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Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions: A Historical Perspective
by Bhikkhu AnalayoRenowned scholar-monk writes accessibly on some of the most contentious topics in Buddhism—guaranteed to ruffle some feathers.Armed with his rigorous examination of the canonical records, respected scholar-monk Bhikkhu Analayo explores—and sharply criticizes—four examples of what he terms &“superiority conceit&” in Buddhism: the androcentric tendency to prevent women from occupying leadership roles, be these as fully ordained monastics or as advanced bodhisattvas the Mahayana notion that those who don&’t aspire to become bodhisattvas are inferior practitioners the Theravada belief that theirs is the most original expression of the Buddha&’s teaching the Secular Buddhist claim to understand the teachings of the Buddha more accurately than traditionally practicing BuddhistsVen. Analayo challenges the scriptural basis for these conceits and points out that adhering to such notions of superiority is not, after all, conducive to practice. &“It is by diminishing ego, letting go of arrogance, and abandoning conceit that one becomes a better Buddhist,&” he reminds us, &“no matter what tradition one may follow.&” Thoroughly researched, Superiority Conceit in Buddhist Traditions provides an accessible approach to these conceits as academic subjects. Readers will find it not only challenges their own intellectual understandings but also improves their personal practice.
Superman Is Jewish?
by Harry BrodMany of us know that the superheroes at the heart of the American comic book industry were created by Jews. But we'd be surprised to learn how much these beloved characters were shaped by the cultural and religious traditions of their makers. Superman Is Jewish? follows the "people of the book" as they become the people of the comic book. Harry Brod reveals the links between Jews and superheroes in a penetrating investigation of iconic comic book figures. With great wit and compelling arguments, Brod situates superheroes within the course of Jewish- American history: they are aliens in a foreign land, like Superman; figures plagued by guilt for not having saved their families, like Spider-Man; outsiders persecuted for being different, like the X-Men; nice, smart people afraid that nobody will like them when they're angry, like the Hulk. Brod blends humor with sharp observation as he considers the overt and discreet Jewish characteristics of these well-known figures and explores how their creators--including Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster, Stan Lee, and Jack Kirby-- integrated their Jewish identities and their creativity. Brod makes a strong case that these pioneering Jews created New World superheroes using models from Old World traditions. He demonstrates how contemporary characters were inspired by the golem, the mystically created artificial superhuman of Jewish lore. And before Superman was first drawn by Joe Shuster, there were those Jews flying through the air drawn by Marc Chagall. As poignant as it is fascinating, this lively guided tour travels from the Passover Haggadah's exciting action scenes of Moses's superpowers through the Yiddish humor of Mad to two Pulitzer Prizes awarded in one decade to Jewish comic book guys Art Spiegelman and Michael Chabon. Superman Is Jewish? explores the deeper story of how an immigrant group can use popular entertainment media to influence the larger culture and in the process see itself in new, more empowering ways. Not just for Jewish readers or comic book fans, Superman Is Jewish? is a story of America, and is as poignant as it is fascinating. *** A surprising question, one that takes a certain amount of chutzpah to even raise. To add even a bit more chutzpah, this book considers questions about the Jewishness of more superheroes than just Superman, and offers answers that will surprise many. You mean Spider-Man is Jewish too? Well, actually, yes, but in a very different way than Superman is. And, as we'll see, the shift between them reflects the evolution of Jewish life in America itself in the generation between the two, the generation that gets us from World War II and the "Golden Age" of comics to the 1960s and the "Silver Age" of comics. The historical turning points of those tumultuous years and others, like the powerful 1950s crusade against comics for supposedly causing juvenile delinquency, turn out to be central to our story because these events, and their great impact on American Jews, appear on comic book pages themselves, and behind the scenes in their production. For it turns out that the history of Jews and comic book superheroes, that very American invention, is the history of Jews and America, particularly the history of Jewish assimilation into the mainstream of American culture.
