Amazon.com
From beloved award-winning author Max Lucado comes Traveling Light, refreshing words wrapped around the biblical passages of the 23rd Psalm to reenergize weary spiritual travelers. In his inimitable, pastoral voice that both soothes and exhorts, Lucado gently unpacks the verses of the psalm while helping readers lay down the burdens of doubt, anxiety, perfectionism, and fear. "You can't enjoy a journey carrying so much stuff," Lucado writes. "Why don't you just drop all that luggage?" Lucado mixes personal transparency with his trademark humor, offering uncomplicated counsel. Change your focus. Make time for rest. Know you are not alone. Be humble. Trust God. It's only when we set down our "luggage" and let God carry it for us, says Lucado, that we are free to share grace, offer comfort, and help lift the load of others. As you read Lucado's words and work through the study questions, you'll find your own load feeling a little lighter. --Cindy Crosby
Book Description
Weary travelers. You've seen them-everything they own crammed into their luggage. Staggering through terminals and hotel lobbies with overstuffed suitcases, trunks, duffels, and backpacks. Backs ache. Feet burn. Eyelids droop. We've all seen people like that. At times, we are people like that-if not with our physical luggage, then at least with our spiritual load. We all lug loads we were never intended to carry. Fear. Worry. Discontent. No wonder we get so weary. We're worn out from carrying that excess baggage. Wouldn't it be nice to lose some of those bags? That's the invitation of Max Lucado. With the Twenty-third Psalm as our guide, let's release some of the burdens we were never intended to bear.
Customer Reviews:
audio cassettee.......2007-08-23
would not play on my computer. Was for an older
pc. cound not use. Didn't realize it was such
an old version
Find True Peace.......2007-08-15
If you need rest for your soul read this book ... and of course, the book this book is about ... God's Word, the Bible. It's life-changing!
Trivial Lite.......2007-06-05
Amazon recommended this book to me based on my viewing of another book recommended by Amazon. (Will the circle be unbroken?) Once again, based on a glance at the synopsis and posted reviews, I'll offer the opinion that this book is probably not worth your time unless your mind needs some gussying up with threadbare platitudes.
Traveling Light.......2007-05-14
Traveling Light: Releasing the Burdens You Were Never Intended to BearRate this a "10". Got a backpack full of worries, burdens, sruggles, heartaches, etc., you are lugging around? Read this book and learn how to lighten the backpack and leave it at home. This is one of his best books on learning how to live in this world and enjoy every second of living not only with yourself but with GOD. Makes a great gift. Again, Max should be considered the "Nora Roberts" of the religious genre.
One of Bests in Last 10years!.......2007-04-26
This treatment of the classic Psalm 23 is wonderful. The reader would come away from this book truly encouraged to travel light, indeed. This is a great work. I highly recommend it. We were never designed to shoulder our burdens. We must turn them over to God. This work is to that end.
Book Description
The definitive guide to the philosophy and practice of Yoga--the ancient healing discipline for body and mind--by its greatest living teacher. Light on Yoga provides complete descriptions and illustrations of all the positions and breathing exercises. Features a foreword by Yehudi Menuhin. Illustrations throughout.
Customer Reviews:
Must for those who want to learn Asanas!.......2007-08-21
This book is really excellent. I agree with most of the reviews that are written here. Since my views are about the same as many of the other reviews here, I am not writing anything special here.
Must buy.......2007-07-17
I have had this book for some time now. It has a brief intro to the philosophy of yoga before diving into the asanas. There are hundreds of asanas described in excruciating detail. A most valuable reference. In the appendices he gives out programs with increasing difficulty for you to practise. What he thinks you can cover in a few weeks is actually something u will master in a few years. Also asanas are prescribed for people with specific illnesses. great book!
GREAT BOOK.......2007-06-20
Tells you everything you need to know about Modern Yoga, it gives a physical view of the poses and even the back ground. I really enjoy this book.
