Meditation in Judaism, Christianity and Islam


Book Description

Meditative practices have flourished in widely different parts of Eurasia, yet historical research on such practices is limited. Research to date has focused on contexts rather than actual practices, and within individual traditions. For the first time in one volume, the meditative practices of the three traditions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam are examined. They are viewed in a global perspective, considering both generic and historical connections to practices in other traditions, particularly in India and East Asia. Their cultural and historical peculiarities are examined, comparing them both to each other and to Asian forms of meditation. The book builds on a notion of meditation as self-administered techniques for inner transformation, a definition which focuses on transformative practice rather than notions of meditative states and mystical experiences. It proposes ways of studying meditative practice historically, and concludes with an essay on the modern scientific interest in meditation.




God of Love


Book Description

God of Love is Mirabai Starr’s passionate and personal exploration of the interconnected wisdom of the three Abrahamic faiths. She shares an overview of essential teachings, stories of saints and spiritual masters, prophetic calls for peace and justice, and for the first time in print, deeply engaging narratives from her own spiritual experiences. She guides readers to recognize the teachings and practices that unify rather then divide the three religions, and sheds light on the interspiritual perspective, which celebrates the Divine in all paths. It is Mirabai’s hope that this book will serve as a reminder that a dedication to lovingkindness is the highest expression of faith for all three religions. EARLY REVIEWS FOR God of Love “Mirabai Starr takes us out dancing with the One. God of Love is a confluence of the currents of Judaism, Islam and Christianity all emptying into the great ocean of Love.” —Ram Dass, Author Be Here Now “In a time of division between people, this book — which is a masterful blend of research, storytelling, poetry, and memoir — is like a sacred magnet, pulling on the spiritual heart of all seekers.” —Elizabeth Lesser, Cofounder, Omega Institute; Author, Broken Open: How Difficult Times Can Help Us Grow “Mirabai Starr writes of the divine from a luminous gene inherited by only a few. We hear The True Song in each word she attributes to the holy. It is more than just her song; it is the Melody of the Spheres translated by an astute musician. We are always touched by the genuine in her call to the reader to love and love well, to see with the sacred eye of beauty.” -Ondrea & Stephen Levine, Authors Embracing the Beloved "Mirabai's book has brought me great consolation." -Daniel Berrigan, S. J. activist-priest; Author, No Gods but One “This book brilliantly reminds us that in the heart of the Abrahamic traditions there burns a singular divine flame.” -Rev. Robert V. Thompson, Author A Voluptuous God “A wonderful and ‘perfect’ book. Highly recommended.” -Rabbi David A. Cooper, Author God Is a Verb “[God of Love] will expand your vision and inspire your search; I recommend it with great joy.” -Andrew Harvey, Author The Hope: A Guide to Sacred Activism “At home in the three great Abrahamic traditions, Mirabai Starr takes us on a deeply personal journey 'Toward the One,' exploring aspects of the 'God of Love' as seen through the eyes of Jewish, Christian and Muslim mystics. This is a book which will delight the seeker of sacred connections between these traditions and those who look forward to a day when Jerusalem, the city shared by all these faiths, will be a house of prayer for all people." -Reb Netanel Miles-Yepez, Co-Author A Heart Afire: Stories and Teachings of the Early Hasidic Masters




Meditation in Christianity


Book Description

A collection of essays providing seven insightful perspectives on meditation in Christianity.




Mindfulness Starts Here


Book Description

Living a rushed, demanding life and wishing for mental calm to deal with the difficulties you face? Stressed out by tangled thoughts and frazzled feelings? Mindfulness Starts Here offers you a way to ease stress with clear instructions on these points: How mindfulness works using Five Skillful Habits How being mindful can help you deal better with sadness, pain, and anxiety How mindfulness can make your life more manageable In Mindfulness Starts Here, you learn how mindfulness works through simple, clear explanations. The instructions and practices show you how to pay attention to your life so you can make skillful decisions. The examples help you understand: How practicing Five Skillful Habits can change the way you live your life Why living fully in pleasant and unpleasant times can enrich your life How mindfulness reduces reactivity to and increases steadiness under stress"




Neighboring Faiths


Book Description

This book represents the culmination of David Nirenberg s ongoing project; namely, how Muslims, Christians, and Jews lived with and thought about each other in the Middle Ages, and what the medieval past can tell us about how they do so today. There have been scripture based studies of the three religions of the book that claim descent from Abraham, but Nirenberg goes beyond those to pay close attention to how the three religious neighbors loved, tolerated, massacred, and expelled each otherall in the name of Godin periods and places both long ago and far away. Whether Christian Crusaders and settlers in Islamic-ruled lands, or Jewish-Muslim relations in Christian-controlled Iberia, for Nirenberg, the three religions need to be studied in terms of how each affected the development of the other over time, their proximity of religious and philosophical thought as well as their overlapping geographies, and how the three neighbors define (and continue to define) themselves and their place in the here-and-nowand the here-afterin terms of one another. Arguing against exemplary histories, static models of tolerance versus prosecution, or so-called Golden Ages and Black Legends, Nirenberg offers here instead a story that is more dynamic and interdependent, one where Muslim, Jewish, and Christian communities have re-imagined themselves, not only as abstractions of categories in each other s theologies and ideologies, but by living with each other every day as neighbors jostling each other on the street. From dangerous attractions leading to interfaith marriage, to interreligious conflicts leading to segregation, violence, and sometimes extermination, to strategies of bridging the interfaith gap through language, vocabulary, and poetryNirenberg aims to understand the intertwined past of the three faiths as a way for their heirs to coproduce the future."




