J.M. Seis' vision is to allow others to experience the beauty and power that is born in what we may consider our darkest experiences. She redefines how writing can become a ceremony of healing. Seis created a new genre, Ceremonial Memoir (TM) in order to transform a challenging time in her own life. A thirteen-year old girl in the process of discovering her sexual identity is placed in a state mental institution by her religious parents in 1969. Awakening Darknessis a story told by a young girl to her adult self. Decades of silenced experience erupt from an unheard past. Although many traumas occurred during that time period, a story of healing and transformation rises from the ashes. J.M. Seis takes us through a labyrinth of loss and redemption in her own life as a healer who has dedicated her life to ease suffering. She empowers the true self emerging out of darkness, acknowledging literal experiences, symbolic meaning, and mythic interactions. She brings to light the influence and guidance she gained from the Dark Mother Archetype and how important it is to reconnect the dark and the light aspects of the Divine Feminine in human consciousness. Awakening Darkness is a first person account of a gay child in a mental institution. Seis also portrays a feminist awakening by a young girl in a violent male dominant society where abuse of power is rampant. Along with the photos and drawings, this book illustrates a time in the history of mental health rarely written about.

The first book to examine the spiritual and therapeutic practice of retreat in physical darkness to explore inner light • Shows how experiencing complete darkness over prolonged periods helps in developing mental clarity and creativity • Draws upon many indigenous and spiritual traditions that use this technique The use of ceremonial darkness is a classic and cross-cultural method for exploring hidden aspects of unconscious and super-conscious states, accessing invisible landscapes, and embracing the deeper recesses of the self. In Darkness Visible Heaven and Buxton examine the spiritual and therapeutic practice of taking retreat in physical darkness. For millennia mystics and sages have used darkness as a spiritual tool for breaking with their pasts, prior conditioning, and the limited reality of their societies. Spiritual seekers from many traditions--Celtic, Eastern, indigenous North and South American, Tibetan, and African--have used darkness as a tool for spiritual enlightenment. Heaven and Buxton show how experiencing complete darkness, even for only a period of hours, brings about a remarkable clarity and mental stillness and thus provides a springboard for creativity, intuition, and spiritual development. They include exercises that explore lucid levels of dream consciousness, drawing both from their experience as teachers of this method and from the many cultures that include this practice in their spiritual traditions. Darkness Visible shows how deprivation of sight can truly teach us to see.

This sweeping history of popular religion in eighteenth-century New England examines the experiences of ordinary people living through extraordinary times. Drawing on an unprecedented quantity of letters, diaries, and testimonies, Douglas Winiarski recovers the pervasive and vigorous lay piety of the early eighteenth century. George Whitefield's preaching tour of 1740 called into question the fundamental assumptions of this thriving religious culture. Incited by Whitefield and fascinated by miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit--visions, bodily fits, and sudden conversions--countless New Englanders broke ranks with family, neighbors, and ministers who dismissed their religious experiences as delusive enthusiasm. These new converts, the progenitors of today's evangelical movement, bitterly assaulted the Congregational establishment. The 1740s and 1750s were the dark night of the New England soul, as men and women groped toward a restructured religious order. Conflict transformed inclusive parishes into exclusive networks of combative spiritual seekers. Then as now, evangelicalism emboldened ordinary people to question traditional authorities. Their challenge shattered whole communities.

