Download or read book The Making of a Mystic My Journey With Mushrooms My Life as a Pastor and Why It s Okay for Everyone to Relax written by Kevin Sweeney and published by . This book was released on 2022-05-31 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is an increasing interest in the mystics, contemplative faith, and what it feels like in real life. We have teachers who can explain the path and help us understand, but we need guides who have experienced the path and who can show us how it unfolds. This is what The Making of a Mystic is all about.
Download or read book When Colorblindness Isn t the Answer written by Anthony B. Pinn and published by Pitchstone Publishing (US&CA). This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 144 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The future of the United States rests in many ways on how the ongoing challenge of racial injustice in the country is addressed. Yet, humanists remain divided over what if any agenda should guide humanist thought and action toward questions of race. In this volume, Anthony B. Pinn makes a clear case for why humanism should embrace racial justice as part of its commitment to the well-being of life in general and human flourishing in particular. As a first step, humanists should stop asking why so many racial minorities remain committed to religious traditions that have destroyed lives, perverted justice, and justified racial discrimination. Rather, Pinn argues, humanists must first confront a more pertinent and pressing question: why has humanism failed to provide a more compelling alternative to theism for so many minority groups? For only with a bit of humility and perspective—and a recognition of the various ways in which we each contribute to racial injustice—can we truly fight for justice.
Download or read book If God Is Love Don t Be a Jerk written by John Pavlovitz and published by Westminster John Knox Press. This book was released on 2021-09-28 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible. Imagine for a moment what the world might look like if we as people of faith, morality, and conscience actually aspired to this mantra. What if we were fully burdened to create a world that was more loving and equitable than when we arrived? What if we invited one another to share in wide-open, fearless, spiritual communities truly marked by compassion and interdependence? What if we daily challenged ourselves to live a faith that simply made us better humans? John Pavlovitz explores how we can embody this kinder kind of spirituality where we humbly examine our belief system to understand how it might compel us to act in less-than-loving ways toward others. This simple phrase, "Thou Shalt Not Be Horrible," could help us practice what we preach by creating a world where: spiritual community provides a sense of belonging where all people are received as we are; the most important question we ask of a religious belief is not Is it true? but rather, is it helpful? it is morally impossible to pledge complete allegiance to both Jesus and America simultaneously; the way we treat others is the most tangible and meaningful expression of our belief system. In If God Is Love, Don't Be a Jerk, John Pavlovitz examines the bedrock ideas of our religion: the existence of hell, the utility of prayer, the way we treat LGBTQ people, the value of anger, and other doctrines to help all of us take a good, honest look at how the beliefs we hold can shape our relationships with God and our fellow humans—and to make sure that love has the last, loudest word.
Download or read book Let s Go Do Some Mushrooms written by L. Alexander and published by . This book was released on 2021-08-25 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Copyright L. Alexander, 2021 Preface: I don't know when it began, but one day I woke up with an immense fear of death. Not the event of death itself or the likelihood of pain, but with the uncertainty of what comes after. A heavy weight of anxiety slowly followed as I fell into a loathing despair. Amidst this fear, I truly believed that I was soon going to die. Rather than acknowledging its existence, I forced my newfound feelings into the farthest corner in my mind where they slowly began to grow. Before I knew it, the seedling grew, and it took over every aspect of my life. I became thoughtless, selfish, and passively harmful to everyone and everything around me. My fear then morphed into a paranoia. When will I die? I found myself hating who I had become. Depression, a word which carries little weight to its grips, took over my soul. And so, I did what most people do, and I ignored my own cries for help. After months of dealing with this burden, I decided that I needed to change. I missed the warmth of happiness and the excitement of being truly alive. I missed feeling. I missed love. I simply, missed. - This journey began when I finally grew tired of hating who I had become. My search into psilocybin led me to both promise and skepticism. I, along with the majority of my generation, was raised on some variation of the same story which formed our current negative perceptions of certain drugs. For most, bad trip is immediately what comes to mind when thinking of psychedelic mushrooms.What seems to fall by the wayside are stories with real impact--the types of experiences which make us contemplate the inevitability of life: Mortality Afterlife Fear Love God The stories that aren't discussed are the ones that I have found to be the most profound. The stories that make people feel like they've died and then safely awaken from their trip. The stories which allow people to see the afterlife through the clouds above. The experiences where you stand face to face with god. Throughout my search, I discovered a large variety of stories and soon became addicted to their divinity. Unfortunately, I found it difficult to decipher which stories were real and authentic. I could not find the answers I was looking for. I wanted real life. I wanted digestible and relatable experiences. I wanted to read them, and I wanted to talk about them --anything that would take me deeper and fulfill my curiosity. I wanted to have real conversations about ones consciousness before, during, and after a psychedelic mushroom experience. Ultimately, I wanted to see if these mushrooms could help. I was jealous of those brave enough to alter their consciousness. In order to fulfill my curiosity, I had to experience it for myself. I had to see if I could feel transcendence. I had to see if I could experience death. I had to know if I could meet god.
