Download or read book Luminous Ecstasies and Passions written by Richard Shiningthunder Francis and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2000-12-20 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Luminous Ecstasies and Passions written by Love Ministries, Inc. and published by Xlibris Corporation. This book was released on 2001-01-16 with total page 426 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Richard Shining Thunder Francis was born March 1, 1952. When he was four, his family converted to the Jehovah's Witness cult, and he now describes this as "the most important and educational event in my life." He says, "Being a Witness until I was in my early twenties taught me many crucial core-lessons about religion and psychology. It is helpful to observe people operating erroneously, in order more directly to clarify, by contrast, a better way of life." When he was about twenty, Francis experienced a series of rapid, dynamic, radical shifts into an entirely new area of consciousness. In this state, he felt suffused by a Love so bottomless, so tranquil, so compassionate, and so omnipresent that it changed his life forever. After this illumination, he came to reject the image of God as jealous, violent, psychotic, or angry. He turned away from the ancient vision of God as a tribal war-god, who "belonged" only to his "chosen people". Francis rejected the idea of "Armageddon"-- the belief that God, very soon, is going to massacre the entire human race, except those who have joined the cult. "No more anti-human doctrine can be imagined. Jehovah will make Hitler's concentration-camps look like Sunday picnics in the park," notes Francis. He came to believe, by contrast, that God was Love itself, and that Love was God. Out of love and compassion for others, he wrote down his experiences and thoughts in a book, Jehovah Lives in Brooklyn: Jehovah's Witnesses as a Model of Fundamentalism. His wish: that his book can help others avoid the "black hole" of falling into a mind-controlling minority-religion, where they will waste much time and energy, and lose other valuable and precious components of their lives. "Joining such a group is dangerous to your mind," says Francis. "In the longer term, it can destroy your most prized friendships, and tear apart even your family. I've seen it happen over and over again." Francis does not hate Jehovah's Witnesses, nor does he take a common route of trying to beat them to death with the Bible. He is unconcerned with "disproving" their technical dogmas, and "proving" alternatives. Instead, he takes an overall psychosocial view of the cult, analyzing how behavioral and psychological changes transform one from a functional, independent man or woman into a servant to an international publishing empire-- all in the name of God. Jehovah's Witnesses distribute many books and magazines recycling their dogma and propaganda as part of their "worship." He reveals many "secrets" known only to members. For example, he notes that the Witnesses are so zealous in their sales-work because they really believe that God will kill them and their families if they do not sell the books and magazines written and published by the JW Organization. This is only one example of stunning revelations. He also describes how Jehovah's Witness converts come to believe in a world similar to that of the Middle Ages, where psychological and other problems are literally believed to be caused by "evil spirits." He discusses the place of such rabid superstitions among the Witnesses, and details his own liberation from such radical misperceptions. Unlike other authors, Francis has no "alternative religion" to which he wishes desperately to "convert" his readers. Francis himself "belongs" to no organized religion. He says, "The alternative to the cult-psychology of these groups is not found in the 'frying pan into the fire' strategy of joining another cult or restrictive religion. The alternative that really works is freedom. This is simple: It is just learning to live a good life, a life of compassion, service, friendship, and good works. It is the real and regular practice of Love that can liberate people. It is spirituality. Spirituality is what you do on the inside, while religion is merely what you do on the outside." Spirituality, Francis believes, is not just the memorization of texts, Scriptures, doctrines, or dogmas. "Spirituality is Love in action," Francis says. "Spirituality is service to the needy, kindness extended to others. It is also genuine friendship, a rare and precious component of life. This is not found among the Witnesses, for they will recognize as "friend" only those who closely and meticulously conform to the rules of the Organization." They have taken this idea so far that they now regard "independent thinking" as "dangerous," and possibly even sinful. "The Way of Love," says Francis, "does not follow the ideas of legalism-- that if you only obey mechanical laws, and embrace certain intellectual ideas, you will somehow 'automatically' find salvation. Salvation is actually quite a bit simpler than all that. The Way of Love states that the real value of any person's life is found in the quantity and quality of the Love which she has expressed." The idea that you can create or earn Love contradicts that it is a free gift, given willingly by a loving God. We are saved, not because of what we do, or who we are, but because God has chosen to save us, to love us unconditionally. So, Love is also salvation. Finding Love is finding grace, a condition of stainless and pristine being. By contrast, Francis points out, "The Witnesses feel that they must 'wrest salvation from the hands of a miserly and unwilling god'. Their god tolerates people, but does not actively love them. He does not rejoice in their presence. His royal dignity prohibits that. That is one of the sad consequences of viewing your god as a literal 'king' rather than choosing to embrace God as intimate friend." ******** Leaving a restrictive and controlling religion is never easy. Francis now works as an "exit counselor," which means that it is one of his specialties to aid people to recover from the cult-experience, which always leaves deep, but not necessarily harmful, scars. "The healing begins by a shift in perspective," he says. "Instead of seeing yourself as having lost friends and social stability, try to see the larger and more realistic perspective: You have actually rejoined the human race. You have gained countless potential friends, and no longer have to interrogate yourself--or them-- to determine whether or not they are 'acceptable.' Instead, for the first time, you have a joyful opportunity to open wide your heart, and arms, and to embrace ordinary people-- yes, including people even of other faiths." To the average person, this is quite ordinary. But to the ex-Jehovah's Witness, making a friend from an ordinary neighbor is an astonishing, mind-rocking feat. For JW internal society is meticulously structured to be totally isolated and insulated from all non-JW contacts, as it is taught that contact with ordinary people will "contaminate," corrupt, or spoil the believer's "purity." Actually, too much contact with normal people inevitably results in the Witness' exit from the Organization, as it results in a "normalization" process. The leaders seem terrified of "bad association," which they define as anyone, particularly any educated person-- who is outside the Organization. They continuously bombard members with horror-stories and veiled threats of "Jehovah's vengeance" against "evil-doers," including any member who has the audacity to have non-JW friends or associates. They view the world as one views a population infected with plague-- as disgusting, doomed, and dangerous. &nbs

