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Bodies On The Verge: Queering Pauline Epistles
by Joseph A. MarchalInterpretation of Paul's letters often proves troubling, since people frequently cite them when debating controversial matters of gender and sexuality. Rather than focusing on the more common defensive responses to those expected prooftexts that supposedly address homosexuality, the essays in this collection reflect the range, rigor, vitality, and creativity of other interpretive options influenced by queer studies. Thus key concepts and practices for understanding these letters in terms of history, theology, empire, gender, race, and ethnicity, among others, are rethought through queer interventions within both ancient settings and more recent history and literature.
Bodies in Question: Gender, Religion, Text
by Darlene BirdExploring a range of subjects from the human genome project to Kierkegaard's Fear and Trembling, the poetry of Jorie Graham to feminist Christian art, the contributors pose questions around the theme 'Body and Voice'. Questions raised include: 'Who speaks for the foetus and on what basis?'; 'What effect does the near-sacrifice of Isaac have on mother Sarah's body?'; and 'What do embodiment and gender mean for the resurrected body and Jesus's body?'
Bodies, Religion, and Power in Tunisia: Free Sâlah/Sâlha
by Raoudha Elguedri DumbrovskaThis book explores the body as a vector for reading the rapid changes in contemporary Tunisia through questions of sexuality, forms of clothing, and the dynamics of gender relations. Grounded in 15 years of sociological empirical research on the post-revolutionary period of Tunisia (2011-2020), this study addresses youth uprisings, through their bodies, against the dualities of traditional and modern, masculinity and femininity, and the legitimate and the marginal. Bringing together empirical research and a theoretical overview of the evolution of the place of the body in sociology and feminist theory, this book deconstructs biological, deterministic views of the body and offers instead a perspective of the body as interactive, subjective, societal, and cosmic, permeated by different systems, policies, philosophies, and ways of living. Chapters analyse Arab and Islamic cultural and cognitive frameworks for the body and apply Foucauldian and feminist concepts of the body and power to provide a comparative sociological study of global politics around the body while centering Tunisian youth movements that demand free use of the body. It will be of interest to students and researchers in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, Sociology of the Body, Middle Eastern Studies, and Feminist Theory.
Bodily Citations: Religion and Judith Butler (Gender, Theory, and Religion)
by Susan M. St. Ville Ellen T. ArmourIn such works as Gender Trouble and Bodies That Matter Judith Butler broke new ground in understanding the construction and performance of identities. While Butler's writings have been crucial and often controversial in the development of feminist and queer theory, Bodily Citations is the first anthology centered on applying her theories to religion. In this collection scholars in anthropology, biblical studies, theology, ethics, and ritual studies use Butler's work to investigate a variety of topics in biblical, Islamic, Buddhist, and Christian traditions. The authors shed new light on Butler's ideas and highlight their ethical and political import. They also broaden the scope of religious studies as they bring it into conversation with feminist and queer theory.Subjects discussed include the woman's mosque movement in Cairo, the ordination of women in the Catholic Church, the possibility of queer ethics, religious ritual, and biblical constructions of sexuality.Contributors include: Karen Trimble Alliaume, Lewis University; Teresa Hornsby, Drury University; Amy Hollywood, Harvard Divinity School; Christina Hutchins, Pacific School of Religion; Saba Mahmood, University of California, Berkeley; Susanne Mrozik, Mount Holyoke College; Claudia Schippert, University of Central Florida; Rebecca Schneider, Brown University; Ken Stone, Chicago Theological Seminary
Bodily Healing and the Atonement
