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The User's Guide to Spiritual Teachers
by Scott EdelsteinA wise and practical quickstart guide for anyone who wants—or already has—a spiritual teacher. The User’s Guide to Spiritual Teachers is a necessary book for anyone who has, or wants to have, a spiritual teacher—regardless of faith or tradition. This book addresses concerns that many of us have on the spiritual path, including how to find a spiritual teacher, how to manage expectations about what they can do, and what to do when you realize you’re in a dangerous relationship with one. Spiritual teachers of all traditions will themselves find this book incredibly useful as they reflect on how they benefit their students or may be overstepping their boundaries and actually creating harm. This is your place to look for information, inspiration, sanity, and words of caution.
The Uses of Knowledge Selections from the Idea of a University
by John Henry NewmanThis insightful selection, features four discourses from The Idea of a University: Knowledge Its Own End; Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Learning; Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Professional Skill; and Knowledge Viewed in Relation to Religion. Also included are excerpts from the "Preface" and the following appendices: Discipline of Mind; Literature and Science; and Style. Edited by Leo L. Ward, this volume also contains an introduction, a list of principal dates in Newman's life, and a bibliography.
The Uses of Paradox: Religion, Self-Transformation, and the Absurd
by Matthew C. BaggerIn this groundbreaking comparative study, Matthew Bagger investigates the role of paradox in Western and Asian religious discourse. Drawing on both philosophy and social scientific theory, he offers a naturalistic explanation of religion's oft-noted propensity to sublime paradox and argues that religious thinkers employ intractable paradoxes as the basis for various techniques of self-transformation. Considering the writings of Kierkegaard, Pseudo-Dionysus, St. John of the Cross, N?g?rjuna, and Chuang-tzu, among others, Bagger identifies two religious uses of paradox: cognitive asceticism, which wields the psychological discomfort of paradox as an instrument of self-transformation, and mysticism, which seeks to transform the self through an alleged extraordinary cognition that ineffably comprehends paradox. Bagger contrasts these techniques of self-transformation with skepticism, which cultivates the appearance of contradiction in order to divest a person of beliefs altogether. Bagger further contends that a thinker's social attitudes determine his or her response to paradox. Attitudes concerning crossing the boundary of a social group prefigure attitudes concerning supposed truths that lie beyond the boundaries of understanding. Individuals who fear crossing the boundary of their social group and would prohibit them tend to use paradox ascetically, while individuals who find the controlled incorporation of outsiders enriching commonly find paradox revelatory. Although scholars have long noted that religious discourse seems to cultivate and perpetuate paradox, their scholarship tends to ratify religious attitudes toward paradox instead of explaining the unusual reaction paradox provokes. A vital contribution to discussions of mystical experience, The Uses of Paradox reveals how much this experience relies on social attitudes and cosmological speculation.
The Utimate Glow Up Guide: A Guide to Self Growth, Self Care, and Becoming the Best Version of You
by Elicia GoguenGlow Up Into A New, Empowered You#1 New Release in New ThoughtFind a deep understanding of how to have a glow up and what that truly means for women. Empowerment books like this are hard to find—become the best version of yourself today.How to have a glow up—made easy. Author Elicia Goguen, creator of The Glow Up Secrets YouTube channel, shares her personal glow-up journey and how to have a glow up yourself, giving tips on changing thoughts of self-hate or sabotage into self improvement for real women. No more indulging in body shaming or unhealthy diet culture while focusing on your outer appearance with this women’s empowerment book.Glow up from within. This shadow work book guides women back to their unique selves, healing their inner child along the way. Break unhealthy habits and relationships by connecting with your authentic self. Women can glow up with this self growth book for lasting change. It’s your time to start creating your story from a place of self acceptance and self love.In The Ultimate Glow Up Guide, discover:Ways to stop self hate, self criticism, and self limiting beliefs in this self confidence bookAn inner child healing book full of self care for womenHow to have a glow up on your way to achieving your dream lifeIf you liked books for women and empowerment books such as Badass Affirmations, Help Me, I'm Stuck, or How to Do the Work, you will love The Ultimate Glow Up Guide!