"My love, speak to me. Tell me everything." Neferet went to Kalona, kneeling before him, stroking the soft, dark wings that unfurled loosely around the immortal. "What would you have me say?" He didn't meet her eyes. "Zoey lives." Neferet's voice was flat, cold, lifeless. "She does." "Then you owe me the subservience of your immortal soul." She started to walk away from him. "Where are you going? What will happen next?" "It is quite simple. I will ensure Zoey is drawn back to Oklahoma. There, on my own terms, I will complete the task you failed." Exonerated by the Vampyre High Council and returned to her position of High Priestess at Tulsa's House of Night, Neferet has sworn vengeance on Zoey. Dominion over Kalona is only one of the weapons she plans to use against Z. But Zoey has found sanctuary on the Isle of Skye and is being groomed by Queen Sgiach to take over for her there. Being Queen would be cool, wouldn't it? Why should she return to Tulsa? After losing her human consort, Heath, she will never be the same – and her relationship with her super-hot-warrior, Stark, may never be the same either... And what about Stevie Rae and Rephaim? The Raven Mocker refuses to be used against Stevie Rae, but what choice does he have when no one in the entire world, including Zoey, would be okay with their relationship? Does he betray his father or his heart? In the pulse-pounding 8th book in the bestselling House of Night series, how far will the bonds of friendship stretch and how strong are the ties that bind one girl's heart?

A savior has awakened. But she might just doom them all. After Aurianna foils a deadly plot to destroy the capital city, the people believe she has fulfilled the prophecy and prevented the civil war. However, when Aurianna returns home to the future, she realizes her attempts to thwart the catastrophe failed. Nothing has changed. Yet despite everything, the Arcanes still insist the prophecy is woven into her destiny. Now Aurianna must work to determine how and where the real event will occur, all while still trying to control her elemental abilities. The fate of time itself is at stake if she can’t learn to control her powers. The timeline will be forever stuck in an endless loop. Uncovering the shocking secrets of her own past threatens to shatter Aurianna’s already fragile balance between power and self-restraint. These secrets have the potential to rip apart her connection with the people she now holds dear. A tragic set of events leads to a battle of wills and a horrifying revelation that threatens to destroy her heart . . . and her home. She might be the savior. But time is literally counting on her. Darkness Awakening is the second book in the Awakened series, a fairytale retelling set within a dystopian fantasy adventure. This Sleeping Beauty reimagining has elements of portal fantasy with time travel, magic, and a unique fantasy setting.

Return to the "utterly addictive" (RT Book Reviews), "fast-paced and humorous" (Publishers Weekly) world of New York Times bestselling author Dianne Duvall's Immortal Guardians. He awakens encapsulated in dirt with no knowledge of how he came to be there. Riddled with injuries, he can remember neither his past nor who he is. Nor can he remember what he is. But surely no mortal man could survive being buried deep beneath the earth. All he knows with certainty is that the soothing voice and presence of the woman moving around above enables him to endure the agony of his wounds. And he will do whatever it takes to be with her. When Susan first sees the old two-story house for sale, such warmth and longing fill her that--against all reason--she makes an offer. It will take years of hard work and money she frankly doesn't have to fix up the place. So she can't explain why she bought it. She also can't explain what compels her to spend hours one night, digging in the basement until she unearths a man. A man who still lives and breathes despite having been buried alive. A man whose intense brown eyes glow amber with pain, declaring him far more than ordinary. Susan knows she should keep her distance. He has no memory and possesses gifts that would make most fear him. But as the two work together to unravel the mystery of his past, she finds herself drawn in by his teasing nature and tender touch. So much so that she loses her heart to him even as they find themselves hunted by unknown enemies who are ruthless in their quest to capture them. "Fans of terrific paranormal romance have hit the jackpot with Duvall and her electrifying series." -RT Book Reviews "Full of fascinating characters, a unique and wonderfully imaginative premise, and scorching hot relationships." -The Romance Reviews "Fans of paranormal romance who haven't discovered this series yet are really missing out on something extraordinary." -Long and Short Reviews

