Whatever our cultural and religious background or personal psychology, a greater intimacy with myth provides a vital link with meaning, the absence of which is so often behind the neuroses of our time. Here the acclaimed author of The Middle Passage (title 59) explains why a connection with our mythic roots is crucial for us as individuals and as responsible citizens of our age.
Also available in an open-access, full-text edition at http: //oaktrust.library.tamu.edu/handle/1969.1/85764 "What we wish to know, and most desire, remains unknowable and lies beyond our grasp." With these words, James Hollis leads readers to consider the nature of our human need for meaning in life and for connection to a world less limiting than our own. In The Archetypal Imagination, Hollis offers a lyrical Jungian appreciation of the archetypal imagination. He argues that without the human mind's ability to form energy-filled images that link us to worlds beyond our rational and emotional capacities, we would have neither culture nor spirituality. Drawing upon the work of poets and philosophers, Hollis shows the importance of depth experience, meaning, and connection to an "other" world. Just as humans have instincts for biological survival and social interaction, we have instincts for spiritual connection as well. Just as our physical and social needs seek satisfaction, so the spiritual instincts of the human animal are expressed in images we form to evoke an emotional or spiritual response, as in our dreams, myths, and religious traditions. The author draws upon the work of the poet Rainer Maria Rilke's Duino Elegies to elucidate the archetypal imagination in literary forms. To underscore the importance of incarnating depth experience, he also examines a series of paintings by Nancy Witt. With the power of the archetypal imagination available to all of us, we are invited to summon courage to take on the world anew, to relinquish outmoded identities and defenses, and to risk a radical re-imagining of the larger possibilities of the world and of the self.
* Chicago Tribune "Fall literary preview: books you need to read now" * Vulture "The Best and Biggest Books to Read This Fall" * The Guardian "A best book of 2019" After moving with his wife and two children to a smallholding in Ireland, Paul Kingsnorth expects to find contentment. It is the goal he has sought — to nest, to find home — after years of rootlessness as an environmental activist and author. Instead he finds that his tools as a writer are failing him, calling into question his foundational beliefs about language and setting him at odds with culture itself. Informed by his experiences with indigenous peoples, the writings of D.H. Lawrence and Annie Dillard, and the day-to-day travails of farming his own land, Savage Gods asks: what does it mean to belong? What sacrifices must be made in order to truly inhabit a life? And can words ever paint the truth of the world — or are they part of the great lie which is killing it?
Tales told by shadowy elders around ancient campfires offered both explanation and comfort. Life hasn't changed that much; our dependence on explanation and comfort still lies just under our busy ambition and constant yearning. Most of the time, the basic assumptions of our early years were so viscerally absorbed that we have never made them articulate, and therefore never had any way to evaluate their relevance for us now. What if they are outdated? Immature? Beside the point? In this new volume, James Hollis shows us a way to bring those stories to consciousness -- what questions to ask, and when. And also what to expect of ourselves in the process. This is not a quick fix book; in fact, waking up to our truth is sometimes very painful. But it's real. And it may be the only way to discover that sense of meaning and personal authenticity that no amount of outer success can provide. Book jacket.
Presents brief descriptions of over one hundred world religions, secular worldviews, cults, and occult practices from a Christian point-of-view, covering the basic beliefs, a short history, and examples in pop culture.
The truth is, when you banish the gods from the world, they eventually come back—with a vengeance. In the near future, Justin March lives in exile from the Republic of United North America. After failing in his job as an investigator of religious groups and supernatural claims, Justin is surprised when he is sent back with a peculiar assignment—to solve a string of ritualistic murders steeped in seemingly unexplainable phenomena. Justin’s return comes with an even bigger shock: His new partner and bodyguard, Mae Koskinen, is a prætorian, one of the Republic’s technologically enhanced supersoldiers. Mae’s inexplicable beauty and aristocratic upbringing attract Justin’s curiosity and desire, but her true nature holds more danger than anyone realizes. As their investigation unfolds, Justin and Mae find themselves in the crosshairs of mysterious enemies. Powers greater than they can imagine have started to assemble in the shadows, preparing to reclaim a world that has renounced religion and where humans are merely gamepieces on their board.
This book helps to ask questions about God no matter what you believe. Who is God? Where do I go when I die? Is God even real? This book answers none of these questions, but it asks them all! It is a thoughtful book that enforces no views but stresses the importance of a healthy dialogue, curiosity, love, and wonder.
Selene DiSilva, goddess of the hunt, squares off against a killer who threatens the very existence of the gods themselves in this stunning sequel to Jordanna Max Brodsky's The Immortals, "a lively re-imaging of classical mythology." (Deborah Harkness) Winter in New York: snow falls, lights twinkle, and a very disgruntled Selene DiSilva prowls the streets, knowing that even if she doesn't look for trouble, it always finds her. When a dead body is discovered sprawled atop Wall Street's iconic Charging Bull statue, it's up to Selene to hunt down the perpetrators. Her ancient skills make her the only one who can track a conspiracy that threatens the very existence of the gods, including Selene, who was once known as Artemis.
"The Gods have become diseases," said C.G. Jung, & these nine chapters show how major figures of the Greek mythological imagination are still at work in the contemporary psyche. This book is both reliably scholarly & intuitively psychological. It offers the reader ways of finding mythical backgrounds for personal experiences. Here we can feel how the Gods & Goddesses influence symptoms, ideas, attitudes, relationships, & dream imagery. Includes chapters by: Karl Kerenyi on Artimis in girlhood, Rene Malamud on Amazons & creative passion, Murray Stein on Hephaistos & the art of introversion, David L. Miler on Rhea the Grandmother, Barbara Kirksey on Hestia & the power of the hearth, William Doty on Hermes in all his guises, Chris Downing on Ariadne, wife to Dionysos, James Hillman on Athene & Necessity & on Dionysos in Nietzsche & Jung.
With equal parts wit and wisdom, New York Times bestselling author Donald Miller invites you to reconnect with your faith. Miller shares what he's learned firsthand--that our relationship with God is designed to teach us about redemption, grace, healing, and so much more. Searching for God Knows What weaves together timeless stories and fresh perspectives on the Bible to capture one man's journey to discover an authentic faith that's worth believing. Along the way, Miller poses his own questions about faith, religion, and community, asking: What if the motive behind our theology was relational? What if our value exists because God takes pleasure in us? What if the gospel of Jesus is an invitation to know God? Maybe you're a Christian wondering what faith you signed up for. Or maybe you don't believe anything and are daring someone to show you a genuine example of genuine faith. Somewhere beyond the self-help formulas, fancy marketing, and easy promises, there is a life-changing experience with God waiting for you--it just takes a little bit of searching. Praise for Searching for God Knows What: "Like a shaken snow globe, Donald Miller's newest collection of essays creates a swirl of ideas about the Christian life that eventually crystallize into a lovely landscape...[He] is one of the evangelical book market's most creative writers." --Christianity Today "If you have felt that Jesus is someone you respect and admire--but Christianity is something that repels you--Searching for God Knows What will give you hope that you still can follow Jesus and be part of a church without the trappings of organized religion." --Dan Kimball, author of The Emerging Church and Pastor of Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz, CA "For fans of Blue Like Jazz, I doubt you will be disappointed. Donald Miller writes with the wit and vulnerability that you expect. He perfectly illustrates important themes in a genuine and humorous manner...For those who would be reading Miller for the first time, this would be a great start." --Relevant