Supermarket Magic: Creating Spells, Brews, Potions & Powders from Everyday Ingredients
by Michael FurieThe Tools of Magic are in your supermarket's aisles!Finding the ingredients for your spells and potions doesn't have to be expensive or difficult. Supermarket Magic provides clear instructions for working simple and powerful magic with everyday essentials.Perfect for witches and all practitioners of natural and herbal magic, this easy-to-use guide explains how to whip up brews, powders, and oils using inexpensive items that can be conveniently purchased at your local grocery store. Learn all the basics of magic including ethics, meditation, timing, and charging techniques. Discover handy shopping lists and clear instructions for working a wide variety of quick and effective spells for harmony, health, love, money, protection, psychic abilities, clearing, cleansing, and more. Let your supermarket aisles become a treasure trove of magic.
Supermarket Sabbats: A Magical Year Using Everyday Ingredients
by Michael Furie"A little gem of a book filled with Furie's fabulous approach to practical magic. Bursting to the brim with easy-to-make recipes for all manner of seasonal goodies, Supermarket Sabbats will have you reaching for the bookcase as every Sabbat approaches."—Kristoffer Hughes, author of The Book of Celtic MagicEnhance Your Sabbat Celebrations with Practical and Fulfilling Kitchen WitcheryCelebrate the Wheel of the Year and the Wiccan sabbats with recipes, spells, and rituals prepared using ingredients easily found at the supermarket. This book features a complete year's worth of magical practices that are just as effective when done with common items as rarer ones.Organized by season, Supermarket Sabbats presents seasonally relevant magic, from formulas and correspondences to a full ritual for each of the eight sabbats. Discover how to banish negativity and make prosperity brews. Cast blessings of love and abundance, create magical protections and family crafts, and explore many more ideas that build upon the energies of the sabbats. Michael Furie combines ancient knowledge and traditions with twenty-first-century methods, providing you with the best of both worlds.Praise:"Michael Furie has a gift for bridging the magical and the mundane. He captures the true essence of each season and reflects a marvelous array of techniques for harnessing and activating that essence in magical practice."—Tiffany Lazic, author of The Great Work
Supernatural
by Richard SmoleyThis gem-like, concise anthology provides thoughtful people with both an introduction to the paranormal and a reason to take a fresh look at it. Nostradamus. . . channeling. . . Atlantis. . . divination. Most serious people consider such topics nonsense. But look again. Writing with intellectual verve and a deeply critical mind, religious thinker Richard Smoley explores and reconsiders the supernatural in history and today. We are often conditioned to think of the Judeo-Christian tradition as the only valid, historically accurate, and rational spiritual philosophy. Occultism, magic, and the esoteric are, by contrast, considered illegitimate, delusional, and lacking in intrinsic worth. Supernatural challenges this prejudice, revealing that Western occult traditions are richer and more historically impactful than most of us imagine. The book reveals hidden diamonds and neglected ideas that characterize the magical tradition in the West. For any reader, at any level of experience, who has ever been curious about an arcane subject – from psychical powers to secret societies – here is a book that gives a complete yet precise, critical, yet serious, and always respectful account of topics from the unseen world. Supernatural is a brilliant primer to the occult and magical traditions of the West. Praise for RICHARD SMOLEY “I have a standing rule: I read anything Richard Smoley writes. ” —Larry Dossey, M. D. “Smoley . . . is adept at unknotting the paradoxes of spiritual traditions and making new connections across centuries and languages. ” —Library Journal “He is one of the liveliest, most intrepid, and most gifted explorers of the spiritual landscape writing today. ” —Ptolemy Tompkins, author of Paradise Fever .
Supernatural Access: Remove Roadblocks in Order to Hear God and Receive Revelation
by Ryan LeStrangeSharpen your spiritual senses. God may be speaking in ways you don't expect. This book is a manifesto for supernatural living, God encounters, and radical prophetic leading. You are standing at the doorway into greater dimensions of the Spirit. Mundane living is not your portion, and watered-down revelation is not your inheritance. You can be effectively led by Holy Spirit. You can know and discern the will of God for your life. You can operate in tremendous miracles and authority. You can receive and walk in more. The supernatural life is for you! In Supernatural Access prophetic minister Ryan LeStrange teaches you how to really hear God, break off the lies of the enemy, and act on the revelation you receive to demonstrate God&’s power. We are supernatural people called to manifest the kingdom of God!
