Book Description
This is Kay Whitaker's spellbinding account of her "reluctant" apprenticeship to Domano and Chea Hetaka, two charismatic shamans from the Amazon Basin who come to teach her -- a young homemaker -- to be a Kala Keh nah seh, a builder of webs of balance," and to hand down the ancient wisdom of their people. In spite of her doubts and fears, Whitaker finds the balance and harmony she was destined to know.
Customer Reviews:
Fully Engaging.......2006-11-27
Brilliant, utterly compelling, and unforgettable. Highly recommended is an understatement. Far beyond and any other book on shamanism that I've read, this one is a multi-level, multi-sensory experience . It's one of those rare books that can awaken the reader's consciousness, compassion and heart. While autobiographical, the book also offers core information and teaching stories that are timeless. The author's personal experiences include exercises that can be easily put into practice. Yet,this is not another technique book. It's an irresistible call to remember and be who we truly are. It offers a path to living joyously in integrity with our Truth , Earth and all of Creation. One of a few books that I've read more then once. I am inspired by and grateful for the dedication, courage and commitment of the author and her teachers. This book is a treasure.
First Read this back in 1991 in Hardback edition.......2006-10-07
The book is still good as gold. Sometimes old books and old stories get better with age - certainly this applies to Whitaker's life experiences as written in her book "The Reluctant Shman". She goes from her more simple life in Santa Cruz into a whole new universe of spirtual explorations. She expands her world inside and out as she learns some new profound teachings and experiences many revolations- which she passes along to the reader.
Fascinating, entertaining and perhaps, in some ways, enlightening. How open you are to what she is saying will taint what you believe and what you absorb of her story and the message. It takes an open mind to digest all of the book - but if all she says happened, then it is really a very profound book of experinces that she shares. She certainly risks great ridicule by sharing this story if it were not fact - so we trust that she speaks from her heart.
Take with a pinch of salt.......2006-05-13
The author is approached one day by two indians who inform her that she is to be taught the way of their people. I was really looking forward to reading this book and hoped for an honest account of someone who had made an unexpected step into the spirit world.
Initially, I was not disappointed. The author describes her indian friends and the shamanic experiences beautifully including her emotional reactions to each experience.
By about two thirds through, however, I was wondering if the author would ever begin to mature. At the beginning of the book we learn that the author is filled with fear and anxiety and has difficulty standing up for herself; typical, as she says, of a 1950's upbringing. But despite tremendously powerful shamanic experiences, she never seems to loose the immediate reaction of fear to all new experiences. Even those delivered to her by her new friends are met with fear and questioning - right till the very end of the book. I found it very difficult to reconcile such powerful expereinces that require balance and spiritual strength with the author's fear and disbelief. I came to doubt the story as it was told.
As this book was written some time after her experiences (she was asked by the indians not to record any of her experiences whilst she was learning) I can only assume that the book is constructed to show the human side of things combined with the shamanic experience, rather than trying to show the spiritual journey as a maturing experience.
A very good read for the experiences themselves, irritating by the end.
The Gift of One's Song.......2006-02-10
The Reluctant Shaman opened for me the
door to my spiritual journey. Every
single page nourishes the soul. After
reading this I had very powerful dreams,
one of which informed me of "the gift
of my song". Every time I sing this
it heightens my consciousness and gives
me renewing energy. This book inspires
one's entire being how to literally be
in tune with oneself. Densely packed
with gems of stories, it was an adventure
of a read. Kay's personal style of writing
invites the reader to experience the magic
firsthand. Like a magical treasure box, each
time this book is opened it reveals more
wisdom to live by. I return to it often
for inspiration. I truly hope many more
will discover and enjoy Kay's mesmerizing
account.
A really fun read, these people are GREAT!.......2005-01-12
I haven't laughed so much since reading Rita Mae Brown's "Six of One"! These people are so joyful, so insouciant,so playful, that they really lightened up my spirits at a rather depressing time in my life. The whole premise of the book is so ... outlandish! I read fiction for that feeling of going SOMEWHERE ELSE, somewhere I can't go myself and this account of one woman getting there in real life is a RIOT!!!