by T. J. MccrossanDr. T. J. McCrossan, the author and Greek scholar, expounding the Word of God, states, "Reader, one of the outstanding reasons why so many of God's people are not healed is because they do not fully understand the attitude of God toward sickness. So many people waver in their faith because they have heard, expounded from the pulpit, that it is God's will for them to be sick. With such false teaching so prevalent today, no wonder the majority of saints know little or nothing regarding divine healing. Yes, the very same faith which saves the soul heals the body, and this faith is a gift of God, whether for the saving of souls or for the healing of bodies. no one can possibly pray a prayer of faith to heal a sick person unless he knows for a certainty that it is God's will to heal the one being prayed for. When we inject the proviso "if it be thy will," it is always an acknowledgment that we are not praying the prayer of faith, but that we have a doubt in our own heart and this doubt, either in the ones praying for the sick person or the one who is sick prevents the sick from receiving the healing. Many splendid Christians are not healed by prayer, because they cannot pray the prayer of expectant faith. There is a proper time and place to insert "if it be thy will" when we pray. Praying for the sick is not the propertime to incert the proviso "It it is God's will" though it is sometimes proper to ask God's will when deciding on making a move to a new location or taking a certain job.. on the authority of God's Word, there is bodily healing for every saint who will meet the conditions for answered prayer, because Christ died for our sicknesses just as He died for our sins. First Peter 2:24 expresses the glorious truth that Christ has made the very same provision to heal our body as to save our soul. Beginning with the personal ministry of our Lord, all manner of sicknesses were cured by faithfilled prayer and continuing through the church age God is still, today, healing all manner of diseases in answer to the prayer of faith. If healing is in the Atonement, then every saint has a blood-bought right to be healed; and yet all saints are not healed. Thousands do not know that they must exercise the very same appropriating faith in the bruised body of Christ for their healing as they formerly exercised in His shed blood for their salvation. The same faith that saves the soul also will heal the body. Many saints do not understand this because of ignorance or false teaching, and therefore they are not healed. Such important questions as: How did sickness enter this world? How came man to sin? Who caused Adam and Eve to disobey God's command and so bring sin, sickness, and death into this world? Did our Lord Jesus Christ by His death on the cross atone for bodily sickness and disease? Was Divine Healing Only for the Church of the Apostolic Age? What Conditions Must Saints Meet To Be Healed? Why Are So Many True Saints of God Not Healed? Then, six Great Biblical Reasons Why All Christians Should Take Christ as the Healer of Their Bodies are outlined and some of Christ's marvelous promises show we should take Christ as our healer. Modern Miracles of Healing are then cited. Finally, Objections to devine healing are refuted with a list of five irrefutable reasons from scripture supporting the fact that healing is for the church age not alone for the twelve tribes scattered abroad or for the Jews of the Tribulation period.
Body Broken
by Charles D. DrewCan Christians Be Political Activists without Hating Each Other?As the next presidential election comes into view, Americans are deciding where to stand on key issues. The church has often been as politically divided as the culture, but Charles Drew offers an alternative for people who care deeply about their faith, about Christian harmony, and about the church's calling in the world. In this updated and revised version of A Public Faith (NavPress 2000), Drew helps Christians develop practical biblical convictions about critical social and political issues.Distinguishing between moral principle and political strategy, Body Broken equips believers to maintain the unity of the church while building their political activism upon a thoughtful and biblical foundation. Drew helps Christians of all political persuasions understand how to practice servanthood, cooperation, and integrity in today's public square.