The Uttaratantra in the Land of Snows: Tibetan Thinkers Debate the Centrality of the Buddha-Nature Treatise
by Tsering WangchukWith its emphasis on the concept of buddha-nature, or the ultimate nature of mind, the Uttaratantra is a classical Buddhist treatise that lays out an early map of the Mahāyāna path to enlightenment. Tsering Wangchuk unravels the history of this important Indic text in Tibet by examining numerous Tibetan commentaries and other exegetical texts on the treatise that emerged between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. These commentaries explored such questions as: Is the buddha-nature teaching found in the Uttaratantra literally true, or does it have to be interpreted differently to understand its ultimate meaning? Does it explicate ultimate truth that is inherently enlightened or ultimate truth that is empty only of independent existence? Does the treatise teach ultimate nature of mind according to the Cittamātra or the Madhyamaka School of Mahāyāna? By focusing on the diverse interpretations that different textual communities employed to make sense of the Uttaratantra, Wangchuk provides a necessary historical context for the development of the text in Tibet.
The Utter Relief of Holiness
by John EldredgeWhat a relief it would be to be set free from all that plagues us -- the inner struggle with anger, or contempt, the habitual sins. Is such an experience possible? John Eldredge believes it is, and in THE UTTER RELIEF OF HOLINESS, he shows readers how they can be that free, though the healing work of Christ in their lives. It begins when we discover what the salvation of Jesus Christ means for our own restoration and find that holiness is an expression of the healing of our humanity.Here is a book that explores the beauty of the genuine goodness available to us in Jesus Christ, and guides the reader through the process whereby God makes us whole and holy by his love. Readers will be relieved. Utterly.
The Utter Relief of Holiness: How God's Goodness Frees Us From Everything That Plagues Us
by John EldredgeDo you want to feel whole - but too often, feel pulled in different directions? Do you want to be holy - but think it's beyond you? We tend to associate holiness with striving and restriction - but what if a holy life were really about being set free from all our burdens? In THE UTTER RELIEF OF HOLINESS, John Eldredge teaches that, rather than being a daunting or distant ideal, holiness is in fact an expression of the healing of our humanity. Eldredge believes that we can be set free from all that plagues us - the inner struggle with anger, or contempt, or habitual sins - to find the genuine goodness that is available to us in Jesus Christ.Wise, gentle and rooted in the Bible, THE UTTER RELIEF OF HOLINESS guides the reader along the paths God leads us to make us whole and holy - by his love.
The Uyghurs: Strangers in Their Own Land
by Gardner BovingdonFor more than half a century many Uyghurs, members of a Muslim minority in northwestern China, have sought to achieve greater autonomy or outright independence. Yet the Chinese government has consistently resisted these efforts, countering with repression and a sophisticated strategy of state-sanctioned propaganda emphasizing interethnic harmony and Chinese nationalism. After decades of struggle, Uyghurs remain passionate about establishing and expanding their power within government, and China's leaders continue to push back, refusing to concede any physical or political ground.Beginning with the history of Xinjiang and its unique population of Chinese Muslims, Gardner Bovingdon follows fifty years of Uyghur discontent, particularly the development of individual and collective acts of resistance since 1949, as well as the role of various transnational organizations in cultivating dissent. Bovingdon's work provides fresh insight into the practices of nation building and nation challenging, not only in relation to Xinjiang but also in reference to other regions of conflict. His work highlights the influence of international institutions on growing regional autonomy and underscores the role of representation in nationalist politics, as well as the local, regional, and global implications of the "war on terror" on antistate movements. While both the Chinese state and foreign analysts have portrayed Uyghur activists as Muslim terrorists, situating them within global terrorist networks, Bovingdon argues that these assumptions are flawed, drawing a clear line between Islamist ideology and Uyghur nationhood.
