Download or read book Path of the Novice Mystic written by Paul Dunion and published by Greenleaf Book Group. This book was released on 2013-10-01 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Path of the Novice Mystic provides a unique look into the world of secular mysticism. Dr. Paul Dunion suggests that peace comes when we accept the world's inherent uncertainties and begin to approach life with elevated curiosity and enthusiasm. Dunion guides you toward maintaining a heightened level of mindfulness in everyday life. He shows how the simple act of being fully present and cultivating a soul practice opens the gates to unity-the essence of the novice secular mystic and the key to finding depth and meaning in life. With this unique blend of psychology, philosophy, and spirituality, Path of the Novice Mystic is sure to open the heart and mind to a more enriching way of life.
Download or read book Warring Souls written by Roxanne Varzi and published by Duke University Press. This book was released on 2006-05-31 with total page 305 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With the first Fulbright grant for research in Iran to be awarded since the Iranian revolution in 1979, Roxanne Varzi returned to the country her family left before the Iran-Iraq war. Drawing on ethnographic research she conducted in Tehran between 1991 and 2000, she provides an eloquent account of the beliefs and experiences of young, middle-class, urban Iranians. As the first generation to have come of age entirely in the period since the founding of the Islamic Republic of Iran, twenty-something Iranians comprise a vital index of the success of the nation’s Islamic Revolution. Varzi describes how, since 1979, the Iranian state has attempted to produce and enforce an Islamic public sphere by governing behavior and by manipulating images—particularly images related to religious martyrdom and the bloody war with Iraq during the 1980s—through films, murals, and television shows. Yet many of the young Iranians Varzi studied quietly resist the government’s conflation of religious faith and political identity. Highlighting trends that belie the government’s claim that Islamic values have taken hold—including rising rates of suicide, drug use, and sex outside of marriage—Varzi argues that by concentrating on images and the performance of proper behavior, the government’s campaign to produce model Islamic citizens has affected only the appearance of religious orthodoxy, and that the strictly religious public sphere is partly a mirage masking a profound crisis of faith among many Iranians. Warring Souls is a powerful account of contemporary Iran made more vivid by Varzi’s inclusion of excerpts from the diaries she maintained during her research and from journal entries written by Iranian university students with whom she formed a study group.
Download or read book The Complete Cloud of Unknowing written by and published by Paraclete Press. This book was released on 2014-03-01 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central to the Christian mystical tradition is the inspired work of the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing. Rich with insights and perceptions of the obscurity and “unknowability” of God, this work reveals God as being on an entirely different plane of existence from human beings—so different that time-bound human language is inadequate to describe God exhaustively or accurately. Intellect and emotion both fail in seeking God, who can only be encountered by rejecting all common earthly means in a “cloud of forgetting” and the discovery of Godself in the dark “cloud of unknowing” that can be pierced only with a “lance of longing love.” Now, we finally have a translation that captures all of this beauty and complexity, without minimizing the nuances, all of which are explained with extensive introductions and accompanying notes. "If I could keep with me only two books and a journal, this book would be one of the books. As far as I’m concerned it’s the most important book (and among the most influential) on Christian prayer in the last two millennia. I'm delighted to endorse this fine new translation and commentary.”—The Rev. Dr. Chris Neufeld-Erdman, University Presbyterian Church, Fresno, CA , author of Beyond Chaos: Living the Christian Family in a World Like Ours and Returning to the Center: Living Prayer in a Distracting World "The Complete Cloud of Unknowing includes two classics of medieval Christian contemplative spirituality — essential reading for anyone seeking to deepen their relationship with God through the practice of silent prayer. They are rich texts, full of nuanced wisdom that often gets lost in modern translations. Father John-Julian has captured the beauty, humor and literary elegance of the original versions, but also has supplemented his translation with detailed notes that convey the subtle spiritual insight that makes these works required reading. I'm excited about this book — it's a title I will recommend both to beginners and to longstanding students of The Cloud.” —Carl McColman, author of Answering the Contemplative Call and The Lion, the Mouse and the Dawn Treader
Download or read book Mystical Theology and Continental Philosophy written by David Lewin and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2017-05-18 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploration of the interface between mystical theology and continental philosophy is a defining feature of the current intellectual and even devotional climate. But to what extent and in what depth are these disciplines actually speaking to one another; or even speaking about the same phenomena? This book draws together original contributions by leading and emerging international scholars, delineating emerging debates in this growing and dynamic field of research, and spanning mystical and philosophical traditions from the ancient, to the medieval, modern, and contemporary. At the heart of which lies Meister Eckhart, perhaps the single most influential Christian mystic for modern times. The book is organised around significant historical and contemporary figures who speak across the intersections of philosophy and theology, offering new insights into key interlocutors such as Pseudo-Dionysius, Augustine, Isaac Luria, Eckhart, Hegel, Heidegger, Marion, Kierkegaard, Deleuze, Laruelle, and Žižek. Designed both to contribute to current trends in mystical theology and philosophy, and elicit dialogue and debate from further afield, this book speaks within an emerging space exploring the retrieval of the mystical within a post-secular context.