Supernatural Bible: Grasping Forever After
by ZondervanGrasp Forever After. Explore the mystery and the secret in Scripture with the Supernatural ebible. We all long to live forever. Stories are told from generation to generation that speak of the illusive wish for eternal life. This ebook actually explores how to live forever, and uses Kingdom Eyes to help you see the Supernatural in the world around you.
Supernatural Environments in Shakespeare's England: Spaces of Demonism, Divinity, and Drama
by Kristen PooleBringing together recent scholarship on religion and the spatial imagination, Kristen Poole examines how changing religious beliefs and transforming conceptions of space were mutually informative in the decades around 1600. Supernatural Environments in Shakespeare's England explores a series of cultural spaces that focused attention on interactions between the human and the demonic or divine: the deathbed, purgatory, demonic contracts and their spatial surround, Reformation cosmologies and a landscape newly subject to cartographic surveying. It examines the seemingly incongruous coexistence of traditional religious beliefs and new mathematical, geometrical ways of perceiving the environment. Arguing that the late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century stage dramatized the phenomenological tension that resulted from this uneasy confluence, this groundbreaking study considers the complex nature of supernatural environments in Marlowe's Doctor Faustus and Shakespeare's Othello, Hamlet, Macbeth and The Tempest.
Supernatural Lore of Ohio (American Heritage)
by Steven J. RolfesA rich vein of bizarre and uncanny tales snakes through Ohio's cornfields and cityscapes. In the earliest days of statehood, dark reports spoke of witches causing feathers to form a deadly ring in one's bed, magically strangling its sleeping victims. For years, the ghost of Abraham Lincoln's funeral train rolled through Urbana, a small town in the center of the state, and caused clocks and watches to stop in its wake. A vampiric entity was said to haunt a strange cabin in the Black Swamp, and a werewolf reportedly roamed a Defiance train yard. Join Cincinnati historian Steven J. Rolfes on a tour of Ohio's strangest supernatural lore, from wailing banshees to the devil himself.
Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah (American Legends)
by Darren M. EdwardsExplore humanity through what haunt us in Supernatural Lore of Southern Utah!From the fanciful and revelatory to the horrifying and sorrowful, the folklore of Southern Utah hints at a complex history. Whether spiritual or spooky, home-grown legends are a window to understanding local culture. Visit Grafton, Utah's most haunted ghost town. Explore what haunts Southern Utah University in Cedar City, the St. George Temple and Touquerville's "murder house." Learn about skinwalkers and the theft of Native American beliefs. Examine the numerous urban legends surrounding Route 666, "The Devil's Highway." Uncover the secrets of the Mountain Meadows Massacre and the curse of Escalante Petrified Forest. Drawing on information from over two hundred interviews, Darren M. Edwards investigates the tales and myths that permeate and persist in communities throughout red rock country.
Supernatural Power for Everyday People: Experiencing God’s Extraordinary Spirit in Your Ordinary Life
by Jared C. WilsonAcclaimed writer and pastor Jared C. Wilson reveals how God has a plan for you that involves doing the ordinary, mundane stuff of life in a supernatural way.Would it change your life to know that there is a way to live your everyday life supernaturally? Most of us would say “yes,” and Jared C. Wilson’s new book reveals how. For the homemaker wondering how to get through the stress of washing dishes and making meals nobody seems to appreciate; for the cubicle jockey punching her time-card every day wondering if what she does really matters; for the teacher or leader wondering if he is making an impact; for the student afraid of the future; for every believer struggling to get through daily life, Supernatural Power for Everyday People offers the hope of meaning and purpose, and also the promise of power. We can get beyond just “getting by." We can prevail and live a life of far more joy, contentment, and peace than we ever thought possible.A practical book written in a devotional tone, Supernatural Power for Everyday People shows readers how to rely more fully on the power of the Holy Spirit for growth and satisfaction in their lives.
Supernatural Realms
by Robin DinnanauthIn this book you are about to discover an experience with glory of God in a supernatural way. Do you have a desire to catch a Glimpse of God's glory, so like Moses? Then this book will help you to increase your knowledge and understanding of God which will lead you to a higher level of living as you apply the principles that the Word of God teaches. It's very important to have a desire for the Glory of God. Why because there is a transformation that takes place in the presence of God. What have been isn't what always has to be. In the presence of God despair and helplessness melts away. The problems that confront our lives become possibilities, the fear that sometimes grips us melts into fortitude in the presence of God. And most important the filth of sin is washed away in the presence of Jesus.
