Mythic Worlds and the One You Can Believe In


Book Description

Combining philosophy, science, and literature, Mythic Worlds and the One You Can Believe In examines lingering misconceptions of world history as a continuing source of international tension. Awareness of the natural continuum, currently gauged at some 13.8 billion years overall, disarms sectarian zealotry and, in retrospect, explains some of the difficulties the literary and philosophical traditions have had in accommodating their beliefs to what undeniably exists. To this day, beliefs incompatible with natural history continue to intensify nationalism and support terrorist movements. As a work mainly in natural philosophy, this book uses the consensus natural continuum to critique the more prominent and durable misconceptions.




Mapping Myths of Biblical Interpretation


Book Description

Walsh explores the role that myth has played in the interpretation of the Bible. He sees myth as an empowering, structuring story used either for good or ill and either consciously or unconsciously controlling our world views. Walsh looks for both the empowerment and the marginalization effected by myth as he follows the word through its myriad meanings ('Grasping Proteus'), its use in various disciplines ('Procrustean Mythographers'), its distinctive uses in biblical interpretation ('Mything the Bible'), and, finally, the mythic character of interpretation itself ('The Myth of Interpretation'). The concluding chapter, 'Behind the Mythic Curve', muses on the difficulty of knowing the myths by which we live and reflects hopefully on the possibility of play among the myriad myths in a postmodern, pluralist world.




Mythic Worlds, Modern Words


Book Description

The mythographer who has command of scholarly literature, the analytic ability and the lucid prose and the staying power.




A God We Can Believe In


Book Description

Do you believe in God? So many people answer this question in the negative because the God they have been taught to believe in is simply not all that believable. In the twenty-first century, a Deity who intervenes in history, supernaturally responds to prayers, favors and protects his faithful and chosen, and executes righteous judgment engenders doubt and disbelief in thinking people of all faiths, as well as those of no practicing faith. A God We Can Believe In is a response to this moment. Herein you will find contributions from leading rabbis and scholars that articulate paths to heart, mind, and soul with God-teachings that are spiritually compelling and intellectually sound. Our authors present God in ways that are consistent with the facts that higher learning has established, the principles of reason, and our shared life experiences. In these pages you will find a God that cannot be brushed aside by educated moderns; a God that does not violate the realities of logic or natural law; a God presented in accessible language; a God that can be lived with and lived for. It is a book for thoughtful individuals everywhere.




Fantasy World-Building


Book Description

When artists and designers explore or create a fictional setting, the milieu must be completely fleshed out, explained, and designed. In this book, comic and gaming art veteran Mark A. Nelson explores and demonstrates his methods for fashioning visually stunning, believable environments for fantasy creatures and characters. Scores of images and step-by-step examples illustrate how variation and experimentation lead to fresh, original designs for otherworldly beings, their environments, and their stories. Nelson discusses how to find ideas and borrow from history to add the strength of realism to a fantasy world. In describing the best ways to establish a habitat, he offers specifics about climate, terrain, flora, and wildlife. He shares insights into founding societies in terms of their means of survival, manner of warfare, spiritual practices, style of dress, and levels of technology. All visual creatives who work with imaginative material — illustrators, comic artists, and writers — will take a lively interest in this source of inspiration and practical knowledge. "In sixteen breezy-yet-surprisingly-concise chapters he covers everything from visual problem solving to spirituality to warfare to transportation, not with the idea of giving the reader lessons to copy by rote but rather as prompts to develop their own original concepts. If I were suggesting three books every budding artist should have at their fingertips they would be Figure Drawing for All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis, Imaginative Realism: How to Paint What Doesn't Exist by James Gurney, and, most definitely, Mark's Fantasy World-Building." — Muddy Colors