I've had enough weird experiences to recognise the truly confused voice of real experience in this book - it's NOT fiction! - and reading this is like watching the Marx brothers come to one of my family's holiday get-togethers! There's no meanness in the humor, just affection, and the ridiculous combination of modern world with ancient psychic practices is just hilarious!
In addition, the hope that there CAN be a larger world out there, just waiting for us to find it, a loving, supportive, enthusiastic universe waiting to buttonhole us on the street, just to tell us to come on in and join the party is a beautiful and PRICELESS gift that this book brings, and an accurate one, in my experience.
Book Description
The author reveals his passionate experiences with a female Tantric master who taught him the suppressed practices of her ancient order.
In 1968 Daniel Odier left Europe for the Himalayas, searching for a master who could help him go where texts and intellectual searching could no longer take him. He wanted everything: the wisdom and spirituality gained from the life of an ascetic and the beauty, love, and sensuality of a life of passion. He found both in Shivaic Tantrism, the secret spiritual path that seeks to transcend ego and rediscover the divine by embracing the passions. In an isolated Himalayan forest Odier met Devi, a great yogini who would take him on a mystical journey like none he had ever imagined. At times taking him beyond the limits of sexual experience, at times threatening him with destruction, she taught him what it is to truly be alive and to know the divine nature of absolute love.
This is the personal memoir of one of France's most honored writers.
Tantrism is the only ancient philosophy to survive all historical upheavals, invasions, and influences to reach us intact by uninterrupted transmission from master to disciple, and the only one to retain the image of the Great Goddess as the ultimate source of power.
Customer Reviews:
Great on Every Level.......2007-03-22
This book is a great read. It works as a story, as instruction, and as literature. Can't recommend it highly enough.
Deeper into life.......2006-08-18
It says a lot about the personal qualities of Daniel Odier that he was accepted by a skilful teacher from a true tradition of Tantra, and was also able to pursue the teaching, over years of practice, to its realization.
Mystical sex is certainly a part of this book -- Odier makes no secret of this interest as he begins his quest -- but as his learning continues, he and his search grow beyond it. The story is both fascinating and inspiring. When finally he is given his sexual initiation, he has abandoned the sexual quest, so that what he actually receives is an initiation into absolute love. Paradoxically, it is only at this point that he can truly enter the sexual experience -- and truly enter, as well, every other experience of human life.
Although some may wonder if it all really happened, the story rings true because it continually relates the struggle to overcome the ego. The absolute love of Odier's teacher allows her to place her willing but unsuspecting student, time after time, in exactly the situation which will push his ego to its limits. He must give up grabby goals, self-preservation and mental chatter each time. His ultimate reward is the awareness of this love: the great goal of the mystic, a union with all that exists. There are parallels with Buddhist meditation teachings, and the story also recalls certain words of the Bible, for example that perfect love casts out fear, or that we must lose the world in order to gain the Kingdom.
Through it all, the key is perfect awareness of the present moment, inner and outer. There is certainly sex in the book, including a wonderful (and discreet) description of a Tantric sex act which demystifies the subject for Westerners who have only had the works of non-initiates to read up to now. (Western students of tantra-sex who have attended workshops will recall learning to become more fully present to themselves and their partners.) Daniel Odier's story offers this and far more, not only sex but also the constant partners of sex: life, death and above all love.
I read the original French version, but the English translation is also very clear.
one man's spiritual Tantric quest.......2006-04-27
In this story of his personal spiritual quest to find a Tantric master, Odier, a young man, wanders through India where an unusual, sometimes disastrous, sequence of events leads him deep in the forest to yogini Lalita Devi. Over a period of months, Odier undergoes a series of trials, tests, and rituals of purification that culminate in a sacred sex initiation in which he experiences the awakening of the kundalini, and the joining of the divine forces of Shiva and Shakti.