Download or read book Plated Ecstasy One Man s Culinary Passion written by Vincent DiLoreto and published by Fulton Books, Inc.. This book was released on 2022-03-21 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The mantra of "dine, wine, and travel" is the framework for this memoir. Vincent DiLoreto had two professional careers: retiring from the first after twenty years as an officer in military service and retiring from the second after another twenty years in the Aerospace and Defense industry where he ultimately served as president of a high-tech company. However, after his retirement, he transitioned to his soul-searing, unbridled passion for gourmet food and fine wine. He pursued formal training as a chef and a sommelier. Extensive world travel enriched his exposure to exotic cuisine and uncommon wine. His wife of over fifty years, Donna Lee, has enthusiastically shared and contributed to his passion to "dine, wine, and travel." Share their lifetime adventure in Plated Ecstasy.

Download or read book A Fatal Passion Or Gerfaut written by Charles de Bernard and published by . This book was released on 1874 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Revelation Mystical Phenomena and Divine Promises written by Deacon Albert Graham and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2022-10-05 with total page 754 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The reader will be appraised of how God has been speaking to His people through public and private revelation for over 2000 years. A special chapter in this work deals with some saints and holy people who have had private revelations about or visits from souls in purgatory, hell or heaven. Another chapter and several of the appendixes are devoted to Marian Apparitions to include those that are approved, not approved and those appending a decision by the Church. By far one of the greatest strengths of this undertaking is the identification of some 43 categories of concomitant extraordinary phenomena and some of the saints and holy people who have experienced them. Color paintings by artists are depicted of some saints experiencing such mystical phenomena. Another unique feature of the book is a listing of some 600 individuals from the 13th to the 21st centuries who bore the stigmata. By knowing that God is present and alive to His people this book may help bring others to a deeper faith in God.

Download or read book The Monthly magazine written by Monthly literary register and published by . This book was released on 1840 with total page 694 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book And Then Came Dance written by Stanley J. Rabinowitz and published by Oxford University Press. This book was released on 2019-07-31 with total page 352 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Presenting for the first time Akim Volynsky's (1861-1926) pre-balletic writings on Leonardo da Vinci, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Otto Weininger, and on such illustrious personalities as Zinaida Gippius, Ida Rubinstein, and Lou Andreas-Salome, And Then Came Dance provides new insight into the origins of Volynsky's life-altering journey to become Russia's foremost ballet critic. A man for whom the realm of art was largely female in form and whose all-encompassing image of woman constituted the crux of his aesthetic contemplation that crossed over into the personal and libidinal, Volynsky looks ahead to another Petersburg-bred high priest of classical dance, George Balanchine. With an undeniable proclivity toward ballet's female component, Volynsky's dance writings, illuminated by examples of his earlier gendered criticism, invite speculation on how truly ground-breaking and forward-looking this critic is.

