'This Lenten devotional is unlike any I've seen. It's not about giving up something trivial for a few weeks. It's about getting free of the "false self" that alienates us from ourselves, each other, and God. Nobody understood that transformation better than Thomas Merton - and nobody understands Merton better than Robert Inchausti.'Parker J. Palmer, writer, speaker and author of On the Brink of EverythingThe Way of Thomas Merton guides you through the major...

An exploration of Beat spirituality--seen through excerpts from the writings of the seminal writers of Beat Generation themselves.It’s been said that Jack Kerouac made it cool to be a thinking person seeking a spiritual experience. And there is no doubt that the writers he knew and inspired—iconic figures like Allen Ginsberg, William S. Burroughs, Gary Snyder, and Michael McClure—were thinkers seeking exactly that. In this re-claiming of their vision, Robert Inchau...

Considers the legacy of Thomas Merton and his relevance for contemporary times.With the publication of The Seven Storey Mountain in 1948, Thomas Merton became a bestselling author, writing about spiritual contemplation in a modern context. Although Merton (1915–1968) lived as a Trappist monk, he advocated a spiritual life that was not a retreat from the world, but an alternative to it, particularly to the deadening materialism and spiritual vacuity of the ...

The most inspirational and thought-provoking ruminations on spirituality.1,001 Pearls of Spiritual Wisdom collects the most comforting and thought-provoking thoughts ever spoken and written. Not bound by any particular religion or ideology, the quotes inside reflect humanity’s most profound thoughts on the body, the soul, and how spirituality has provided us with the power and opportunity to live satisfying and enriching lives.Categorized by some of ...

Q. Why are there almost as many jokes about death as there are about sex?A. Because they both scare the pants off us.Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein first made a name for themselves with the outrageously funny New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar.... Now they turn their attention to the Big "D" and share the timeless wisdom of the great philosophers, theologians, psychotherapists, and wiseguys. F...

Can someone really be saved by a poem?In Kim Rosen’s book, the answer is a resounding "Yes!"Poetry, the most ancient form of prayer, is a necessary medicine for our times: a companion through difficulty; a guide when we are lost; a salve when we are wounded; and a conduit to an inner source of joy, freedom, and insight.Whether you are a lover of poetry or have yet to discover its power, Rosen offers a new way to experience a poem. She encourages you ...

Going beyond the typical "how to write" book, The Mindful Writer illuminates the creative process: where writing and creativity originate, how mindfulness plays into work, how to cultivate good writing habits, how to grow as a writer and a person, and what it means to live a life dedicated to the craft of writing. There's not a writer alive, novice or master, who will not benefit from this book and fall in love with it. Cover to cover, this wise little book is riveting and delight...

Discover the revelatory and illuminating interviews with literary luminaries that have graced the pages of The Paris Review for over half a century.This critically acclaimed series continues with another eclectic lineup, featuring intimate conversations with renowned authors such as Philip Roth, Ezra Pound, Haruki Murakami, Marilynne Robinson, Stephen Sondheim, E. B. White, Maya Angelou, and William Styron. In these remarkable extended interviews, the authors delve...

This fresh and unapologetic guide to writing as a spiritual practice approaches writing as a way to turn the spiral of body, heart, mind, soul and spirit that leads to spiritual awakening. Lead by renowned spirituality teacher Rami Shapiro and award-winning writer and writing coach Aaron Shapiroand featuring over fifty unique, practical exercisesit takes you beyond assigning inspirational words to the page.

In this dynamic and utterly novel presentation, David Loy explores the fascinating proposition that the stories we tell—about what is and is not possible, about ourselves, about right and wrong, life and death, about the world and everything in it—become the very building blocks of our experience and of reality itself. Loy uses an intriguing mixture of quotations from familiar and less-familiar sources and brief stand-alone micro-essays, engaging the reader in challenging and illuminating ...

A study of the impact of the Beat Generation poets on the development of the haiku form, with a focus on the poetry of Ginsberg, Kerouac and Snyder. This ebook looks at the parallels that exist between the original haiku poets and modern western poets.It does this by exploring the nature of beat generation spirituality, and assessing the ways in which the original Japanese haiku has been altered.

A dazzling collection of essays on how the best poems work, from the master poet and essayist“Poetry,” Jane Hirshfield has said, “is language that foments revolutions of being.” In ten eloquent and highly original explorations, she unfolds and explores some of the ways this is done—by the inclusion of hiddenness, paradox, and surprise; by a perennial awareness of the place of uncertainty in our lives; by language’s own acts of discovery; by the powers of image, sta...