Art Elfee may seem like just any other ordinary 16 year-old boy about to finish secondary school, but he has an amazing secret - he has discovered an opening to a world where the legend of Santa Claus is possibly very real indeed. He also has another secret - one of his best friends is one of the inhabitants of that world - a small feisty Sprite named Maga. As if trying to keep these secrets isn't hard enough, a dark, shadowy figure has followed him back to his own world; but when Art tries to discover who he is, he uncovers a shocking truth about someone very close to his heart, that may just tear his world apart ...Art And The Abductor is the second novel in the L-Shaped Village series, the sequel to the bestselling Art And The Artisans, where Art is unexpectedly catapulted to a strange world and a race of beings he doesn't understand. In this second novel, Art is unwittingly taught the ways of magic, under the watchful eye of someone who may be the key to everything ...

The thirty chapters of this innovative international study are all devoted to the topic of the play within the play. The authors explore the wide range of aesthetic, literary-theoretical and philosophical issues associated with this rhetorical device, not only in terms of its original meta-theatrical setting – from the baroque idea of a theatrum mundi onward to contemporary examples of postmodern self-referential dramaturgy – but also with regard to a variety of different generic applications, e.g. in narrative fiction, musical theatre and film. The authors, internationally recognized specialists in their respective fields, draw on recent debates in such areas as postcolonial studies, game and systems theories, media and performance studies, to analyze the specific qualities and characteristics of the play within the play: as ultimate affirmation of the ‘self’ (the ‘Hamlet paradigm’), as a self-reflective agency of meta-theatrical discourse, and as a vehicle of intermedial and intercultural transformation. The challenging study, with its underlying premise of play as a key feature of cultural anthropology and human creativity, breaks new ground by placing the play within the play at the centre of a number of intersecting scholarly discourses on areas of topical concern to scholars in the humanities.

Here is a fresh, revolutionary approach to finding inner peace and expansive joy, presented by one of the greatest exponents of yoga and meditation alive today. We have all experienced our subconscious minds–in our sleep, dreams, and through our unconscious thoughts and emotions. And, of course, we're all intimately familiar with the normal conscious state of awareness from which we go about our daily lives. But there is a third, less well-known state of awareness: the superconscious. The hidden mechanism at work behind intuition, spiritual and physical healing, successful problem solving, and finding deep, lasting joy, superconscious awareness is the missed link to living richer, more meaningful lives. Though many of us have experienced fleeting moments of raised consciousness and enlightenment, few know how to purposely enter such an exalted state. Through meditation, chanting, affirmation, and prayer, Swami Kriyananda teaches us how to reach this state successfully and regularly and how to maximize its beneficial effects. In Awaken to Superconsciousness, Kriyananda shares his knowledge of the ancient yoga tradition, details how to attain inner peace, and provides inspiring meditative exercises. Awaken to Superconsciousness provides a comprehensive, easy-to-understand program to help us tap into our wellspring of creativity, unlock intuitive guidance, and hear the silent voice of our soul. If you are looking to: Find Inner Peace Enhance Your Creativity Unlock Intuitive Guidance Feel Deep and Lasting Joy Improve Your Concentration Expand Your Awareness Transcend Your Limitations Commune with the Divine Then you must read Awaken to Superconsciousness!

Table of contents

Stages of the Buddha's Teachings is an extraordinary and systematized representation of the complete path to enlightenment. From the acclaimed Library of Tibetan Classics. The “stages of the teachings” or tenrim genre of Tibetan spiritual writing expounds the Mahayana teachings as a graded series of topics, from the practices required at the start of the bodhisattva’s career to the final perfect awakening of buddhahood. The three texts in the present volume all exerted seminal influence in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. The first text, The Blue Compendium, presents the instructions of the Kadam teacher Potowa (1031–1106) as recorded by his student Dölpa (1059–1131). This text is followed by Gampopa’s (1079–1153) revered Ornament of Precious Liberation, which remains the most authoritative text on the path to enlightenment within the Kagyü school. The final text is Clarifying the Sage’s Intent, a masterwork by the preeiment sage of the Sakya tradition, Sakya Pandita (1182–1251).