The desire to soothe our souls has perhaps never been greater. This collection of lyrical meditations, prayers, contemplations, devotionals and psalms, can be the spiritual balm we desperately need right now. Enjoy 111 passages structured around nine metaphorical landscapes guiding the reader over emotional terrains on a journey toward peace and transcendence, while providing a sense of place to be mined for inner awareness. We can't help bring about much-needed change in the world if we aren't engaged in some form of self-healing. What is happening on the global stage is a reflection of what is transpiring within. Sacred Landscapes of the Soul gently assists in the process by helping us to find the wisdom, wit and wherewithal to embrace our challenges and celebrate our spiritual liberation. We are each meant to become a magnanimous and beneficial presence on the planet. When we consciously choose to align with the divine within, we tap into wellsprings of faith, hope, and connection. Together we heal the world--this comforting and encouraging message rings out from every page and will resonate with readers wherever they are on life's journey.
This full-colour book offers a unique insight into labyrinths in the UK and wider, combined with Di's own stunning photography. It begins with a potted history of the labyrinth and hints for walking one, shares personal reflections and stories from the labyrinth and explores the variety of settings in which labyrinths are now to be found. It includes a section on how to create your own labyrinth and lead your own labyrinth walk.
Do you believe in God? Nine out of ten Americans unhesitatingly answer yes. But for Douglas Porpora, the real questions begin where pollsters leave off. What, he asks, does religious belief actually mean in our lives? Does it shape our identities and our actions? Or, despite our professions of faith, are we morally adrift? Landscapes of the Soul paints a disturbing picture of American spiritual life. In his search for answers to his questions, Porpora interviewed clerks and executives, Jews, evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Taoists, and even followers of Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh. He asked them about God, and about what they saw as their own place in the universe. What he found was a widespread inability to articulate any grand meaning of life. We lack heroes to inspire us. We lack a sense of calling, of transcendent purpose in our existence. Many of us seem incapable of caring deeply about the suffering of others. Our society is permeated with moral indifference. Yes, we are a believing people, but God is often a distant abstraction and rarely an emotional presence in our lives. Only such an emotional connection, Porpora argues, can be the basis of a genuine moral vision. Our emotional estrangement from God and the sacred keeps us from caring about social justice, keeps us from wanting to change the world, keeps us enclosed in our own private worlds. Landscapes of the Soul is a passionate call to broaden our spiritual and moral horizons, to raise our eyes to the greater reality that unites us all.
A brilliant photographic account of the wonders of nature details the splendor, magic, and subtle, spiritual beauty of earthly creations and features sections accompanied by literary samplings from Ralph Waldo Emerson, Rachel Carson, Annie Dillard, and other notable writers.
Painting the Landscape of Your Soul engages and reawakens your innate creativity as a path to self discovery. This book is a step-by-step journey of empowerment, reclaiming your inner self with paint and paper. It incorporates trusting your intuitive voice with deep, underlying principles of healing such as energy medicine and shamanism. It's a journey toward integration and wholeness and will bring a twinkle to your eyes again! No artistic skill is required."
Do you believe in God? Nine out of ten Americans unhesitatingly answer yes. But for Douglas Porpora, the real questions begin where pollsters leave off. What, he asks, does religious belief actually mean in our lives? Does it shape our identities and our actions? Or, despite our professions of faith, are we morally adrift? Landscapes of the Soul paints a disturbing picture of American spiritual life. In his search for answers to his questions, Porpora interviewed clerks and executives, Jews, evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Taoists, and even followers of Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh. He asked them about God, and about what they saw as their own place in the universe. What he found was a widespread inability to articulate any grand meaning of life. We lack heroes to inspire us. We lack a sense of calling, of transcendent purpose in our existence. Many of us seem incapable of caring deeply about the suffering of others. Our society is permeated with moral indifference. Yes, we are a believing people, but God is often a distant abstraction and rarely an emotional presence in our lives. Only such an emotional connection, Porpora argues, can be the basis of a genuine moral vision. Our emotional estrangement from God and the sacred keeps us from caring about social justice, keeps us from wanting to change the world, keeps us enclosed in our own private worlds. Landscapes of the Soul is a passionate call to broaden our spiritual and moral horizons, to raise our eyes to the greater reality that unites us all.