A Gift of Liberation From a Master.......2001-11-15
That is what the essance of Tantra is. Daniel Odier writes about his search to find a Master to recieve this ancient and secretive teaching from. On the verge of giving up he retreats to a small village in India where, almost seemingly by accident, he finds a great Yogini Tantric Master, Devi, in the forest. She agrees to take him on as a student and so begins Daniel's immersion into a whole new way of experiencing the world.
The transmission of Tantric tradition is very personal. Devi puts Daniel through a variety of tests to strengthen the bond and trust between them. She warns him at the outset of this journey that doubts about himself, anger and even hatred of her could manifest during their work together. As Daniel progresses, and the master/student bond is solidified, Devi's teachings become more deep and subtle. The final part of his time spent with Devi involves his initiation into the Tantric ritual sex, the joining of Shiva and Shakti, causing the rising of the Kundalini(a sacred spiritual force that purifies the body for deeper spiritual attainment).
Daniel not only shares his experience of Devi and what she taught him, but tells how he came back to the 'real world' to use what he learned. Not always an easy task.
A fairly good book, a beautiful story of the student/master relationship, and it's not too wordy either. A basic knowlege of Hinduism is a real plus when reading this.
Excellent story and the teaching.......2000-11-09
Although I have been on my path of `enlightenment' for a very short time, I have had a chance to read through numerous publications (Power of Now, Tao Te Ching, Flow, Wisdom of Vedas) and other, I found this one to be a more realistic teaching. The answer to the eternal question of where to find happiness is answered for you on a very practical level, just like The Lost Gospel (as far as I heard). The difficult part is incorporating the teaching into your every day life that is if you really want to do that in the first place.
Book Description
Exploring six Gospel texts in which women encounter Jesus, Frances Taylor Gench encourages us to view these stories anew through the eyes of contemporary biblical scholarship. Summarizing and making accessible the work of a diversity of feminist scholars while also engaging many of the more traditional voices of the past, she examines each story's language, structure, and literary and socio-cultural context, and recounts many traditional and contemporary interpretations. In the process, she opens up new possibilities for reading these texts. Includes helpful questions for discussion.
Stories discussed: the Canaanite woman of Matthew 15:21-29; a hemorrhaging woman and Jairus's daughter of Mark 5:21-43; Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42; a woman bent over and a daughter of Abraham in Luke 13:10-17; the Samaritan woman of John 4; and a woman accused of adultery in John 7:53ff.
Book Description
Academic Listening Encounters: Life in Society develops students listening and note taking skills using authentic interviews and classroom lectures. The Student;s Book develops students' listening and note-taking skills using a variety of recorded materials. It introduces them to stimulating topics within the field of sociology, including high-interest topics such as peer pressure, gender roles, and the influence of the media. Listening materials include a variety fo warm-up activities, informal interviews, and a formal academic lecture for every chapter. Students practice crucial listening skills, such as listening for main ideas, listening for examples, and listening for organizational phrases. The materials also serve as stimuli for discussion and note-taking activities. Pre-listening tasks expose students to vocabulary they will encounter in the interviews and lectures, and help them build background knowledge of the topic. Topics correspond with those in Academic Encounters: Life in Society, and these books can be used together as a four skills course; however, they function equally well as stand-alone texts. An audio CD of the academic lectures, an important part of the audio program, is included with the Student's Book to provide students with additional listening practice. A Life in Society 2-Book Set is available (ISBN 0-521-546702). It includes one copy of the Student's Reading Book and one copy of the Student's Listening Book at a discounted price.
Customer Reviews:
fairy good.......2007-03-31
i am teaching english. this audio cassete contents are fairy good to learn and know better for the first step of american accademic world. specifically interview parts are helpful. however contents of lecture parts are same as those in students book. hopefully need another material included .
Book Description
If you take a moment to think about all that God has told each believer to do, it is almost overwhelming: Go into all the world and preach the gospel, feed the poor, clothe the naked, visit the prisoner and so much more. However, these "works" are to be an outpouring of our relationship with Christ, not a replacement of our devotion and time with Him. That outpouring only comes through prayer.