When a young Lutheran pastor named Johann Christoph Blumhardt (1805-1880) interceded for a tormented woman in his village, he got more than he reckoned for. "We've seen enough of what the Devil can do", he told her. "Now let us see what God can do". But would one man's simple faith hold out against the onslaught of occult forces that began to reveal themselves? Two years later the enemy, defeated, howled, "Jesus is the victor!" and fled. Nothing would ever be the same in Mottlingen, Blumhardt's rural parish in the Black Forest. The palpable nearness of God -- and the reality of the great cosmic battle between good and evil -- was in many ways reminiscent of apostolic times. Sick and disabled people were healed, mental illness vanished, and stolen goods were returned. Murders were even solved, and broken marriages restored. Marked by the transformation of lives and relationships, yet devoid of exaggerated emotionalism and religiosity, the revival spread like a quiet tide, beyond the Black Forest, throughout Germany, and even farther, despite the efforts of a cynical press and Blumhardt's nervous ecclesiastical superiors. To those who despair over the spiritual poverty of contemporary Christianity, this book offers quiet but bold assurance that God can work as powerfully in our time as he did in his.

For almost 10 years every waking moment of Jennifer's life was a nightmare. This is her story Jennifer didn't hold up a sign asking to be lured into a cult, instead, she followed in the footsteps of everyone she loved and trusted. Family members had joined the group before she did. Her hunger for approval from a father figure completed her fall into the control of a seemingly kind and charismatic cult leader who turned into an abusive tyrant. He told her how to live, think and even how to pray, and nearly stole her soul. But even he could not prevent her eventual awakening to God\'s Light and love breaking into her utter darkness through surprising people and circumstances. Pushing Back the Darkness is a gripping read you won\'t be able to put down. It goes beyond Jennifer\'s personal story to explain cult dynamics, to help you identify harmful groups, and gives real-world advice and resources for helping someone exit a spiritually damaging group. Bonus Features include: Warning signs of abusive groups/cults, how mind control works, tips for recovering from a cult experience, how to cult proof yourself or someone you love and much more. Far more than simply recounting Jennifer's amazing ordeal, it is a testimony to God's redemptive love and grace. - Marc A. Dupont Conference speaker and author of Toxic Churches and other books Shocking and enlightening. May the Lord use this book to bring hope, freedom, and healing to many ensnared in religious cults and also to educate the Body of Christ to minister with discernment, compassion and grace. - Larry Kreider International Director of DOVE International, Lancaster County, PA; author of over 30 books For all wo want to understand cults, help loved ones exit a cult, and assist them in putting their lives back together.

A resonant call to explore the darkness in life, in nature, and in consciousness—including difficult emotions like uncertainty, grief, fear, and xenophobia—through teachings, embodied meditations, and mindful inquiry that provide us with a powerful path to healing. Darkness is deeply misunderstood in today’s world; yet it offers powerful medicine, serenity, strength, healing, and regeneration. All insight, vision, creativity, and revelation arise from darkness. It is through learning to stay present and meet the dark with curiosity rather than judgment that we connect to an unwavering light within. Welcoming darkness with curiosity, rather than fear or judgment, enables us to access our innate capacity for compassion and collective healing. Dharma teacher, shamanic practitioner, and deep ecologist Deborah Eden Tull addresses the spiritual, ecological, psychological, and interpersonal ramifications of our bias towards light. Tull explores the medicine of darkness for personal and collective healing, through topics such as: Befriending the Night: The Radiant Teachings of Darkness Honoring Our Pain for Our World Seeing in the Dark: The Quiet Power of Receptivity Dreams, Possibility, and Moral Imagination Releasing Fear—Embracing Emergence Tull shows us how the labeling of darkness as “negative” becomes a collective excuse to justify avoiding everything that makes us uncomfortable: racism, spiritual bypass, environmental destruction. We can only find the radical path to wholeness by learning to embrace the interplay of both darkness and light.

The world is not what you think. Beneath skyscrapers' leering gargoyles, factories belching smoke and streets packed with the human throng lurk things we are not meant to see. Creatures dwell in the shadows and hidden places. They watch you, stalk you and prey upon your body and soul. The life you lead is a lie. Your darkest fears aren't make-believe. They're real. And now that you have glimpsed this world of darkness, there's no place to hide. The Storytelling System Rulebook is a stand-alone game for the World of Darkness, and is meant for use with Vampire: The Requiem, Werewolf: The Forsaken and Mage: The Awakening.