A profoundly personal, deeply felt exploration of the mysteryof faith—having it, losing it, hoping for its return. The son of an Episcopal priest whose faith is balanced by anunderstanding of human nature, Eric Lax develops in his youth adeep religious attachment and acute moral compass. An acolyte fromage six and as comfortable in church as he is at home, he oftenconsiders becoming a priest himself. Eventually his faith guideshim to resist military service in Vietnam. His principles will notallow him to kill, and he is willing to go to jail for them. Hisfaith abides until, in his mid-thirties, he begins to question theunquestionable: the role of God in his life. Whatever his doubts, Lax engages with his father, who shaped hisfaith and was its anchor, and his college roommate and close friendGeorge “Skip” Packard, whose youthful faith mirrored his own, andwho chooses military service and mortal combat. Their ongoing andilluminating dialogues—full of wisdom and insight, probing all theavenues and aspe

Have you, as a parent, ever found yourself treating yourchildren in a way you would never tolerate from someone else? Theauthors of Emotionally Intelligent Parenting call for a new GoldenRule: Do unto your children as you would have other people do untoyour children. And most important, they show us how to live by it.Based upon extensive research, firsthand experience, and casestudies, Emotionally Intelligent Parenting breaks the mold oftraditional parenting books by taking into account the strong roleof emotions -- those of parents and children -- in psychologicaldevelopment. With this book, parents will learn how to communicatewith children on a deeper, more gratifying level and how to helpthem successfully navigate the intricacies of relating to others.The authors take the five basic principles of Daniel Goleman'sbest-seller, Emotional Intelligence, and explain how they can beapplied to successful parenting. To this end, the book offerssuggestions, stories, dialogues, activities, and a special secti

Unplanned pregnancies happen to women in every season of life:the newly married, the never-married, the empty-nester, theteenager, the overworked mother, the career woman. Yet we rarelytalk about how lonely and confusing this experience can be. In Surprise Child, Leslie Leyland Fields, whoexperienced two unplanned pregnancies in her forties, lyricallyweaves her own story with the stories of other women who understandthe isolation you face as expectations and plans are turned upsidedown to make room for a child. “Each year, more than three million women discover themselvespregnant–at a hard time, the wrong time, at a difficult place intheir lives. I am one of those women.…” Together, these women walk with you month-by-month through thephysical and emotional stages of pregnancy, voicing with startlinghonesty their own anxieties and struggles. Here you will find thecompanionship and hope you need to journey toward new life.

First developed as a short manual for students in a yearlongmeditation course, Presence Meditation offers a step-by-stepprogram for increasing self-awareness through simple but revelatoryexercises. The practice of presence meditation involves becomingpresent to whatever is going on and letting things be just as theyare. This awareness is characterized by open attention and neutralobservation, which increases the capacity to observe withoutjudging, enables transformation without forcing, and opens the wayto a more immediate sense of meaning and joy in life. AuthorJens-Erik Risom begins by describing the purpose of meditation andthe “four introductions” (rootedness, attention to breathing,fullness of feeling, and witness awareness), and then presents thegradual steps for achieving presence, deepening neutrality, openingto trust, sensing spaciousness, and more. There are many books about meditation on the market, from Westernauthors like Eckhart Tolle to Tibetan Buddhist teachers. But manypeople

“There’s a special providence in the fall of a sparrow.”--William Shakespeare, Hamlet B fell twenty-five feet from his nest into the life ofChris Chester. The encounter was providential for both ofthem. B and Chester spent hours together playing games like bottle-capfetch or hide-and-seek. They learned “words” in each other’svocabularies. B developed a fetish for nostrils and a dislike ofthe color yellow. He grew anxious if Chester came home late fromwork. At bedtime he would rub his sleepy eyes on Chester’s thumband settle to sleep in his palm. Chester ended up turning part ofhis house into an aviary and adjusting his social life to meet B’sdemands. This was a small price to pay, though, for the trust andcomfort of a twenty-five-gram friend who brought joy and wonderback into his life.

She charmed America with her smart, likable, down-to-earthpersonality as she campaigned for her husband, thenvice-presidential candidate John Edwards. She inspired millions asshe valiantly fought advanced breast cancer after being diagnosedonly days before the 2004 election. She touched hundreds ofsimilarly grieving families when her own son, Wade, died tragicallyat age sixteen in 1996. Now she shares her experiences in SavingGraces, an incandescent memoir of Edwards’ trials, tragedies, andtriumphs, and of how various communities celebrated her joys andlent her steady strength and quiet hope in darker times. Edwards writes about growing up in a military family, where shelearned how to make friends easily in dozens of new schools andneighborhoods around the world and came to appreciate theunstinting help and comfort naval families shared. Edwards’reminiscences of her years as a mother focus on the support she andother parents offered one another, from everyday favors to theultimate test of her