Body Connections: Body-based Spiritual Care
by Michael S. KoppelA new articulation of pastoral theology, care, and counseling.Too often we think and teach in ways that reinforce a mind-body split. This can lead people to self-alienation, impeding holistic, healthy relationships between people, God, and each other. Body Connections takes a different approach, teaching us to see the connections between our embodied experience and faithful spiritual care.Author Michael Koppel focuses on the human body and its relationship to faith and spiritual care. He engages religious texts and traditions as well as scientific insights, offering accessible theology and spiritual practices for healing and care of the body.Our bodies are amazing resources, but we are too often unaware of their power, or unable to harness it in helpful ways for our own good. This remarkable book empowers pastors, counselors, chaplains, seminarians, and caregivers to understand and provide the ministry of care in an entirely new, life-giving way.This book is highly useful for individuals and groups. It is for clergy, chaplains, spiritual directors, seminarians, clinical educators, lay people in churches, and those who are institutionally unaffiliated but care deeply about fostering a holistic spiritual path.Praise for Body ConnectionsEverything we think, feel, and do comes through the body. But practices of spiritual care tend to downplay the body as a source of knowledge and a tool for responding to others and to God. Koppel’s book reclaims that wisdom, coaching us to strengthen our abilities to read, listen, and think with the body. I can’t wait to teach this practical, wise, and convicting book, which addresses embodied emotion, grief, silence, trauma, and more. Koppel’s seasoned, pastoral voice offers a rich synthesis of sources and insights that demonstrate the body’s place at the center of ministry.--Duane Bidwell, professor of practical theology, spiritual care, and counseling, Claremont School of Theology, Claremont, CABody Connections provides new insights into the voice and language of the body. Koppel crafts a "body theology" that encourages spiritual care practitioners to be proactive in their spiritual practices of listening, adapting and responding to our bodies and to the bodies of those to whom we offer care. Using the image of "body as storyteller" and other metaphors, Koppel captures and defines the healing power of the body in clear and profound ways.--Bishop Teresa Jefferson-Snorton, D.Min., Presiding Bishop, Fifth Episcopal District, The CME ChurchMichael Koppel returns the body to its rightful place at the center of each person’s story and the center of the Christian story. He calls readers home to their bodies and gently challenges escapes from the body into hasty fixing, detached rationalizing, anxious dithering, or addictive numbing. At a time when the COVID pandemic has underscored the vulnerability of bodies, Koppel’s focused, healing, deep body consciousness paints a portrait of health far beyond mere absence of disease. Don’t just read this book: absorb it, practice it, and let it heal you.--Douglas M. Thorpe, PhD, is Executive Director of the Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care and a past president of the American Association of Pastoral CounselorsIt is surprisingly difficult, even confusing: to have a body; to be a body; to touch, talk and listen to, even read a sensing body; to honor and restore the body’s wounds, traumas, and shame while celebrating its healing and resilience… Koppel is a wise guide and caregiver for those seeking to embrace the sacredness of a human body and its unique story. Body Connections empowers a reader to discover body knowledge anew. It deepens trust in the most intimate relationship one has, the relationship with one’s body.--Jaco J. Hamman, professor of religion, psychology, and culture, and director of the Program iin Theology and Practice, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN
Body Life: The Book that Inspired a Return to the Church's Real Meaning and Mission
by Ray C. Stedman James D. DenneyAccording to Billy Graham in the Forward to the original version of Body Life: "In Body Life, Ray C. Stedman uses the leverage of the Word itself to bring us back to the church's real meaning and mission. With strong, convincing argument he points to the weaknesses within the institutional church, and clearly reminds us of the strength inherent in Christ's body, the true church. This book is not all theory and semantics" because in "chapter 12, the author relates how his interpretation of the church has worked effectively in the crucible of practical experience. He convinces us that the New Testament definition of the church is the outworking of Christ Jesus through His corporate body." In this revised version, there is a Study Guide added to it that helps the readers apply their cognitive understanding and insights gained from reading the book to real-life experiences.
Body Mandala: Posture, Perception, and Presence
by Mary BondAn experiential guide to using your body as the focus of contemplative practice• Presents more than 50 physical self-explorations that invite you to transform your sensory experience, expand your awareness, and practice embodied presence • Integrates movement theory, neuroscience, fascia research, and personal story to examine the structural foundation of the human body in motion and in stillness • Includes streaming audio and video links for each practice Our physical structure, often known simply as &“posture,&” is shaped by the balance of tension between our bones and soft tissues—fasciae, tendons, muscles, and ligaments—as well as by the mental, emotional, and physical stresses we experience. This tensional integrity, or &“tensegrity,&” along with our sensory experiences, movements, and physical expressions all offer access points for developing fully embodied presence—that is, for engaging the body&’s capacity for perception, expanded awareness, and even spiritual presence. Exploring the profound connections between tensegrity and inner perceptions and awareness, Mary Bond teaches you to unlock your body&’s inner guidance—its somatic wisdom—through a journey of embodiment that will improve your posture in the process. Integrating movement theory, philosophy, neuroscience, fascia research, polyvagal theory, and personal story, Bond reveals how the human body organizes and expresses movement through perception. She looks in depth at the role of the fascial system in transmitting bodily perception, showing how fascia functions as the preeminent organ of embodiment and mind-body connection. She explains the process of internal perception, or &“interoception,&” the body-mind&’s ability to identify, access, understand, and respond appropriately to its internal signals. Offering an experiential understanding of the structural foundation of the human body in motion and in stillness, Bond presents more than 50 self-explorations that allow you to transform your sensory experience, expand your awareness, and make embodiment—your own complex body—the focus of contemplative practice. The author also includes streaming audio and video links for each practice. Inviting you to awaken to the grace and wisdom of your body as a personal mandala that is always available for meditative focus, the author shows how conscious embodiment can help us become more perceptive and more humane beings.
