Art Religion

Niksen is not a form of meditation, nor is it a state of laziness or boredom. It’s not scrolling through social media, or wondering what you’re going to cook for dinner. Rather, to niks is to make a conscious choice to sit back, let go, and do nothing at all. With this book, learn how to do nothing in the most important areas of your life.

Following the death of his little sister and the publication of his New York Times best-selling memoir The Little Way of Ruthie Leming, Rod Dreher found himself living in the small community of Starhill, Louisiana, where he grew up. But instead of the fellowship he hoped to find, he discovered that fault lines within his family had deepened. Dreher spiraled into depression and a stress-related autoimmune disease.

Over the years, you willingly pour everything you have into your family, but in the process, you lose the essence of who you are. In her characteristic raw and visceral style, Rachel teaches you how to rewrite the pages of your story, follow your passion, and discover the beauty of who you are. Drawing on lessons from her own incredible journey - together with insight from conversations with thousands of other women - Rachel encourages moms to break cycles, take off masks, and prevent fear from taking control.

The Wisdom of Buddhist Psychology and the Heart of Buddha’s Teachings audiobook is not just another audiobook to share some information about Buddha and Buddhism. This audiobook is actually an opportunity for every listener to reach a deeper aspect of life, through this tunnel of Buddhism teachings. It will be an interesting ride that will make you wonder about different dimensions of life. When you finish, you will be able to understand the aspect of suffering, its causes, and its end.

For over half a century, scholars have labored to show that C. S. Lewis' famed but apparently disorganized Chronicles of Narnia have an underlying symbolic coherence, pointing to such possible unifying themes as the seven sacraments, the seven deadly sins, and the seven books of Spenser's Faerie Queene. None of these explanations has won general acceptance, and the structure of Narnia's symbolism has remained a mystery.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has delighted millions of fans worldwide in book and movie form. With the theatrical release of the two-part film The Hobbit slated for 2012 and 2013, attention will once again turn to J. R. R. Tolkien's classic works. In a culture where truth is relative and morality is viewed as old-fashioned, we welcome the chance to view the world through hobbit eyes: we have free will, our choices matter, and living a morally heroic life is possible....

Imagination, appreciation of beauty, creativity: all of these qualities have been given to us by God. For the Christian artist, the drive to create something wonderful is also a means to glorify and better understand our Lord. Using excerpts from her own works as well as those of writers who have gone before her—Emily Dickinson, Annie Dillard, C.S. Lewis, and others—poet and writer Luci Shaw proves that symbolism and metaphor provide ways for humans to experience God in new and powerful ways.

In his penetrating manner, the author seeks to capture the flavor and essential meaning of this most holy foundation: "the foundation of the apostles and prophets." With the current abundance of those "who call themselves apostles" (Rev. 2:2), it is refreshing to have a plumb-line from Heaven that will not only greatly enable God's people to correctly discern the true apostle from the false, but also challenge the core of their foundations in God.

In Experiencing Spirituality, Ernest Kurtz and Katherine Ketcham take listeners on a journey through storytelling as a means of self-discovery. Recounting and interpreting great wisdom stories from all ages and all cultures, as well as telling many of their own, the authors shed light on such experiences as awe, wonder, humor, confusion, and forgiveness. In story after story, seekers look to those whose lives reveal a special quality - sometimes called spirituality - and ask the masters what they must do to attain that same quality.

In The Artisan Soul, Erwin Raphael McManus, author, thought leader, and founder of MOSAIC in Los Angeles, pens a manifesto for human creativity and the beginning of a new renaissance. McManus not only calls us to reclaim our creative essence but reveals how we can craft our lives into works of art. There are no shortcuts to quality, and McManus celebrates the spiritual process that can help us discover our true selves.

In The Storied Life, veteran author Jared C. Wilson explores the ins and outs of writers and writing, exploring the myriad ways the craft is more about transformation than simply communication. From decades of experience and with his signature wit, Wilson brings well-earned insight, autobiographical reflections, and meaningful meditations to the topic of writing as a way of life and as a way of worship, showing how the concept of Story—our personal stories and God's grand story of redemption—shapes fiction and non-fiction writers alike.

The Art of Dying Well gives a rough sketch of how to live life well, so that one can die well, and have confidence before the judgment seat of Christ. It is a timeless classic of the Catholic world, and the advice St. Bellarmine gives rings as true now as it did 400 years ago.

This collection of uplifting, informative stories behind your favorite hymns will warm your heart and revitalize your worship. Each entry comes with the hymn's full text and musical score. Perfect for devotions, sermon demonstrations, bulletin inserts, and introducing congregational hymns, each hymn story includes information about the author, composer, the tune's name, and scriptural basis.

Nicks Costello takes the reader with him from his hard-working roots in the Liberties of Dublin on a search for enlightenment that took him half way around the world to Hong Kong. There he discovered the human face of the Buddha in the friendliness and compassion of everyday people who were quietly and unobtrusively practising ancient eastern traditions of spirit, mind and body, cultivating a connection to the soul of the universe that exists in all of us and giving freely of their knowledge to all who ask so that the healing benefits can be experienced by everyone.

For listeners who dream of travel, yearn to get back out on the road, or want to enrich a journey they’re currently on, The Vagabond’s Way explores and celebrates the life-altering essence of travel all year long. Each day of the year features a meditation on an aspect of the journey, anchored by words of wisdom from a variety of thinkers—from Stoic philosopher Seneca and poet Maya Angelou to Trappist monk Thomas Merton and Grover from Sesame Street.

Discover America's forgotten sage. This is a new anthology of Elbert Hubbard's most insightful, inspiring, and provocative writings, edited and introduced by Sam Torode. Elbert Hubbard was a philosopher, entrepreneur, and leader of the arts and crafts movement in America. One of the most widely read authors of his day, his work fell into obscurity in the decades after he perished at the outset of WWI. This audiobook aims to bring Elbert Hubbard back into the limelight.

Vivimos en un permanente estado de temor y ansiedad. Miedo de nuestro pasado, de la enfermedad, el envejecimiento o la muerte; miedo de perder las cosas que más queremos. Pero el reconocido maestro budista Thich Nhat Hanh nos asegura que las cosas no tienen por qué ser así. Basado en una vida completa de práctica de la atención plena (o mindfulness) y el Zen, Thich Nhat Hanh nos enseña cómo utilizar la práctica de vivir en el presente para admitir e integrar nuestros miedos, reconocer su origen y hacerlos impotentes.

More than 700 years ago, Rumi left us, but still his light continues to burn bright. All these centuries later, he remains a best-selling poet in the United States, and every day, people turn to his poems and quotes for guidance and wisdom. In this short book, Rumi and His Master Shams-i Tabrīzī, we explore the origins of Rumi and his master, Shams-i Tabrizi. The latter—a historical figure who gets little attention—can be said to be the original flame that sparked Rumi’s interest in poetry and led him to turn to poetry during his darkest hours.

More is at stake in the music we listen to or perform than most people are aware. In this vivacious and challenging work, Dr. Peter Kwasniewski—a philosopher, theologian, composer, conductor, and singer—explains why the great classical music of Western civilization is morally and intellectually good for us, as well as why certain other forms of music can actually be harmful.

The Shepherd of Hermas is an astounding piece of ancient Christian writing. Traditionally ascribed to Hermas, the brother of Pope Pius I of Rome, it is usually dated at between AD 120 and AD 150. This means that the author may have been in contact with an Apostle such as John who died around AD 98. And he was most certainly contemporaneous with those who knew some of the Apostle such as Ignatius and Polycarp.