Download or read book The Stigmata Those Who Bore the Wounds of Christ written by Deacon Albert E. Graham and published by Trafford Publishing. This book was released on 2023-08-10 with total page 559 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Whether you are an atheist, an agnostic or a true believer and disciple of Jesus Christ, you will be mystified at what you learn from The Stigmata. The Stigmata examines such other worldly phenomena, one could liken it to a spiritual X-files episode. Christ’s death and resurrection was not the end, but the beginning for us all. Jesus’ agonizing suffering, sacrifice and surrender of his own life opened the gates of heaven to all those willing to follow Him. The stigmatics serve as an earthly human reminder of the Divine Jesus’ obedient, holy and sacrificial offering to us. The Stigmata is a compilation of some 657 individuals from the 13th to the 21st centuries who have incomprehensibly borne the wounds suffered by Christ. The Stigmata discusses many of the stigmatics in biographical detail. Some stigmatics are recognized saints, such as St. Padre Pio and St. Therese Neumann. Sainted or not, all stigmatics suffer in some way like Christ, bearing evidence of nail piercings to the hands and feet, the crown of thorns and sword laceration near the heart. Have there been fraudulent stigmatics? Yes, and The Stigmata discusses the fakes, separating them like wheat from chaff. Aside from the painful and bloody wounds these individuals suffer, many stigmatics exhibit other miraculous mysteries, from levitation and bi-location to reading of souls and other human impossibilities. The pain the stigmatics have endured is real, the phenomena they’ve experienced is mystical and their complete impact on the world is known only to God.

Download or read book Hunger for Ecstasy written by Bonheim Jalaja (author) and published by . This book was released on 1901 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Art of Everyday Ecstasy written by Margot Anand and published by Harmony. This book was released on 2015-02-18 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Ecstasy is about waking up and finding that you are in love with life." Most people think of ecstasy in terms of sexual ecstasy, which Tantric sex expert Margot Anand wrote about in her bestselling The Art of Sexual Ecstasy. Now, in The Art of Everyday Ecstasy, Anand expands our definition of ecstasy and shows how we can harness its energy to help us live, work, and love more passionately, joyfully, and with true spiritual focus. Our modern, work-obsessed, stress-filled culture--what Anand calls the "anti-ecstatic conspiracy"--has dulled our spirits, thrown us off balance, and alienated us from meaningful everyday experiences. In this inspirational journey toward finding the healing nature of ecstasy, Anand explains how the two types of ecstatic experiences--the moments of epiphany called Ecstatic Awakenings, and EveryDay Ecstasy, or the Ecstasy of Flow, a connection to our power and inner wisdom--can help us move beyond pain and doubt to reach our highest potential. Based on the spiritual path of Tantra, Anand shows how to use the natural energy system of our bodies--the seven chakras--as a map to ecstasy. As she guides us through the chakras, she explains how each one plays an important role in transforming energy into erotic passion, healing, empowerment, compassion, creativity, insight, and gratitude. Blocked chakras manifest themselves in surprising ways; wholeness can be achieved only when all of the chakras are open with energy flowing freely. By transforming negative behavioral patterns into positive ones and strengthening ourselves physically, emotionally, and spiritually, we can improve our health, sex life, career, relationships, and find profound meaning in everyday moments. With personal anecdotes, exercises, meditations, and rituals, The Art of Everyday Ecstasy shows us how to bring ecstatic energy into the body, mind, heart, and spirit--"to embrace every moment in our totality, to respond bodily, feel from the heart, perceive with clarity, and be fully present to others and to life."

Download or read book Forthcoming Books written by Rose Arny and published by . This book was released on 2001 with total page 1542 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Love Passions and Betrayal written by Corlis and published by Love, Pleasure and Pain. This book was released on 2005-08-30 with total page 284 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: He was the mystery in her history that would forever remain unsolved. She loved him so intensely; now and again it seemed to injure her core to have a sinuous love as this. Being a worldly wise woman, she did not understand how she could love any man. He was an extraordinary man whose beauty comes within the center of his soul. Beautiful as could be he was the angel whom she loves so deeply. Although no one except she and he knows this to be. He was her secret mystery, her morning sun, her luminous star in twilight. He was a quiet tempest she could not resist. Dark passionate desires for him haunted her in the worst way, each and every day. Emotions stirred within her as she allowed her mind to wonder and linger. Within her private world he was her treasure, her ultimate pleasure. The love she held in her heart for him was unreasonable and complicated. Within her mind her wanton love for him was by design. A love so strong whether right or wrong, it would stay with her, waiting for the time for her to ascend. In the midst of the stars where love endlessly flows, she looks forward to the day when he will know. That the love she feels for him will last after everything else in this world has passed

Download or read book The Agony of Ecstasy written by Olivia Gordon and published by A&C Black. This book was released on 2006-06-19 with total page 196 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A story of a young person's experience of the drug ecstasy and how she emerged from her dark night into a new life. After a description of the highs, the author gives an account of her first euphoric trip, a flashback to childhood, a sensation of the whole of life flashing before her, and the depression that followed.

