The Bahá'í Faith is a religion that was founded by Bahá'u'lláh in the mid-nineteenth century and has since spread all around the world. Though a way of life that is largely grounded in action, the mystical connection between the individual believer and God stands at its core. The seeker of truth aims to walk the mystical path with practical feet. This book highlights the place of mysticism in the Bahá'í Faith through an exploration of its sacred literature. It discusses Bahá'u'lláh’s teachings on God and creation, the purpose of life, the nature of spiritual experience and transformation, as well as the principles and practices that the spiritual seeker utilises on the path of transformation. Through this exploration we discover the potential of the human being to live an active and spiritual life in this world, drawing closer to God. Each person was created in the image of God and has the capacity to mirror all of God’s perfections, experiencing His light both in the outside world and within, in this world and the next.

Reflecting the increasing recognition of the importance of the spiritual in healing, Spirituality and Art Therapy is an exciting exploration of the different ways in which the spiritual forms an essential, life-enhancing component of a well-rounded therapeutic approach. The contributors are leading art therapists who write from diverse perspectives, including Christian, Jewish, Buddhist and shamanic. They explain how their own spiritual and creative influences interact, finding expression in the use of art as a healing agent with specific populations, such as bereaved children, emotionally disturbed adolescents, and the homeless. The relationships between spirituality and visual art, art therapy and transpersonal psychology are examined. Story and image are interwoven in the spiritual journeys of therapists and clients, and suggested creative exercises make this an accessible, practical resource for those who desire to understand and execute an holistic method of therapy. Arguing that art therapists can mediate between the sacred and the mundane, this pioneering book is an affirmation of the transformative power of art therapy.

Art Therapy and Social Action is an exciting exploration of how professionals can incorporate the techniques and approaches of art therapy to address social problems. Leading art therapists and other professionals show how creative methods can be used effectively to resolve conflicts, manage aggression, heal trauma and build communities.

Raised in a privileged part of a future dying world, Suyin is struggling to fit in to a way of life devoted to “things”. Jobless and aimless, she spends her days reading, walking and gazing at the odd star just bright enough to shine through the blanket of gas and light that hides the boundless universe. On her way back from a hike one day, Suyin sees a paper note stuck to the wall of the zip-train, a sight unseen in a world of screens and lights. The note says: “Unique individual wanted for expedition into space to test habitability of new planet. Need to be intelligent, creative and courageous, with sound general knowledge...” Deeply interested though doubtful she has the qualities needed for the mission, her very identity and self-worth depend on it. She can’t find her place on earth. Could she find it on another planet beyond the blue veil?

The Cosmic Game discusses the broadest philosophical, metaphysical and spiritual insights gleaned in Grof's research concerning human nature and reality, addressing the most fundamental questions human beings have asked about the nature of existence since time immemorial. Insights from research into nonordinary states of consciousness portray existence as an astonishing play of the cosmic creative principle that transcends time, space, linear causality, and polarities of every kind and suggest an identity of the individual psyche in its furthest reaches with the universal creative principle and the totality of existence. This identity of the human being with the Divine is the ultimate secret that lies at the core of all great spiritual traditions.

For more than 30 years, Yoga Journal has been helping readers achieve the balance and well-being they seek in their everyday lives. With every issue,Yoga Journal strives to inform and empower readers to make lifestyle choices that are healthy for their bodies and minds. We are dedicated to providing in-depth, thoughtful editorial on topics such as yoga, food, nutrition, fitness, wellness, travel, and fashion and beauty.

Rich with case material, this groundbreaking volume provides a comprehensive overview of music therapy, from basic concepts to emerging clinical approaches. Experts review psychodynamic, humanistic, cognitive-behavioral, and developmental foundations and describe major techniques, including the Nordoff-Robbins model and the Bonny Method of Guided Imagery and Music. An expansive section on clinical applications examines music therapy with children and adults, as well as its recognized role in medical settings. Topics include autism spectrum disorder, school interventions, brain injury, and trauma. An authoritative resource for music therapists, the book also shows how music can be used by other mental health and medical professionals. The companion website features audio downloads illustrative of the Nordoff-Robbins model.

This book presents a collection of ethnomathematical studies of diverse mathematical practices in Afro-Brazilian, indigenous, rural and urban communities in Brazil. Ethnomathematics as a research program aims to investigate the interrelationships of local mathematical knowledge sources with broader universal forms of mathematics to understand ideas, procedures, and practices found in distinct cultural groups. Based on this approach, the studies brought together in this volume show how this research program is applied and practiced in a culturally diverse country such as Brazil, where African, indigenous and European cultures have generated different forms of mathematical practice. These studies present ethnomathematics in action, as a tool to connect the study of mathematics with the students’ real life experiences, foster critical thinking and develop a mathematics curriculum which incorporates contributions from different cultural groups to enrich mathematical knowledge. By doing so, this volume shows how ethnomathematics can contribute in practice to the development of a decolonial mathematics education. Ethnomathematics in Action: Mathematical Practices in Brazilian Indigenous, Urban and Afro Communities will be of interest to educators and educational researchers looking for innovative approaches to develop a more inclusive, democratic, critical, multicultural and multiethnic mathematics education.

Most education research is undertaken in western developed countries. While some research from developing countries does make it into research journals from time to time, but these articles only emphasize the rarity of research in developing countries. The proposed book is unique in that it will cover education in Papua New Guinea over the millennia. Papua New Guinea’s multicultural society with relatively recent contact with Europe and the Middle East provides a cameo of the development of education in a country with both a colonial history and a coup-less transition to independence. Discussion will focus on specific areas of mathematics education that have been impacted by policies, research, circumstances and other influences, with particular emphasis on pressures on education in the last one and half centuries. This volume will be one of the few records of this kind in the education research literature as an in-depth record and critique of how school mathematics has been grown in Papua New Guinea from the late 1800s, and should be a useful addition to graduate programs mathematics education courses, history of mathematics, as well as the interdisciplinary fields of cross cultural studies, scholarship focusing on globalization and post / decolonialism, linguistics, educational administration and policy, technology education, teacher education, and gender studies.

Addressing the pervasive longing for meaning and fulfillment in this time of crisis, Nature and the Human Soul introduces a visionary ecopsychology of human development that reveals how fully and creatively we can mature when soul and wild nature guide us. Depth psychologist and wilderness guide Bill Plotkin presents a model for a human life span rooted in the cycles and qualities of the natural world, a blueprint for individual development that ultimately yields a strategy for cultural transformation. If it is true, as Plotkin and others observe, that we live in a culture dominated by adolescent habits and desires, then the enduring societal changes we so desperately need won’t happen until we individually and collectively evolve into an engaged, authentic adulthood. With evocative language and personal stories, including those of elders Thomas Berry and Joanna Macy, this book defines eight stages of human life — Innocent, Explorer, Thespian, Wanderer, Soul Apprentice, Artisan, Master, and Sage — and describes the challenges and benefits of each. Plotkin offers a way of progressing from our current egocentric, aggressively competitive, consumer society to an ecocentric, soul-based one that is sustainable, cooperative, and compassionate. At once a primer on human development and a manifesto for change, Nature and the Human Soul fashions a template for a more mature, fulfilling, and purposeful life — and a better world.