Featuring 8 board books in a handy carry case, this Animals Learning Library will help develop children s picture word recognition while stimulating imagination and expanding their vocabularies. Packed with colourful photographs of familiar objects, each spread contains simple words and bright contemporary images that parents and children will love to share. The lightweight, chunky board book format makes these books perfect for little hands.

Every meditation tradition explains that there are two aspectsto any effective meditation practice: insight and concentration. InMindfulness in Plain English, author Bhante Henepola Gunaratana, amonk from Sri Lanka and venerated teacher of Buddhism, offeredbasic instruction on the meaning of insight (or vipassana)meditation through concepts that could be applied to any tradition.In Beyond Mindfulness in Plain English, he presents the levels ofconcentration with the same simplicity and humor that made theprevious book so successful. The focus here is on the Jhanas, thosemeditative states of profound stillness and concentration in whichthe mind becomes fully immersed and absorbed in the chosen objectof attention. Using the Jhanas to guide readers along the path tojoy, happiness, equanimity, and one-pointedness, the authorprovides all of the instruction necessary to utilize meditation asa tool for building a more fulfilling life

At many points in Dan Millman’s seminal story of personaltransformation, the old warrior Socrates shrugs off Dan’s questionswith a laconic “It’s the House Rules.” Here, Millman takes morethan 100 of the book’s most interesting and enigmatic passages andexplores in detail the key ideas behind them, showing their genesisin spiritual philosophies old and new. Drawing on 25 years ofexperience since first writing the book, he reveals an evolvingsensibility and perspective, he drawing practical lessons thatreaders can apply directly to their lives from even the mostmysterious passages. Millman gives readers fresh insight and wisdomby clarifying seemingly paradoxical statements and applyingessential teachings to life's toughest questions. Whether readersare coming to Way of the Peaceful Warrior for the first timeor belong to its legions of long-time fans, The Peaceful WarriorCompanion deepens their experience of this beloved spiritualclassic.

In 1202, zealous western Christians gathered in Venicedetermined to liberate Jerusalem from the grip of Islam. But thecrusaders never made it to the Holy Land. Steered forward by theshrewd Venetian doge, they descended instead on Constantinople,wreaking devastation so terrible and inflicting scars so deep thatas recently as 2001 Pope John Paul II offered an apology to theGreek Orthodox Church. The crusaders spared no one: They raped and massacred thousands,plundered churches, and torched the lavish city. A prostitutedanced on the altar of the ravaged Hagia Sophia. And by 1204,barbarism masquerading as piety had shattered one of the greatcivilizations of history. Here, on the eight hundredth anniversaryof the sack, is the extraordinary story of this epic catastrophe,told for the first time outside of academia by Jonathan Phillips, aleading expert on the crusades. Knights and commoners, monastic chroniclers, courtly troubadours,survivors of the carnage, and even Pope Innocent III left vividac

Only once in the history of human consciousness, says Osho,has a thing like Zen come into being. In Zen: Its History andTeachings, the noted mystic explains that Zen has no rituals,no chanting, no mantras, no *ures — only short, evocativeparables and teachings that make it ideal for the modern seeker.Using his characteristic humorous, encouraging style, Osho guidesreaders through the origins and development of this seminalspiritual tradition that is neither religion nor dogma nor creed.He provides a context for those who have not been born into the Zentradition, introducing them to its timeless approach to existence.The book argues that the only preparation for fully experiencingZen's power is meditative awareness, and Osho presents simpletechniques to achieve this awareness. Stunning color photographsthroughout offer further inspiration and illumination.

The Zen school of Mahayana Buddhism contends that each one ofus is already a Buddha — the enlightenment we seek is always withinus, waiting to be realized through mindfulness and concertedspiritual work. This truth pushes us toward practice, in the hopesthat we may awaken our potential and live up to what is insideus.?This is a?notion taught widely by ninth century Zen Master LinChi, and in his tradition Thich Nhat Hanh employs the teachings andwritings of Mahayana Buddhism to discuss specific topics inBuddhist study and practice. With these teachings, readers have thetools to awaken the Buddha within.

A history so funny, so true, so scary, it's bound to becalled a conspiracy. "Meticulous in its research, forensic in itsreasoning, robust in its argument, and often hilarious in itsdebunking, Voodoo Histories is a highly entertaining rumblewith the century's major conspiracy theorists and their theories"(John Lahr). From Pearl Harbor to 9/11 to the assassination of JFKto the Birthers, Aaronvitch probes and explores the majorconspiracy theories (and theorists) of our time. In doing so, heexamines why people believe these conspiracies and makes anargument for a true skepticism.

For centuries THE I CHING OR BOOK OF CHANGES has beenconsulted for wise advice. Its enduring popularity lies in thelessons it teaches about how to attain life's greatest rewards -prosperity, understanding and peace of mind. On the surface, it ismerely a book that has survived for thousands of years in manydifferent forms. Underneath, however, THE I CHING is a livingbreathing oracle, a patient and all-seeing teacher who can berelied upon for flawless advice at every turning point in ourlives. Briant Browne Walker's highly accessible translation of THEI CHING OR BOOK OF CHANGES allows you to make the wisdom of theancient Chinese sages your own. Whether you need specific advice orgeneral guidance, THE I CHING will help to promote success and goodfortune and impart balance and perspective to your life.

