Download or read book The Books of Contemplation written by Mark Verman and published by State University of New York Press. This book was released on 2012-02-01 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The earliest medieval Jewish mystical writings, or kabbalah, date from the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries. This is the first book to focus on the most prodigious group active at that time—the 'Circle of Contemplation'. The 'Circle of Contemplation' generated a mystical theology that differs radically from mainstream kabbalistic theosophy. Two of this group's penetrating speculations on God and the origins of the universe are The Book of Contemplation and The Fountain of Wisdom. A meticulous and systematic study of these writings forms the core of this book. Verman discovered that the 'Circle of Contemplation' produced a series of distinct treatises, each entitled The Book of Contemplation and attributed to the same fictitious author. These treatises, embodying one of the most intriguing puzzles of medieval literature, are included here. The author concludes that these writings were a product of thirteenth-century Spain, not France, as claimed by Gershom Scholem. His conclusion engendered a critical evaluation of the premises of Scholem's historiography of early medieval Jewish mysticism.
Download or read book The Book of Contemplation written by Usama ibn Munqidh and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2008-07-03 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The volume comprises lightly annotated translation of a key medieval Arabic text that bears directly on the Crusades and Crusader society and the Muslim experience of them.
Download or read book New Seeds of Contemplation written by Thomas Merton and published by Shambhala Publications. This book was released on 2003 with total page 321 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A collection of thirty-nine short essays in which Thomas Merton examines what true contemplation is and how it can impact one's spirituality.
Download or read book Little Book of Contemplative Photography written by Howard Zehr and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2005-03-01 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Restorative justice pioneer Howard Zehr is also an accomplished photographer. He begins his latest book with a confession—"I have written this book in part to encourage myself to slow down, to heighten my imagination, to renew myself while I gain a new view of the creation and the creator." With this book, Zehr makes a gift to anyone who would like to couple photography with seeing and thinking more deeply. In each chapter he offers a Purpose, a Problem, and an Activity with a camera in order to "practice mindfulness." You'll not need a fancy camera, but if you have one it won't hurt. Zehr's chapter-by-chapter exercises are aimed at heightening visual awareness and imagination—all while doing good and working for justice. A title in The Little Books of Justice and Peacebuilding Series.
Download or read book The Inner Experience written by Thomas Merton and published by Harper Collins. This book was released on 2012-09-11 with total page 192 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback, revised and redesigned: This is Thomas Merton's last book, in which he draws on both Eastern and Western traditions to explore the hot topic of contemplation/meditation in depth and to show how we can practice true contemplation in everyday life. Never before published except as a series of articles (one per chapter) in an academic journal, this book on contemplation was revised by Merton shortly before his untimely death. The material bridges Merton's early work on Catholic monasticism, mysticism, and contemplation with his later writing on Eastern, especially Buddhist, traditions of meditation and spirituality. This book thus provides a comprehensive understanding of contemplation that draws on the best of Western and Eastern traditions. Merton was still tinkering with this book when he died; it was the book he struggled with most during his career as a writer. But now the Merton Legacy Trust and experts have determined that the book makes such a valuable contribution as his major comprehensive presentation of contemplation that they have allowed its publication.
Download or read book The Book of Contemplation 39 written by and published by Fons Vitae. This book was released on 2021-08-06 with total page 176 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Book of Contemplation is the thirty-ninth of the forty Books of The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Ihya' 'ulum al-din) and the very last to appear in English translation. Abu Hamid al-Ghazali's purpose in this Book is to explain the nature and importance of contemplation, or reflection, as an act that enriches the thinking person with increased knowledge of, and wonder at, the Creator and His creation. In Part 1, he defines and introduces the subject, explaining its importance with reference to the Qur'an, Hadiths, and sayings of wise and pious Muslims. In Part 2, he expounds his own highly original views as to the nature and fruits of contemplation. Part 3 offers detailed guidance on the most appropriate and beneficial subjects for reflection, some relating to human traits and actions and others to Divine Attributes and Actions. In Part 4, he explores in detail aspects of God's creation, which, when viewed with an observant eye and considered with a worshipful heart, are full of wonders and offer an inexhaustible scope for reflection - from the artistry of the spider and bee to the unimaginable vastness of the heavens, which themselves are dwarfed by what lies beyond them.
Download or read book A Sunlit Absence written by Martin Laird and published by OUP USA. This book was released on 2011-07-28 with total page 209 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In his sequel to the best-selling Into the Silent Land, Martin Laird guides the reader more deeply into the sanctuary of Christian meditation. He focuses here on negotiating key moments of difficulty on the contemplative path, showing how the struggles we resist become vehicles of the healing silence we seek. With clarity and grace Laird shows how we can move away from identifying with our turbulent, ever-changing thoughts and emotions to the cultivation of a "sunlit absence"--the luminous awareness in which God's presence can most profoundly be felt.
