of this century,
the spiritual head of more than one billion believers and a world
statesman of immense stature and influence. Yet, at the age of
seventy-six and in the eighteenth year of his papacy, he remains a
mystery -- theologically, politically, and personally. Now, through
unprecedented access to both the Pope himself and those close to
him, veteran "New York Times" correspondent and award-winning
author Tad Szulc delivers the definitive biography of John Paul II.
This strikingly intimate portrait highlights the Polishness that
shapes the Pope's mysticism and pragmatism, while providing a
behind-the-scenes look at the significant events of his public and
private life, including:
- The inside story of the negotiations involving John Paul II,
Soviet President Gorbachev, and General Jaruzelski of Poland that
led to Poland's and Eastern Europe's transition from communism to
democracy
- John Paul II's secret diplomacy, which resulted in the
establishment of relations between the Holy See and Israel
- The never-before-told story of how the Polish communist regime
helped to "make" Karol Wojtyla an archbishop, the key step on his
road to the papacy.
Fascinating and thought-provoking, this biography of Pope John
Paul II is vital reading not only for Roman Catholics, but for
anyone interested in one of the most important figures of our
time.
This collection of autobiographical and teaching stories from peace
activist and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh is thought provoking and
inspiring. Collected here for the first time, these stories span
his life. There are stories from his childhood and the traditions
of rural Vietnam. There are stories from his years as a teenage
novice, as a young teacher and writer in war torn Vietnam, and of
his travels around the world to teach mindfulness, make pilgrimages
to sacred sites and influence world leaders. The tradition of Zen
teaching stories goes back at least to the time of the Buddha. Like
the Buddha, Thich Nhat Hanh uses story-telling to engage people's
interest so he can share important teachings, insights and life
lessons.
Since his retirement as Archbishop of Canterbury and his return to
academic life (Master of Magdalene College Cambridge) Rowan
Williams has demonstrated a massive new surge of intellectual
energy. In this new book he turns his attention to St Augustine. St
Augustine not only shaped the development of Western theology, he
also made a major contribution to political theory (City of God)
and through his Confessions to the understanding of human
psychology. Rowan Williams has an entirely fresh perspective on
these matters and the chapter titles in this new book demonstrate
this at a glance - 'Language Reality and Desire', 'Politics and the
Soul', 'Paradoxes of Self Knowledge', 'Insubstantial Evil'. As with
his previous titles, Dostoevsky, The Edge of Words and Faith in the
Public Square this new study is sure to be a major contribution on
a compelling subject.
Piper, who suffered a horrific accident and was clinically dead for
90 minutes, returned to life only to go through a painful recovery,
tells of his "welcoming committee" in heaven and the significant
role each of them had on his earthly life. Their words and actions
impacted him for eternity. People I Met at the Gates of Heaven
continues the heaven conversation that is of such interest to
people and shows how we can and should influence others on earth
for heaven's purposes, just as those who preceded Don to heaven
influenced him. At the end of each chapter there will be questions
for further reflection or group discussion. As well, Piper and his
writing partner Cecil Murphey have included a Q&A section at
the back of the book-questions people have most often asked Piper
about what heaven is like, who is there, and what they can expect
when they die. This all-new, delightful, revealing book will not
only answer your questions about heaven but it will also challenge
you to answer Jesus' call to "draw all people unto Me."
On 28 February 2013, a 600-year-old tradition was shattered: the conservative Pope Benedict XVI made a startling announcement. He would resign. Reeling from the news, the College of Cardinals rushed to Rome to congregate in the Sistine Chapel to pick his successor. Their unlikely choice? Francis, the first non-European pope in 1,200 years, a one time tango club bouncer, a passionate football fan, a man with the common touch.
From the prize-winning screenwriter of The Theory of Everything and Darkest Hour, this is a fascinating, revealing and often funny tale of two very different men whose destinies converge with each other - they both live in the Vatican - and the wider world.
How did these two men become two of the most powerful people on Earth? What's it like to be the Pope? What does the future hold for the Catholic Church and its 1 billion followers?
The Two Popes is a dual biography that masterfully combines these two popes' lives into one gripping narrative. From Benedict and Francis' experiences of war in their homelands - when they were still Joseph and Jorge - and the sexual abuse scandal that continues to rock the Church to its foundations, to the intrigue and the occasional comedy of life in the Vatican, The Pope glitters with the darker and the lighter details of life inside one of the world's most opaque but significant institutions.
Why is Jesus a giant? Because he was the founder of Christianity,
the largest religion in the world with 2 billion adherents; because
Christianity is one of the five great religions of the world, with
followers in every country on the planet and a history stretching
back two thousand years; because there remains great interest in
the teaching of Jesus, his personality and his life. The origins of
a great religion which has filled so immense a place in the history
of the world must surely be of interest to everyone.
Bill Lee has experienced success as a Tennessee cattle farmer and
businessman, but he has also known his share of tragedy and
adversity. This Road I'm On is his story of fostering resilience
and developing a heart for helping others by responding to those
bittersweet moments with faith, hope, and perseverance.
From his adventurous youth in a rough-and-tumble American West to
his far-flung trek across a still mysterious Asia; from his
two-decade search for the essence of life to the triumph of
Dianetics and Scientology-such is the story L. Ron Hubbard recounts
in a lecture so legendary, it has been heard by millions. How could
one man discover the source of human aberration and provide an
actual technology by which Man could rise to greater heights of
honesty, decency and personal freedom? The answer is here, in his
personal account of his long journey to bring about a new state of
being Man had dreamed of for over 2,500 years, a story that could
only be told by the man who lived it.
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