The story of novelist and poet Deborah Larsen's youngwomanhood, The Tulip and the Pope is both an exquisitelycrafted spiritual memoir and a beautifully nuanced view of life inthe convent.In midsummer of 1960, nineteen-year-old Deborah sharesa cab to a convent. She and the teenage girls with her, passionateto become nuns, heedless of all they are leaving behind, smoketheir last cigarettes before entering their new lives. In the sameartful prose that distinguished her novel The White ,Larsen's memoir lets us into the hushed life of the convent. Shecaptures the exquisite peace she found there, as well as theextreme constriction of the rules and her gradual awareness of allthat she is missing. Eventually the physical world—the lush tulipshe remembers seeing as a girl, the snow she tunneled in, and eventhe mystery of sex—begins to seem to her an alternative theater fora deep understanding and love of God.
This classic book grew out of the fascination that Germanjournalist, Werner Keller, developed when he began to learn thatthe work of archaeologists and historians corroborated Biblicalaccounts which he had hitherto dismissed as mere "pious tales.
The author of Writing Down the Bones recounts herjourney awakening from the profound sleep of a suburban childhood,describing her fifteen years as a student of Zen Buddhism, herwriting, and resistance to change. Reprint.
Rabbi Steinberg identifies seven strands that weave togetherto make up Judaism: God, morality, rite and custom, law, sacredliterature, institutions, and the people. A classic work directedto both the Jewish and the non-Jewish reader.
The I Ching is the most ancient and profound of the Chineseclassics, venerated for over three thousand years as an oracle offortune, a guide to success, and a dispensary of wisdom. This newtranslation, with commentary by Confucius, emphasizes applyingpractical wisdom in everyday affairs. Complete instructions forconsulting the I Ching are included.
The Little Book of Changes is a fresh interpretation of the I Ching, one of the oldest books in the world-recognized by both Confucians and Taoists as a fundamental work. Author Peter Crisp's perceptive and poetic rendition reimagines the ancient philosophical text as a friendly, accessible, and modern companion.
Early one morning, for no earthly reason, Sara Miles, raisedan atheist, wandered into a church, received communion, and foundherself transformed–embracing a faith she’d once scorned. A lesbianleft-wing journalist who’d covered revolutions around the world,Miles didn’t discover a religion that was about angels or goodbehavior or piety; her faith centered on real hunger, real food,and real bodies. Before long, she turned the bread she ate atcommunion into tons of groceries, piled on the church’s altar to begiven away. Within a few years, she and the people she served hadstarted nearly a dozen food pantries in the poorest parts of theircity. Take This Bread is rich with real-lifeDickensian characters–church ladies, millionaires, schizophrenics,bishops, and thieves–all blown into Miles’s life by the relentlessforce of her newfound calling. Here, in this achingly beautiful,passionate book, is the living communion of Christ. “The most amazing book.” –Anne Lamott “Engaging, funny, and
After-death communications, or "ADCs, " occur when someone iscontacted spontaneously and directly by a deceasedfamily member or friend, without the help of any medium. Theauthors' research shows that these spiritual experiences offerhope, love, and comfort for thousands of people. Included are morethan 350 first-hand accounts of those whose lives have been changedand even protected by messages or signs from the deceased.
