For more than three decades the author has been concerned with issues to do with emotion, suffering and healing. This volume presents ethnographic studies of South Wales, Maharashtra and post-Soviet Latvia connected by a theoretical interest in healing, emotion and subjectivity. Exploring the uses of narrative in the shaping of memory, autobiography and illness and its connections with the master narratives of history and culture, it focuses on the post-Soviet clinic as an arena in which the contradictions of a liberal economy are translated into a medical language.

What is consciousness? Why and when do we have it? Where does it come from, and how does it relate to the lump of squishy grey matter in our heads, or to our material and social worlds? While neuroscientists, philosophers, psychologists, historians, and cultural theorists offer widely different perspectives on these fundamental questions concerning what it is like to be human, most agree that consciousness represents a 'hard problem'. The emergence of consciousness studies as a multidisciplinary discourse addressing these issues has often been associated with rapid advances in neuroscience-perhaps giving the impression that the arts and humanities have arrived late at the debating table. The longer historical view suggests otherwise, but it is probably true that music has been under-represented in accounts of consciousness. Music and Consciousness aims to redress the balance: its twenty essays offer a timely and multi-faceted contribution to consciousness studies, critically examining some of the existing debates and raising new questions. The collection makes it clear that to understand consciousness we need to do much more than just look at brains: studying music demonstrates that consciousness is as much to do with minds, bodies, culture, and history. Incorporating several chapters that move outside Western philosophical traditions, Music and Consciousness corrects any perception that the study of consciousness is a purely occidental preoccupation. And in addition to what it says about consciousness the volume also presents a distinctive and thought-provoking configuration of new writings about music.

Do dogs believe pictures of dogs are real? Why do dogs turn in a circle before they lie down? Can you trust someone your dog hates? Dog owners have questions; here are the answers to more than 200 of them, provided by two of the most knowledgeable writers in the field. Fun to read, eye-opening, and filled with important facts that every fan of Fido should know, it encompasses topics ranging from doggie intelligence (Can dogs learn to read?) to canine behavior, body, and senses (Can a dog sniff out cancer?). Find out if blind dogs are sad, whether dogs should be allowed to roam, why they lick you, and why they wag their tails. You’ll gain a better, deeper understanding of your best friend.

Decolonial aesthetics of Blackness in contemporary art challenge and redefine traditional narratives, offering a profound critique of historical and ongoing injustices. This approach emphasizes the reclamation and celebration of Black cultural identities through innovative artistic expressions that resist colonialist frameworks and oppressive stereotypes. By emphasizing the experiences and perspectives of Black artists, decolonial aesthetics challenge the power structures presented in art history and highlight the significance of autonomy, representation, and authenticity. To advance this dialogue, it is crucial to support and engage with Black artists and their work, ensuring that their voices are amplified, and their contributions are recognized within art discourse. Decolonial Aesthetics of Blackness in Contemporary Art focuses on the generative audio and visual inscription of blackness as an offering of life and beauty in contemporary art. It discusses the concept of blackness related to modernity, decolonial aesthetics, and ontology of black life and beauty. This book covers topics such as decolonization, visual art, and sociology, and is a useful resource for art historians, visual artists, sociologists, academicians, scientists, and researchers.

Improvisation teachers have long known that the human mind could be trained to be effortlessly spontaneous and intuitive. Drinko explores what these improvisation teachers knew about improvisation's effects on consciousness and cognition and compares these theories to current findings in cognitive neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy.