In this remarkable book, Martin Buber presents the essential teachings of Hasidism, the mystical Jewish movement which swept Eastern Europe in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Told through stories of imagination and spirit, together with his own unique insights, Buber offers us a way of understanding ourselves and our place in a spiritual world. Challenging us to recognize our own potential and to reach our true goal, this is a life-enhancing book.

The author of the runaway bestseller How the Irish SavedCivilization has done it again. In The Gifts of the Jews ThomasCahill takes us on another enchanting journey into history, onceagain recreating a time when the actions of a small band of peoplehad repercussions that are still felt today. The Gifts of the Jews reveals the critical change that madewestern civilization possible. Within the matrix of ancientreligions and philosophies, life was seen as part of an endlesscycle of birth and death; time was like a wheel, spinningceaselessly. Yet somehow, the ancient Jews began to see timedifferently. For them, time had a beginning and an end; it was anarrative, whose triumphant conclusion would come in the future.From this insight came a new conception of men and women asindividuals with unique destinies--a conception that would informthe Declaration of Independence--and our hopeful belief in progressand the sense that tomorrow can be better than today. As ThomasCahill narrates this momentous shift,

No religion in the modern world is as feared and misunderstoodas Islam. It haunts the popular imagination as an extreme faiththat promotes terrorism, authoritarian government, femaleoppression, and civil war. In a vital revision of this narrow viewof Islam and a distillation of years of thinking and writing aboutthe subject, Karen Armstrong’s short history demonstrates that theworld’s fastest-growing faith is a much more complex phenomenonthan its modern fundamentalist strain might suggest.

For thirty years Randy Alcorn has been encouragingpeople-young and old-to pursue the rewards of sexual purity. Toooften we settle for a compromised Christianity that's just abaptized version of the world's sad existence, rather than theabundant life to which God calls us. This book deals with - raisingchildren to embrace sexual purity - providing an example of purityin the home - protecting purity in dating (at any age) - andmaintaining purity in marriage. Biblical, practical, and concise,The Purity Principle is a one-stop handbook for individuals,families and churches.

In this gripping narrative history, Lesley Hazleton tells thetragic story at the heart of the ongoing rivalry between the Sunniand Shia branches of Islam, a rift that dominates the news now morethan ever. Even as Muhammad lay dying, the battle over who would takecontrol of the new Islamic nation had begun, beginning a successioncrisis marked by power grabs, assassination, political intrigue,and passionate faith. Soon Islam was embroiled in civil war,pitting its founder's controversial wife Aisha against hisson-in-law Ali, and shattering Muhammad’s ideal of unity. Combining meticulous research with compelling storytelling, Afterthe Prophet explores the volatile intersection of religion andpolitics, psychology and culture, and history and current events.It is an indispensable guide to the depth and power of theShia–Sunni split.

This accelerated step-by-step course in sensing energy istaught by Orin, a wise and gentle spirit teacher channeled bySanaya Roman. Using these easy-to-follow processes, thousands havelearned to create immediate and profound changes in theirrelationships, their self-images, and their ability to love and beloved. You need no longer be affected by other people's moods ornegativity. You can recognize when you have taken on other people'senergy and easily release it. You can learn to stay centered andbalanced, know who you are, increase the positive energy aroundyou, and help and heal others. Your sensitivity is a gift. Learn touse it to send a receive telepathic messages, increase yourintuitive abities, and open to higher guidance. You can leave thedenser energies, where things are often painful, and live in theigher energies, where you can feel loving, calm, focused, andpositive. Orin offers a step-by-step course in sensing energy tocreate changes in relationships, self-image, and the ability tolove and

David Mamet's interest in anti-Semitism is not limited to themodern face of an ancient hatred but encompasses as well the waysin which many Jews have internalized that hatred. Using themetaphor of the Wicked Son at the Passover seder (the child whoasks, "What does this story mean to you?") Mamet confronts what hesees as an insidious predilection among some Jews to excludethemselves from the equation and to seek truth and meaninganywhere--in other religions, political movements, mindlessentertainment--but in Judaism itself. He also explores the ways inwhich the Jewish tradition has long been and still remains theWicked Son in the eyes of the world. Written with the searinghonesty and verbal brilliance that is the hallmark of Mamet's work,The Wicked Son is a powerfully thought-provoking look at one of themost destructive and tenacious forces in contemporary life.

The quest for self-knowledge has been a universal human pursuit for millenniums. Who are we? And could our destiny be written in the stars? Why do some commit their wings to life's flames, while others tiptoe through life so cautiously? Chinese Astrology: Exploring the Eastern Zodiac explains our “natural endowment”or“inner being”─our personality from the beginning. This 5,000-year-old art paints a remarkable picture of personality and potential using the archetypes of the 12 signs of the ancient Eastern zodiac. While each one of us possess some qualities of all 12 signs, we each have a dominant sign and birth element. Be prepared for some "ah ha!" moments as you explore this ancient art and gain insight into the characters of those you meet along life’s path. You may notice interesting similarities to your friends and family, and you may never look at yourself the same way again. This is a timeless system that is as pertinent today as it was many centuries ago. In a book that