Available in paperback for the very first time, here'severything you need to make your own astrological readings of yourmost precious relationships Why do you feel you've known someone for years when you've justmet? Why are you attracted to someone who seems like your completeopposite? Why do you and your loved one argue the way you argue? How can you make your relationships last in spite of yourdifferences? The answers to these questions can be found within your birthchart and that of your loved one. Linda Goodman's RelationshipSigns is the first astrology book to provide a totallyindividual, detailed analysis of how compatible you and yourpartner really are. Whether you are familiar with astrology or acomplete novice, this comprehensive reference shows youstep-by-step how to find the keys to harmony and the areas ofpotential trouble--all you need is each person's birth date andtime. Individually tailored to you and your loved one, here is yourguide to the relationships
本书是从战国时期起就风靡流传的军事著作，古今中外的军事家们都使用其中论述的军事理论来指导战争，而且，其中论述的基本理论和思想还被运用到了现代经营决策和社会管理方面。然而，这部著作者是谁呢？学术界议论纷纷，一种认为是春秋时期齐国的孙武所著，一种认为是孙膑整理而成，一种认为是战国初年某位山林处士编写，还有的说是三国时代曹操编撰的。直到1972年4月间，在山东临沂银雀山发掘的两座汉代墓葬中同时发现了用竹简写成的《孙子兵法》和《孙膑兵法》，这样，数百年的争论方告结束，《孙子兵法》的作者被确认为春秋时期吴国的将军孙武。
For centuries, the strange and beautiful tarot cards have beenan endless source of mystery and fascination. One of theforemost authorities in the field reveals the intricacies of thisancient art. With detailed explanations, Eden Gray offers explicitadvice about the three different methods of reading the cards, andusing the tarot for divination and meditation. Both beginningstudents and advanced devotee will find in this book new insightsinto the ancient lore of the tarot.
There is no woman with a worse reputation than Jezebel, theancient queen who corrupted a nation and met one of the mostgruesome fates in the Bible. Her name alone speaks of sexualdecadence and promiscuity. But what if this version of her story,handed down to us through the ages, is merely the one her enemieswanted us to believe? What if Jezebel, far from being a connivingharlot, was, in fact, framed? In this remarkable new biography, Lesley Hazleton shows exactly howthe proud and courageous queen of Israel was vilified and made intothe very embodiment of wanton wickedness by her political andreligious enemies. Jezebel brings readers back to the sourceof the biblical story, a rich and dramatic saga featuring evilschemes and underhanded plots, war and treason, false gods andfalser humans, and all with the fate of entire nations at stake. Atits center are just one woman and one man—the sophisticated QueenJezebel and the stark prophet Elijah. Their epic and ultimatelytragic confrontation pits tolerance again
In a narrative that is at once thoughtful and passionate,hopeful but without illusions, award-winning historian ZacharyKarabell reveals the history of peaceful coexistence among Muslims,Christians, and Jews over the course of fourteen centuries untilthe present-day. The harsh reality of religious conflict is daily news, and therising tensions between the West and Islam show no signs ofabating. However, the relationship between Muslims, Christians, andJews has not always been marked with animosity; there is also adeep and nuanced history of peace. From the court of caliphs in ancient Baghdad, where scholarsengaged in spirited debate, to present-day Dubai, where members ofeach faith work side by side, Karabell traces the forgotten legacyof tolerance and cooperation these three monotheistic religionshave enjoyed—a legacy that will be vital in any attempt to findcommon ground and reestablish peace.
Dating from around 300BC, Tao Te Ching is the first great classic of the Chinese school of philosophy called Taoism. Within its pages is summed up a complete view of the cosmos and how human beings should respond to it. A profound mystical insight into the nature of things forms the basis for a humane morality and vision of political utopia.
Twenty years after he and his family were deported from Sighetto Auschwitz, Elie Wiesel returned to his town in search of thewatch—a bar mitzvah gift—he had buried in his backyard before theyleft.
To this day, I don't even know what my mother's real nameis. Helen Fremont was raised as a Roman Catholic. It wasn't until shewas an adult, practicing law in Boston, that she discovered herparents were Jewish--Holocaust survivors living invented lives. Noteven their names were their own. In this powerful memoir, HelenFremont delves into the secrets that held her family in a bond ofsilence for more than four decades, recounting with heartbreakingclarity a remarkable tale of survival, as vivid as fiction but withthe resonance of truth. Driven to uncover their roots, Fremont and her sister piecedtogether an astonishing story: of Siberian Gulags and Italianroyalty, of concentration camps and buried lives. After LongSilence is about the devastating price of hiding the truth; aboutfamilies; about the steps we take, foolish or wise, to protectourselves and our loved ones. No one who reads this book can beunmoved, or fail to understand the seductive, damaging power ofsecrets.