Give Me 40 Days is a timeless and true devotional to help you put everything (marriage, family, ministry, finances, fears, hopes and dreams) into daily connection with Jesus. Of all the "things" you could do, Give Me 40 Days will convince you that above all else, Prayer is MORE Important. Open this book and let it change your life!
Customer Reviews:
Awesome!!!!!.......2007-09-01
This book is a must read. It will change your prayer life. This book is filled with God's Word and will help you develop an intimate relationship with God.
excellent book, don't let the boring title fool you.......2002-09-17
A very deep and insightful book. Just when you think you know so much, you will learn even more. More for the deeper, or wanting to get deeper type of believer.
Give Me 40 Days.......2002-05-28
This was a life changing book for me. Freeda showed how the number 40 is used over 120 times in the Bible. It is a signifiant number on how God relates to humanity. Freeda shared her life-defining moment of crying out to God in frustration when God spoke back to her heart and said "Give me 40 Days" and now she invites everyone who wants to really learn how to pray to Give God 40 Days for themselves. I like the quick daily teachings, the starter prayers, encourageing quotes and the daily journal. This book helped me find a path through all of the problems I was dealing with.
It helped change my life and even better help me get closer to God.
Book Description
Silence is a key characteristic of Quaker worship. The author shares his experience of learning to wait in the silence and find God. Perfect for seekers, inquirers and seasoned Friends.
Customer Reviews:
THE SILENCE SPEAKS.......2005-09-01
THE WRITER IS PERSONAL AND NOT AFRAID TO BARE HIS SOUL. HE TRAVELS US THROUGH HIS "FINDING" HIMSELF AND THE QUAKER RELIGION AND GROWING THROUGH HIS DISCOVERIES.
I AM ENJOYING THE BOOK, HAVING A HERITAGE OF QUAKERISM WITHOUT THE UPBRINGING NOR EXPERIENCE.
An excellent read, if not original.......2003-02-20
"Encounter With Silence" is a most impressive, if not original, outline of the Quaker tradition which dates back to the middle seventeenth century.
The book, written by Quaker John Punshon and controversial theologian Matthew Fox (who gives a useful introduction from his experience of Quakers), aims to outline the distinctive practices involved in Quakerism and does so most effectively because Punshon is able to write so well from the experience of his own life. He shows how silence aims to produce recollection in those who encounter it and the existence of historical precendents for the Quakers before the seventeeth century. Punshon understands effectively how the first Friends saw convincement (being reborn as a Quaker).
Punshon then focuses on unprogrammed Quaker worship and the manner in which it occurs through believers coming together in silence to pray. He is very effective in focusing on the enviroment created by the simplicity of worship so evident in Quakerism, and he does a useful job of understanding the way in which Quakerism has evolved into the present.
The next part of the book looks at the Quaker testimony and the way in which Punshon was attracted to Quakerism and the meaning of this "Testimony" which is expressed, Punshon feels, through one's life rather than though the Testimony's words.
The remainder of the book aims to deal with the way in which Quaker ethics can be expressed in everyday life. Punshon shows very well who a Quaker meeting can be used to avoid distractions from everyday life, but he spends a lot of the book explaining how one still has to "know how to feel". The book then turns to the meaning of ministry and the rhythm of the unprogrammed meeting.
Punshon does an effective job at remembering what he has learnt throughout the book, especially with repect to the various pieces of Quaker ministry. He does a very good job about explaining how ministry comes to people, and how harmony comes to a religious community.
The next piece focuses on the way in which Quaker principles are applied outside of worship, with examples relating to decision making and being faithful ("if you are faithful in little you will be faithful in much"), and how Friends do not seek to avoid conflict in their opinions. The last few chapters of the book are focused on how Quaker principles are applied in daily life.
Whilst none of Punshon's these are original, they are still a very good read.
