Before AidSat I had no self, no soul. I was a billing address. A credit score. I had a TV, a computer, a phone, a car, an apartment, some furniture, and a health-club locker. Then AidSat hired me and gave me a life. And not just one life. Hundreds of them, thousands. Kent Selkirk is an operator at AidSat, an omni-present subscriber service ready to answer, solve, and assist with the client’s every problem. Through the AidSat network Kent has a wealth of information at his fingertips–information he can use to monitor subscribers’ vital signs, information he can use to track their locations, information he can use to insinuate himself into their very lives.

An eleventh-century classic, The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon is frequently paired with The Tale of Genji as one of the most important works in the Japanese canon. Yet it has also been marginalized within Japanese literature for reasons including the gender of its author, the work’s complex textual history, and its thematic and stylistic depth. In Unbinding The Pillow Book, Gergana Ivanova offers a reception history of The Pillow Book and its author from the seventeenth century to the present that shows how various ideologies have influenced the text and shaped interactions among its different versions. Ivanova examines how and why The Pillow Book has been read over the centuries, placing it in the multiple contexts in which it has been rewritten, including women’s education, literary scholarship, popular culture, “pleasure quarters,” and the formation of the modern nation-state. Drawing on scholarly commentaries, erotic parodies, instruction manuals for women, high school textbooks, and comic books, she considers its outsized role in ideas about Japanese women writers. Ultimately, Ivanova argues for engaging the work’s plurality in order to achieve a clearer understanding of The Pillow Book and the importance it has held for generations of readers, rather than limiting it to a definitive version or singular meaning. The first book-length study in English of the reception history of Sei Shōnagon, Unbinding The Pillow Book sheds new light on the construction of gender and sexuality, how women’s writing has been used to create readerships, and why ancient texts continue to play vibrant roles in contemporary cultural production.

Bound by a relentless hex that has spanned lifetimes, Alexandra Steele is haunted by past-life memories from the witch trials, still playing out in her current incarnation. When tragedy strikes those closest to her, Alex blames herself, suspecting her nemesis is responsible. Driven by loss, she intensifies her efforts to break the curse that has tormented her for ages and bound her to the witch who cast it. In the gripping conclusion of The Divining Sisters Series, Alex, Izzy, and Hazel are pushed to their limits – those with past or present ties to Alex go missing, danger lurks around every corner, all while the witch who cast the curse wreaks havoc from the shadows. And a prophecy, passed down through generations, foretelling of a secret hidden gift is about to be unveiled. Can this gift break the shackles of the hex, allowing Alex to finally cut the ties that bind her to that dark past? As this modern-day story reaches its climax, a new chapter begins. Stay tuned for prequels that will delve into the haunting pasts of The Divining Sisters, as their destinies unfold, and the ties that bind them come to light. The Divining Sisters is a fictional divination book series that follows a group of women (witches, healers, diviners) who reincarnate lifetime after lifetime and reunite with their coven so they can fulfill a mission of keeping their craft of divination, healing, and magic alive for future generations. The series focuses on reconnecting with past-life gifts, sisterhood, empowerment through facing fears, & learning to step out of the shadows to embrace their intuitive gifts that help them not only heal themselves but each other. Trigger warning: This book series covers the historical witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts and all across Europe, delving into the harrowing details of the persecutions, accusations, and unjust treatment and torture that took place during those times. These scenes may be distressing for some individuals. About the author: Dr. Heather Hardison is a clinical psychologist in Tennessee and is the Host of the Podcast, Healing Thru Tarot, shining light on the tarot as a healing and therapeutic tool. With this fourth installment in this series, she wraps up the modern-day narrative, but the magic is just beginning as she plans to write several prequels chronicling the past witch incarnations of the main characters in The Divining Sisters Series. Watch for those standalone books to delve deeper into the captivating story of how the witch trials in Salem and Europe served as the bedrock for this enchanting series.

Before AidSat I had no self, no soul. I was a billing address. A credit score. I had a TV, a computer, a phone, a car, an apartment, some furniture, and a health-club locker. Then AidSat hired me and gave me a life. And not just one life. Hundreds of them, thousands. Kent Selkirk is an operator at AidSat, an omni-present subscriber service ready to answer, solve, and assist with the client’s every problem. Through the AidSat network Kent has a wealth of information at his fingertips–information he can use to monitor subscribers’ vital signs, information he can use to track their locations, information he can use to insinuate himself into their very lives.

In Unbinding the Heart, author, speaker, and Huffington Post regular Agapi Stassinopoulos invites readers on an inspiring journey of inner exploration to reconnect with their true selves. Born in Greece, a country that celebrates life, Agapi learned the essential truths of happiness through the examples of wisdom, caring, playfulness, and generosity she saw all around her, starting with her own mother. She came to realize that everyone is born with an open heart, but that we quickly learn to put conditions on our happiness-comparing ourselves to others, casting judgment, doubting ourselves, allowing fear or entitlement or self-righteousness to take hold-and slowly our hearts begin to close. We isolate ourselves, feeling alone, disconnected, and unheard; and in doing so we immobilize our spirit, stifle our authentic expression, and cut off our joy. As she went on, Agapi, like so many of us, came under the soul-constricting influences of the larger world. In her struggle to find her place and her voice, trying to balance the acting career she dreamed of with the spiritual life she longed for, she discovered a path that was uniquely hers. Unbinding the Heart shows how she found her way home to herself. In 32 personal, heartfelt stories full of insight and humor, Agapi takes us from her mother's bountiful kitchen, where the seeds of fearless living were planted, to the London classical stage, to an epiphany on a New York City bus-and inspires readers with the confidence to let go of the beliefs that bind them and come to a deeper understanding of life and love.

