The Sacred Art of Soul Making


Book Description

"Deep within each of us dwells the source of peace, purpose, and love. Yet we live in the chaotic dissonance of the superficial layers of our hearts and minds. A sea of the most precious spiritual energies surrounds us, inside and out, yet our thirst remains unquenched, our souls malnourished and unformed." (from the Introduction). Bridging East and West, "The Sacred Art of Soul Making" addresses the central questions of spiritual practice with the depth and subtlety they require and with unexpected clarity. As Westerners raised in Christianity or Judaism progress in their Eastern practices, they often find themselves drawn back toward their own religious roots and the search for the Divinity. They may rediscover their need for a personal relationship with the Divine, for the practice of prayer, openness to conscience and the understanding of will found in the monotheistic religions. Many people have not engaged Eastern meditative practices out of devotion to their own religion. Those may well find the inner work forms of presence and meditation, stripped of cultural trappings, to be important adjuncts to the practice of prayer, helping open the way to the sacred depths sought in Western religions. This authentic, substantive, and multi-faceted spirituality for our time begins where we are and ultimately takes us beyond consciousness, toward the abode of the sacred. That sacredness can touch and transform each of us, if we make the necessary, devoted effort. This book helps make that possible.




The Sacred Art of Soul Making: Second Edition


Book Description

"The Sacred Art of Soul Making" offers an authentic and substantive spirituality for our time, one that leads the reader toward understanding the structure of the soul and its development through meditation, prayer, presence, and other practices. This book addresses the important questions of soul and spirit with the depth and subtlety they require and with the clarity they call for. Joseph Naft presents an integrated spiritual path that begins where we are and ultimately takes us beyond consciousness, toward the abode of the sacred. That sacredness can touch and transform each of us, if we make the necessary, devoted effort. And "The Sacred Art of Soul Making" shows the way toward that potential. This Second Edition incorporates numerous significant revisions to the original, plus two entirely new chapters: "Worlds of the Spirit" and "Modes of Will."




Preaching from the Soul


Book Description

Careful biblical interpretation; insights into contemporary life; polished delivery; humorous anecdotes; these are the building blocks of preaching that genuinely reach people. Right? Wrong, says Ellsworth Kalas. We have all encountered preachers who seem to know all the fine points of exegesis and inflection, yet whose sermons leave us surprisingly unmoved, aware that we were in the presence of good speaking, but not great preaching. The difference, Kalas reminds us, lies in that hard-to-describe, yet essential quality known as soul. Soul is the collection of those perspectives and convictions that matter most to the preacher. Soul preaching means offering one's particular ideas, attitudes, and convictions fully to the congregation. When one preaches with soul, one engages the biblical text with the core of one's values and beliefs. Soul preaching is, in other words, simply giving the whole self to the task of proclamation. While the concept may sound simple, the reality is anything but. In the clear, insightful style for which he is known, Kalas takes readers on a path of discovery, introducing them to the unique gifts that they can bring to preaching, and the best way to engage those gifts in preparing and delivering the sermon.




Soul Fire


Book Description

Trust the Creativity within You—Then Get Out of Its Way “[This] is the invitation of the inner creative spirit: you are created to create. The creative potential within you is one of the things that makes you ‘in the image and likeness of God.’ Whether your medium be music, watercolors, clay, gardening, woodworking, writing, cooking, dance or voice, the Creator has gifted you with creativity. Your gift in return is to use it.” —from the Conclusion This inspiring guide shows you how to cultivate your creative spirit, particularly in the second half of life, as a way to encourage personal growth, enrich your spiritual life and deepen your communion with God. Each chapter provides questions for reflection to help you identify your creative energy, overcome your insecurities, and connect with your chosen method of expression. Practical exercises at the end of each chapter help you awaken your creative spirit within. Whether you’re a novice or expert; young adult, middle age or golden age; you will be challenged by this invigorating call to set free your creative potential.




The Soul's Slow Ripening


Book Description

What does God want for your life? Christine Valters Paintner, bestselling Catholic author and online abbess for Abbey of the Arts, uses reflections, stories, guided activities, prayer experiences, and a variety of creative arts to help you patiently and attentively listen to God’s invitation. Everyone wants to understand God’s will for their lives. Christine Valters Paintner shares one of the most ancient paths to understanding from her study of monasticism and immersion into Celtic spirituality while living in Ireland. The Celtic way, which Paintner distills into twelve practices, offers discernment that focuses on the environment rather than the intellectual focus present in other forms of discernment. It allows for what Paintner calls the “soul’s slow ripening,” coming into the fullness of our own sweetness before we pluck the fruit. Each chapter begins with a story of a particular Irish saint—some well-known like Patrick or Brigid, others less so, such as Ita and Ciaran—and then introduces a helpful practice for discernment that the saint’s life illustrates. Paintner explores the call of dreams, the importance of thresholds, the practice of peregrination (wandering for the love of God), walking the rounds, learning by heart, soul friends, blessing each moment, and the wisdom of the landscape and the seasons. Readers are invited to explore these concepts through photography and writing. She invites us to contemplative walks with specific themes along with poetic writing prompts for expression. As you explore an alternate way of discerning a spiritual path—one which honors the moment-by-moment invitations and the soul’s seasonal rhythms—you will discover that this book will help you become more aligned with creativity and wholeness.




Crafting the Soul


Book Description

Examines what great thinkers of the past have had to say about the meaning of life. Offers ways to shape your life into something beautiful and unique.




Is Nothing Sacred?


Book Description




Phenomenology of Life - From the Animal Soul to the Human Mind


Book Description

Transcendental phenomenology presumed to have overcome the classic mind-body dichotomy in terms of consciousness. Should we indeed dissolve the specificity of human consciousness by explaining human experience in its multiple sense-giving modalities through the physiological functions of the brain? The present collection of studies addresses this crucial question challenging such "naturalizing" reductionism from multiple angles.




The Sabbath Soul


Book Description

Enter into the mystery of the Sabbath, into the wonder and light of the seventh day. "We live in a world dominated by speed and distraction, with demands for our attention at every turn.... We frequently forget the restorative blessing of stillness, our desperate need for rest ... a rest that brings us back to the center of existence, a calm that allows us to reconnect with the divine breath at the soul of All." —from the Introduction Enrich your spiritual experience of Shabbat by exploring the writings of mystical masters of Hasidism. Drawing from some of the earliest teachings in the family of the Ba'al Shem Tov through late nineteenth-century Poland and the homilies of the Sefat 'Emet, Eitan Fishbane evokes the Sabbath experience—from candle lighting and donning white clothing to the Friday night Kiddush and the act of sacred eating. Fishbane also translates and interprets a wide range of Hasidic sources previously unavailable in English that reflect the spiritual transformation that takes place on the seventh day—one that can shift your awareness into the realm that is all soul. Personal prayers of the Bratzlav (Breslov) Hasidic tradition express the spiritual dimension of Shabbat in the language of devotional and individual yearning.




Super Evil Emperor


Book Description

He was unbridled as he slashed his sword through the heavens!He exuded an evil aura, and his eyes flashed like lightning across the nine heavens.He was free and unfettered, with beauties as numerous as the clouds and flowers surrounding him.He was tyrannical, and wherever he passed, not a single blade of grass would remain!Evil Emperor Hengkong, Tremor of Eternity!This was the most powerful, top quality evil cultivator!




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