Download or read book Faith After Doubt written by Brian D. McLaren and published by St. Martin's Essentials. This book was released on 2021-01-05 with total page 271 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the author of A New Kind of Christianity comes a bold proposal: only doubt can save the world and your faith. ONE of the Best Spiritual Books of 2021—Spirituality & Practice "Will help you live fuller and breathe easier..” —Glennon Doyle Sixty-five million adults in the U.S. have dropped out of active church attendance and about 2.7 million more are leaving every year. Faith After Doubt is for the millions of people around the world who feel that their faith is falling apart. Using his own story and the stories of a diverse group of struggling believers, Brian D. McLaren, a former pastor and now an author, speaker, and activist shows how old assumptions are being challenged in nearly every area of human life, not just theology and spirituality. He proposes a four-stage model of faith development in which questions and doubt are not the enemy of faith, but rather a portal to a more mature and fruitful kind of faith. The four stages—Simplicity, Complexity, Perplexity, and Harmony—offer a path forward that can help sincere and thoughtful people leave behind unnecessary baggage and intensify their commitment to what matters most.
Download or read book Reparations written by Duke L. Kwon and published by Baker Books. This book was released on 2021-04-06 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Kwon and Thompson's eloquent reasoning will help Christians broaden their understanding of the contemporary conversation over reparations."--Publishers Weekly "A thoughtful approach to a vital topic."--Library Journal Christians are awakening to the legacy of racism in America like never before. While public conversations regarding the realities of racial division and inequalities have surged in recent years, so has the public outcry to work toward the long-awaited healing of these wounds. But American Christianity, with its tendency to view the ministry of reconciliation as its sole response to racial injustice, and its isolation from those who labor most diligently to address these things, is underequipped to offer solutions. Because of this, the church needs a new perspective on its responsibility for the deep racial brokenness at the heart of American culture and on what it can do to repair that brokenness. This book makes a compelling historical and theological case for the church's obligation to provide reparations for the oppression of African Americans. Duke Kwon and Gregory Thompson articulate the church's responsibility for its promotion and preservation of white supremacy throughout history, investigate the Bible's call to repair our racial brokenness, and offer a vision for the work of reparation at the local level. They lead readers toward a moral imagination that views reparations as a long-overdue and necessary step in our collective journey toward healing and wholeness.