Inspiring.......2000-05-31
An excellent apologetic for the Quaker approach to faith. Although Punshon is not well known, he is an outstanding and eloquent writer -- one of the best writers on religious issues I've encountered since Thomas Merton. He makes a strong case for an approach to faith that is grounded both in contemplation and prophetic action; two areas that are often seen as mutually exclusive.
The book is succinct and to the point and will enhance your understanding of Christianity even if Quakerism is not your interest. Punshon takes a common sense approach to much of much of Christian doctrine and even manages to make sense of the sometimes mystifying (to the nonChristian) belief in the divinity of Christ. Especially recommended to agnostics or struggling Christians although it should be noted that Punshon is equally critical of the liberal and conservative wings of the Quaker movement. END
Average customer rating:
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Encounters With Life
Kent M. Van De Graaf
Manufacturer: Morton Publishing Company
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Book Description
Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz is internationally regarded as one of the most brilliant and influential rabbis of our time. He has been lauded by Time magazine as a “once-in-a-millennium scholar” and by Ted Koppel of Night Line as “one of the very few wise men that I’ve ever met.”
Arthur Kurzweil—himself a Jewish scholar, author, teacher, and publisher—has been a disciple of Rabbi Steinsaltz’s for over 25 years, as well as the Rabbi’s designated chauffer in the United States. While stuck in countless traffic jams and attending the Rabbi’s lectures at universities, government agencies, synagogues and seminars, Arthur Kurzweil has had the rare opportunity of personally learning from his inspired teacher and has become intimately familiar with the Rabbi’s wisdom and teachings.
Customer Reviews:
Entertaining, but not quite inspiring.......2007-08-25
This is a wonderful collection of anecdotes by Mr. Kurzweil, a wonderful teacher in his own right. However he just doesn't quite communicate what he finds so inspiring about his own teacher, Rabbi Steinsaltz. The book left me a bit frustrated and wanting more examples of those teachings.
He truly got himself a teacher .......2007-05-31
We are instructed by 'Pirke Avot' to get ourselves a Rabbi, a teacher, a spiritual guide. Arthur Kurzweil took this teaching seriously and has for many years questioned, dialogued with and learned with his own chosen teacher. In this very rich and instructive intellectual and spiritual adventure story Kurzweil tells of his meetings and talks with his revered teacher, Rabbi Adin Steinsaltz.
Kurzweil also tells his own story of return to Judaism, and something of Rabbi Steinsaltz's story. Rabbi Steinsaltz whose father was a kibbutznik himself returned to religious Judaism at the age of seventeen. The fact that he went on to became the great 'talmid chacham',maker and presenter to the Jewish world of a remarkable new translation of the Talmud , and is today considered one of the greatest of all Jewish spiritual leaders is devotedly described in this book.
Arthur Kurzweil in searching for a teacher volunteered to be of any kind of help he could to the Steinsaltz organization. He was given the task of meeting Rabbi Steinsaltz at the airport and chauffering him during his visits to New York. For twenty- five years Kurzweil has chauffered and gained valuable hours of discussion with Rabbi Steinsaltz.
However even before meeting Steinsaltz , Kurzweil was on a path of returning to traditional Judaism. His genealogical researches which are pioneering and central were first undertaken before his meeting with Rabbi Steinsaltz. And this though Rabbi Steinsaltz subsequently greatly encouraged him in these researches, insisting upon the spiritual importance of each person knowing their own roots. Out of this knowledge Rabbi Steinsaltz feels there will certainly come deeper religious obligation.
Arthur Kurzweil in this book is constant in his praise of his teacher. This focusing on his teacher in a way leads him to underplay his own great contributions to the 'Jewish world' As editor he has helped bring to the public many outstanding works of Judaica including works of extremely great spiritual value , such as Yitzhak Buxbaum's 'Jewish Spiritual Practices' Nachum Amsel's work on Jewish Morality and Ethics and Seth Kaddish's work on Jewish Prayer.