Supernatural Transformation: Change Your Heart into God's Heart
by Guillermo MaldonadoMaldonado on a journey of discovery into the purpose, motivations, and potential of our spiritual heart. God wants us to understand how, in Christ, our heart is designed to “pump” life to our entire being—producing mental, emotional, and physical health and removing the toxins of sin.
Supernatural and Mysterious Japan
by Catrien Ross"To write this book on Japan's ghosts and other freaky phenomena, Catrien Ross collected accounts of the eerie and terrifying from around Japan. Along the way, she braved frightening locales including the uniquiet grave of the beautiful, betrayed Oiwa, and sacred Mount Osore, a gateway for communicating with the dead. The result of her journeys is a glimpse into hidden aspects of the Japanese world of the paranormal: a world of blind, women shamans, trees that grow human hair, weeping rocks, and even a graveyard where Jesus is reputed to have been buried. Covering ancient and modern times, Supernatural and Mysterious Japan offers not only some good, old-fashioned scary stories, but some special insights into Japanese culture and psychology. It delivers terrific entertainment - and some good chills - for the Japanophile and aficionado of the supernatural, alike. "--BOOK JACKET. Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
Supernatural: A Study Guide
by Ronn JohnsonIn Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World--and Why it Matters, Michael S. Heiser uses his expertise and 15 years of research to tackle questions about what the Bible really says about the unseen world. Ronn Johnson's Supernatural: A Study Guide will help you further explore the ancient worldview of the Bible. Johnson walks through main themes and big picture ideas from Supernatural, while connecting each with practical applications. Reflection questions at the end of each chapter are designed for individual study or discussion with a small group.
Supernatural: Meetings with the Ancient Teachers of Mankind
by Graham HancockLess than fifty thousand years ago mankind had no art, no religion, no sophisticated symbolism, no innovative thinking. Then, in a dramatic and electrifying change, described by scientists as "the greatest riddle in human history," all the skills and qualities that we value most highly in ourselves appeared already fully formed, as though bestowed on us by hidden powers. In this book, the author sets out to investigate this mysterious "beforeandafter moment" and to discover the truth about the influences that gave birth to the modern human mind. His quest takes him on a detective journey from the stunningly beautiful painted caves of prehistoric France, Spain, and Italy to rock shelters in the mountains of South Africa, where he finds extraordinary Stone Age art. He uncovers clues that lead him to the depths of the Amazon rainforest to drink the powerful hallucinogen Ayahuasca with shamans, whose paintings contain images of "supernatural beings" identical to the animalhuman hybrids depicted in prehistoric caves. Hallucinogens such as mescaline also produce visionary encounters with exactly the same beings. Scientists at the cutting edge of consciousness research have begun to consider the possibility that such hallucinations may be real perceptions of other "dimensions." Could the "supernaturals" first depicted in the painted caves be the ancient teachers of mankind? Could it be that human evolution is not just the "meaningless" process that Darwin identified, but something more purposive and intelligent that we have barely begun to understand?
Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World - and Why It Matters
by Michael S. HeiserDr. Michael S. Heiser, a Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife Corporation, presents fifteen years of research on what the Bible really says about the unseen world of the supernatural—unfiltered by tradition or by theological presuppositions. "People shouldn't be protected from the Bible," Dr. Michael S. Heiser says, but theological systems often do just that, by "explaining away" difficult or troublesome passages of Scripture because their literal meaning doesn't fit into our tidy systems. Who were the "sons of God"? Who were the Nephilim? Where do angels fit into the supernatural hierarchy? Why did God find it necessary to have the Israelites destroy the populations of entire cities—man, woman, and child? What relation does Jesus bear to the rest of the supernatural world? Dr. Michael S. Heiser tackles these questions and many more in his books Supernatural and The Unseen Realm. In both books, Dr. Michael S. Heiser shines a light on the supernatural world—not a new light, but rather the same light the original, ancient readers—and writers—of Scripture would have seen it in. After reading these books, you won't be able to read the Bible in the same way again. Supernatural, What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World—and Why it Matters presents this approach to reading and understanding scripture for the person in the pew. The Unseen Realm covers the same material but at a deeper, complex, and highly documented way, for pastors, the seminarian, or serious students of the Bible.
Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches About the Unseen World—and Why It Matters
by Michael S. HeiserDr. Michael S. Heiser, a Scholar-in-Residence at Faithlife Corporation, presents fifteen years of research on what the Bible really says about the unseen world of the supernatural-unfiltered by tradition or by theological presuppositions. "People shouldn't be protected from the Bible," Dr. Michael S. Heiser says, but theological systems often do just that, by "explaining away" difficult or troublesome passages of Scripture because their literal meaning doesn't fit into our tidy systems. <p><p> Who were the "sons of God"? Who were the Nephilim? Where do angels fit into the supernatural hierarchy? Why did God find it necessary to have the Israelites destroy the populations of entire cities-man, woman, and child? What relation does Jesus bear to the rest of the supernatural world? Dr. Michael S. Heiser tackles these questions and many more in his books Supernatural and The Unseen Realm. <p><p> In both books, Dr. Michael S. Heiser shines a light on the supernatural world-not a new light, but rather the same light the original, ancient readers-and writers-of Scripture would have seen it in. <p><p> After reading these books, you won't be able to read the Bible in the same way again. <p><p> Supernatural, What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World-and Why it Matters presents this approach to reading and understanding scripture for the person in the pew. The Unseen Realm covers the same material but at a deeper, complex, and highly documented way, for pastors, the seminarian, or serious students of the Bible.
Supernature: A Natural History of the Supernatural
by Lyall Watson'A fascinating feast of cosmic law and order...compelling reading' New ScientistIn this classic study of the supernatural, Lyall Watson challenges scientific orthodoxy by applying new criteria to the investigation of the unknown. Probing the 'soft edges' of science, Watson dispenses with the distinction between the natural and the supernatural and focuses on supernature; those phenomena that are not wholly paranormal, but which are not classified as natural occurrences according to traditional science. 'A book of tremendous importance' SpectatorWith both scientific objectivity and a wide-eyed sense of wonder at the mysteries of the universe, this fascinating and open-minded study proves beyond doubt that science is stranger than the supernatural.
Supernature: A Natural History of the Supernatural
by Lyall Watson'A fascinating feast of cosmic law and order...compelling reading' New ScientistIn this classic study of the supernatural, Lyall Watson challenges scientific orthodoxy by applying new criteria to the investigation of the unknown. Probing the 'soft edges' of science, Watson dispenses with the distinction between the natural and the supernatural and focuses on supernature; those phenomena that are not wholly paranormal, but which are not classified as natural occurrences according to traditional science. 'A book of tremendous importance' SpectatorWith both scientific objectivity and a wide-eyed sense of wonder at the mysteries of the universe, this fascinating and open-minded study proves beyond doubt that science is stranger than the supernatural.
Supernormal: Science, Yoga, And The Evidence For Extraordinary Psychic Abilities
by Dean RadinCan yoga and meditation unleash our inherent supernormal mental powers, such as telepathy, clairvoyance, and precognition? Is it really possible to perceive another person's thoughts and intentions? Influence objects with our minds? Envision future events? And is it possible that some of the superpowers described in ancient legends, science fiction, and comic books are actually real, and patiently waiting for us behind the scenes? Are we now poised for an evolutionary trigger to pull the switch and release our full potentials?Dean Radin, Director of Research at the Institute of Noetic Sciences (IONS) and bestselling author of The Conscious Universe, presents persuasive new experimental evidence for the existence of such phenomena. He takes us on a thrilling scientific journey and challenges outdated assumptions that these abilities are mere superstition. Focusing on Patanjali's mysterious Yoga Sutras -- 2,000 year-old meditation practices believed to release our extraordinary powers -- Radin offers powerful evidence confirming that sometimes fact is much stranger, spookier, and more wonderful than the wildest fiction.
