This book represents a journey though the maze and mysteries of what life holds. Each aphorism conveys a deeper thought that may lead not only to exploration of self, but also a whole exploration of the world external to our own minds. The beauty lies within the realm of thought-provoking text. It is truly a beautiful experience if one has the ability to pause and reflect on the interconnectivity of what life presents. Our Western framework and culturally constructed clutter has occupied our lives to the point where the ability to contemplate deeper truths about our existence has become lost within mechanisms of unnecessary and forced survival. This book allows the individual to absorb deeper thought processes and realizations about the way in which the world operates. Filled with stunning imagery, this collection takes the reader to a place within themselves where they may contemplate the beauty of this Earth, humanity and what truly is important to their own existence. It has been know for an age that deep contemplation may often lead to fulfilling and peaceful existence. May all those who feel and contemplate deeply that which they love be blessed with the strength, courage and will to better themselves and constantly strive for a peaceful state of being. www.thelabyrinthoflife.com.au

Living In The Labyrinth is the story of how one woman found the strength and the courage to cope with a devastating disease that has afflicted five million Americans. Far from being an exercise in self-pity or a standard autobiography, this is an unflinching and ultimately uplifting look at a debilitating illness from the inside out. “Somewhere there is that ever-present reminder list of what I am supposed to do today. But I cannot find it. I attempt to do the laundry and find myself outside, in my backyard, holding soiled clothes. How did I get here? How do I get back?” Only forty-five when she first began to struggle with the memory lapses and disorientation that signal the onset of Alzheimer’s, Diana Friel McGowin has written a courageous, stirring insider’s story of the disease that is now the fourth leading killer of American adults. Diana’s personal journey through days of darkness and light, fear and hope gives us new insight into a devastating illness and the plight of its victims, complete with a list of early warning signs, medical background, and resources for further information. But Diana’s story goes far beyond a recounting of a terrifying disease. It portrays a marriage struggling to survive, a family hurt beyond words, and a woman whose humor and intelligence triumph over setbacks and loss to show us the best of what being human is. “A stunner of a book . . . it takes the reader on a terrifying but enlightening journey.”—San Antonio News Express “Touching and sometimes angry . . . a poignant insider’s view.”—The Cincinnati Enquirer

Philip Appleman sagely and eloquently addresses such questions as where we came from, whether there is a God, and if there is, why there is so much evil and turmoil in the world. Putting this in the illuminating context of our evolutionary development and cultural history, he also ponders the notion of an afterlife and what role it has in determining our behaviour while we are alive. Twenty-first-century thinkers, reflecting on the long and horrendous history of religious wars and atrocities, are no longer willing to pay the traditional deference to religious authority, preferring instead to seek inside their own lives, thoughts and actions for the answers to life's greatest questions. Appleman concludes that a life well lived, short as it is in the eons of our planet's existence, is its own reward.

Ancient and medieval labyrinths embody paradox, according to Penelope Reed Doob. Their structure allows a double perspective—the baffling, fragmented prospect confronting the maze-treader within, and the comprehensive vision available to those without. Mazes simultaneously assert order and chaos, artistry and confusion, articulated clarity and bewildering complexity, perfected pattern and hesitant process. In this handsomely illustrated book, Doob reconstructs from a variety of literary and visual sources the idea of the labyrinth from the classical period through the Middle Ages. Doob first examines several complementary traditions of the maze topos, showing how ancient historical and geographical writings generate metaphors in which the labyrinth signifies admirable complexity, while poetic texts tend to suggest that the labyrinth is a sign of moral duplicity. She then describes two common models of the labyrinth and explores their formal implications: the unicursal model, with no false turnings, found almost universally in the visual arts; and the multicursal model, with blind alleys and dead ends, characteristic of literary texts. This paradigmatic clash between the labyrinths of art and of literature becomes a key to the metaphorical potential of the maze, as Doob's examination of a vast array of materials from the classical period through the Middle Ages suggests. She concludes with linked readings of four "labyrinths of words": Virgil's Aeneid, Boethius' Consolation of Philosophy, Dante's Divine Comedy, and Chaucer's House of Fame, each of which plays with and transforms received ideas of the labyrinth as well as reflecting and responding to aspects of the texts that influenced it. Doob not only provides fresh theoretical and historical perspectives on the labyrinth tradition, but also portrays a complex medieval aesthetic that helps us to approach structurally elaborate early works. Readers in such fields as Classical literature, Medieval Studies, Renaissance Studies, comparative literature, literary theory, art history, and intellectual history will welcome this wide-ranging and illuminating book.

Providing a historical and modern context for the unique spiritual discipline of walking a labyrinth, Travis Scholl weaves his own journey with a prayerful study of the Gospel of Mark, guiding readers to powerful encounters with God, even in the midst of quiet solitude, repetition and stillness. These 40 reflections are ideal for daily reading—during Lent or any time of the year.

"Living the Labyrinth: 101 Paths to a Deeper Connection with the Sacred" offers beginners and seasoned labyrinth users a multitude of new ways to approach this sacred tool. The short, devotional-like chapters may be used however you choose—because, as Jill Geoffrion tells us, any way we live the labyrinth is the "right" way. Filled with surprises and inviting growth at every turn, the labyrinth has enriched the lives of spiritual pilgrims in ways that embody the love and wisdom of God. With "Living the Labyrinth" as a guide, you will discover the labyrinth's remarkable gifts time and again.

"Ah, my love... I was so in love with you, I can't explain it, but I can only make you feel it. I can't write, but I can whisper. You are the most peaceful, sweetest remedy for the troubles that befall me. Perhaps you remember, maybe my book has somehow ended up in your hands. Maybe we'll meet when I'm already gone. But I promise you, I owe you a heart full of love. I have stories that I can't tell you. There are nights when you unknowingly become my balm, I can't explain, but I can make you feel..." It is a work I started writing years ago, where I poured my thoughts onto paper because they couldn't fit inside me, and hopefully, I can say that they saved my life. In short, welcome to a new world, my world...