Do you believe in God? Nine out of ten Americans unhesitatingly answer yes. But for Douglas Porpora, the real questions begin where pollsters leave off. What, he asks, does religious belief actually mean in our lives? Does it shape our identities and our actions? Or, despite our professions of faith, are we morally adrift? Landscapes of the Soul paints a disturbing picture of American spiritual life. In his search for answers to his questions, Porpora interviewed clerks and executives, Jews, evangelical Christians, Buddhists, Taoists, and even followers of Bhagwan Sri Rajneesh. He asked them about God, and about what they saw as their own place in the universe. What he found was a widespread inability to articulate any grand meaning of life. We lack heroes to inspire us. We lack a sense of calling, of transcendent purpose in our existence. Many of us seem incapable of caring deeply about the suffering of others. Our society is permeated with moral indifference. Yes, we are a believing people, but God is often a distant abstraction and rarely an emotional presence in our lives. Only such an emotional connection, Porpora argues, can be the basis of a genuine moral vision. Our emotional estrangement from God and the sacred keeps us from caring about social justice, keeps us from wanting to change the world, keeps us enclosed in our own private worlds. Landscapes of the Soul is a passionate call to broaden our spiritual and moral horizons, to raise our eyes to the greater reality that unites us all.

Painting the Landscape of Your Soul engages and reawakens your innate creativity as a path to self discovery. This book is a step-by-step journey of empowerment, reclaiming your inner self with paint and paper. It incorporates trusting your intuitive voice with deep, underlying principles of healing such as energy medicine and shamanism. It's a journey toward integration and wholeness and will bring a twinkle to your eyes again! No artistic skill is required."

The North American church is struggling. Our society seems to be coming apart at the seams and Christianity appears on the verge of losing its voice, its leadership, and its youth. The church’s calling is to cooperate with her Creator in the repair of the world. Instead, we struggle in the loss of the simplicity of the natural images of Jesus which compel us to engage tension, dependency, and the lesson of being on the margins. Until we learn to take our cues from a world we did not build, our actions will continue to prop up a society struggling from the weight of its own ethos. Part history, part cultural dialogue, part travelogue—always in conversation with the ancient and compelling biblical vision of shalom—Landscape of the Soul will encourage you to see beyond the shells of your constructed world to those places where dynamic spiritual rhythms can still be found.

This full-colour book offers a unique insight into labyrinths in the UK and wider, combined with Di's own stunning photography. It begins with a potted history of the labyrinth and hints for walking one, shares personal reflections and stories from the labyrinth and explores the variety of settings in which labyrinths are now to be found. It includes a section on how to create your own labyrinth and lead your own labyrinth walk.

The desire to soothe our souls has perhaps never been greater. This collection of lyrical meditations, prayers, contemplations, devotionals and psalms, can be the spiritual balm we desperately need right now. Enjoy 111 passages structured around nine metaphorical landscapes guiding the reader over emotional terrains on a journey toward peace and transcendence, while providing a sense of place to be mined for inner awareness. We can't help bring about much-needed change in the world if we aren't engaged in some form of self-healing. What is happening on the global stage is a reflection of what is transpiring within. Sacred Landscapes of the Soul gently assists in the process by helping us to find the wisdom, wit and wherewithal to embrace our challenges and celebrate our spiritual liberation. We are each meant to become a magnanimous and beneficial presence on the planet. When we consciously choose to align with the divine within, we tap into wellsprings of faith, hope, and connection. Together we heal the world--this comforting and encouraging message rings out from every page and will resonate with readers wherever they are on life's journey.

First published in 2008, Donna Freitas's Sex and the Soul achieved national acclaim, illuminating the as-yet-unexplored struggles of college students navigating the lines of faith and sexuality. Conducting face-to-face interviews at a wide range of colleges and universities-from public to private, Catholic to evangelical-Freitas discovers what students really think about these highly personal subjects. Their stories will not only engage readers, but, in many cases, move them with the painful struggles these candid young women and men face. This updated edition includes a new Afterword in which Freitas reflects on the hundreds of conversations she has had with college students since the book was first published, and offers further practical advice for dealing with hookup culture.

The Harry Potter series of books and movies are wildly popular. Many Christians see the books as largely if not entirely harmless. Others regard them as dangerous and misleading. In his book A Landscape with Dragons, Harry Potter critic Michael O'Brien examines contemporary children's literature and finds it spiritually and morally wanting. His analysis, written before the rise of the popular Potter books and films, anticipates many of the problems Harry Potter critics point to. A Landscape with Dragons is a controversial, yet thoughtful study of what millions of young people are reading and the possible impact such reading may have on them. In this study of the pagan invasion of children's culture, O'Brien, the father of six, describes his own coming to terms with the effect it has had on his family and on most families in Western society. His analysis of the degeneration of books, films, and videos for the young is incisive and detailed. Yet his approach is not simply critical, for he suggests a number of remedies, including several tools of discernment for parents and teachers in assessing the moral content and spiritual impact of this insidious revolution. In doing so, he points the way to rediscovery of time-tested sources, and to new developments in Christian culture. If you have ever wondered why a certain children's book or film made you feel uneasy, but you couldn't figure out why, this book is just what you need. This completely revised, much expanded second edition also includes a very substantial recommended reading list of over 1,000 books for kindergarten through highschool.

"A remote townland in County Mayo, Carrigskeewaun has been the poet's home-from-home, his soul-landscape. Its lakes and mountains, wild animals and flowers, its moody seas and skies have for decades lit up his poetry. This title features his love poems and elegies and includes reflections on the Great War and the Northern Irish Troubles."--Publisher description.

The final volume in a trilogy of alternate selves and alternate literary histories

In this second book in the series, Map of the Soul - Shadow: Our Hidden Self, Dr. Murray Stein explores the dark recesses of our psyche, as well as the shadow images in BTS' latest songs in their album Map of the Soul: 7. The Korean Pop band, BTS, has been taking the world by storm with a series of albums inspired from Dr. Stein's concepts titled Map of the Soul. Dr. Stein has joined them in expressing these same Jungian themes in a companion book series. The landscape of the soul has many contours and some hidden regions. This book speaks about obscure, typically unacknowledged aspects of the psyche. The shadow may appear initially like an unwanted intruder but those who become acquainted with their shadow discover it to be a vast storehouse of treasures and resources on the journey of self-discovery. Whereas the persona is the part of your personality that is revealed to others, the shadow is the part of your personality that is concealed from others and ourselves. The shadow often declares itself through sudden, often brutal reversals. At the collective level, the shadow proves capable of magnetizing people in the same direction, often with very destructive results. The person intent on living a more full, authentic life will be well served by becoming acquainted with the shadow. Dr. Stein and the collaborators, Sarah Stein, Steven Buser, and Leonard Cruz, are deeply indebted to BTS, whose world-wide popularity points to their remarkable ability to tap into universal themes that dwell in the collective domain. BTS' music inspired this work and we hope this work will inspire others to explore the deep recesses of their inner life. Table of Contents -Introduction -BTS' Interlude: Shadow: A Psychological Reflection -A Review of the Map of the Soul -Chapter 1: Murray Stein on Shadow -Chapter 2: The Shadow and the Problem of Violence -Chapter 3: "Criminals" The Shadow Bearers of Society -Chapter 4: Heal Yourself, Heal the World -References -About the Contributors