Kurzweil describes Rabbi Steinsaltz's meetings with Jewish intellectuals and writers in New York upon the appearance in English of two volumes of his Talmud translation. In citing Steinsaltz's answers to some of these writers' questions he in a sense clarifies a good part of the meaning of the Steinsaltz enterprise. Rabbi Steinsaltz sees the Jewish people , or the greatest share of them as having lost a vital part of their body and soul. They do not know their own religious tradition. In a sense his translation of the Talmud is meant to help them restore that soul.
In other words Steinsaltz is not simply a rabbi for individuals but for the Jewish people as a whole. Here Kurzweil too chronicles Steinsaltz's connection with Habad ( His wife comes from a Habad family) and the whole outreach effort in the Jewish world. But Kurzweil makes it clear that Steinsaltz does not put himself under the rubric of any particular Jewish group but rather works for the Jewish people as a whole.
Kurzweil is not simply a student. He is a vivid and active admirer. He has helped publish much of Rabbi Steinsaltz's work in English. Kurzweil in searching for guidance and wisdom in raising his children also turned to Rabbi Steinsaltz and was helped. The Rabbi advised him among other things that teaching of children need not be confined to what they literally understand.
While it is impossible to question Kurzweil's admiration and devotion to his teacher it is possible to ask whether he is not a bit too uncritical. Even Moshe Reibenu is after all seen in the Jewish tradition as having his faults. And it might even be said that there is something 'non- Jewish' in the kind of total worship various Hasidic groups have displayed towards their 'tzaddikim'.
Yet it must be said that Kurzweil is a devoted student, a person of great intelligence who in his dialogue with Rabbi Steinsaltz also provides knowledge and insight. There may not be equality between student and teacher yet what is felt here is a great mutual respect. And my sense is that Rabbi Steinsaltz has a great appreciation of Arthur Kurzweil as more than simply chauffeur and student, but as true friend and 'mensch'.
I loved reading this book and I think that all those who care about Jewish learning and life, will also do so.
Exceptional Book.......2007-04-12
Anyone who reads this book will find him or herself to be very fortunate indeed to go along for the ride. I have read numerous books, but never one so powerful. It evokes such a wide range of emotions with a turn of a page. You'll find yourself laughing out loud, with tears in your eyes, perplexed or contemplative. Once you finish, you'll want to read it again. Don't be surprised if you find yourself quoting this book to family and friends. I highly recommend it!
A Must Rread.......2007-03-15
This is a book you can hardly put down once you start reading it - the author is so authentic and gives us a personal insight into the life of Rabbi Steinsaltz. Recommend reading The Thirteenth Petaled Rose before or after reading this book.
Spread the Truth.......2007-01-16
Kurzweil opens with a very heartfelt recounting of his return to Judaism and his personal path which led him to Rabbi Steinsaltz. From there the chapters fly by effortlessly, partitioned in small chapters of which each is it's own midrash, giving each of us something to reflect upon and discuss. This is for everyone who wants to know more about not only Steinsaltz, but the beauty and wisdom of the Jewish faith.
Amazon.com
Of the many contemporary writers specializing in Christian spirituality, none has forged as strong a link between his writing and his personal relationships as Henri Nouwen. In works such as Adam, Nouwen described the revelatory power of friendship in his life. Now, in Befriending Life: Encounters with Henri Nouwen, those who knew the Catholic priest speak of the revelations they received by knowing him. The book includes remembrances from every phase of Nouwen's extraordinary career, from his young adulthood in Holland to his academic career at Yale and Harvard divinity schools, to his political activism for peace and his work with the mentally and physically disabled at the L'Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto. In her foreword to Befriending Life, Sue Mosteller, the literary executor of Nouwen's estate, attempts to summarize the many reflections in this volume by observing "[Nouwen] pushes us to recognize how special and precious our little lives are." Mosteller's observation, with its startling use of the word "little," perfectly captures one of the great pleasure of reading Nouwen, and of reading this book written in his honor. We are humbled without being reduced, and find comfort in loving our limitations, as God loves them. --Michael Joseph Gross
Book Description
A beautiful collection of reminiscences celebrating the life and works of the bestselling author of
The Wounded Healer,
The Return of the Prodigal Son, and
The Inner Voice of Love.
