Objects of Special Devotion


Book Description

This book demonstrates the importance of the study of fetishes and fetishism in the study of popular culture. Some of the essays cover rather "conventional" manifestations in the world today; others demonstrate the fetishistic qualities of some unusual items. But all illustrate without any doubt that, like the icon, the ritual, and many other items in society, fetishes, fetishism and fetishists must be studied and understood before we can begin to understand the complexity of present-day society.







Lent in Plain Sight


Book Description

God is often at work through the ordinary: ordinary people, ordinary objects, ordinary grace. Through the ordinary, God communicates epiphanies, salvation, revelation, and reconciliation. It is through the mundane that we hear Gods quiet voice. In this devotion for the season of Lent, Jill J. Duffield draws readers attention to ten ordinary objects that Jesus would have encountered on his way to Jerusalem: dust, bread, the cross, coins, shoes, oil, coats, towels, thorns, and stones. In each object, readers will find meaning in the biblical account of Jesus final days. Each week, readers encounter a new object to consider through Scripture, prayer, and reflection. From Ash Wednesday to Easter, Lent in Plain Sight reminds Christians to open ourselves to the kingdom of God.




Advent in Plain Sight


Book Description

At Christmas, God came into our ordinary world in the form of a child, and still today, God is at work through the ordinary stuff of life, if we train our eyes to see. In this daily devotional for Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany, Jill J. Duffield draws readers' attention to ten ordinary objects that appear in the biblical narratives of messianic prophesy and incarnation—objects we encounter in our own lives. Through objects such as gates, trees, cloth, light, and water, readers will find new meaning in the biblical account of Jesus’ coming. By connecting everyday objects with biblical texts, Advent in Plain Sight prompts readers to see the near kingdom of heaven on earth and ponder what that divine proximity enables and asks them to do and be. Each daily devotional features a Scripture reading, prayer, and reflection, reminding Christians that God still dwells among us, even in the most ordinary places.




Another Insane Devotion


Book Description

An exploration of the mysteries of love and marriage, pleasure and obligation--through the lens of cat ownership




Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings


Book Description

The key to happiness is the mind. With the mind, we can switch our life to suffering or we can switch it to happiness, just as we change television channels, choosing to watch programs about fighting and war, or peaceful things, like the nature programs people seem to enjoy. Experiencing happiness or suffering depends entirely on what we do with our mind. -Lama Zopa Rinpoche in Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings is the record of a remarkable series of powerful and clear Dharma teachings given by Kyabje Lama Zopa Rinpoche in 2014 to students at Leeds and London in the United Kingdom. Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive⿿s editor Gordon McDougall was present throughout these teachings and has now skillfully edited them into written form that retains the flavor of a great master giving precise instructions to the students sitting before him. In Sun of Devotion, Stream of Blessings, Rinpoche explains how to take care of our minds so that our happiness is in our own hands, gives profound teachings on the Buddhist philosophy of emptiness, discusses the need for ethics and a solid refuge, shows us how to cut the root of samsara, explores why practicing certain tantras is important and especially emphasizes how the guru is the most powerful object of our Dharma practice. Gordon has presented the subjects taught by Rinpoche in the order in which they were given, beginning with a deep commentary on the meaning of sang-gyä, the Tibetan term usually translated as "buddha," and retaining the powerful method by which Rinpoche would repeatedly reinforce and expand upon earlier topics. Rinpoche also spends much time discussing the great qualities of Khadro-la (Rangjung Neljorma Khadro Namsel Drolma), the incredible being who has become so important to Tibetan Buddhism, FPMT and the world.




Islam and the Devotional Object


Book Description

A new history of Islamic practice told through the aesthetic reception of medieval religious objects.




Islam and the Devotional Object


Book Description

In this book, Richard J. A. McGregor offers a history of Islamic practice through the aesthetic reception of medieval religious objects. Elaborate parades in Cairo and Damascus included decorated objects of great value, destined for Mecca and Medina. Among these were the precious dress sewn yearly for the Ka'ba, and large colorful sedans mounted on camels, which mysteriously completed the Hajj without carrying a single passenger. Along with the brisk trade in Islamic relics, these objects and the variety of contested meanings attached to them, constituted material practices of religion that persisted into the colonial era, but were suppressed in the twentieth century. McGregor here recovers the biographies of religious objects, including relics, banners, public texts, and coverings for the Ka'ba. Reconstructing the premodern visual culture of Islamic Egypt and Syria, he follows the shifting meanings attached to objects of devotion, as well as the contingent nature of religious practice and experience.




Objects Of The Dead


Book Description

What is the fate of objects after a death-a daughter's hairbrush, a father's favourite chair, an aunt's earrings, a husband's clothes? Why do some things stay and some go from our lives and memories? Objects of the Dead examines a poignant and universal experience-the death of a loved one and the often uneasy process of living with, and discarding, the objects that are left behind. How and when family property is sorted through after a death is often fraught with difficulties, regrets and disagreements. Through personal stories, literature, film and memoir Margaret Gibson reveals the power of things to bind and undo relationships. This is a remarkable reflection on grieving-of both saying goodbye and living with death.