The Vajra Essence
by B. Alan Wallace Dudjom LingpaA systematic presentation of the path of Dzogchen, the Great Perfection, by one of its most renowned proponents and rendered by a master translator.Düdjom Lingpa (1835–1904) was one of the foremost tantric masters of nineteenth-century Tibet, and his powerful voice resonates strongly among Buddhist practitioners today. The Vajra Essence is Düdjom Lingpa’s most extended meditation on the path of Great Perfection, in many senses a commentary on all his other Dzogchen works. Dzogchen, the pinnacle of practice in the Nyingma school, is a radical revelation of the pure nature of consciousness that is delivered from master to disciple and perfected in a meditation that permeates every moment of our experience. Revealed to Düdjom Lingpa as a visionary “treasure” text in 1862, the Vajra Essence takes the reader through seven stages of progressively deeper practice, from “taking the impure mind as the path” up to the practice of “direct crossing over” (tögal). The longest of Düdjom Lingpa’s five visionary works on Dzogchen, readers will find this a rich and masterful evocation of the enlightened experience. This is the first translation of this seminal work in any Western language, and B. Alan Wallace, with his forty-five-plus years of extensive learning and deep meditative experience, is one of the most accomplished translators of Tibetan texts into English.
The Vajra Rosary Tantra: An Explanatory Tantra of the Glorious King of Tantras, The Esoteric Community Tantra, Shri Guhyasamaja Tantraraja (Treasury of the Buddhist Sciences)
by VajradharaThe first English translation of the Vajra Rosary Tantra, with extensive annotations from Alamkakalasha's Commentary, with a detailed introduction by the author.The Vajra Rosary is perhaps the most significant and detailed teaching attributed to Buddha instructing a practitioner how to overcome the 108 energies and their related conceptions that circulate in the subtle body and mind, leading most of us to continued rebirth in cyclic existence. The Vajra Rosary tells us how to overcome these energies and achieve the freedom of enlightenment. It is one of the &“explanatory tantras&” of the Buddhist Esoteric Community (Guhyasamaja) unexcelled yoga tantric system, the most complete of the four systems of tantra described in Indo-Tibetan Buddhist literature. The book&’s analysis of the Vajra Rosary Tantra illuminates for readers perhaps the most compelling reason of all to choose Rosary—the path to enlightenment is built on overcoming the 108 energy-winds and conceptualities, the number of beads on the ancient Indo-Tibetan Buddhist rosary. Readers will learn what practices to engage in to accomplish the goal of becoming a fully enlightened buddha through this comprehensive text.
The Valiant Gunman (House of Winslow, #14)
by Gilbert MorrisDan Winslow survived the Civil War with the dream of one day going West and becoming a cowboy with a ranch of his own. But it would be several disappointing years before this son of Sky and Rebekah Winslow found himself on the dusty cattle trail from Texas to Wyoming. For young widow Hope Rogers, the promise of a cattle ranch in Wyoming seemed like the only possible way to hold her impoverished family together. But the sacrifice she had to make to get there was a dreadful price for a woman to pay. When Dan Winslow arrives in Wyoming, he discovers that the powerful cattle baron of the Arrow Ranch is forcing the local small ranchers and homesteaders out of business, including Hope Rogers. Winslow had not come looking for another war, but his only choice is to fight. The desperate ranchers need Dan's gun, and Dan needs their support. Arrow Ranch Held All the Cards. Winslow Refused to Play by Their Rules.
The Valkyries: An Encounter with Angels
by Paulo CoelhoA Magical Tale About Forgiving Our Past and Believing in Our Future The enchanting, true story of The Valkyries begins in Rio de Janeiro when author Paulo Coelho gives his mysterious master J., the only manuscript for his book The Alchemist. Haunted by a devastating curse, Coelho confesses to J., "I've seen my dreams fall apart just when I seemed about to achieve them." In response, J. gives Coelho a daunting task: He must find and speak with his guardian angel. "The curse can be broken," he replies, "if you complete the task." Rising to the challenge, Paulo and his wife, Cristina, drop everything, pack their bags, and take off on a forty day adventure into the starkly beautiful and sometimes dangerous Mojave Desert -- where they encounter more than they bargained for. A masterful blend of the exotic locales, dramatic adventure, and magical storytelling, for which Coelho's fictional works are renowned, this true-life account is at once a modern-day adventure and a metaphysical odyssey.