Download or read book Wisdom written by Paul Dunion and published by Gatekeeper Press. This book was released on 2021-06-18 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Wisdom: Apprenticing to the Unknown and Befriending Fate is a lucid account of such an apprenticeship. The work’s major theme is: You can’t get life right; and if you allow, life may get you right. Efforts to get life right—including the Spiritual Bypass, the Intellectual Bypass, the Psychological Processing Bypass, and the Trivia Bypass—are debunked as alleged detours around life’s mystery, unpredictability, and insecurity. The work offers a unique developmental model describing how wisdom evolves as we allow defeat to interrupt the ego’s claim to sovereignty, preparing us to reconcile life’s inevitable dominance. We can then begin to live the question: What is life asking of us? Further maturation of the apprenticeship happens as we live the question: How do we confirm what truly matters? The target audience is composed of those who refuse to believe that aging means accumulating years while slipping into mediocrity, massaged by cocktails and playing golf. My work continues to reveal a population approaching middle age who are disillusioned with dominant cultural understandings of aging. They want to believe that aging is not simply about escaping an unfulfilling career and experiencing mental and physical decline. This group will greatly benefit from the work’s lucid account of how to construct a personal epistemology, or what it means “to learn about how to know.” The text introduces the notion of good knowing, which avoids branding a fact with certainty. The reader is encouraged to commit to knowing the knower, in regard to biases and psychological defenses, welcoming ambiguity and ignorance. The target audience further encompasses those reaching retirement age who want to believe that their life experience is not limited to a series of personal and professional victories and defeats. Rather, they wish to leave behind a legacy as a final offering, embracing a life well-lived while feeling prepared to leave this earthly plane. The aging apprentice is inspired to acquire an artifact symbolic of some early driving force that rendered power in the name of adventure and ambition. Seven stages of development are examined, leading from the driving force of ambition to the driving force of discriminating wisdom. With less to prove, grace comes to the aging apprentice, interrupting a sense of urgency. Gratitude reconciles us with grace, morphing into the eyes of mercy, as the aging apprentice now knows the true name of home.
Download or read book The Throne Carrier of God written by Jamal J. Elias and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1995-08-23 with total page 275 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book constitutes a comprehensive investigation of the life and teachings of one of the most famous Sufis of the Iranian world. Simnānī spent his early life as a courtier at the Ilkhanid Mongol court and was a cherished companion of the emperor Arghun. After a mystical experience on the battlefield, he turned his back on a life of luxury and became a Sufi. He advanced rapidly in his spiritual quest and soon became one of the most influential Sufi masters in Iran. Working primarily from the most Arabic and Persian manuscripts of Simnānī’s writings, the author has analyzed Simnānī's thinking to show the overall coherence of his world-view and to demonstrate the importance of his ideas to the development of Islamic mysticism. Along with this analysis, the author provides a detailed account of Simnānī's life and times, as well as a systematic description of Simnānī's instructions for Sufi practioners of all levels.
Download or read book Diabolism in Colonial Peru 1560 1750 written by Andrew Redden and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2015-09-30 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Uses a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the transcultural phenomenon of the devil in early modern Peru. This work demonstrates that the interaction between the Christian and the Andean worlds was far more complex than any interpretation that posits a clear dichotomy between conversion and resistance would suggest.
