A Place to Live in Peace: Free People of Color in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana reveals a community where free people of color lived harmoniously with white people even as slavery persisted. Author Evelyn L. Wilson documents the presence, land ownership, business development, and personal relationships of free people of color in this Louisiana parish. In the last decade before the Civil War, tensions over slavery in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana, led to the separation of free people of color from their white counterparts. But until the 1850s, free people of color had lived and thrived there. The free people of color who inhabited West Feliciana Parish were not a settled population with a common background or a long history of freedom. Some entered the parish already free, others purchased their freedom, while others had been freed by slaveholders for differing reasons. Regardless of how they arrived in the parish, they found themselves in a community that valued the talents and skills they had to offer without regard to the color of their skin. These individuals were integrated into their community, lived among white neighbors, provided needed services, and owned successful businesses. Using extensive archival research, including court records, government documents, legal citations, and periodicals, Wilson interprets the lives, experiences, and contributions of free people of color in West Feliciana Parish. The integral role that these free people of color played in the parish complicates common understandings of the antebellum South.

Award-winning biophysicist Markolf H. Niemz puts into a nutshell what the top 3 scientists on earth have discovered. Charles Darwin: Animal and man are not two. Albert Einstein: Space and time are not two. Alfred N. Whitehead: The world and I are not two. The world we live in is non-dualistic. Nature is crying for peace, but we shut off foreign from native, poor from rich, others from ourselves. It is our concept of the self that stands in the way of peace. Based on Darwin's, Einstein's and Whitehead's scientific discoveries the author demonstrates how easily we mistake reality. There is neither a personal self nor an external, almighty God. Eternity, which most religious people hope for, does not begin at death. It is here and now—at the speed of light when all distances turn zero. This book has the power to foster empathy among mankind as it brings together science and religion—human sources of truth. In the clearest of terms and examples possible, this bestselling author teaches us that a single cosmic self feels and learns through us. Lucid texts and colorful images help us understand why our concept of the self is false, how to interpret eternity, and where to spot God. An enlightening journey for anyone from age 16 to 100 who is thrilled to learn.

Pieces of a Life is a different kind of book in that it is not an autobiography in the strictest sense of the term. It does not move from the beginning (one’s birth or ancestry) to the end of life, but rather, it deals with people, stories, anecdotes, events, and thoughts I have had over the years that have largely centered around my interest in religion. The book is about my life, but there is nothing chronological about it; it is presented to you in pieces, a piece here and a piece there. Hopefully, you will find interest in these vignettes—some entertaining, some educational—and hopefully they might enlighten you to think more about your soul, salvation, and Father in heaven. If a story takes you there, perhaps others will follow. Unless you are born with great talent and ability, you, like me, will never do anything belonging to a great autobiography. Nevertheless, all our lives have worth, and there are things that others would find very interesting. God, our Father, has placed in each one of us matters that make us unique. This is my attempt to do just that, and I hope that it will encourage you to do your own such endeavor. Sometimes we have to share those things with other people. Perhaps, in doing so, we can change the world for the better.

What is a New Zealander? What does it mean to be a citizen of or a resident in this country? How do we understand what makes New Zealand complex, and unique? And what creates a sense of belonging and identity, both here and in the world?Now's a critical time to be thinking about these sorts of things. In a post-Trump, post-Brexit world, easy slogans have taken the place of reasoning and reasonableness, empathy is in retreat, and intolerance is on the march. History tells us that this is never a good mix.In this engaging book, experts and thinkers direct their sharp analysis at these and other important issues. Written for university students, it will appeal to anyone interested in where we have come from and where we are headed. It's a book for active participants in Aotearoa New Zealand and in global society.

Living Wisely and Well in the Evening of Life addresses the increasing difficulty of those in our culture who are “in the evening of life,” who must manage a rapidly changing society and a new world being born almost daily. There are several dimensions of life which have become especially difficult for those in this position, including loneliness, the sense of being set aside in a changing culture, the cost of medical care, the deep conflicts in our political life, and the increasing sense of not being able to cope. Deep universal values, articulated by the apostle Paul in his letter to the Corinthian church, must be claimed and internalized. Paul artfully guides those from this church in a complex setting by suggesting a “more excellent way” in which to live with complexity and challenge. Then and now, we need to cultivate a thoughtful and credible faith in our mature years; second, we must sustain the well-founded hope, rooted in our faith in a loving God, especially necessary in the evening of life. In keeping with the teaching of Jesus, we should make unconditional love the central value in life. It is possible to flourish in the evening of life undergirded by faith, hope, and love.

Some people cant see the forest for the treesthey get so bogged down in details that they lose sight of what its all about. Others cant see the trees for the forestthey miss the wondrous details all around them. So why not look instead at both the forest and the trees? This commentary on Pauls letter to the Colossians guides you in doing just that. Even though we will be exploring ancient biblical cultures and learning plenty about the Greek language, no prior academic training is needed. Technical terms have been set aside. Instead, with everyday language we will discover the big picture and revel in the fine details of this stunning letter, amazed by how God is still speaking these same words today to contemporary personal and social challenges. We will not then be tourists rapidly zipping through Colossians as if on a monotonous interstate highway. Instead we will be hiking our way through this letter, step by step, phrase by phrase, finding joy in Gods truth and growing in our faith. Come and join the journey.

This book, Addiction to Recovery: Unlocking Your Potential, is an accumulation of existential realization, many resources, years of recovery, education, insights, and years working in the field of addiction, with all adepts in the goal of personal transformation from addiction to recovery. This is an integrative approach to living in wellness of recovery. I vacated my own mind through deep personal process, my own form of meditation, and this book came about. My hope is this book unlocks the potential that advances new insight into the recovery process for each individual by reframing the process in such a way that the right interpretation by the reader will help recovery click into place. What we need to celebrate in recovery is the self-discovery of the individual. I offer my carefully considered overviews and assessments on the best-known treatments (theories) connected to recovery. I have provided a new outlook as a guide for the unwary who had failed at recovery in the past and those just coming into recovery for the first time. I count myself among the autodidacts, the self-taught perpetual student fueled by a passion for new answers and a sense of mission.