The Valley Of Vision
by Arthur G. BennettA selection of prayers and meditations in the Puritan tradition, widely valued since publication in 1975. (See also P. 2)
The Valley Spirit: A Female Story of Daoist Cultivation Second Edition
by Lindsey WeiA young woman, Lindsey Wei, graduates from high school in America and sets out to find her roots in China, questing for who she is and where her life path belongs. She discovers in herself a skill for martial arts and seeks the hidden knowledge of meditation. After three years of study in various martial styles and unveiling false teachers, she is finally led to the ancient Wudang Mountains. Here she meets a Daoist recluse, Li Shi Fu, who has renounced the world of the 'red dust' and long since retired into an isolated temple to cast oracles and read the stars. The coming together of these two extraordinary characters, master and disciple, begins a spiritual relationship taking the young adept on an unforgettable journey through the light and dark sides of modern China and deep into herself. Battling between earthly desires and heavenly knowledge, she makes the transformation into a dynamic and complete woman. A coming-of-age, personal account, the book describes the lived experiences of a profoundly sincere, bitter yet ultimately liberating female quest. It is written for anyone who ponders the true meaning of Chinese wisdom and the way of the Dao in the hope of discovering a deeper strength within themselves.
The Valley of Dry Bones: A Novel
by Jerry B. JenkinsBest-selling author whose books have sold over 70 million copies pens a thrilling tale of intrigue and terrorism.
The Valley of Song
by Elizabeth GoudgeBy the author of The Little White Horse a juvenile- another exquisitely written fantasy of English shipyard life of the last century and of a little girl whose imagination and faith help the builders in the small town of the Hard to finish and launch the beautiful sailing ship Swan. But for all its ethereal color, gem-like scenery, and its warmth- the transitions from reality to illusion make this a book for a particular mood and taste. Small Tabitha Silver, child of a coppersmith, untidy and given to running away from school, feels the value of making things less grown up. When the Swan already at the stage where there is life to her shape, is abandoned by her commissioners, Tabitha visits her Valley of Song where the elves agree to help with wood and carving. Too, Tabitha brings the important people to the Valley with her -- old Job, a mysterious ogre of a tramp, Mr. and Mrs. Peregrine, the master builder and his wife, and her coppersmith father. All, because they have the spark within, become children, and go with Tabitha adventuring through sylvan wilds that have an air of old Arcady and the Cyprean isles, until they emerge, the learning and the learned, more versed in the arts of faith and unconventionality.
The Values of Belonging: Rediscovering Balance, Mutuality, Intuition, and Wholeness in a Competitive World
by Carol L. FlindersThe Values of Belonging breaks new ground by examining human value systems from the perspective of how we live, not our gender. "There is a way of being in the world that recoils from aggressiveness, cunning, and greed," writes bestselling author Carol Lee Flinders. This way of being arose out of the relationships our hunter-gatherer ancestors had with the natural world, one another, and Spirit -- relationships that are most acutely understood in terms of trust, inclusion, and mutual reciprocity. This society's core values, which include intimate connection with the land, empathetic relationship with animals, self-restraint, balance, expressiveness, generosity, egalitarianism, playfulness, and nonviolent conflict resolution, are what Flinders calls the "values of Belonging."But with the Agricultural Revolution, as people took charge of what they could grow and where, the nature of human society changed. Once we could produce enough food to have surpluses, food could be bartered. The concept of ownership took on new meaning; more complex economies evolved, and with them came social and economic inequities. Qualities that had been reviled, such as competitiveness, acquisitiveness, and ambition, became under these new conditions the means to success. God underwent a transformation as well, becoming masculine, supreme, and finally located above and beyond us in the heavens. Flinders observes that these "values of Enterprise" have played a crucial role in the development of human society, having given us our passion for innovation and exploration of our world. But, whether negative or positive, the values of Enterprise, which became associated with men, overwhelmed the values of Belonging, which were identified with women. This division has impoverished us all.The values that shaped the hunter-gatherer's life reflected the need for connection, while those that fueled the Agricultural Revolution, and the subsequent rise of civilization as we know it, resulted in disconnection -- from nature, other people, and Spirit. The two value systems could not be more deeply at odds. Because the values of Enterprise have prevailed, the entire world stands in acute and perilous imbalance. And yet there are those who have managed to keep the values of Belonging alive, while successfully negotiating Enterprise culture.In this fresh look at gender relationships, Flinders moves away from the dichotomy of male as oppressor and female as victim. She sees models for a new balance in the lives of visionaries, artists, and mystics such as the Buddha, Baal Shem Tov, Teresa of Avila, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, John Muir, and Martin Luther King Jr., each of whom mirrors the essence of Belonging values for the world. This thought-provoking book adds an exciting dimension to the debate about Western values and where we are headed.
