In this remarkable treatise, Professor Schafer shares his conclusions from a lifelong search for evidence - from quantum science - of the existence of a transcendent part of physical reality, combining disciplinary thought from science, philosophy, and religion, including ethics, to address the educated generalist and layman with a profound look at existence. Braving controversy, Professor Schafer concludes that the discovery of the phenomena of quantum mechanics has established a new covenant - between the human mind and the mind-like background of the universe - one that provides a home again to the homeless and meaning to seemingly pointless life. In this new understanding of the world, the universe must be assumed to have a moral as well as a physical order, and facts and values derive, again, from a single source.
"Perhaps more than any other painter, Sandro Botticelli (about 1445-1510) exemplifies the artistic achievement of Renaissance Florence in the 15th century. "Botticelli and the Search for the Divine," organized by the Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William & Mary and Italy's Metamorfosi Associazione Culturale, explores the dramatic changes in the artist's style and subject matter--from poetic depictions of classical gods and goddesses to austere sacred themes--reflecting the shifting political and religious climate of Florence during his lifetime."--Exhibition website.
Join beloved Bible teacher Margaret Feinberg as you learn how to move from simply reading Scripture to entering stories that can be touched, tasted, smelled, and savored. The Bible is full of clever plots and compelling stories, laced with historic insights and literary beauty. But despite its richness and depth, many of us struggle to close the gap between the ancient world and our own. What does it mean to know that Jesus is the Good Shepherd when the only place you've encountered sheep is at a petting zoo? How can you understand the promise of a land overflowing with honey when you buy yours in a bear-shaped bottle? Can you truly grasp the urgency of Jesus' invitation to abide in the vine when you shop for grapes at a local grocery store? In Scouting the Divine, Margaret invites you to accompany her on the adventure of a lifetime across the nation to herd sheep in Oregon, harvest fields with a Nebraska farmer, prune vines in California, and explore hives with a veteran beekeeper in Colorado. Along the way, you'll explore how ancient livelihoods illuminate meaningful truths that apply to life today. With Margaret's trademark humor and vulnerability, you'll: Learn the secret of how to live like you have a shepherd Unlock the sweetest promises of God Discover the gift of divine timing Scouting the Divine will revolutionize the way you understand the Bible--and leave you wonderstruck by the magnificence of God.
USA TODAY BESTSELLER Truth of the Divine is the latest alternate-history first-contact novel in the Noumena series from the instant New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Los Angeles Times bestselling author Lindsay Ellis. The human race is at a crossroads; we know that we are not alone, but details about the alien presence on Earth are still being withheld from the public. As the political climate grows more unstable, the world is forced to consider the ramifications of granting human rights to nonhuman persons. How do you define “person” in the first place? Cora Sabino not only serves as the full-time communication intermediary between the alien entity Ampersand and his government chaperones but also shares a mysterious bond with him that is both painful and intimate in ways neither of them could have anticipated. Despite this, Ampersand is still keen on keeping secrets, even from Cora, which backfires on them both when investigative journalist Kaveh Mazandarani, a close colleague of Cora’s unscrupulous estranged father, witnesses far more of Ampersand’s machinations than anyone was meant to see. Since Cora has no choice but to trust Kaveh, the two must work together to prove to a fearful world that intelligent, conscious beings should be considered persons, no matter how horrifying, powerful, or malicious they may seem. Making this case is hard enough when the public doesn’t know what it’s dealing with—and it will only become harder when a mysterious flash illuminates the sky, marking the arrival of an agent of chaos that will light an already-unstable world on fire. With a voice completely her own, Lindsay Ellis deepens her realistic exploration of the reality of a planet faced with the presence of extraterrestrial intelligence, probing the essential questions of humanity and decency, and the boundaries of the human mind. While asking the question of what constitutes a “person,” Ellis also examines what makes a monster.
