“M’lord, where have ye been since the ball last night? The whole servant staff has been looking for ye,” said a very worried servant of the young prince. “Robert, I was out with a maiden,” the prince said in a matter a fact-ly tone. He had come in very late in the afternoon the next day after the royal ball. He had a certain glow about him with his clothes wrinkled from lying on the floor for a good majority of the day while he was bedding a willing young woman.

No word in our language is more misunderstood than the word "heart.' And almost no word is more important, for it refers to what is at the very center of our soul. We have mapped the outer world, in fact the whole universe, with amazing exactness . . . but we have neglected the world within. This new book by venerable Catholic thinker Peter Kreeft offers a map of that inner world, of the self. In it, he takes up the mantle of Dietrich von Hildebrand and plumbs the depths of that most misunderstood (by the world) and overlooked (by philosophers and theologians) part of the human being. In Wisdom of the Heart, Kreeft examines the two common understandings of the heart's purpose and shows how they are not at odds, but rather different (and essential) facets: Feeling and emotion: can reduce us to action without thinking, but also drives us to compassion, empathy, and gratitude Love: An act of the will, designed so that we can follow Jesus' commandment to love God and others This book, therefore, is a psychological aid to understanding the philosophy behind St. John Paul's "Theology of the Body" while exploring the three dimensions of persons: the will, the mind, and the emotions, and their three loves: the good, the true, and the beautiful. A new masterwork by one of the foremost Catholic philosophers of our time, Wisdom of the Heart is essential reading for understanding ourselves, our God, and our relationship with him.

One of the most beloved and trusted mindfulness teachers in America offers a lifeline for difficult times: the RAIN meditation, which awakens our courage and heart Tara Brach is an in-the-trenches teacher whose work counters today's ever-increasing onslaught of news, conflict, demands, and anxieties--stresses that leave us rushing around on auto-pilot and cut off from the presence and creativity that give our lives meaning. In this heartfelt and deeply practical book, she offers an antidote: an easy-to-learn four-step meditation that quickly loosens the grip of difficult emotions and limiting beliefs. Each step in the meditation practice (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Nurture) is brought to life by memorable stories shared by Tara and her students as they deal with feelings of overwhelm, loss, and self-aversion, with painful relationships, and past trauma--and as they discover step-by-step the sources of love, forgiveness, compassion, and deep wisdom alive within all of us.

Psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl said, "Man's search for meaning is the primary motivation in his life." Yet some contemporary voices claim that increased knowledge of the material world must diminish our sense of meaning. Physicist Steven Weinberg said, "The more the universe seems comprehensible, the more it also seems pointless." Many people hold the material and meaningful perspectives separate in their minds, in a state of uneasy truce. The Heart of the Matter: A Case for Meaning in a Material World tells us that this split vision is not necessary, and shows us how the two views can be harmonized to give depth to our picture of the world. It looks at current scientific observations from astronomy, biology and physics, as well as insights from mathematics, philosophy, psychology and religion. We are left with a sense of wonder at both the mechanics and the values of the world, the "how" and the "why" of events. This book will appeal to everyone fascinated by how our world works, and especially to those who wonder how such marvelous mechanisms can leave room for the values and purpose that give meaning to our lives, and to our world.