Download or read book Dark Light Consciousness written by Edward Bruce Bynum and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2012-06-19 with total page 314 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: How to awaken the Ureaus--the serpent power of spiritual transcendence within each of us--and connect to the superconscious of the universe • Reveals the biochemistry of how the body’s melanin provides the template for the subtle energy body or light body • Shows how embracing the dark light consciousness of the awakened Ureaus opens a portal to the sacred darkness of the superconscious • Provides illustrated instructions for meditation practices, breathing exercises, and yoga postures to safely awaken Ureaus/Kundalini energy Within each of us lies the potential to activate a personal connection to the superconscious. Called “Ureaus” in ancient Egyptian texts and “Kundalini” in ancient Hindu yoga traditions, our innate serpent power of spiritual transcendence inhabits the base of the spine in its dormant state. When awakened, it unfurls along the spinal column to the brain, connecting individual consciousness to the consciousness of the universe enfolded within the dark matter of space. At the root of creativity and spiritual genius across innumerable cultures and civilizations, this intelligent force reveals portals that enfold time, space, and the luminous matrix of reality itself. Combining physics, neuroscience, and biochemistry with ancient traditions from Africa and India, Edward Bruce Bynum, Ph.D., explores the ancient Egyptian science of the Ureaus and reveals how it is intimately connected to dark matter and to melanin, a light-sensitive, energy-conducting substance found in the brain, nervous system, and organs of all higher life-forms. He explains how the dark light of melanin serves as the biochemical infrastructure for the subtle energy body, just as dark matter, together with gravity, holds the galaxies and constellations together. With illustrated instructions, he shows how to safely awaken and stabilize the spiritual energy of the Ureaus through meditation practices, breathing exercises, and yoga postures as well as how to prepare the subtle body for transdimensional soul travel. By embracing the dark light of the shining serpent within, we overcome our collective fear of the vast living darkness without. By embracing the dark, we transcend reality to the dimension of light.

Download or read book Radical Passion written by Andrew Harvey and published by North Atlantic Books. This book was released on 2012-10-23 with total page 593 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This culmination of award-winning author Andrew Harvey’s life’s work bridges the great divide between spiritual resignation and engaged spiritual activism. A manifesto for the transformation of the world through the fusion of deep mystical peace with the clarity of radical wisdom, it is a wake-up call to put love and compassion to urgent, focused action. According to Harvey, we are in a massive global crisis reflected by a mass media addicted to violence and trivialization at a moment when what the world actually needs is profound inspiration, a return to the heart-centered way of the Divine Feminine, the words of the mystics throughout the ages, and the cultivation of the nonviolent philosophies of Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi, and the Dalai Lama. Harvey’s concepts of radical passion and sacred activism fly in the face of restraint, of pessimism, of denial, of all that is inhumane, fusing the mystic’s passion for God with the activist’s passion for justice and for healing the division between heaven and earth, heart and will, body and soul, prayer and action. Sacred activism asks that we engage deeply on a personal, spiritual, and political level so as to become a fully empowered, fully active, and contemplative humanity that can turn tragedy into grace, and desolation into the opportunity to build and co-create a new world. Unlike many spiritual books, Radical Passion does not veil the dark with artificial hope. It explores the catastrophes of our current times and celebrates the ecstatic hope and divinity that is possible—right now and in the future.

Download or read book Imagining the Passion in a Multiconfessional Castile written by Cynthia Robinson and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2013 with total page 482 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "An interdisciplinary reassessment of the creation and reception of religious imagery, and of its place in the devotional practices of Castilian Christians, situated against the broader panorama of Spanish culture in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries"--Provided by publisher.

Download or read book Diamond Heart The Freedom to Be written by A. H. Almaas and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2000-09-05 with total page 203 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Founder and spiritual teacher A. H. Almaas continues his study of the Diamond Approach to uncovering the many facets of our human potential We live in a world of mystery, wonder, and beauty. But most of us seldom participate in this real world, being focused rather on the parts that are mostly strife, suffering, or meaninglessness. The situation is basically due to our not realizing and living our full human potential. This potential can be actualized by the realization and development of human essence. The human essence is the part of us that is innate and real, and which can participate in the real world. Comprised of transcriptions of A. H. Almaas' talks to inner-work groups in Colorado and California, The Freedom to Be is the second installment in a five-volume series on the Diamond Approach.