The notion that the world is filled with holy sparks is shared by religious traditions around the world. Learn to uncover this sacred dimension and you will begin to both hallow the world and be healed by its powers. These 101 lively reflections will help you learn to look outward and discover a spark of the divine in everyday objects, activities, experiences, and the glories of the natural world.

Divine Sparks presents practical and inspiring wisdom from the world's great religious traditions for men and women of all faiths-or none. It does not propose any dogma or doctrine, but encourages inner exploration and study to help all readers truly know their own hearts and minds. In its pages, it offers transformational insights and practices from a variety of sources, along with questions for reflection, suggestions for creative activities, and original prayers and meditations.

"I suspect the real breakthroughs in our understanding of consciousness are going to come from an entirely different direction. That direction, controversially, has to do with psychedelics--which, as many of the contributors to The Divine Spark argue, offer spectacular potential for the investigation of the 'hard problem' of consciousness." --from the introduction by Graham Hancock Psychedelics: Medicinal? Vital in interspecies communication or communion with the sacred? Are you reaching enlightenment or damaging your brain? In this anthology, edited by bestselling author Graham Hancock, 22 writers discuss psychedelics and their myriad connections to consciousness. Travel to South America, the American Southwest, outer space, inner space, and back in time to revisit Pahnke's The Good Friday experiment. Explore the effects of ayahuasca, LSD, and much more. Illuminating the topic like never before: Mike Alivernia * Russell Brand * David Jay Brown * Paul Devereux * Rick Doblin * Ede Frecska * Alex Grey * Nassim Haramein * Martina Hoffmann * Don Lattin * Luis Eduardo Luna * Dennis McKenna * Thad McKraken * Rak Razam * Gabriel Roberts * Thomas B. Roberts * Gregory Sams * Robert M. Schoch * Mark Seelig * Rick Strassman * Robert Tindall And, of course, Graham Hancock.

Divine Sparks calls us to be prophets: visionaries able to discern and proclaim God's incoming kingdom, as it arrives by day—and night. These series of reflections, some prosaic, others more poetic in tone, open up ways of seeing light in darkness, love in places of desolation, and the in-breaking of life when all seems tired and old.

Jesus as Philosopher: The Philosophical Sage in the Synoptic Gospels examines the possible ways in which the authors of the Synoptic Gospels, Mark, Matthew, and Luke, were inspired by contemporary philosophical traditions about the ideal philosophical sage in their description of their ideal human being, Jesus Christ. Runar M. Thorsteinsson considers the following questions: How does the author in question speak of Jesus in relation to contemporary philosophy? Do we see Jesus take on a certain 'philosophical' role in the Gospels, either by his statements and reasoning or his way of life? In what way are Jesus' words and actions analogous to that of leading philosophical figures in Graeco-Roman antiquity, according to these texts? Conversely, in what way do his words and actions differ from theirs? While Thorsteinsson discusses a number of Graeco-Roman sources, the emphasis is on the question of how these parallel texts help us better to understand the Gospel authors' perception and presentation of the character of Jesus. While the fields of theology and ethics are often intertwined in these texts, including the philosophical texts, Thorsteinsson's main focus is the ethical aspect. He argues that the Gospel authors drew in some ways on classical virtue ethics. The study concludes that the Gospel authors inherited stories and sayings of Jesus that they wanted to improve upon and recount as truthfully as possible, and they did so in part by making use of philosophical traditions about the ideal sage, especially that of Stoicism and Cynicism.

Hidden within each is a spark of the Divine. We search for it in the far reaches of the most distant quasars and within the smallest quarks in the atom. Yet, its mysteries lay waiting to be uncovered within us. Spark of the Divine, by world-renowned spiritual Master of meditation on the inner light and sound, Sant Rajinder Singh Ji Maharaj, describes the journey taken by those who have discovered these secrets. It is not a knowledge reserved for the few; it is available to all. The way is simple. We can bask in the eternal sunshine. Through meditation, we can experience spiritual realms of consciousness. He has taken this journey and provides us with an easy blueprint. A must-read book for anyone who wants a simple meditation practice to experience for one's self the wonders within us.

A grandfather introduces his grandson to the Jewish tradition of tikkun olam, a centuries-old concept which proposes that everyone must do their part in order to improve the world.

Where do we go for clear, simple and seasoned understanding of a ministry as important as a prophet? The answer is just as simple and clear---T. AUSTIN SPARKS. This respected and proven voice from our past speaks with wisdom and authority on one of the most misunderstood but essential ministries in the church today. He talks about man, the passion, the voice and the mercy expressed in the hearts of true prophets of the Lord. You will learn how to recognize, understand and respond to a true prophet as you read the pages of this book.

Ask a crowd of Christians whether they believe in Jesus as Lord and Savior, and all hands will go up. Ask the same crowd whether they live like Jesus, and most of those same hands will come down. Why is this? Why is it so hard to bridge the gap between belief and real life? Respected author, professor, and psychologist Gary W. Moon thinks it has to do with our hyper-intellectual but non-experiential method of living the Christian life. In this winsome book Moon provides a thirty-day apprenticeship with Jesus, whereby readers will actively practice being with Jesus day in and day out. Each day's reading uses compelling stories and scripture to illustrate a point and closes with a suggested apprenticeship activity.

The Bible is a religious masterpiece. Its authors cast a profound vision for the healing of humanity through the power of divine love, grace and forgiveness. But the Bible also contains "dark texts" that challenge our ethical imagination. How can one book teach us to love our enemies and also teach us to slaughter Canaanites? Why does a book that preaches the equality of all people -- male and female, slave and free, Greek and Jew -- also include laws that permit God's people to trade in slaves and to persecute those of a different faiths or ethnicities? In Sacred Word, Broken Word Kenton Sparks argues that the "dark side" of Scripture is not an illusion. Rather, these dark texts remind us that all human beings, including the biblical authors, stand in need of God's redemptive solution in Jesus Christ.