Download or read book Self Emptying of Christ and the Christian written by John B. Lounibos and published by Wipf and Stock Publishers. This book was released on 2011-05-01 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This collection wrestles with a profusion of questions about kenosis. What is the original meaning and purpose of the self-emptying of Jesus? How can today's Christians emulate it, replacing our own selfish designs with the mind of Christ? How is the current interest in ""servant leadership,"" as a model in the modern church, related to the self-sacrificing servant of Philippians 2? Does this practice have any meaning in our present secular age? Does it imply deconstructing the content of Christian faith and morals in contemporary culture? Is it a possible bridge between Eastern and Western spiritual traditions?Using the key theme of Jesus' emptying of himself in the Philippians hymn, John Lounibos explores the mysteries of kenosis in three strikingly different essays. The first, using extensive exegesis of the text, opens up the poetic, theological, and spiritual depths of this Christian mystery. The second essay establishes a philosophical grounding for kenosis in the work of Paul Tillich on the estrangements of finite human freedom. The third enters into dialogue with the Buddhist tradition and its intriguing notions of ""nothingness"" and ""no-self."" The attentive reader will be rewarded with a wealth of information and insights for further reflection and personal application."
Download or read book Climbing the Mountain of God The Path to Mystical Discipleship written by Jeffrey Wincel and published by Lulu.com. This book was released on 2011-02 with total page 169 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Climbing the Mountain of God presents a fresh look into the nature of spirituality, mysticism and discipleship. By examining the contemporary thirst for true spirituality in the light of ancient tradition, today's faithful come to understand the nature of God's holiness, and their participation in a journey towards Him.
Download or read book Islam Christianity and the Mystic Journey written by Ian Richard Netton and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-30 with total page 233 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This distinctive comparison of Islamic and Christian mysticism focuses on the mystic journey in the two faith traditions.
Download or read book Uttering the Word written by Armando Maggi and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 1998-09-17 with total page 220 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Employing contemporary theoretical perspectives, Uttering the Word provides the first detailed analysis of the language and thought of Maria Maddalena de' Pazzi (1566–1607), an important but neglected Renaissance mystic. Borrowing from Lacan, de Certeau, and Deleuze, Maggi analyzes de' Pazzi's unique mystical discourse and studies how the Florentine visionary interprets the relationship between orality and writing, authorship and audience, sexual identity and language.
Download or read book A Southern African Guide to World Religions written by John W. De Gruchy and published by David Philip Publishers. This book was released on 1991 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Moslem World written by and published by . This book was released on 1926 with total page 1378 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Kabbalah written by Perle Epstein and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2001-02-13 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Unraveling the web of ancient traditions hidden in such texts as the Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar, this book traces history and offers an accessible introduction to understanding Kabbalah and its practices. Jewish mysticism has flourished—sometimes brilliantly, sometimes darkly—over five thousand years. This pioneering, popular text on Jewish mysticism was the first written for a general audience, and in it, Perle Besserman offers a lively and accessible introduction to the methods, schools, and practitioners of this intriguing world. She traces the history of Kabbalah through the lives of its illustrious scholars and saints and unravels the web of ancient traditions hidden in such texts as Sefer Yetzirah and the Zohar. Running through these pages are the words of the outstanding Kabbalists and mystics—including Simeon bar Yohai, Isaac Luria, Abraham Abulafia, and the Baal Shem Tov—giving instructions on practices ranging from contemplation of the Bible’s secret teachings to ritual, ecstatic prayer, and intensive meditation.
Download or read book The Mystic Way written by Evelyn Underhill and published by . This book was released on 1914 with total page 424 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Kabbalah written by Byron L. Sherwin and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2006 with total page 272 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kabbalah: An Introduction to Jewish Mysticism is a clear, accessible 'primer' and introduction to the major teachings of the Jewish mystics, to various dominant forms of Jewish mystical experiences, as well as to many of the significant texts that constitute classical Jewish mystical literature, and to their authors. Rather than provide an historical approach, this introduction to Jewish mysticism delineates five 'models' of Jewish mystical theology and experience: Normal Mysticism, Mystical Intimacy, Addressing God's Needs, Drawing Down Divine Grace, and Prophetic Kabbalah. Sherwin not only presents primary texts in translation, but also offers an explanation of each selection and provides a bibliography for further study.
Download or read book The Inside Track written by Alan Potts and published by Aesculus Press Ltd. This book was released on 2006-10 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Inside Track describes the methods Alan used to generate over $50,000 profit from his betting during 1997. The author has studied many American texts and explains how he has mixed their ideas with his own 30 years experience of British racing and betting. There are no systems, no rules and no guarantees in this book, yet anybody who likes to bet on horse racing is sure to find material here that will challenge accepted beliefs and persuade them to think in new ways about their betting. In his first book, Alan explained that to make a living it was necessary to bet Against The Crowd. This book expands on that and takes the reader inside the mind of one of the most successful professional punters operating in the country. There are separate sections covering Flat racing and Jumping, and also detailed discussions of All-weather racing and the growing world of spread betting.