Finding Radical Wholeness


Book Description

From integral philosopher Ken Wilber, a practical guide to finding a radical and complete Wholeness through a path that blends integral theory, psychology, spiritual practice, and shadow work. According to Ken Wilber, the perpetual human search for growth and fulfillment is often incomplete. In this book, Wilber integrates the wisdom of spirituality, psychology, shadow work, science, and integral theory to offer us a path to a radical and complete Wholeness of Waking Up, Growing Up, Opening Up, Cleaning Up, and Showing Up. Wilber shows readers how to apply integral theory to their everyday lives for transformation. For example, he shows how the theory of the Four Quadrants—the four perspectives through which we view the world—relates to our lives and allows us to show up and be more present. He also discusses how to evolve our multiple intelligences, how to increase our spiritual awareness, how to process what’s hidden in the depths of our consciousness, and how to enhance, deepen, and widen the feelings of bliss and love through the practice of integral tantric sex. Wilber introduces several practices—on topics such as the Witness, One Taste, and shadow work—to lead us to direct experiences that we can integrate into our lives. In this way, we truly understand Wholeness and can make room for everything life brings our way. No other path of growth includes these five categories—each of which is a unique path to wholeness. By combining them and integrating them, one comes to a realization of what Wilber calls Big Wholeness—a completeness in which everything in our experience comes together to pull us into this deep meaning, where we feel in touch not only with all of the important aspects of ourselves but also with everything in our world.




Re-Embroidering the Robe


Book Description

Religious faith, myths and legends have always been present in literature. However, their role has changed over time. Since the middle of the nineteenth century, with the diminishing role of religion in European society, writers with some kind of belief system, whether religious or political, have tended to use myth in two different ways. They have either retold the old, familiar myths of the past so that they carry fresh messages relevant to a contemporary audience or created their own, new myths as modern vehicles of traditional truths. Many writers have combined the two techniques. Such is the transforming artistry which the eighteen essays in Re-Embroidering the Robe examine: the remaking or new-minting of myth, in literature from 1850 to the present day, so that what it embodies and expresses speaks powerfully to the modern reader. In widely differing ways, therefore, all of the texts analysed here compel attention.




Ecologies of Participation


Book Description

In this daring debut, Zayin Cabot challenges the wise homebodies of academia. A profoundly interdisciplinary approach to comparative scholarship, Ecologies of Participation offers a methodology whereby we can face our shared planetary predicament. It is grounded in process philosophy, and asserts the importance of a new ontology of agency. It traces the importance of Lévy-Bruhl and Lévi-Strauss’s early work, while offering new insight into the ontological turn in anthropology. This book sets out to destabilize modern reductionist trends toward scientific materialism, without falling into postmodern cultural constructivism. It does not assume the givenness of nature or culture. By advancing a multi-ontology approach, this work offers robust interventions into decolonial and critical studies. Cabot takes contemporary scholarship in new and exciting directions—offering an unstable ground from which to examine our shared worlds, both human and other. Throughout the last chapters of the book, these threads are illuminated through a detailed ethics of comparison and participation.




Global Ritualism


Book Description

The concept of ritual and spirituality is common to all peoples. Global Ritualism analyzes the common themes and archetypal symbols of higher ritual so you can define how these archetypes play out in your own life. As you build a "global vocabulary" of such spiritual and magical symbols, you will be able to construct your own vibrant, living rituals.




Wrath of the Old Gods Box Set 1


Book Description

The first three books of the Wrath of the Old Gods series (The Glooming, Canticum Tenebris, A World Darkly), all in one volume! The modern world is thrown into turmoil when the ancient gods of antiquity return. From the battlefields of the Middle East to the heartland of America, the nations of the world are sent reeling against the supernatural deluge of demigods and monsters. As chaos and destruction reigns, a select few men, women, and children must rise up to defend the surviving pockets of humanity in order to save civilization. A world spanning adventure of multiple characters, ancient gods and mythological creatures, the Wrath of the Old Gods series combines myriad genres of the occult, mythology, horror, suspense and adventure against a thrilling, post-apocalyptic backdrop. Don’t miss it! Wrath of the Old Gods Series: Book 1 The Glooming Book 1.5 Pagan Apocalypse (YA series) Book 2 Canticum Tenebris Book 2.5 The Fomorians (YA series) Book 3 A World Darkly Book 3.5 Eye of Balor (YA series)