Out of Darkness, Into Light


Book Description

An introduction to the major themes and passages of the holy book of Islam, this book invites readers of any religion -- or none -- to meditate on verses of the Quran as support for spiritual practices and growth. It guides the reader through the rich tapestry of the Quran, weaving through a number of themes, including the mystery of God, surrender to the divine will, and provisions for the spiritual journey. Quranic verses are supplemented by sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, the words of Rumi and other Sufi poets, and relevant quotations and insights from Jewish and Christian sources. The book also offers practical suggestions for expanding and strengthening one's spiritual sinews.




The Wisdom of the World


Book Description

When the ancient Greeks looked up into the heavens, they saw not just sun and moon, stars and planets, but a complete, coherent universe, a model of the Good that could serve as a guide to a better life. How this view of the world came to be, and how we lost it (or turned away from it) on the way to becoming modern, make for a fascinating story, told in a highly accessible manner by Rémi Brague in this wide-ranging cultural history. Before the Greeks, people thought human action was required to maintain the order of the universe and so conducted rituals and sacrifices to renew and restore it. But beginning with the Hellenic Age, the universe came to be seen as existing quite apart from human action and possessing, therefore, a kind of wisdom that humanity did not. Wearing his remarkable erudition lightly, Brague traces the many ways this universal wisdom has been interpreted over the centuries, from the time of ancient Egypt to the modern era. Socratic and Muslim philosophers, Christian theologians and Jewish Kabbalists all believed that questions about the workings of the world and the meaning of life were closely intertwined and that an understanding of cosmology was crucial to making sense of human ethics. Exploring the fate of this concept in the modern day, Brague shows how modernity stripped the universe of its sacred and philosophical wisdom, transforming it into an ethically indifferent entity that no longer serves as a model for human morality. Encyclopedic and yet intimate, The Wisdom of the World offers the best sort of history: broad, learned, and completely compelling. Brague opens a window onto systems of thought radically different from our own.




Jewish Meditation


Book Description

Students of mediation are usually surprised to discover that a Jewish mediation tradition exists and that it was an authentic and integral part of mainstream Judaism until the eighteenth century. Jewish Meditation is a step-by-step introduction to meditation and the Jewish practice of meditation in particular. This practical guide covers such topics as mantra meditation, contemplation, and visualization within a Jewish context. It shows us how to use meditative techniques to enhance prayer using the traditional liturgy—the Amidah and the Shema. Through simple exercises and clear explanations of theory, Rabbi Kaplan gives us the tools to develop our spiritual potential through an authentically Jewish meditative practice.




Celebration of Discipline


Book Description

Richard J. Foster’s Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth is hailed by many as the best modern book on Christian spirituality with millions of copies sold since its original publication in 1978. In Celebration of Discipline, Foster explores the "classic Disciplines," or central spiritual practices, of the Christian faith to show how each of these areas contribute to a balanced spiritual life. Foster, the bestselling author of several books (Prayer and Streams of Living Water) and intrachurch movement founder of Renovaré, helps motivate Christians everywhere to embark on a journey of prayer and spiritual growth.




Original Meditation


Book Description

The New Story about the Oldest Stories in the WorldToday apocalyptic predictions and images dominate popular culture and social media. Yet for most of our history, human consciousness focused on the mystery of beginnings, not endings. Our ancestors felt that the most powerful energy and clearest vision for the future could be found at our inception. They meditated on stories of the Great Beginning as the way to go forward. Original Meditation is two books in one. First it investigates the ancient tradition of creation mysticism and shows how Western culture became sidetracked into an increasingly narrow, apocalyptic world view. Second, it shows how we can begin to recover an authentic meditation on our shared beginnings, a meditation that can bring us into a more embodied and compassionate present. To help us on our way, Neil Douglas-Klotz offers us a living anthology of voices, from a mystical view of the first chapters of Genesis, to the Aramaic words of Jesus, to translations of mystical voices like Jelaluddin Rumi, Ibn Arabi, Meister Eckhart and the Jewish Kabbalists. Uniting the native spirituality of the Middle East with Western creation spirituality, we catch a glimpse of the life-affirming energy of "beginning-time" and experience what it means to be fully human in today's world. "After reading this very welcome resource, you will want to join Douglas-Klotz in exclaiming: "Genesis Now!" --Spirituality and Health (voted one of best spiritual books of the year). "Neil Douglas-Klotz is a rare jewel; a brilliant scholar with heart whose words have the power to reconnect us with our sacred source. This is truly a book for our times.... The perfume of divine belonging rises from every page as this modern mystic skillfully guides us into the essence of the Sacred Mystery. --Dr. Joan Borysenko, author of Your Soul's Compassp "Deeply moving, compelling, and radiant with hope, the book is a living prayer that can contribute to personal and inter-religious transformation." --Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices "By the time we finish this book, we are ready and able to join body, heart, mind, and spirit into a healing wholeness-indeed, the wholeness of Creation." --Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director of the Shalom Center, author of God Wrestling