Download or read book Taking Back My Mind written by Gerardo Urias and published by . This book was released on 2020-04-11 with total page 270 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Taking Back My Mind details Gerardo's journey overcoming severe clinical depression with the use of psilocybin mushrooms, commonly known as "magic mushrooms." His story begins in Playa del Carmen, Mexico, where divorce, his dad's death, and several major health issues plunged him down the dark rabbit hole of depression. After ten months of intense suffering and falling victim to pharmaceutical drugs, Gerardo reached the brink of suicide. Then, on December 22, 2017, he ate a handful of psilocybin mushrooms and took a walk on the beach with his brother. This experience jolted him out of the deadly downward spiral he was on, literally overnight, sparking his rapid, magical, and transformative two year journey that eventually led him to the majestic mountains of southern Oaxaca in Mexico to film a documentary about his journey and his experience with the local indigenous Mazatec who continue to use these plant medicines and fungi for their own mental, emotional, and spiritual well being, like they have done for thousands of years. This adventure turned into the most important, educational, and enlightening trip of his life, learning things about Mexico and about his own family even that he could have never imagined. By sharing his story, Gerardo hopes to raise awareness for these life saving plant medicines, practices, and philosophies that keep him thriving every day. Depression is the leading cause of disability in the world. Over 2,000 people commit suicide every day worldwide. The mental health care industry has been stagnant for decades, unable to reverse this growing global epidemic, mainly because its approach to this deeply misunderstood condition is all wrong. Depression is not a disease, like most people think. It is a symptom of very complex and multifaceted biological, psychological, nutritional, environmental, and societal factors, among many others, and taking harmful, addictive pharmaceutical drugs to try to suppress natural and necessary human emotions is not the answer. One of the symptoms of an inadequate mental health care system is an opioid crisis, as people will use anything that is legally available to try to relieve their pain, many times with devastating results. It is time to change this paradigm and put science and human lives above politics. It's time to change the antiquated laws surrounding psychedelics. It's time to reawaken our incredible inner power and reconnect with nature. It's time to evolve. During this difficult time we find ourselves in 2020, it is more important than ever to remain as healthy as possible, to cultivate a calm and resilient mind, to cultivate presence, expand our awareness, and elevate our individual and collective consciousness, so that we may overcome, learn from, and transcend this current crisis of consciousness threatening our very existence. In this book, Gerardo shares the tools, routines, and practices that he uses to achieve this goal. We all know someone who is struggling or suffering from depression. Let's give them the gift of hope. Help support psychedelic research. 5% of all author royalties will be donated to psychedelic research, including psychedelic therapy facilities.
Download or read book The Cosmic Doctrine written by Dion Fortune and published by Youcanprint. This book was released on 2017-01-31 with total page 179 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Cosmic Doctrine is a condensed blueprint outline of God's manifestation in this creation. Complex indeed! But what has tended to bother some about the Cosmic Doctrine teaching has been the almost total emphasis in explaining evolution simply as being the psychic nuts and bolts of God. Leaving one with the impression that God may be reduced from a Great and Infinite Being to a kind of mechanical Newtonian clockwork. However there is much more to it than that. The higher up the planes you go, although esoteric theory tends to describe it as all more abstract, in actual fact things become so much more complex, vibrant, vivid, bursting, and brimming with life in incredible profusion. It is another form of experience however. The broadest, though simple, analogy would be to liken the existence on the higher levels as something after the order of a Bach fugue - which could indeed seem to some a rather dry abstraction, but which to the attuned and educated ear is a revelation of divinity, harmony and celestial order. The reality is not easy to describe in concepts, let alone in words. How best to describe a rainbow to a blind man? Contens Introduction Section I. THE EVOLUTION OF THE COSMOS. - 1. The First Manifestation. - 2. The First Trinity. - 3. The Building of the Atom. - 4. The Evolution of the Atom. - 5. The Genesis of a Solar System. - 6. Cosmic Influences on a Solar System. Section II. THE EVOLUTION OF THE LOGOS AND HIS REGENTS. - 7. The Evolution of a Great Entity. - 8. The Relation of a Great Entity to the Cosmos. - 9. The Projection of the Concept of the Universe. - 10. The Relation between the Projected Image and the Logoidal Consciousness. - 11. Auto-reactions and Cosmic Memory. - 12. The Birth of consciousness in the Universe. - 13. The Beginnings of Mind and Group Consciousness. - 14. The Seed-atom Building a Seventh Plane Body. - 15. Evolution of the First Planetary Form. - 16. Evolution of the Lords of Flame, Form and Mind. - 17. The Influence of the Regents upon the Globes. - 18. The Goal of Evolution of a Life Swarm. Section. Section III. INFLUENCES UNDER WHICH THE EVOLUTION OF HUMANITY IS CONDUCTED. - 19. Tabulated Summary of Influences. - 20. Cosmic Influences. - 21. The Logoidal Relation to the Manifested Universe. - 22. Influences of the Manifested Universe. - 23. Teaching Concerning Other Evolutions inhabiting a Planet Simultaneously. - 24. Influences which Humanity exerts upon Itself. - 25. The Law of Action and Reaction. - 26. The Law of Limitation. - 27. The Law of Seven Deaths. - 28. The Law of Impactation, or the Transmission of Action from one Plane to another. - 29. The Law of the Aspects of Force, or Polarity. - 30. The Law of the Attraction of Outer Space. - 31. The Law of the Attraction of the Centre