An invitation to everyday mystics: unbind yourself from the causes of suffering and step into grace. “We all want the freedom of sanity and peace, the undefended inclusiveness of love. We all want refuge in grace.” —Kathleen Dowling Singh, from her introduction to Unbinding Unbinding is a spacious and sophisticated unfolding of one of Buddhism’s subtlest foundational teachings—the truth of dependent origination—offered in an utterly intimate voice. Kathleen Dowling Singh offers lyrical reflections on timeless truths and contemplative exercises accessible to anyone, opening the door of insight to all. Drawing on the language and teachings of Buddhism, Unbinding invites everyday mystics from all traditions—or none—to encounter the sacred and experience grace firsthand. Singh shows how illusions of ego obscure our true, unbounded nature and trap us in suffering—as she helps the reader move ever more deeply into living from gratitude, wisdom, and love.

A clever, romantic novel based on the true story of a girl who disguised herself as a boy to sail with the infamous pirates Anne Bonny and Calico Jack—and fell in love with Anne Bonny. There’s no place for a girl in Mary’s world. Not in the home of her mum, desperately drunk and poor. Not in the household of her wealthy granny, where no girl can be named an heir. And certainly not in the arms of Nat, her childhood love who never knew her for who she was. As a sailor aboard a Caribbean merchant ship, Mary’s livelihood—and her safety—depends on her ability to disguise her gender. At least, that’s what she thinks is true. But then pirates attack the ship, and in the midst of the gang of cutthroats, Mary spots something she never could have imagined: a girl pirate. The sight of a girl standing unafraid upon the deck, gun and sword in hand, changes everything. In a split-second decision, Mary turns her gun on her own captain, earning herself the chance to join the account and become a pirate alongside Calico Jack and Anne Bonny. For the first time, Mary has a shot at freedom. But imagining living as her true self is easier, it seems, than actually doing it. And when Mary finds herself falling for the captain’s mistress, she risks everything—her childhood love, her place among the crew, and even her life. Breathlessly romantic and brilliantly subversive, The Unbinding of Mary Reade is sure to sweep readers off their feet and make their hearts soar.

The Unbinding chronicles a woman's experience of finding her way through and out of a twenty-year marriage rooted in domestic violence, as well as her continued unbinding from trauma. The abuse she survives is particularly insidious due to the fact that she is married to a pastor, and thus it includes not just emotional, psychological, physical, and sexual abuse, but also spiritual abuse. Settings and images of everyday life provide a gateway into a remarkable journey, the telling of which is vivid and dark, yet ultimately hopeful. The woman at the center of this journey survives due to her children--a manifestation to her of grace in the world--and her grit.

Every spy has a past. Every man has his price. Long ago, a brutal war between the countries of Chaldus and Yndor left the mages with blood on their hands. To rid the world of destructive magic, they performed the Binding and vowed that never again would a magical war be fought upon the land. But the Unbinding has begun. Someone is killing former Chaldean ministers and leaving a unique calling card: a gold coin in their mouths. Galatine Hazard recognizes the sign, because once it was his own trademark. He’s a respected man now, but someone is setting him up. To clear his name, Hazard has to reach back into his bag of tricks to catch the killer, a wily assassin who could bring the country to the brink of war and unleash the power of the ancients.

NEXT in the Unbinding the Gospel Series. With 40 day personal prayer journal. For small groups ready to invite... Unbinding Your Soul is the "unbinding" model for actual, invitational evangelism. Typical mainline churches get ready for the Unbinding Your Soul small group study with Unbinding the Gospel/Unbinding Your Heart "pre-evangelism." SOUL helps them invite unchurched friends or recent visitors to try an "experiment" (some churches call it a "test drive") of Christian faith and community. Many people who aren't connected with a church would love to try a no-obligation "experiment" of substantial spiritual discussion, prayer, and community. Unbinding Your Soul prepares church members to invite their friends into a four-week small group experience with short study chapters, an individual prayer journal, prayer partner activities, and group exercises. Unbinding Your Soul works for: Growing, healthy churches, Churches that have done an all-church saturation study with the Unbinding the Gospel Series, New church starts, New members' classes, and "On fire" groups in typical churches. Note: Two copies will be needed per small group participant. Participants pray for the person to receive the extra book. Groups double. The Unbinding the Gospel Series is in over 12,000 congregations across the theological spectrum. The Christian Century, Alban Institute Congregations, Evangelism Connections, 8 heads of denominations, Brian McLaren, George Hunter & Richard Peace have endorsed it enthusiastically. The Series arises out of the only major national study of evangelism in mainline churches, funded by the Lilly Endowment. From the Unbinding the Gospel Series.