In this wide-ranging discussion, Robert Hamma draws upon scripture, psychology, and theology to lay out the framework for a spirituality of place. He explores what is involved in developing a 'sense of place' and reminds readers how the places of childhood become so important. After an exploration of the ancient Hebrews' tradition of 'the land' and Jesus' own sense of place, he leads readers to discover those places that have impacted them most, in particular home. Readers will find that they suddenly see with new eyes the places-past and present-that have shaped their spiritual journeys and recognize them as doorways to the sacred.
Seasons of the Sacred weaves together poems, images, and stories of Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter, reconnecting us to our roots in the cycles of nature and our own soul. As our world appears more and more out of balance, our destruction of the natural world increasing, there is a vital need to remember what is essential, simple, and sacred. Likening Spring to falling in love, Summer with abundance and spiritual awakening, and Autumn with fruition and wisdom, this book continuously reflects the profound resonance of humanity within nature. Never more relevant than now, the chapter on Winter helps the reader remember what is most essential, showing how there is meaning and even peace amidst the most devastating losses, and how all life belongs to these deeper patterns of change. The book draws from such a variety of sources, such as Rumi, Hafiz, Lao Tzu, Rabia, Julian of Norwich, T.S. Eliot, and others. Each chapter opens with a unique woodcut or engraving image, further illustrating the beauty of our seasons. Vaughan-Lee adeptly connects the reader to the deepest envisioning of contemporary challenges. Climate catastrophe, refugees, cultural degradation, and political divisiveness are all contextualized within natural cycles of birth, loss, and transition, and the reader is guided to listen through the fear and anxiety of our age to the deeper ground of belonging that calls from even the most destitute inner and outer landscapes. Seasons of the Sacred is Llewellyn Vaughn-Lee’s fifth contribution to his spiritual ecology series, which places the human story within the story of the Earth and compels the examination of attitudes, beliefs, and habits in relation to the ongoing desecration, ecological devastation—and potential restoration—of our common home. “Vaughan-Lee encourages reconnecting with the Earth in this heartfelt compilation of essays, poems, and illustrations…. Suitable for readers of all spiritual persuasions, Vaughan-Lee’s soothing observations will inspire a more mindful contemplation of Earth’s rhythms.” —Publishers Weekly “Seasons of the Sacred is a beckoning down into the simple rhythms of nature. With his guiding eloquence, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee moves us into conversation with the sacred, calling our awareness to the concealed gifts of each season. Drawing on the ancient poetry of Rumi, Hafiz, Julian of Norwich, Wordsworth, and others, we can’t help but fall into step with the numinous found in ordinary life.” —Toko-pa Turner, author of Belonging: Remembering Ourselves Home
This substantially expanded edition of Belden C. Lane's Landscapes of the Sacred includes a new introductory chapter that offers three new interpretive models for understanding American sacred space. Lane maintains his approach of interspersing shorter and more personal pieces among full-length essays that explore how Native American, early French and Spanish, Puritan New England, and Catholic Worker traditions has each expressed the connection between spirituality and place. A new section at the end of the book includes three chapters that address methodological issues in the study of spirituality, the symbol-making process of religious experience, and the tension between place and placelessness in Christian spirituality.
"In the pages of Reclaiming the Wild Soul, the forests and mountains, the deserts and the oceans, the rivers and the grasslands find their voice. Once heard, we can never forget what they have to say. Nor do we want to. May we all follow the summons and embark on such a journey. Thompson's field guide illuminates the way." --Clare Dakin, Founder, TreeSisters "Woven with enchanting stories and wise counsel, Reclaiming the Wild Soul lavishly supports us, at this time of global crisis/opportunity, to return, emboldened, to Earth and to our own human wildness." --Bill Plotkin, author of Wild Mind: A Field Guide to the Human Psyche and Soulcraft: Crossing into the Mysteries of Nature and Psyche Beyond the chaos and stresses of our modern age, there lies a forgotten yet primal terrain rich in wisdom, healing, and wholeness. In Reclaiming the Wild Soul, Mary Reynolds Thompson takes us on a journey into Earth's five great landscapes as aspects of our deeper, wilder selves. There, where the inner and outer worlds meet, we discover within our souls: the silence and simplicity of deserts the mystery of forests the flow of oceans and rivers the inspiration of mountains the regenerative spirit of grasslands Once awakened, these "soulscapes" reveal the beauty and magnificence of our own true nature--and a path of personal transformation aligned with the healing of the wild Earth. Reclaiming the Wild Soul is simultaneously self-help and a courageous call to action for our times.
