Open your heart, strengthen your spiritual core, and discover how the sacred art of bowing can enrich your spiritual life. Daily, across America and across the world, people begin their day by bowing. Christians kneel for morning prayers, Muslims turn east to Mecca for the first salat (prayer) of the day, Jews daven (pray), and Buddhists prostrate themselves. Over the course of the day, many more people will find time to pause and, bending their body toward the earth, bow as part of their spiritual practice. —from Chapter 1 The Sacred Art of Bowing serves as a welcoming introduction to the whys and ways of bowing. This ancient tradition—so often mistakenly tagged as only part of Asian cultures—has roots in nearly every religion around the world. In different forms in different faiths, people bow as a physical expression of their spiritual aspirations, humility, gratitude, and respect. A companion for your journey rather than an instruction book, The Sacred Art of Bowing shares helpful insights that will inspire you to begin or deepen your own bowing practice through: A comprehensive look at bowing as practiced in many spiritual traditions Illustrations of bowing in practice Inspiring reflections from people who practice the sacred art of bowing Advice on how you too can incorporate bowing in your daily spiritual life

Open your heart and mind and discover—through the sacred art of lovingkindness—the image and likeness of God in yourself and others. "The question at the heart of this book is this: Will you engage this moment with kindness or with cruelty, with love or with fear, with generosity or scarcity, with a joyous heart or an embittered one? This is your choice and no one can make it for you.... Heaven and hell are both inside of you. It is your choice that determines just where you reside.” —from the Introduction We are all born in the image of God, but living out the likeness of God is a choice. This inspiring, practical guidebook provides you with the tools you need to realize the divinity within yourself, recognize the divinity within others, and act on the obligation to manifest God’s infinite compassion in your own life. Guided by Rabbi Rami Shapiro, you will explore Judaism’s Thirteen Attributes of Lovingkindness as the framework for cultivating a life of goodness. Shapiro translates these attributes into practices—drawn from the teachings of a variety of faith traditions—that allow you to actualize God’s glory through personal deeds of lovingkindness. You will enrich your own capacity for lovingkindness as you: Harvest kindness through compassionate honesty Make room in your heart for reality Recognize the manifestations of God Embrace the paradoxical truth of not-knowing Be present in the moment Do right by others With candor, wit, and honesty, Shapiro shows you that by choosing to act out of love rather than fear, with kindness rather than anger, you can transform how you perceive the world and ultimately lead a more complete spiritual life.

Everyone knows that forgiveness is a virtue and a key to emotional, spiritual and even physical well-being. But learning how to actually forgive-or to accept forgiveness, as the case may be-is a sacred art few of us have mastered.

Open your mind and heart and discover how the sacred art of fasting can strengthen your spiritual appetite Fasting as a religious act increases our sensitivity to that mystery always and everywhere present to us . It is an invitation to awareness, a call to compassion for the needy, a cry of distress, and a song of joy. It is a discipline of self-restraint, a ritual of purification, and a sanctuary for offerings of atonement. It is a wellspring for the spiritually dry, a compass for the spiritually lost, and inner nourishment for the spiritually hungry. from chapter 9 Though fasting is practiced in some form by nearly every faith tradition throughout the world, it is often seen as scary or something only for monastic life. But fasting doesn t have to be intimidating. And it doesn t have to mean going weeks without food. "The Sacred Art of Fasting" invites you to explore the practical approaches, spiritual motivations, and physical benefits of this ancient practice by looking at the ways it is observed in several faith traditions. Inspiring personal reflections, helpful advice, and encouragement from people who practice fasting answer your questions, allay your fears, and reveal how you too can safely incorporate fasting into your spiritual life.

Deepen Your Capacity to Live Free from Addiction—and from Self and Selfishness "Twelve Step recovery is much more than a way to escape the clutches of addictive behaviors. Twelve Step recovery is about freeing yourself from playing God, and since almost everyone is addicted to this game, Twelve Step recovery is something from which everyone can benefit." —from the Introduction In this hope-filled approach to spiritual and personal growth, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are uniquely interpreted to speak to everyone seeking a freer and more God-centered life. This special rendering makes them relevant to those suffering from specific addictions—alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, sex, shopping—as well as the general addictions we wrestle with daily, such as anger, greed, and selfishness. Rami Shapiro describes his personal experience working the Twelve Steps as adapted by Overeaters Anonymous and shares anecdotes from many people working the Steps in a variety of settings. Drawing on the insights and practices of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, he offers supplementary practices from different religious traditions to help you move more deeply into the universal spirituality of the Twelve Step system.

The inspiration and insight of these Gnostic writings can become a companion on your own spiritual journey. Just what is a soul, exactly? Where did the idea come from? How do we experience our souls? Two ancient Gnostic texts—The Exegesis on the Soul and The Hymn of the Pearl, both presented here in all-new translations—hold important clues to the development of the soul as a concept and reveal inspiring ways your own soul can remember and return to its unique, divine purpose. The Exegesis on the Soul depicts the soul as a feminine figure who has fallen into the corrupted world and must find her way back to the Divine. It is the story of the soul’s struggle and redemption that will embolden your own spiritual pilgrimage. The Hymn of the Pearl is an allegorical story about a prince sent to retrieve a precious pearl but who soon forgets his purpose and falls asleep. It is a moving tale of the importance of remembering your soul’s identity and calling—and knowing that only you can fulfill your destiny. Accessible facing-page commentary explains the Gnostic writings for you even if you have no previous knowledge of Gnosticism or early Christianity. Additional material draws on ancient religions, Platonism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam and modern philosophical and psychological notions of the soul to place the Gnostic teachings in a clear historical context. By following the development of this concept through time, you will more clearly perceive—and respond to—the divine spark found in your own soul.

Practical steps, prayers, and meditations--along with examples drawn from real-life struggles--give readers the inspiration, encouragement, and practices they need to live a more fulfilling and joyful life.

An inspiring in-depth look at the nineteenth-century Godman of India and Prophet of Harmony. Sri Ramakrishna, one of the greatest spiritual personalities of our time, is widely recognized as the Prophet of the Harmony of Religions. After perfecting the practice of several religions—including Christianity, Islam and various traditions of Hinduism—he declared, “As many faiths, so many paths.” For the first time, two classic biographies—Dhan Gopal Mukerji’s The Face of Silence (1926) and Swami Nikhilananda’s Sri Ramakrishna (1942)—are brought together to provide a fuller understanding of the life and spiritual significance of Sri Ramakrishna as well as the systems of Indian religious thought intimately connected with him. Pairing legend with fact, memory with history, this unique volume—including an Introduction to Sri Ramakrishna’s God-consciousness by Swami Adiswarananda—succeeds in intimately examining the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna and conveying the true story of this great mystic, whose leaping flame of spiritual realization continues to influence the modern spiritual search.

?Summer has gone by so fast, ? we often say?the only season for which we say that. Summer does seem to make us keenly aware of time. In our vacations we step out of time. Watching our gardens, we see the progress of time. Seeing the geese come honking back, we are aware of the passing of time. In essays, poems and meditations organized around themes of time and our responses to it, twenty-five writers consider summer and its spiritual meanings. Contributors include Anne LaMott, Luci Shaw, Ray Bradbury, Mary Gordon, Richard Selzer, Thomas Lynch, Celia Thaxter, Robert Clark, Michael Pollan, Francis Bacon, Jim Heynen and Emily Dickinson.

An accessible and comprehensive guide to the message and practice of each of the four Yogas as well as philosophy and psychology, preparatory practices, common obstacles and ways to overcome them as you seek to realize the goal of Self-knowledge.