Henri Nouwen (1932-96)
was a Catholic priest who taught at several theological institutions and universities in his home country of the Netherlands and in the United States. He spent the final years of his life teaching and ministering at the L'Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto, Canada. His writings have touched millions of readers around the world, and since his death, recognition of their enduring value has continued to grow. Oprah Winfrey, one of Nouwen's many admirers, ran an extensive excerpt from
The Return of the Prodigal Son in her magazine, O, with Hillary Clinton contributing an introduction revealing the profound effect Nouwen had on her own life.
Nouwen's influence was not limited to the printed page. His one-on-one encounters as a lecturer, teacher, and spiritual guide, and as a leader at the L'Arche Daybreak Community, a home for people with mental and physical disabilities, enriched the lives of a wide variety of people. Now,
Befriending Life brings together thoughtful, heartfelt remembrances of Nouwen by those who knew him best, from members of the L'Arche community to such prominent figures as Joseph Cardinal Bernardin of Chicago and Hillary Clinton. Their personal reflections on his life both on and off the page magnificently capture his spirit, compassion, and wisdom. With a wealth of quotations from Nouwen throughout,
Befriending Life, like Nouwen's own great books, will inspire readers in all walks of life.
Customer Reviews:
A true spiritual father.......2002-12-29
Taking upon himself the spiritual, mental, and physical struggles of his spiritual children, Henri Nouwen came to exemplify the kenotic life of Christ by "sharing each other's budrens, and so fulfill the law of Christ".
Each of the stories in this book show just how a simple touch, a loving glance, a kind word, or a quiet presence can effect to life of another person. More than that, it shows the simple, childlike beauty of the mentally retarded. Truly they rest in the heart of God in the arms of Christ. They are the pure of heart who see God.
If you get a chance, read Nouwen's "Compassion" to get a moving reflection on the life of communion and service.
Enjoy!
Deeply Meaningful Stories of A Contemporary Mystic.......2002-05-21
Henri Nouwen made remarkable contributions to many people of all religious denominations, particularly Christians, throughout his lifetime. Priest, Scholar, Psychologist, Professor, Chaplain and Author were the professional and formal roles he held throughout his lifetime. Yet, ultimately Nouwen was a deeply human man who has come to be somewhat widely recognized as something of a contemporary mystic since his death in 1996.
Nouwen's more than thirty-two books give very human voice and practical dimension to the struggles which life presents to us all. His personal struggles to live his own life defined his writings and perhaps are what made them so uniquely effective in reaching the wide audience he managed to draw. While clearly Christian, they were writings that were offered as `an invitation to reflection and personal search' as opposed to any kind of theological mandates. As a result of his openness and his efforts toward inclusiveness, Nouwen was embraced by people of many faiths who found inspiration in his writings.
In Befriending Life, a wide variety of people who knew Henri in one capacity or another, tell their story of their encounters with him. Clearly, Henri Nouwen was a man who had a remarkable ability to reach and affirm others. Befriending Life is essentially a series of portraits of Henri Nouwen given through the writings and interviews of a wide array of people who came to know Henri personally in some capacity or other. The contributors include co-workers, former students, trapeze artists, retarded persons and even near-strangers who were somehow, often through the most unlikely series of coincidences, deeply touched through Henri's ministry.
As Nouwen was truly a geographical and vocational wanderer throughout his life, this book gives a delightfully engaging account of a deeply restless man who somehow managed to give voice to many more universal human struggles through the examination of his own.
For anyone who has enjoyed Henri Nouwen's writings, Befriending Life gives the reader a much better understanding of the human being behind the words. Flawed, broken, restless, seeking.... Henri went about his life most earnestly and seriously -- attempting to make his world a better place by reaching out to other human beings, one by one.
For the newcomer to Nouwen, here is a wonderful opportunity to become intrigued by this man's life and to perhaps begin a more lasting relationship with Nouwen through this invitation to his many books.
