Religion : Mysticism

From 1400 through 1700, the number of reports of demonic possessions among European women was extraordinarily high. During the same period, a new type of mysticism—popular with women—emerged that greatly affected the risk of possession and, as a result, the practice of exorcism. Many feared that in moments of rapture, women, who had surrendered their souls to divine love, were not experiencing the work of angels, but rather the ravages of demons in disguise. So how then, asks Moshe Sluhovsky, were practitioners of exorcism to distinguish demonic from divine possessions? Drawing on unexplored accounts of mystical schools and spiritual techniques, testimonies of the possessed, and exorcism manuals, Believe Not Every Spirit examines how early modern Europeans dealt with this dilemma. The personal experiences of practitioners, Sluhovsky shows, trumped theological knowledge. Worried that this could lead to a rejection of Catholic rituals, the church reshaped the meaning and practices of exorcism, transforming this healing rite into a means of spiritual interrogation. In its efforts to distinguish between good and evil, the church developed important new explanatory frameworks for the relations between body and soul, interiority and exteriority, and the natural and supernatural. more...

Price: $45.00

Discover What the Prophecy of 2012 Means for Your Life According to the Mayan Elders, at the moment of birth every human being is given a destiny. Our life challenge is to develop ourselves and our skills in order to fulfill this destiny, thus fueling our individual contribution to the planet. At the heart of The Book of Destiny is the sacred Mayan calendar, an extraordinary tool that allows the reader to discover this destiny, along with one’s special Mayan symbol, origin, as well as the protection spirits that accompany them through life. Poetically narrated, the book describes how the calendar contains the scientific legacy of the Mayan people, preserved and transmitted over the centuries through oral tradition and written texts. Written at the request of the Mayan Elders, by member of the Guatemalan Elders Council and Mayan Priest Carlos Barrios, The Book of Destiny is a tool to help people understand their life purpose and to use this profound knowledge to make the best of their time on earth. more...

Price: $18.99

One of the outstanding Carmelite authors of today has now written on the vision and aspirations of the great foundress of her order,St Teresa of Avila. The key to that vision was passion - not some state of heightened religious emotion, but an all-engrossing preoccupation with God. But, as Ruth Burrows points out, what all too often happens in practice is that the day-to-day lifestyle becomes adapted to non-passion: she argues, passionately, that faithful observance - the horarium, the 'detachment from created things' obedience, the relationship between sisters - provides an almost perfect situation for receiving a very great love of God, and that the structure must not be adapted to a lesser love. This, perhaps her most important book to date, is written primarily for fellow members of her own Order.But this particularly, and the detail and clarity with which she expresses it, makes Carmel a book of profound interest to all contemplatives, to priests and religious with more active apostolates, and to laypeople - in a word, to all Christians who see the 'passionately pursued' comtemplative life not only as a core vocation in the Church, but as a source of inspiration for their own spiritual lives. more...

Price: $130.00

You're no idiot, of course. You can find Greece on a map, know that Kevin Sorbo stars as Hercules on TV, and have heard of Freud's Oedipus theory. But when it comes to classical mythology, you feel like you've been foiled by the gods. Don't curse Zeus yet! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Classical Mythology has all you need for a working knowledge of the timeless world of Greek and Roman myths. more...

Price: $16.95

You’re no idiot, of course. You know Judaism predates Christianity and remains one of the world’s most practiced religions. However, the ideals and ethics expressed in such texts as the Talmud and the Kabbalah may not seem as accessible as the stories of the Jews in the Bible, and you’re intimidated at the thought of exploring these ancient texts. Discover their wisdom without learning Hebrew! The Complete Idiot’s Guide® to Jewish Spirituality and Mysticism will show you exactly where the spiritual side of Judaism originated. In this Complete Idiot’s Guide®, you get:. -- The four goals of Jewish mystical thought: to understand ourselves on a deeper level; to understand the universe. on a deeper level; to improve our character; and to understand the mind of God. --Life lessons found in the Biblical stories of Noah, Abraham, and Isaac. --The historical significance of the Exodus story and the role Moses played as a Jewish leader. --Important passages from the Bible and Talmud—fully explained. more...

Price: $18.95