Body Mind and Spirit: Daily Meditations
by AnonymousWritten with warmth and understanding, this is a year's worth of thoughtful and supportive advice for healing the whole person--body, mind, and spirit.This book of daily meditations focuses on the whole human being with words of inspiration and healing that address all aspects of addiction recovery.
Body Talk
by Nancy N. RueKnowledge is power, girlfriend. One day you were a happy-go-lucky kid, and the next—wham! Your emotions are out of control, hair is growing where it never dared grow before, and your best friend whispers to you in gym class that you need to start wearing some kind of torture contraption she calls a bra. What is going on? Body Talk gives you the lowdown on all the really weird body stuff—and shows you how all this weird stuff is actually a part of God’s plan for the beautiful, confident, grown-up you!
Body and Blood
by Michael SchiefelbeinThings fall apart, but for Father Chris Seib, they are just getting good. He has spent much of his forty-one years remaining true to his vows and serving his congregants righteously. But now that Father Jack has moved back to town, he isn't sure how long that's going to last. Chris has longed for Jack since they were in high school, long before they took their vows. Now being in a room with him and praying the rosary by his side, it's all Father Chris can do to keep himself from following his passion. When Chris' colleague and friend commits suicide, rumors spread that the deceased had been engaging in a long-term homosexual affair. The Arch Bishop announces that all gay priests, sexually active or not, will be immediately discharged from service, sparking a witch-hunt. Now Chris and everyone in the diocese must reevaluate his devotion to the church, and to the people whose faith is in their hands.But Father Chris can't stop himself from the godless lust he feels. If Father Jack proclaims that those feelings are requited, all hell is sure to break loose.
Body of Evidence (Texas Ranger Justice)
by Lenora WorthNew York Times–Bestselling Author: An undercover lawman must win a woman’s trust in this novel from a RITA and Carol Award finalist.When Texas Ranger Anderson Michaels goes undercover at an animal rescue farm in Texas Hill Country, he lands right in owner Jennifer Rodgers’s path. Before long, he realizes that tracking down his target—a deadly drug-trafficking ring that was responsible for the murder of his captain—may be easier than winning this jaded woman’s trust. Experience has taught Jennifer to keep her distance from adventure seekers. But her life will depend on her ability to push aside her fears—and trust Anderson to keep her safe.Praise for the author“Action and intrigue . . . keeps the suspense going and will keep the reader guessing until the very end.” —Harlequin Junkie“The characters [are] warm and engaging.” —Publishers Weekly
Body of Health: The New Science of Intuition Medicine for Energy and Balance
by Francesca McCartneyphysical, and mental. The techniques covered here are designed to help readers increase their understanding of intuition, color, the chakra system, meditation, and other theories and methods as they work in healing. The author has developed these techniques over many years of helping nurses, doctors, and other medical practitioners discover the sources of pain and disease and guiding patients to more effective healing therapies. The areas covered in this wide-ranging yet accessible book include aura, color, meditation, and affirmations and their role in healing. Each chapter examines one energy practice and offers examples, stories, and simple techniques that readers can use to test the concept. Included are descriptive charts, journal writing exercises, success stories, and step-by-step meditations.