Befriending Life is a wonderfully engaging book. It weaves together many people's personal experiences with Henri Nouwen and ultimately creates perhaps the most informative biography available on the man.
Highly recommended!
Daniel J. Maloney
Saint Paul, Minnesota
Henri Nouwen's friends share his story.......2002-03-04
If you have treasured Henri Nouwen's books, this book about him is one you shouldn't miss. It recounts the experiences of his friends with him... shows you the doors and paths he helped them find... refers throughout to his books... sending you right back to them. This 'Wounded Healer' who found so much to meditate on in the painting of the Prodigal Son will continue to touch you through these accounts by his friends.
A wonderful tribute to a wonderful spiritual director.......2001-10-05
Beth Porter, Susan Brown, and Philip Coulter have done a magnificent job of collecting memories of Henri Nouwen from those who loved him. These recollections are by core members of the Daybreak community who lived with Henri, persons who met him only once but who were transformed by the encounter, persons who worried about Henri's woundedness but also celebrated it as the source of his incredible sensitivity to the wounds of others. My favorite recollection is by Michael Arnett, the brother of Adam, Henri's companion at Daybreak. Michael says: "Sometimes I do sit on Adam's bench. Right by Daybreak pond. Think about Adam. Think about Henri." So do I. So do all of us whose lives were touched by Henri Nouwen. Thanks to the editors for reminding us of how much we owe him.
Book Description
The idea of demons or demon possession was, to pastor Don Basham, far-fetched. But when members of his congregation started revealing problems that were strangely unresponsive to traditional Christian answers, he was forced to take a closer look. Deliver Us from Evil is the captivating account of Don Basham's journey from disbelief in the existence of demons to acceptance of their reality. This is more than a good detective story and more than the triumphant testimonies of ordinary people released from evil spirits. It is a compendium of Bible teaching on warfare and evil spirits, as well as the biblical conditions for deliverance, how to pray for deliverance, and how to protect oneself against demonic invasion. Deliverance is more than freedom from evil; it is delivery into the freedom to love and serve the Lord.
Customer Reviews:
A Pastoral Perspective!.......2007-09-11
This is the first book I think anyone should read regarding the subject of deliverance. There is no better introduction to this topic in print that I know of.
Deliver Us from Evil: A Pastors Reluctant Encounters with the Powers of Darkness.......2007-07-28
An unbiased documentation of a Pastor's willingness to "think outside of the box" and let the Lord reveal and show him what he needs to know to truly minister to his congregation's problems. Engaging, easy to read with truth and genuine answers laced through its' pages; a real answer to those who seemingly are "dogged" on a daily basis.
Amazing.......2007-01-12
Book is down to earth and very easy to read. Outlines really well with comprehensive listings in the back of the book of the authors research.
And They Shall Cast Out Devils.......2006-08-03
If you are looking for a scriptural study concerning devil spirits, then this is probably not the book you want. However, if your looking for an eye-opening book that will grab your attention from the beginning and hold it till the end then this is the book for you! I read this book in one day, it's that good!
The Author was a minister who didn't believe that the Devil was real, he thought that the Devil was just a metaphor and he thought that devil spirits were actually sub-concious psychological problems that people experienced. And guess were he probably learned this? Bible College and Theological Seminary or course. Just goes to show you that just because somebody recieved a degree at a Bible College doesn't mean that they were taught Jack about the Word of God. But as God led him into the Delieverance Ministry, he began to learn that the Devil and his Devil Spirits are real. One of the best things that I liked about the book is the shear honesty of the Author. Not only does he talk about the successes that he had in the Deliverance ministry but he also talks about his mistakes and failures. I admire that kind of honesty.
I highly recommend this book to all Christians, you won't be disapointed.
God Bless!
GREAT HONEST BOOK.......2006-06-21
I have bought this book so many times & always read it & pass it on. This copy I think I bought to keep......unless called to do otherwise. This book is honest & gives regular folk a few things to ponder. I hope all who read will gain some form of deliverance & freedom. Victory is ours !!!
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