The Values of Independent Hip-Hop in the Post-Golden Era: Hip-Hop’s Rebels
by Christopher VitoUtilizing a mixed-methods approach, this book uncovers the historical trajectory of U.S. independent hip-hop in the post-golden era, seeking to understand its complex relationship to mainstream hip-hop culture and U.S. culture more generally. Christopher Vito analyzes the lyrics of indie hip-hop albums from 2000-2013 to uncover the dominant ideologies of independent artists regarding race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and social change. These analyses inform interviews with members of the indie hip-hop community to explore the meanings that they associate with the culture today, how technological and media changes impact the boundaries between independent and major, and whether and how this shapes their engagement with oppositional consciousness. Ultimately, this book aims to understand the complex and contradictory cultural politics of independent hip-hop in the contemporary age.
The Vampire Book
by J Gordon MeltonRevised, updated, and enlarged, this vast reference is an alphabetic tour of the psychosexual, macabre world of the bloodsucking undead. Digging deep into the lore, myths, and reported realities of vampires and vampire legends from across the globe, many facets are uncovered-historical, literary, mythological, biographical, and popular. From Vlad the Impaler and Barnabas Collins to Dracula and Lestat, this exhaustive guide furnishes more than 500 essays, a vampire chronology, and 60 pages of vampire resources. Complete with detailed illustrations and photographs, the third edition of this popular authority includes a wealth of current events, including the Twilight phenomenon; contemporary authors of vampire romance; the growth and development of genuine, selfidentified vampire communities; and prominent TV shows from Buffy to True Blood.
The Vampyre: A Tale
by John William PolidoriThe Vampyre: A Tale is based on a fragment written by Lord Byron in 1816 during a gathering of author friends who, trapped inside due to bad weather, decided to write ghost stories. It was the first vampire story in English prose, and as such had a wide-ranging influence, almost single-handedly creating the now-popular image of the vampire as an aristocratic seducer.
The Vanished Imam
by Fouad AjamiIn the summer of 1978, Musa al Sadr, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Shia sect in Lebanon, disappeared mysteriously while on a visit to Libya. As in the Shia myth of the "Hidden Imam," this modern-day Imam left his followers upholding his legacy and awaiting his return. Considered an outsider when he had arrived in Lebanon in 1959 from his native Iran, he gradually assumed the role of charismatic mullah, and was instrumental in transforming the Shia, a quiescent and downtrodden Islamic minority, into committed political activists. What sort of person was Musa al Sadr? What beliefs in the Shia doctrine did his life embody? Where did he fit into the tangle of Lebanon's warring factions? What was behind his disappearance? In this fascinating and compelling narrative, Fouad Ajami resurrects the Shia's neglected history, both distant and recent, and interweaves the life and work of Musa al Sadr with the larger strands of the Shia past.