Body of Light
by Lar Short Juan Li John MannCombining easy-to-read scholarship with step-by-step practices, and Lar Short have created a unique resource for all spiritual seekers. By examining Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and other traditions for information on the subtle body, the authors lead us to a better understanding of the inner workings of all spiritual traditions. Liberally illustrated with line drawings and comparative tables the second half of The Body Light is devoted to a sequence of practical exercises, drawn from a wide variety of traditions, that you can immediately use to begin or to broaden your own spiritual practice.
Body of Light
by Lar Short Juan Li John MannCombining easy-to-read scholarship with step-by-step practices, and Lar Short have created a unique resource for all spiritual seekers. By examining Hindu, Buddhist, Taoist and other traditions for information on the subtle body, the authors lead us to a better understanding of the inner workings of all spiritual traditions. Liberally illustrated with line drawings and comparative tables the second half of The Body Light is devoted to a sequence of practical exercises, drawn from a wide variety of traditions, that you can immediately use to begin or to broaden your own spiritual practice.
Body or the Soul?: Religion and Culture in a Quebec Parish, 1736-1901
by Frank A. AbbottThere are many analyses of Tractarianism - a nineteenth-century form of Anglicanism that emphasized its Catholic origins - but how did people in the colonies react to the High Church movement? Beating against the Wind, a study in nineteenth-century vernacular spirituality, emphasizes the power of faith on a shifting frontier in a transatlantic world. Focusing on people living along the Newfoundland and Labrador coast, Calvin Hollett presents a nuanced perspective on popular resistance to the colonial emissary Bishop Edward Feild and his spiritual regimen of order, silence, and solemnity. Whether by outright opposing Bishop Feild, or by simply ignoring his wishes and views, or by brokering a hybrid style of Gothic architecture, the people of Newfoundland and Labrador demonstrated their independence in the face of an attempt at hierarchical ascendency upon the arrival of Tractarianism in British North America. Instead, they continued to practise evangelical Anglicanism and participate in Methodist revivals, and thereby negotiated a popular Protestantism, one often infused with the spirituality of other seafarers from Nova Scotia and New England. Exploring the interaction between popular spirituality and religious authority, Beating against the Wind challenges the traditional claim of Feild's success in bringing Tractarianism to the colony while exploring the resistance to Feild's initiatives and the reasons for his disappointments.
Body or the Soul?: Religion and Culture in a Quebec Parish, 1736-1901 (McGill-Queen's Studies in the History of Religion #2)
by Frank A. AbbottIn the two centuries before the Quiet Revolution, the people of Quebec exercised a higher degree of independence from the Catholic Church than is often presumed. Investigating rural Quebec from the mid-eighteenth century to the turn of the twentieth, Frank Abbott argues convincingly that the obligations and priorities of the Church did not unswervingly rule the lives of its parishioners. The Body or the Soul? is a history of religious and cultural life in the parish of St-Joseph-de-Beauce. Drawing from their pastors' detailed annual reports to the archbishops of Quebec, St-Joseph’s parish registers, contemporary accounts, government censuses, and the largely unexplored oral testimony on rural life and culture found in the Archives de folklore et ethnologie at Université Laval, Abbott assesses the nature and degree of influence and control that the church exerted over the everyday lives of a rural Quebec community. He examines the telling details found in church building projects, the relationships between clergy and parishioners, attendance at Sunday mass and catechism classes, reception of communion, the persistence of what the Church termed “superstition,” traditional customs of sociability, and the degree of control that the Church exerted over the community’s social and sexual behaviour. Rich with primary sources, The Body or the Soul? reveals the tensions between Catholicism’s place in people’s lives and the independent spirit of a vigorous popular culture.