Download or read book Arrowsmith written by Sinclair Lewis and published by . This book was released on 1925 with total page 464 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Magic Mushroom Seekers Guide to the Galaxy written by The Entheology Project and published by . This book was released on 2023-03 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Psychedelic Seeker's Guide is for anyone interested in utilizing psilocybin mushrooms for personal growth and self-discovery. Whether you're a first-time user or an experienced psychonaut, this journal offers practical advice on creating a safe and supportive environment for your journey, as well as exercises and prompts to help you reflect on your experience and integrate any insights gained. This guide is designed to be your companion on your journey, providing a roadmap for using psilocybin mushrooms as a tool for personal transformation.The exercises in this guide are designed to enhance your psychedelic experience and facilitate personal growth. They include sensory management techniques, journal prompts, mindfulness exercises, creative activities, and self-assessment techniques. The exercises are intended to help you explore your inner world, process insights gained during your journey, and apply them to your daily life. The variety of exercises ensures that there is something for everyone, no matter your level of experience or personal preferences.
Download or read book Behold the Dreamers written by Imbolo Mbue and published by Random House. This book was released on 2016-08-23 with total page 402 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A compulsively readable debut novel about marriage, immigration, class, race, and the trapdoors in the American Dream—the unforgettable story of a young Cameroonian couple making a new life in New York just as the Great Recession upends the economy New York Times Bestseller • Winner of the PEN/Faulkner Award • Longlisted for the PEN/Open Book Award • An ALA Notable Book NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY NPR • The New York Times Book Review • San Francisco Chronicle • The Guardian • St. Louis Post-Dispatch • Chicago Public Library • BookPage • Refinery29 • Kirkus Reviews Jende Jonga, a Cameroonian immigrant living in Harlem, has come to the United States to provide a better life for himself, his wife, Neni, and their six-year-old son. In the fall of 2007, Jende can hardly believe his luck when he lands a job as a chauffeur for Clark Edwards, a senior executive at Lehman Brothers. Clark demands punctuality, discretion, and loyalty—and Jende is eager to please. Clark’s wife, Cindy, even offers Neni temporary work at the Edwardses’ summer home in the Hamptons. With these opportunities, Jende and Neni can at last gain a foothold in America and imagine a brighter future. However, the world of great power and privilege conceals troubling secrets, and soon Jende and Neni notice cracks in their employers’ façades. When the financial world is rocked by the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the Jongas are desperate to keep Jende’s job—even as their marriage threatens to fall apart. As all four lives are dramatically upended, Jende and Neni are forced to make an impossible choice. Praise for Behold the Dreamers “A debut novel by a young woman from Cameroon that illuminates the immigrant experience in America with the tenderhearted wisdom so lacking in our political discourse . . . Mbue is a bright and captivating storyteller.”—The Washington Post “A capacious, big-hearted novel.”—The New York Times Book Review “Behold the Dreamers’ heart . . . belongs to the struggles and small triumphs of the Jongas, which Mbue traces in clean, quick-moving paragraphs.”—Entertainment Weekly “Mbue’s writing is warm and captivating.”—People (book of the week) “[Mbue’s] book isn’t the first work of fiction to grapple with the global financial crisis of 2007–2008, but it’s surely one of the best. . . . It’s a novel that depicts a country both blessed and doomed, on top of the world, but always at risk of losing its balance. It is, in other words, quintessentially American.”—NPR “This story is one that needs to be told.”—Bust “Behold the Dreamers challenges us all to consider what it takes to make us genuinely content, and how long is too long to live with our dreams deferred.”—O: The Oprah Magazine “[A] beautiful, empathetic novel.”—The Boston Globe “A witty, compassionate, swiftly paced novel that takes on race, immigration, family and the dangers of capitalist excess.”—St. Louis Post-Dispatch “Mbue [is] a deft, often lyrical observer. . . . [Her] meticulous storytelling announces a writer in command of her gifts.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
Download or read book The Letters of S Ambrose Bishop of Milan written by Saint Ambrose (Bishop of Milan) and published by . This book was released on 1881 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book To Life written by Linda Weintraub and published by Univ of California Press. This book was released on 2012-09-01 with total page 380 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This title documents the burgeoning eco art movement from A to Z, presenting a panorama of artistic responses to environmental concerns, from Ant Farms anti-consumer antics in the 1970s to Marina Zurkows 2007 animation that anticipates the havoc wreaked upon the planet by global warming.
