Religion Psychology

This is a new edition of the classic Colin Wilson collection The Essential Colin Wilson (first published in 1985), updated and introduced by Wilson's bibliographer Colin Stanley. It is the only book to contain extracts from Colin Wilson's most important work in one volume, including The Outsider, A Criminal History of Mankind, The New Existentialism, The Occult, New Pathways in Psychology, and Mysteries, as well as three of his novels and many other texts.

Ritual is one of the oldest, and certainly most enigmatic, threads in the history of human culture. It presents a profound paradox: people ascribe the utmost importance to their rituals, but few can explain why they are so important. Apparently pointless ceremonies pervade every documented society, from handshakes to hexes, hazings to parades. Before we ever learned to farm, we were gathering in giant stone temples to perform elaborate rites and ceremonies. Dimitris Xygalatas leads us on an enlightening tour through this shadowy realm of human behavior.

Wrong thinking produces wrong emotions, wrong reactions, wrong behavior - and unhappiness! Learning to deal with your thoughts is the first step on the road to healthy thinking. How to handle one's thoughts properly is what this book is all about! It explains the life-changing method the authors call misbelief therapy, and it can work for you.

Pornography is powerful. Our contemporary culture as been pornified, and it shapes our assumptions about identity, sexuality, the value of women and the nature of relationships. Countless Christian men struggle with the addictive power of porn. But common spiritual approaches of more prayer and accountability groups are often of limited help.

From Loving One to One Love: Transforming Relationships Through A Course in Miracles is not another how-to-fix-it guide to relationships. The Course's take on relationships is radically different from that of the rest of the world. Relationships are not really about "love" if by love we mean idealization and specialness. They are not merely agreements negotiated between two parties to promote survival and contentment. Rather, according to the Course, relationships are classrooms for enlightenment: for breaking the ego's grip on the mind and awakening to the true Self.

Homework horrors, chores, and not-so-friendly friends - that’s enough to make any kid’s brain hurt. The secret to staying cool is easy: It’s called mindfulness - and this book gives kids fun activities to practice it on their own. Mindfulness for Kids applies mindfulness exercises to stories and real-life scenarios that kids go through at home, school, and with friends. Shared through the voices of five children.

Stress is a part of daily life, but over time it can cause us to feel anxious, irritable, and overwhelmed. So how can you keep stress from getting the best of you and avoid total burnout? In the tradition of their highly successful A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook, Elisha Goldstein and Bob Stahl present a unique, accessible collection of daily practices to help listeners stay grounded in the here and now.

Alchemy is the science of transformation - how to change one thing into something else. In The Alchemy of Inner Work, Dechar and Fox examine how illness, suffering, and disease - the "lead" of our lives - can become the "gold" of our authentic selves, and the key to good health and well-being. Drawing on traditional Chinese medicine, Eastern and Western alchemical traditions, Kabbalah, and Jungian psychology - plus case studies from working with patients - the authors provide hands-on insights for bringing "the soul of medicine" back into our lives.

The need for change as we get older - an emotional pressure for one phase of our lives to transition into another - is a human phenomenon, neither male nor female. There simply comes a time in our lives - not fundamentally different from the way puberty separates childhood from adulthood - when it's time for one part of ourselves to die and for something new to be born.

The purpose of this work is to show you how to apply and utilize the teachings and essence of Zen in everyday life in the Western society. I’m not really an “absolute truth seeker” unworldly type of person - I just believe in practical plans and blueprints that actually help in living a better life. Of course, I will tell you about the origin of Zen and the traditional ways of practicing it, but I will also show you my side of things, my personal point of view, and translation of many Zen truths into a more “contemporary” and practical language.

Walking through Psalm 23 phrase by phrase, therapist and author K.J. Ramsey explores the landscape of our fear, trauma, and faith. When she stepped through her own wilderness of spiritual abuse and religious trauma, K.J. discovered that courage is not the absence of anxiety but the practice of trusting we will be held and loved no matter what. The Lord is My Courage is for the deconstructing and the dreamers, the afraid and the amazed, for those whose fear has not been fully shepherded but who can't seem to stop listening for their Good Shepherd's Voice.

If you're an emotional overeater, you may turn to food to cope with stress and sadness, enhance joy, and bring a sense of comfort. But over time, overeating can cause weight gain, heart disease, diabetes, and many other health problems. In 50 More Ways to Soothe Yourself Without Food, you'll find 50 more mindful and healthy activities to help you replace your need to overeat.

Few of us are immune to the ideas we absorbed as children. We learned how to get approval or disapproval by creating the kinds of selves who would fit in and succeed with the "right" jobs, relationships, possessions, and so on. Even if we rebel against these ingrained notions by going in the opposite direction, we are still controlled by them. Either way, as adults we are often left feeling anxious or depressed because who we really are has been ignored.

As a social worker, jail chaplain, and justice advocate, Bethany Dearborn Hiser pushed herself to the brink of burnout - and then kept going. Stress, despair, and compassion fatigue overwhelmed her ability to function. She was called to serve the abused, addicted, and homeless people in her community. Yet she was emotionally and spiritually exhausted. Something needed to change. Searching for answers, Hiser learned that trauma affects everyone who is exposed to it - not only those experiencing firsthand violence, homelessness, and addiction, but also those who are trying to help.

Told by a former high-level member of the Peoples Temple and Jonestown survivor, Seductive Poison is the "truly unforgettable" (Kirkus Reviews) story of how one woman was seduced by one of the most notorious cults in recent memory and how she found her way back to sanity.

When trying to get over a devastating loss, it may feel as though your entire world is falling apart. Everything reminds you of them, and you can't seem to go a whole day without thinking of them. Why can't there be a step-by-step guide to help you deal with the thoughts, feelings, and emotions that are holding you back from experiencing the joyful, fulfilling life you know is possible? Moving On and Letting Go is a program that will help you to identify where you are holding on to the energy of the past and guide you to let it go easily and effortlessly.

Dr. Rupert Sheldrake - best-selling author of "Morphic Resonance" - examines seven areas of spiritual practice that are personally transformative and have scientifically measurable effects. He combines his extensive knowledge of science and the natural world, as an experienced biologist, with a broad command of mystical and religious traditions to show how we can tune into more-than-human realms of consciousness.

Empower yourself through living in the present moment and letting go with mindfulness. In this audiobook, you will find out how to take charge of your life and make the decision to live the way you would like. By choosing to live a life with more meaning, one that makes you better connected, you are off to a great start toward the mindfulness that you seek. The peace you will gain while learning to live a life of mindfulness is priceless.

Have you found yourself doing something and thinking, Why do I keep doing this? We all have an unhealthy habit - or two, or three. Yours may be as simple as wasting time on the Internet, constantly checking your email, or spending too much time in front of the TV. Or it may be more serious, like habitual drinking, emotional overeating, constant self-criticism, or chronic worrying. Whatever your harmful habit is - you have the power to break it.

American culture focuses on letting go of grudges and redemption narratives instead of the perpetrator’s obligations or recompense for harmed parties. As survivor communities have pointed out, these emphases have too often only caused more harm. But Danya Ruttenberg knew there was a better model, rooted in the work of the medieval philosopher Maimonides. For Maimonides, upon whose work Ruttenberg elaborates, forgiveness is much less important than the repair work to which the person who caused harm is obligated.