Body, History, Myth: Early Modern Murals in South India
by Anna Lise SeastrandThe first major exploration of the mural tradition in early modern South IndiaAn astonishing variety of murals greet visitors to the temples and palaces of southern India. Beautiful in execution and extensive in scope, murals painted on walls and ceilings adorn the most important spaces of early modern religious and political performance. Scene by scene, histories of holy sites, portraits that incorporate historical figures into mythic landscapes, and Tamil and Telugu inscriptions that evoke the imagined topographies of devotional poetry unfold before the mobile spectator. Body, History, Myth reconceives the relationship between art and devotion in South India by describing how the extraordinary sensory experience of a viewing body in motion unfurls a sacred narrative exquisitely designed to teach, impress, and inspire.Anna Lise Seastrand offers new insights into the arts of early modern southern India, bringing to life one of the most culturally vibrant yet least understood periods in Indian art. She shows how temple visitors become active participants in the paintings through their somatic engagement with visual stories and devotional landscapes. Seastrand highlights the significance of textuality in early modern South Asia by examining the status of professional scribes and the prominence given to authorship of religious literature and art. Her insights are presented alongside new translations of the texts that accompany mural paintings.Featuring a wealth of stunning images published here for the first time, Body, History, Myth provides a multidimensional reading of temple art that fundamentally reframes the artistic, intellectual, religious, and political histories of early modern India.
BodyPrayer: The Posture of Intimacy with God
by Doug Pagitt Colleen Shealer Olson Kathryn PrillIt's possible for prayer to become so routine that it's almost meaningless. Head-oriented prayer can focus on getting the words just right, while leaving out the rest of who you are. BodyPrayer helps you become fully engaged in prayer as you connect with God using more than mere words. By practicing various postures of prayer-many of them identical to those modeled in Scripture-you will open your life more fully to God. Body prayer involves all of who you are as you enter into communion with God, either individually or with other believers. Join Christians throughout history who used their entire being as a prayer-in expressions of joy, gratitude, and entreaty, as well as worship and devotion to God. This biblically based guide will help you practice a richer, more meaningful expression of prayer-one that involves your body as well as your soul. This is prayer that goes deeper than words.Engage your physical senses in a spiritual discipline...If your spirituality lacks passion, you can find new life in the ancient practice of body prayer. When you adopt postures that express the burdens of your heart, you bring all of who you are into God's presence.BodyPrayer invites twenty-eight ways to involve your entire being as you connect with God. Whether you pray in submission with forehead touching the ground, or in exaltation with arms outstretched and eyes raised to heaven, you will find new spiritual vitality in prayer that expresses all of who you are. Avoid the recitation of empty words and move your prayer life into the realm of whole-life engagement. When you use your body to express what words often fail to say, you are drawn closer to God. Body, soul, and spirit.From the Hardcover edition.
Bodyguard
by Shirlee MccoySAFEGUARDING THE WITNESS Close to bringing the Dupree crime family that murdered his parents to justice, FBI agent Ian Slade wants to track the leader-not protect the man's niece. But with Esme Dupree's uncle determined to silence her before she can testify against her brother, Ian and his K-9 partner are duty-bound to guard her. Even if her family ties make him doubt her innocence. But as he and Esme fight to survive the chase through the Florida Everglades, it becomes clear to Ian that she's nothing like her family. And soon, Ian must choose between the vengeance he's craved for so long and a future rich in forgiveness and hope.
Bodyguard Reunion: Bodyguard Reunion Grave Danger Treasure Point Secrets (Guardians, Inc. #6)
by Margaret DaleyA bodyguard is reunited with her lost love on a controversial assignment in this inspirational romantic suspense from a USA Today–bestselling author.Reunions can be deadly . . . Teaming up with an old flame is not what bodyguard Chloe Howard would call a smart move. Nine years ago Chloe and T. J. Davenport worked on a case together, fell in love, then went their separate ways. Now she’s reunited with the fearless bodyguard to protect a controversial couple on a book tour through Texas. And the reunion reminds Chloe of dreams best forgotten. She knows she has to keep her emotions in check so their clients’ protection remains their top priority. Protection that is the only thing keeping them from falling prey to a stalker’s deadly schemes.
Bodyguard for Christmas (Love Insp Susp True Lp Trade Ser.)
by Carol J. PostTo protect his son on Christmas, a single father seeks refuge with a beautiful bodyguard in this suspenseful holiday romance.When his young son is nearly kidnapped, assistant district attorney Colton Gale needs a safe place to hide over Christmas—and a live-in bodyguard. Though former military police officer Jasmine McNeal fights to shield them 24/7, she refuses to get attached. But growing close to the little boy and his father might be her only shot at keeping them alive—and becoming a family beyond the holidays.