Download or read book A Lover s Discourse written by Roland Barthes and published by Macmillan. This book was released on 1978 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Barthes's most popular and unusual performance as a writer is "A Lover's Discourse," a writing out of the discourse of love. This language primarily the complaints and reflections of the lover when alone, not exchanges of a lover with his or her partner is unfashionable. Thought it is spoken by millions of people, diffused in our popular romances and television programs as well as in serious literature, there is no institution that explores, maintains, modifies, judges, repeats, and otherwise assumes responsibility for this discourse . . . Writing out the figures of a neglected discourse, Barthes surprises us in "A Lover's Discourse" by making love, in its most absurd and sentimental forms, an object of interest." Jonathan Culler
Download or read book The Amazing Adventures of Selma Calder n written by Rebecca Villarreal and published by . This book was released on 2015-08-08 with total page 238 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: What if you could travel the world, go back in time, and eat your favorite foods along the way, all the while unraveling the mystery of your missing parents? Recently moved to Chicago, fifth-grader Selma Calderon wants to use her magic to explore the world. She's planning trips to Paris to taste a cafE au lait and a chocolate-filled croissant, to Uganda to see the mountain gorillas with her best friend, Hurley, and to Spain to visit the Alhambra palace. But she's not supposed to use magic without permission from Guadey, her guardian, not even to do her homework, or to deal with the school bully, or to uncover the mystery of her parents who went missing when she was two. Will Selma finally discover the truth about her parents and get to learn more magic, or will her impatience land her in some deep time-travel trouble?
Download or read book A Vagabond in the Caucasus written by Stephen Graham and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 384 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Comedy Sex God written by Pete Holmes and published by HarperCollins. This book was released on 2019-05-14 with total page 256 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Part autobiography, part philosophical inquiry, and part spiritual quest, Comedy Sex God is a hilarious, profound, and enlightening romp around the fertile mind of stand-up stand-out, podcast king, and HBO superstar Pete Holmes. Pete Holmes is a sold-out-every-night stand-up comedian with two HBO specials and the host of the hugely successful podcast You Made It Weird, and he was the creator-star of the hit HBO show Crashing. But it wasn’t always roses for Pete. Growing up, Pete was raised an evangelical Christian, but his religion taught him that being “bad”—smoking, drinking, having doubts or premarital sex—would get him sent to an eternity in hell. So, terrified of the God he loved, Pete devoted his life to being “good,” even marrying his first girlfriend at the age of twenty-two only to discover a few years later he was being cheated on. Thanks for nothing, God. Pete’s failed attempt at a picture-perfect life forced him to reexamine his beliefs, but neither atheism, nor Christianity, nor copious bottles of Yellow Tail led him to enlightenment. Pete longed for a model of faith that served him and his newfound uncertainties about the universe, so he embarked on a soul-seeking journey that continues to this day. Through encounters with mind-altering substances, honing his craft in front of thousands of his comedy fans, and spending time with savants like Ram Dass, Pete forged a new life—both spiritually and personally. Beautifully written and often completely hilarious—imagine Dass’s Be Here Now if penned by one of the funniest people alive—Comedy Sex God reveals a man at the top of his game and a seeker in search of the deeper meanings of life, love, and comedy.