The essence of yoga.......2007-05-17
The best reference on yoga poses with thorough explanations of how to get in, be in and get out of each pose safely and effectively. Also provides excellent context for how poses relate to one another and progress one to the other. Though Iyengar yoga instruction is the key to learning how to practice yoga properly, this book is your best friend after class and when conducting a home-based practice.
Excellent yoga book.......2007-05-08
I have just started practicing yoga and I think that this is an excellent book for a beginner. I like the fact that each asana is explained in such detail and that the benefits of each asana are also enumerated. It ia an outstanding companion to my Iyengar yoga classes. I read some of it almost every day.
Average customer rating:
- A good book to keep by your bedside.
- Not what I was Expecting
- Interesting
- Sylvia Browne never lets me down
- Comforting, inspriational, helpful and spiritual
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Light a Candle
Sylvia Browne
Manufacturer: Angel Bea Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0971784361 |
Book Description
The New York Times–bestselling author and psychic Sylvia Browne encourages readers to call upon the power of their own personal energy and spiritual candlelight to help make their dreams realities. Through a series of spiritual exercises—with themes ranging from energy, health, and physical and emotional healing to protection, wealth, and wisdom—she outlines how to jump-start a personal–spiritual routine to increase spiritual energy, personal awareness, and a connection to God. This highly visual guide also explores the symbolic meaning of color and scent combinations, groupings, and inviting the spirits of loved ones, angels, and spirit guides through the use of candle and prayer.
Customer Reviews:
A good book to keep by your bedside........2007-06-03
This book has some really pretty pictures, which I enjoyed looking at, but it really helps teach you about the different candle colors and how these colors represent spacific things in life. Very interesting book, I really enjoy looking at it and learning, daily.
Great book!!!
Not what I was Expecting.......2007-05-13
I am a huge fan of Sylvia's and I love pretty much all of her other products. But this one, did not quite meet my expectations...
I don't think it flows or reads well...I think the intent is good.
Interesting.......2007-03-26
I found this book to be very spiritual and calming. It was a nice peaceful release to read this book as well as replicate things in this tranquil and upbeat book. It has many candle setups to use towards your current mood to highten your connection to whatever you feel like being more connected to. This book will slow you down and make you look inside and around you and go hmmm I need to slow down and be calm. It was enchanting to see this book with all it's majestic candle rituals. I am very intrigued to try some of Sylvia's other books.
Sylvia Browne never lets me down.......2007-03-11
This is an adorable little coffee table or end table book (I currently have it on my end table in my room) and I always look through it for cute ideas about decorating my house with candles. I've always been into the power of candles and I LOVE anything Sylvia Browne writes, so when I saw this on Amazon.com, I had to get it. It's GREAT! It has advice for what candle scents to burn, what candle sizes to burn, how to arrange them, what colors to get, different meanings or occasions that certain candles are for... I absolutely love it!
Comforting, inspriational, helpful and spiritual.......2007-03-02
What a lovely little picture book! It's kinda like a "sorry your feeling poorly" card, but extended and with very helpful information. Perfect for when a beloved person or pet passes over, or there is illness or unhappiness of any type in someone's life. With greeting cards at $4 and up, this makes it a bargain at about $10 discount, because the person can actually get (or remember) some helpful advice to call on their angels and spirit guides through the power of candles. Plus, if you know of an indigo or crystal child, they love this stuff and will be very pleased with it. (I have an indigo daughter and am always looking for spiritual books that she will love without saying they're "whacked--and that's not the way it is, mom!"). So please purchase with your needs in mind. It is not an extended, detailed treatise on a topic in sprituality, but it is very pretty and very comforting.
Average customer rating:
- the key to self knowledge is in this book
- Too good to send to the used book store
- The Light
- a book to keep by your bed
- Too Convenient
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Living in the Light: A Guide to Personal and Planetary Transformation
Shakti Gawain
Manufacturer: New World Library
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 1577310462 |
Book Description
In Living in the Light, Shakti Gawain introduced a powerful new way of life: that of listening to one's own intuition and relying on it as a guiding force. In the newly revised edition of that classic work, she elaborates on her original ideas, adding aspects of her own experiences and learning process over the past twelve years. In addition to balancing feminine and masculine energies, she now examines several other fundamental polarities we all have, such as power and vulnerability. Everyone's life journey involves developing the full range of self and acknowledging all aspects of one's personality — including both light facets and dark.
