Hidden Compass


Book Description

Hidden Compass Hunting the Shadows Beneath is the first publication of her insights and reflections on experiences, both personal and observed. These poems speak of life stages and interruptions, ciphers, and oftentimes cryptic perceptions.




Wings


Book Description

Erin Byrne captures the essence of France through unique and authentic experiences in Wings from Victory, her collection of stories about travel in one of the world's most alluring countries. Some or her experiences come through serendipity, others via good fortune, still others by accident. But each time, Erin takes the experience, digs deeper, and discovers meaning from it. Each story demonstrates in a different way this idea put forth by Joseph Campbell: The passage of the mythological hero may be overground, incidentally; fundamentally it is inward—into the depths, where obscure resistances are overcome and long lost powers are revivified. From Cézanne’s studio in Aix-en-Provence to a tiny village in the Jura Mountains, from a cozy bistro on the Left Bank of Paris to a plain high above the Normandy beaches, Erin travels through France collecting stories, characters, tastes, and secrets that act as ingredients for change. She learns to trust her intuition after listening to Henri Cartier-Bresson’s advice. After gazing at van Gogh’s self-portrait, Erin finds a way to be more honest. This book is about the gifts we all glean from our travels, and will inspire readers to unwrap their own images and impressions in a new way.




Schopenhauer's Compass


Book Description

Schopenhauer was the first major Western philosopher with a deep interest in Asian philosophies and religions. His favorite book was a Latin version of the Indian Upanishads—the Oupnek'hat—that he used to call the consolation of his life and death. Urs App explains in this book for the first time why Schopenhauer regarded this work as the most excellent in the world, how it is connected with the birth of his philosophy, and what caused him to list it even ahead of Plato and Kant as his major inspiration. This groundbreaking new introduction to Schopenhauer's thought and its genesis explains the role of Indian, Persian (Sufi), Neoplatonic, and mystical ideas as well as meditative states ("better consciousness"). But its focus lies firmly on the central dynamic at the heart of Schopenhauer's entire work: the inner compass that gave it is overall direction.




The Sun Is a Compass


Book Description

For fans of Cheryl Strayed, the gripping story of a biologist's human-powered journey from the Pacific Northwest to the Arctic to rediscover her love of birds, nature, and adventure. During graduate school, as she conducted experiments on the peculiarly misshapen beaks of chickadees, ornithologist Caroline Van Hemert began to feel stifled in the isolated, sterile environment of the lab. Worried that she was losing her passion for the scientific research she once loved, she was compelled to experience wildness again, to be guided by the sounds of birds and to follow the trails of animals. In March of 2012, she and her husband set off on a 4,000-mile wilderness journey from the Pacific rainforest to the Alaskan Arctic, traveling by rowboat, ski, foot, raft, and canoe. Together, they survived harrowing dangers while also experiencing incredible moments of joy and grace -- migrating birds silhouetted against the moon, the steamy breath of caribou, and the bond that comes from sharing such experiences. A unique blend of science, adventure, and personal narrative, The Sun is a Compass explores the bounds of the physical body and the tenuousness of life in the company of the creatures who make their homes in the wildest places left in North America. Inspiring and beautifully written, this love letter to nature is a lyrical testament to the resilience of the human spirit. Winner of the 2019 Banff Mountain Book Competition: Adventure Travel




108 Beloved Objects


Book Description

As a mediation on "letting go," the author tells stories loosely connected to 108 objects drawn from different places and periods in his life, which he then offers to the reading audience. The book is divided into six "realms -- Travel, Love, Gifts, Earth, Moon & Stars, Endings, and Spirit -- each with an introduction, followed by photographed and written portraits of 18 objects.




Nature's Compass


Book Description

Explores how animals are able to navigate around the world with accuracy.




Compass Rose


Book Description

In the year 2513, the only thing higher than the seas is what’s at stake for those who sail them. Rose was born facing due north, with an inherent perception of cardinal points flowing through her veins. Her uncanny sense of direction earns her a coveted place among the Archipelago Fleet elite, but it also attracts the attention of Admiral Comita, who sends her on a secret mission deep into pirate territory. Accompanied by a ragtag crew of mercenaries and under the command of Miranda, a captain as bloodthirsty as she is alluring, Rose discovers the hard way that even the best sense of direction won’t be enough to keep her alive if she can’t learn to navigate something far more dangerous than the turbulent seas. Aboard the mercenary ship, Man o’ War, Rose learns quickly that trusting the wrong person can get you killed—and Miranda’s crew have no intention of making things easy for her—especially Miranda’s trusted first mate, Orca, who is as stubborn as she is brutal.




The Compass


Book Description

The Compass is a life transformation novel that will guide you on a journey of self-discovery. At the core of The Compass are specific lessons about belief systems and understanding who you really are in order to live out your destiny. Jonathan, the main character, escapes his suburban life after a tragedy that alters his plans for the future. Paralyzed by grief, he decides to journey across the globe in an effort to realign his inner compass. He sets off with just a backpack, leaving behind his career, friends, family, and home. His travels begin in the dessert of Nevada, continue on to the pristine mountains of the Adirondacks, and then to a medieval village in Romania. At each destination, Jonathan encounters a pivotal person who offers a major life lesson, and he begins to realize that each individual was placed on his path for a reason. The Compass is a metaphor for the journey of our lives. In the tradition of the The Alchemist, The Compass provides readers with specific life lessons about authenticity, self-empowerment, and belief in their dreams. As humans we are all connected—by love, pain, and sometimes even by tragedies or events we cannot control. Each one of us travels a unique path, yet we are linked by experiences and emotions. In this connectedness, there is life.




Hidden Codes & Grand Designs


Book Description

An exploration of how codes—both cipher and aesthetic—have come to exist in history from Pythagoras through the Knights Templar to Turing and more. Did the Masons encode messages in walls—and even in the street plan of Washington, D.C.? Does the Hebrew Bible conceal hidden mysteries? Ingenious methods for encoding secrets have taken many amazing turns through the ages, from the military signals the Romans flashed from hilltop to hilltop, to the computer codes that guard your cash at the ATM. Pierre Berloquin, one of France’s leading puzzle book authors, takes you on a tour of them all in a book full of astonishing historical insights. With more than 150 brain-teasing problems for readers to solve for themselves, this is a journey beyond the gee-whiz and deep into the how-to of codes, ciphers, and other secret communication systems.