Superschwache Beziehungen: Was unsere Gesellschaft kulturell zusammenhält
by Christian StegbauerIn diesem Buch wird erklärt, wie wir voneinander lernen und wie die Menschen sich im Verhalten aneinander anpassen. Wir orientieren uns an anderen, indem wir beobachten, wie sich diese in bestimmten Situationen verhalten. Die Analyse von Beziehungen ist eigentlich das Metier der Netzwerkforschung. Dort werden bislang nur starke und schwache Beziehungen behandelt. Hier geht es aber um superschwache Beziehungen. Diese nehmen wir oft gar nicht wahr, denn deren Bedeutung entfaltet sich hinter dem Rücken von uns allen. Obwohl man kaum von Beziehungen im traditionellen Sinne sprechen kann, sind diese oft genauso wirksam wie stärkere Beziehungen. Die Orientierungswirkung entfaltet sich dann besonders gut, wenn Ähnlichkeiten hinsichtlich der Interessen und der Lage zwischen Beobachtern und Beobachteten bestehen. Ohne Übertragungen mit Hilfe von superschwachen Beziehungen fiele es schwer, zu kulturellen Gemeinsamkeiten in der Gesellschaft zu kommen.
Superstition as Ideology in Iranian Politics
by Ali RahnemaA superstitious reading of the world based on religion may be harmless at a private level, yet employed as a political tool it can have more sinister implications. As this fascinating book by Ali Rahnema, a distinguished Iranian intellectual, relates, superstition and mystical beliefs have endured and influenced ideology and political strategy in Iran from the founding of the Safavid dynasty in the sixteenth century to the present day. As Rahnema demonstrates through a close reading of the Persian sources and with examples from contemporary Iranian politics, it is this supposed connectedness to the hidden world that has allowed leaders such as Muhammad Reza Shah Pahlavi and Mahmud Ahmadinejad to present themselves and their entourage as representatives of the divine, and their rivals as the embodiment of evil.
Superstition: Belief in the Age of Science
by Robert L. ParkWhy the battle between superstition and science is far from overFrom uttering a prayer before boarding a plane, to exploring past lives through hypnosis, has superstition become pervasive in contemporary culture? Robert Park, the best-selling author of Voodoo Science, argues that it has. In Superstition, Park asks why people persist in superstitious convictions long after science has shown them to be ill-founded. He takes on supernatural beliefs from religion and the afterlife to New Age spiritualism and faith-based medical claims. He examines recent controversies and concludes that science is the only way we have of understanding the world.Park sides with the forces of reason in a world of continuing and, he fears, increasing superstition. Chapter by chapter, he explains how people too easily mistake pseudoscience for science. He discusses parapsychology, homeopathy, and acupuncture; he questions the existence of souls, the foundations of intelligent design, and the power of prayer; he asks for evidence of reincarnation and astral projections; and he challenges the idea of heaven. Throughout, he demonstrates how people's blind faith, and their confidence in suspect phenomena and remedies, are manipulated for political ends. Park shows that science prevails when people stop fooling themselves.Compelling and precise, Superstition takes no hostages in its quest to provoke. In shedding light on some very sensitive--and Park would say scientifically dubious--issues, the book is sure to spark discussion and controversy.
Supporter Ownership in English Football: Class, Culture and Politics (Football Research in an Enlarged Europe)
by Chris PorterThis book presents a fresh perspective on football fandom in England, going beyond existing debates surrounding the structural transformations English football has seen in recent decades, to consider the contested cultural ground upon which football fandom exists. Supporter Ownership in English Football connects cultural conflict experienced across society associated with negotiating structural changes such as globalisation, commodification and social exclusion, with supporter ownership in football – which is in itself an expression and reflection of broader social and political shifts in class-consciousness. Discourses of identity, authenticity, loyalty, ownership and above all, the possibilities and limitations for ordinary people to influence change, play a decisive role in how fans come to decide whether they could, or should, have a meaningful say in the future of their club and the game itself. While celebrating the achievements, progress and potential of the supporter ownership movement, the book is also careful to take account of the various setbacks, contradictions and limiting tendencies that continue to shape its developmental trajectory.Porter’s relation of football supporter ownership to the political and social class dynamics of contemporary society will be of interest to scholars of sport studies, sociology, cultural studies and politics, and those interested in social movements, consumerism, identity, authenticity and community.