In his long career as a poet, Buddhist teacher, spiritual advisor, and writer, Stephen Levine has changed our understanding of death and dying. In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine’s first new book in many years, he turns to the legend of Kuan Yin, the Bbodhistitva venerated by East Asian Buddhists for her compassion.In Becoming Kuan Yin, Levine shares the tale of Miao Shan, born centuries ago to a cruel king who wanted her to marry a wealthy but uncaring man. This is the...

Wise, compassionate advice from one of the nation's most trusted grief counselors to help heal emotional wounds that prevent us from leading fulfilling lives.Renowned grief counselor Stephen Levine tells us that long after an initial loss has passed and the period of grieving has ended an unattended sorrow lingers, accounting for a host of physical, emotional and spiritual maladies. It is not uncommon then for those with unresolved grief to lean toward addictions o...

For 20 years, Stephen and Ondrea Levine have supported thousands of people caught in the aftermath of grief and loss, including many women deeply hurt by sexual trauma. Now, on Opening the Heart of the Womb, Stephen Levine addresses this hidden heartache, offering a gentle three-part guided meditation.When a woman's “lower heart” or womb grows numb due to violation, miscarriage, abortion, or even PMS, Levine teaches, her “upper heart” closes down too, leaving her entire emotional a...

In the present, within the sacred emptiness, is the deathless state sought by spiritual masters and their students. Exploring Sacred Emptiness gives us a window to this condition without boundaries, through the words of Stephen Levine. With moving eloquence, he speaks about the letting go of suffering in order to experience unencumbered awareness: the essential am-ness of being. Levine's words allow us to experience his vision, to close the space that separates us from God. With two guid...

The happiest people, Stephen Levine says, are those who have fully investigated their fears. But what is fear? And how is it related to grief, anger, and pain? On In the Heart Lies the Deathless, Levine addresses these questions with clear relevance to everyone on the spiritual path.Within each of our hearts, he begins, there is a sacred emptiness that we share with the divine spirit and with all life. The qualities of this space are love, kindness, and mercy. But a hardness of th...

2020 was a year unlike any other. Still in her first term as prime minister, Jacinda Ardern found herself facing her biggest challenge yet – protecting New Zealanders against a worldwide pandemic. By year's end New Zealand had kept its nerve, protected its borders, and for the most part kept its residents alive and well. In the midst of all this an election was held. Politics in a Pandemic provides a deeper understanding of what happened during the election, which was held in the ...

A mix of short stories and commentaries—some whimsical, some grim—this work of creative conjecture offers a perceptive and positive new slant on significant New Zealand events and personalities. With a modest degree of adjustment, this compilation examines "what if" scenarios ranging from the historical and literary to the athletic and offers alternative conclusions. Altering the lives of Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand's most famous writer, and national hero Sir Edmund Hillary as well as...

Examining the politics of each Pacific Island state and territory, this well-researched volume discusses historical background and colonial experience, constitutional framework, political institutions, political parties, elections and electoral systems, and problems and prospects. Pacific Island countries and territories included are the original seven member states—New Zealand, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Nauru, and the Cook Islands—along with all the new member states and organization...

Challenging traditional therapeutic approaches to the arts in which art is often secondary to a psychological model, Principles and Practice of Expressive Arts Therapy provides a coherent theoretical framework for an expressive arts therapy practice that places the process of art-making and the art work itself at the center.This book lays the philosophical foundation for a fresh interpretation of art-making and the therapeutic process by re-examining the concept of poiesis. The aut...

Intended primarily for mental health professionals, Demystifying Love deals plainly with topics rarely written about for clinicians. The book discusses in a small package highly readable and useful topics, such as love (as both noun and verb), psychological intimacy, sexual desire, as well as infidelity, both in background concepts and clinical guidelines.As the book shows, love is the logical point of departure for a clinical understanding of sexuality and its problems. I...

Twenty years ago, two spiritual seekers met at a workshop about conscious dying. What happened next is the extraordinary foundation for To Love and Be Loved —a life-changing program about what it means to be alive and in love.Together ever since that first day, Stephen and Ondrea Levine poured all of the wisdom, compassion, and courage they gained from their work with the suffering and grief-stricken into the mystery of their own relationship. The result is a beautiful, unexpected ...

For more than 32 years, Stephen and Ondrea Levine have provided emotional and spiritual support to those who face life-threatening illness and their caregivers; deeply affecting hundreds of thousands of people in the process. The Healing I Took Birth For, which was begun after Ondrea's own medical prognosis that foretold the end of a lifetime of spiritual exploration, is the culmination of her work. Their collaboration, in the service of the dying, especially during the height of the AIDS ...