In A Long Way from Home , Tom Brokaw describes hischildhood and youth in South Dakota, and the people and places inthe American heartland of the 1940s and 1950s that continue toshape his life today. As he reflects on the American experience ashe lived and observed it during the central decades of thetwentieth century, Brokaw writes of his parents’ lives during theGreat Depression, his boyhood along the Missouri River, the happydays of his adolescence in Yankton, and his early years inbroadcast journalism on the cusp of the turbulent 1960s. As herecounts his own American pilgrimage, Tom Brokaw also explores whatbrought him and so many Americans to lead lives a long way fromhome, yet forever affected by it.

Chi is the invisible energy of life that flows in and aroundus throughout the universe. Used skillfully, it can have aremarkable effect on health and vitality—to the degree that you’dbe tempted to call it magical, if it weren’t so completely natural.Here is a perfect introduction to chi that explains in a direct andsimple way what it is and why it is essential to a healthy andvital life. It provides an easy-to-understand explanation of chi,and then helps readers recognize, develop, and strengthen their ownchi through specific breathing techniques and basic exercises, alldemonstrated by the author. There are many books on chi development through t’ai chi and qigongpractice, but this one goes deeper to enable you to understand thefundamental principles as you cultivate it. This book is areference for alternative health professionals such asacupuncturists and shiatsu therapists and their patients, as wellas for anyone who practices t’ai chi, qigong, aikido, and otherchi-based martial arts.

Are you worried about protecting your career in this toughmarket? Are you ready to get your dream job or that covetedpromotion? Are you eager to show the world everything you have to offer? If you answered yes, to any of those questions, this book is foryou! Caitlin Friedman and Kimberly Yorio see it all the time:women derailing their careers because they believe that if theyjust sit quietly and work hard, someone upstairs will recognizetheir contribution and deliver big rewards. However, intoday’s ultra-competitive workplace and tough economic climate ifyou want your dream job with your dream salary, and all theopportunities and fulfillment that come with it, you have to bearmed with the right strategies and big, bold moves. The Girls Guide to The Big Bold Moves For Career Success gives you everything you need to decide what you want out of yourwork life and create a plan to make it happen. Fromnegotiating a raise or a promotion to starting a new profession,finding your footing after a layoff, Fri

Kay Redfield Jamison, award-winning professor and writer,changed the way we think about moods and madness. Now Jamison usesher characteristic honesty, wit and eloquence to look back at herrelationship with her husband, Richard Wyatt, a renowned scientistwho died of cancer. Nothing was the Same is a penetratingpsychological study of grief viewed from deep inside the experienceitself.

Everyone knows that rubbing a rabbit's foot will bring goodluck—but did you know this superstition was introduced to theUnited States by slaves from West Africa? Field Guide toLuck features the fascinating origins of the most popularcharms and signs—everything from crossed fingers and full moons tofour-leaf clovers and Friday the thirteenth. Each entry featuresinformation about the origins and cultural context of thesuperstition, with plenty of interesting trivia along the way. (Forthe record, Chinese fortune cookies were invented in SanFrancisco!) Also included are dozens of talismans and symbols from around theworld, including cows (India), money cats (Japan), akuaba dolls(Ghana), jade (China), and more. Best of all, Field Guide toLuck showcases many of these lucky charms with 48 pages offull-color illustrations—so you'll be sure to recognize themwherever you encounter them!

Drawing on the philosophy of A Course in Miracles, Casarjiangives a new and surprising definition of forgiveness and providesoriginal exercises and meditations that acknowledge our hurt evenas they lead us beyond it. The book explores special casesinvolving family members, crime victims, self-forgiveness, andforgiveness of God.

By a well-known psychic and astrologer, a revealingpsychological/astrological exploration of the masks we wear and themany ways our rising signs affect our personalities.

More real-life inspirational stories more everydaywonders--more answered prayers--from the TV show that has inspiredmillions! Astounding rescues ... divine intervention ... romanticprovidence. Miracles are all around us--we have only to open ourminds...and our hearts. In this extraordinary second volume ofreal-life stories, Richard Thomas has carefully selected dozens ofall-new tales from the successful PAX TV show It’s a Miracle. Theresult is a completely new, utterly unforgettable collection--atrue celebration of ordinary people transformed by extraordinaryevents. A mother is reunited with the daughter she gave up for adoptiontwenty-seven years earlier--all because of a miraculous encounterin a nursing home... A woman whose older sister is in grave need ofa liver transplant meets a man on a plane whose nephew turns out tobe a perfect match... A courageous cat saves the lives of herowners in an act of love that can be described only asremarkable. Share the healing, share the wonder