The Vanished: A Novel
by Cara Putman"Putman's legal expertise shines in this compelling and intricately plotted romantic suspense. Highly recommended!" --Colleen Coble, USA Today best-selling author Janae Simmons left the small town of Kedgewick, Virginia, ten years ago to pursue her legal career and never looked back--until a professional mistake leads her to her grandmother's historic carriage house and to the town where her past threatens to find her. The quiet streets echo with her grandfather's sterling reputation, one that conflicts with fresh questions that claw at Janae, launching her on a reluctant journey to unearth his secrets. When her new job at a local law firm doesn't live up to expectations, she wonders if coming home was the right decision. Carter Montgomery starts his art preservation career with the only job he can get--director at the Elliott Museum of Art. At least Kedgewick is a nice enough town to provide him and his nephew with a safe place to grieve the loss of Carter's sister. But Carter's calm days disappear when an elderly woman claims two paintings in the museum's collection were stolen from her family during World War II. Carter enlists Janae's help to unravel the legal labyrinth of art ownership, and the peaceful facade of Kedgewick morphs into a hot bed of secrets. When an attorney turns up dead and Janae uncovers another painting, what began as a simple legal issue spirals into a race against time. As the web of intrigue tightens, the duo must confront a looming question: What dark truths lie beneath the surface, waiting to be exposed? "Cara Putman has once again created an exciting cast of characters. I was immediately drawn in by Janae and Carter's unique chemistry. This is one story you don't want to miss." --Rebecca Hemlock, award-winning author of Fury in the Shadows
The Vanishing American Jew: In Search of Jewish Identity for the Next Century
by Alan M. Dershowitz"In this urgent book, Alan M. Dershowitz shows why American Jews are in danger of disappearing - and what must be done now to create a renewed sense of Jewish identity for the next century." "In previous times, the threats to Jewish survival were external - the virulent consequences of anti-Semitism. Now, however, in late-twentieth-century America, the danger has shifted. Jews today are more secure, more accepted, more assimilated, and more successful than ever before. They've dived into the melting pot - and they've achieved the American Dream. And that, according to Dershowitz, is precisely the problem. More than 50 percent of Jews will marry non-Jews, and their children will most often be raised as non-Jews. Which means, in the view of Dershowitz, that American Jews will vanish as a distinct cultural group sometime in the next century - unless they act now." "Speaking to concerned Jews everywhere, Dershowitz calls for a new Jewish identity that focuses on the positive - the 3,500-year-old legacy of Jewish culture, values, and traditions. Dershowitz shows how this new Jewish identity can compete in America's open environment of opportunity and choice - and offers concrete proposals on how to instill it in the younger generation."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved
The Vanishing Conscience
by John MacarthurAre you losing your ability to recognize sin? Are you becoming a person who finds it easy to shift blame, deny guilt, or excuse moral failure in yourself or others?In this challenging yet compelling book, John MacArthur encourages you to confront the culture's flight from moral responsibility. With sound biblical truth, this book shows how and why sin must be dealt with if you are to live in a way that pleases God. With clairty and insight, John MacArthur provides you with solutions for attaining a personal holiness that can take you from living a life of blame and denial to one of peace and freedom.Praise for The Vanishing Conscience:". . . a wake-up call and an alarm to jolt the sleeping church. Not all will like it, but all should read it. In this day of morality by majority, self-centered ministry, and twilight-zone theology, a clear word like this is long overdue." -Dr. Adrian Rogers, Pastor, Bellevue Baptist Church". . . a clear and prophetic word that we must hear and heed." -Dr. Joseph M. Stowell, President, Moody Bible Institute"With the clarion call of a prophet, MacArthur points us back to something we have forgotten: the value and importance of a clean conscience." -Greg Laurie, Senior Pastor, Harvest Christian Fellowship
The Vanishing Generation: Faith and Uprising in Modern Uzbekistan
by Bagila BukharbayevaAs a young reporter in Uzbekistan, Bagila Bukharbayeva was a witness to her countrys search for an identity after the collapse of the Soviet Union. While self-proclaimed religious leaders argued about what was the true Islam, Bukharbayeva shows how some of the neighborhood boys became religious, then devout, and then a threat to the country's authoritarian government. The Vanishing Generation provides an unparalleled look into what life is like in a religious sect, the experience of people who live for months and even years in hiding, and the fabricated evidence, torture, and kidnappings that characterize an authoritarian government. In doing so, she provides a rare and unforgettable story of what life is like today inside the secretive and tightly controlled country of Uzbekistan. Balancing intimate memories of playmates and neighborhood crushes with harrowing stories of extremism and authoritarianism, Bukharbayeva gives a voice to victims whose stories would never otherwise be heard.