Bohemian Magick: Witchcraft and Secret Spells to Electrify Your Life
by Veronica Varlow“The remarkable Veronica Varlow seizes life with both hands and bends it to her will. Learn from her.” —Neil GaimanIn Bohemian Magick, Veronica Varlow, the last daughter in a line of Bohemian witches, weaves together witchcraft knowledge and ancient secret spells with an exotic rock-and-roll magick style that has earned her a devoted following worldwide. This beguiling grimoire-style guide is filled with potent, never-before-revealed spells, hand-written rituals, magick ephemera, hand-drawn sigils, potions, charms, and rhyming incantations that will call your power back to you and electrify your life!With more than 150 illustrations—drawings, photography, and vintage art—and text written in her own hand, this sumptuous companion is brimming with spells for everlasting confidence, radiant self-love, healing, manifesting your dreams, and love with a desired partner. Veronica calls upon the ancient and hidden Czech-Romani magic passed down to from her grandmother Helen’s lineage and infuses it with her own signature sorcery to help you awaken and amplify your truest self. Each spell that you cast, each potion that you brew, and each chant you speak into the universe will rouse the most powerful part of your being!In Part I, The School of Spectaculus, Veronica reveals, step by step, her personally crafted steps to spellcasting with power. She shares her secrets regarding writing and preparing for spells, calling on ancestors to give your spells oomph, and writing your own badass spells. She also provides information on when to cast spells and other basics that you need to know to perform the mind-blowing rituals she introduces in Part II.In Part II, Initiations, she introduces you to the hidden magick of Bohemia. She leads you on five initiations, each focused on specific themes including self-love, sizzling confidence, healing, juicy mojo, and love.Each initiation begins with an experiential journey of discovery, a story in which you are the protagonist, whether following a trail of candles through a dark wood to a river filled with tiny message-filled paper boats or venturing into a tarot parlor on a hot, sultry night to meet a Witch who has come back from the Afterlife to help you find true love. And, of course, each initiation includes spells with a rock and roll vibe, such as:Hello, I Love You: Use mirror magick to boost your confidence and magnetism.Return to Sender: Create a magick candle and burn it upside down to protect you and send bad vibes back to where they came from.Search and Destroy: Literally pulverize the false stories you tell yourself by writing them on china plates and smash those poisonous words to bits with a hammer!Bohemian Rhapsody: A secret knot-tying spell to do with a partner to increase passion and intimacyFor each badass bewitching enchantment, Veronica explains its importance, the purpose of practice, and the necessary tools and preparation you’ll need to cast it correctly. With Bohemian Magick, you’ll discover your adventurous side and your own unique magick. Get ready to rise up, call your power back to you, realize your purpose, and make your life story truly legendary!
Boko Haram and the Drivers of Islamist Violence
by Zacharias P. PieriThis book analyzes the factors that drive Boko Haram’s violence, arguing that the movement is rooted in the historical and religious context of west Africa. The data presented is based on extensive research, including fieldwork in Nigeria, primary source analysis, archival work, and large-scale survey analyses. Each chapter deals with a different case-study that showcases a driver of Boko Haram’s violence, including how the jihad of Usman dan Fodio is used as a source of contemporary inspiration to Boko Haram; how the extrajudicial killing of its then leader Mohammad Yusuf spurred the group to violence; why the kidnapping of the Chibok schoolgirls was motivated by both ideology and strategy; how the formation of a caliphate and pledging of allegiance to ISIS gave Boko Haram an amplified presence; and how the issue of takfir led to the fracturing of the movement. To succeed in the fight against Boko Haram, this book argues, the Nigerian state needs to couple military advances with deep social changes, such as combatting corruption, reforming the police, and investing equitably across the country. This book will be of much interest to students of terrorism and political violence, African politics, war and conflict studies, and security studies in general.