Download or read book Paths to Contemplation written by Yves Raguin and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 168 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Contemplation written by Willigis Jäger and published by Liguori Publications. This book was released on 1994 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A provocative new study of the Christian contemplative tradition and its relevance to contemporary daily life in a cogent synthesis of scholarship and creative analysis. Willigis Jager is a Benedictine monk and author of three previous books--the most recent being The Way to Contemplation: Encountering God Today.
Download or read book Contemplation written by David Allen, M.D. and published by Curtain Call Productions, LLC. This book was released on 2004-04 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Body, mind, spirit family and relationships medical psychology religion self-help."
Download or read book Fountain of Wisdom written by David Chaim Smith and published by Lightning Flash of Alef. This book was released on 2021-06-21 with total page 212 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The 13th century text, "The Fountain of Wisdom," is one of the most challenging works of the Kabbalistic tradition. Alongside this important text is a passage-by-passage commentary by David Chaim Smith, designed to address the working issues of the spiritual practitioner. "The Fountain of Wisdom" presents a labyrinth of psycho-aetheric symbols that map out the subtle atmospheres, textures, and resonances discovered through radical contemplative mysticism. The strange and beautiful imagery functions as a set of doorways through which the mind passes, allowing for discoveries that no other Kabbalistic text comes close to offering. The original 13th century text is included here in its entirety in a new English translation by Dr. Mark Verman, one of the pre-eminent scholar-translators of this generation.
Download or read book The Art of Contemplation written by Richard Rudd and published by . This book was released on 2022-06-15 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: An exquisite gem of a book, this deceptively simple technique of contemplation can be learned in a single day, and yet it will change your life forever. Taking us through there 3 levels of contemplation - pausing, pivoting and merging, Richard Rudd invites us to hone the art of contemplation in our everyday lives, to gain insight into any issue or problem, to heal deep-seated trauma and ultimately to find peace and clarity.
Download or read book Contemplative Enigmas written by Donald Haggerty and published by Ignatius Press. This book was released on 2020-01-01 with total page 283 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Despite signs in recent decades of a crisis in the Church, a countercurrent of intense interest in prayer and a close relationship with God is clearly at work today. A deeper esteem for contemplation has accompanied this turning to prayer, and many people desire spiritual direction and guidance. Written by a recognized expert on contemplative prayer, this book concentrates on the interior hardships experienced by souls who give themselves to God wholeheartedly. More than a summary of the symptoms of interior trial, these poignant observations are the fruit of the author's many years in retreat work. Personal experience, not simply knowledge of the spiritual tradition, inform his concise, carefully crafted comments. Throughout the book, the writing invites the reader to ponder the subject of spiritual darkness, perplexity, and other struggles in the spiritual life always in the light of the loving God, who draws souls into greater surrender to himself.
Download or read book Contemplation in Action written by Richard Rohr and published by Crossroad. This book was released on 2006 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book, designed for bedside devotion, offers the best of Richard Rohr's "Radical Grace" newsletter.
Download or read book Action Versus Contemplation written by Jennifer Summit and published by University of Chicago Press. This book was released on 2018-03-22 with total page 253 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone,” Blaise Pascal wrote in 1654. But then there’s Walt Whitman, in 1856: “Whoever you are, come forth! Or man or woman come forth! / You must not stay sleeping and dallying there in the house.” It is truly an ancient debate: Is it better to be active or contemplative? To do or to think? To make an impact, or to understand the world more deeply? Aristotle argued for contemplation as the highest state of human flourishing. But it was through action that his student Alexander the Great conquered the known world. Which should we aim at? Centuries later, this argument underlies a surprising number of the questions we face in contemporary life. Should students study the humanities, or train for a job? Should adults work for money or for meaning? And in tumultuous times, should any of us sit on the sidelines, pondering great books, or throw ourselves into protests and petition drives? With Action versus Contemplation, Jennifer Summit and Blakey Vermeule address the question in a refreshingly unexpected way: by refusing to take sides. Rather, they argue for a rethinking of the very opposition. The active and the contemplative can—and should—be vibrantly alive in each of us, fused rather than sundered. Writing in a personable, accessible style, Summit and Vermeule guide readers through the long history of this debate from Plato to Pixar, drawing compelling connections to the questions and problems of today. Rather than playing one against the other, they argue, we can discover how the two can nourish, invigorate, and give meaning to each other, as they have for the many writers, artists, and thinkers, past and present, whose examples give the book its rich, lively texture of interplay and reference. This is not a self-help book. It won’t give you instructions on how to live your life. Instead, it will do something better: it will remind you of the richness of a life that embraces action and contemplation, company and solitude, living in the moment and planning for the future. Which is better? Readers of this book will discover the answer: both.
Download or read book The Contemplative Heart written by James Finley and published by Sorin Books. This book was released on 2000 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With profound, practical insights, Finley, the author of "Merton's Palace of Nowhere, " offers readers a guide for a contemplative life.
Download or read book The Art of Contemplation written by Alan Watts and published by Schocken. This book was released on 1989 with total page 32 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The philosopher and scholar probes the concepts underlying meditation as it applies to a number of Eastern religions including Taoism, Buddhism and the Krishna sect of Hinduism