This book is an investigation into church music through the lens of performance theory, both as a discipline and as a theoretical framework. Scholars who address religious music making in general, and Christian church music in particular, use "performance" in a variety of ways, creating confusion around the term. A systematized performance vocabulary for the study of church music can support interdisciplinary investigations of Christian congregational music making in today’s complex, interconnected world. From the perspective of performance theory, all those involved in church musicking are performing, be it from platform or pew. The book employs a hybrid methodology that combines ethnographic research and theory from ritual studies, ethnomusicology, theology, and church music scholarship to establish performance studies as a possible "next step" in church music studies. It demonstrates the feasibility of studying church music as performance by analyzing ethnographic case studies using a developmental framework based on the concepts of ritual, embodiment, and play/change. This book offers a fresh perspective on Christian congregational music making. It will, therefore, be a key reference work for scholars working in Congregational Music Studies, Ethnomusicology, Ritual Studies and Performance Studies, as well as practitioners interested in examining their own church music practices.

Sue Jennings and her three children spent two years on a fieldwork expedition to the Senoi Temiar people of Malaysia: Theatre, Ritual and Transformation is a fascinating account of that experience. She describes how the Temiar regularly perform seances which are enacted through dreams, dance, music and drama, and explains that they see the seance as playing a valuable preventative role in people's lives, as well as being a medium of healing and cure. Her account brings together the insights of drama, therapy and theatre with those of social anthropology to provide an invaluable theoretical framework for understanding theatre and ritual and their links with healing.

A deadly gift. A terrible choice. Sometimes the price is too high… After Del Larouche defeats the Gris-gris man, she struggles to find her place in the adult world. She just wants a normal life. But her horrible ‘gift’ means her life will never be normal. When six-year-old Clara goes missing from the St. Augustine Orphanage—the third child in two weeks—a frantic search begins and Del agrees to use her gift to help find the girl. As the dark layers of New Orleans are peeled back, a terrible truth is exposed. What she finds lurking in the shadows of the old city is unimaginable. But it’s what the lurking shadows find… that is truly deadly. Scars of Redemption is the chilling second book in The Spirit Hunter supernatural thriller series. If you like atmospheric writing, dangerous adventures, and horrifying twists, then you’ll love this heart-pounding tale.

A power-hungry megacorporation. A gang of cyberpunk rebels in their sights. A teen who may be the world’s salvation, if hired killers don’t get to him first. The far future. Adam dreams of simpler times. Running with a crew of underground cyberpunks, the nineteen-year-old plays it fast and loose as he and his team plot to overthrow the megacorporation Cyber-Corp, who is dangling an escape from poverty—but at a terrible cost. But when the establishment’s assassin takes Adam’s side after noticing his strangely colored eyes, Adam finds himself entangled in a mysterious prophecy. One that could span the multiverse—where the seven colors of the rainbow represent each universe. Determined to fulfill his role in saving the planet, the young freedom fighter dodges hitmen and forges into the wastelands in search of his destiny. But after taking refuge in a resistance haven, Adam is horrified he may have led his people into a deathtrap when pitiless enemies unleash a robotic attack. As hope fades and death looms, will he sacrifice everything to end the tyranny Tomorrow People is a gripping cybernetic dystopian novel. If you like resilient heroes, high-tech plots, and explosive action, then you’ll love Brian Paone’s visionary tale. Buy Tomorrow People to hack fate today!

"I enthusiastically endorse Patrick Marsolek?s Self-hypnosis Manual. This is more than a ?how-to? manual. After an orientation to hypnosis, trance, the subconscious, and other relevant subjects, Patrick guides his readers in finding self-hypnosis techniques that work for them. Instead of simply teaching a number of self-hypnosis techniques (like most self-hypnosis manuals), it empowers the learner with an understanding of the induction process and the creation of individualized protocols. Furthermore, the Manual guides the reader through creating specific auto-suggestions to maximize therapeutic results. The Manual also is exceptional in the way that it addresses fears and other hindrances to trance (e.g., beliefs and expectations), stresses the normalness and benefits of self-induced trance, provides helpful application techniques (e.g., dealing with pain), discusses each induction technique, and promotes personal confidence in the process.In sum, Patrick gives the requisite understanding and tools to be ones own best self-hypnosis guide."- Whitney Hibbard Ph.d., Author of "Forensic Hypnosis"