Hidden within each is a spark of the Divine. We search for it in the far reaches of the most distant quasars and within the smallest quarks in the atom. Yet, its mysteries lay waiting to be uncovered within us. Spark of the Divine, by world-renowned spiritual Master of meditation on the inner light and sound, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, describes the journey taken by those who have discovered these secrets. It is not a knowledge reserved for the few; it is available to all. The way is simple. We can bask in the eternal sunshine. Through meditation, we can experience spiritual realms of consciousness. He has taken this journey and provides us with an easy blueprint. A must-read book for anyone who wants a simple meditation practice to experience for one's self the wonders within us.
To scholars of ancient philosophy, theoria denotes abstract thinking, with both Plato and Aristotle employing the term to signify philosophical contemplation. Yet it is surprising for some to find an earlier, traditional meaning referring to travel to festivals and shrines. In an attempt to dissolve the problem of equivocal reference, Julie Ward's book seeks to illuminate the nature of traditional theoria as ancient festival-attendance as well as the philosophical account developed in Plato and Aristotle. First, she examines the traditional use referring to periodic festivals, including their complex social and political arrangements, then she considers the subsequent use by Plato and Aristotle. Broadly speaking, she discerns a common thread running throughout both uses: namely, the notion of having a visual experience of the sacred or divine. Thus her book aims to illuminate the nature of philosophical theoria described by Plato and Aristotle in light of traditional, festival theoria.
A young and undeniably powerful holy woman. A writer whose spiritual longing is gloriously fulfilled while his personal quest is fractured and temporarily subverted. In Search of the Divine Mother is an epic drama revealing, for the first time, the full story of the contemporary mystic known to her thousands of devotees as Mother Meera. Tracing the history and significance of the mysterious Indian woman who is visited by hundreds of people--easterners and westerners alike--each week in her modest German countryside home, writer Martin Goodman reveals how and why Mother Meera, born an uneducated peasant in rural India, is considered by many to be the ultimate incarnation of the feminine divine in our time. A former devoted insider given unique access to Mother Meera's inner circle, Goodman brings his considerable talent to this absorbing and wonderfully literate account of his own mystical encounters with Mother Meera, which began with his first visit in 1991, and the remarkable events that comprise her life and astonishing spiritual work. In 1995, Mother Meera authorized Goodman to write her official biography, granting him unprecedented access to her life and her history. The book he wrote was completely destroyed on Mother Meera's orders. This is the work that rose from the ashes of those burned pages--a deeper, more subjective, and broader ranging volume that layers biography with the mesmerizing story of a true spiritual adventure. Filled with all the beauty and drama of a mythic novel, it yields a remarkable portrait of a genuine contemporary mystic on a crucial mission to bring divine light into the world. Goodman's tale is one of clear insight and profound admiration. Having distanced himself from Mother Meera and her organization, he is uniquely able to provide a truthful and fair-minded reflection of the phenomena that surround Mother Meera and to add new depth to the stories of her that are familiar to readers of such works as Andrew Harvey's Hidden Journey and her own, published works. While he readily admits that she is not infallible, Goodman nonetheless reveals Mother Meera's true gift of opening up the divinity we each hold within us--she exists, he writes, "as an open door through which we can see and meet God." I am walking down a hill toward a German village because people say God lives there. She is at home for the evening and receiving visitors. Born in 1960 in a village in southern India, a sickly child named Kamala is soon "discovered" and guided out of poverty and onto the world stage as an incarnation of the Divine Mother on earth. Mother Meera, as she came to be known, is a figure shrouded in mystery and wonder. She holds court in a small town in Germany, where over 40,000 people from around the world have gone to seek enlightenment in her presence. She teaches only through her profound, silent gaze and remarkable touch, and asks nothing--no money, no allegiance--from those who choose to follow her. For the thousands who have visited her, and the thousands more who have wondered at her power and widespread appeal, In Search of the Divine Mother offers a riveting inside account of one man's search to discover the truth about Mother Meera. Through his beautifully written and richly textured work, celebrated novelist Martin Goodman creates both a magnificent tale of spiritual transformation and a fascinating profile of a true mystic living in our time.