Customer Reviews:
the key to self knowledge is in this book.......2007-09-02
.
The lessons in the book, as I see them, are following your intuition; learning who you really are, and the aspects of your personality that are holding you back.
Self-knowledge is vital to success in life and this book helps you begin to learn who you are, truly; Not who you think you are.
Too good to send to the used book store.......2007-07-14
I was just going through my old books and about to take the two copies I have of this book to the used book store but I reread it and am keeping it and giving the other to a friend.
Too bad that there wasn't all the hoopla of the movie "The Secret" going on back when she wrote this. She was way ahead of everyone else.
My favorite chapters are on the "Tyrant and Rebel" and the "Victim and Rescuer".
The more personal growth work I do and the more aware I become and work on my own issues of tyrant, rebel, victim and rescuer, the more I see that there is some of each in everyone whether they want to realize it or not!
I read the 1986 edition and am tempted to get the newer one to see if it's changed much.
The Light.......2007-05-27
Gawain offers a lot of food for thought. There are many criticisms of her work and this type of thinking. I think if a reader goes into this work with an open mind they can come out with something useful. It is fairly fast to read so there is little time investment compared to the potential reward.
a book to keep by your bed.......2007-05-13
I find that over the last twenty years or so, I read this book over and over. Mine is literally falling apart. Some reviewers have said that this book is just New Age sentimentality, and I can see why some might say that, but in another way, it's a really tough book. It simply says, unequivocably, that you must be honest: with yourself and others. This is pretty radical really, and very difficult.
Here's another way that this book is the opposite of sentimental: Shakti Gawain does not paper over the fact that being honest with yourself and other people can sometimes appear to backfire, in the short run. She tells the reader straight out that relationships may fall apart as a result, or your life may appear to be falling apart when you put these principles into practice. But in the long run, she says, it's better for everybody.
Like another reviewer, I have trouble with Shakti Gawain's idea that "the world is our mirror." That is the idea that, if something bad happens to me, I must have unconsciously created it. One of her examples is indeed that of a rape victim. Surely the rapist himself bears a great deal of responsibility for such a heinous act. Also, what about children who are abused? Can they in any sense have "created" their own abuse?
Nevertheless, sometimes when I look at other people's lives, it is pretty clear to me the way in which they created their own problems, usually, as Gawain says, by not being honest with themselves or others. So perhaps this is more true of my life too than I realize. It is often difficult to see the ways in which we are messing up our own lives! But this book can help.
Too Convenient.......2006-11-15
I liked this book when I was younger, but in rereading it at age 43, I find it hard to trust. Shakti is certainly a humble author who is still searching (rather than resting on her past "discoveries"), but some of her ideas seem to be nothing more than convenient personal inventions. For example, she suggests that anyone we are in conflict with is simply a manifestation of an internal conflict that we have externalized in order to resolve. I find this theory offensive in its tidy resolution of the question of suffering. Would she really tell rape victims or abused children that they had manifested their perpetrators to resolve an inner conflict?
I gave her 3 rather than 2 stars due to her deference to 12-step programs.
Book Description
For Christians, eternity is an exciting promise, but many do not know the details of what life will be like in heaven and throughout eternity. 50 Days of Heaven allows the reader to stop wondering about heaven by teaching the biblical facts regarding what's so wonderful about Heaven. The devotional provides an easy-to-follow, 50-day program that reveals the biblical information on what a Christian's life will be like in heaven. Throughout this journey, the reader will learn and meditate upon the promises, rewards, and expectations that a believer in Christ will enjoy for eternity. This devotional draws on the teachings in Randy Alcorn's best-selling book Heaven.
Book Description
This meditation classic gives us a serene, reassuring thought as we end our day and face the night - or as we face a dark moment in the course of our day. "Night Light's" quotations, reflections, and simple prayers ease the loneliness, fear, and anxiety that can burden our nights so we can wake up and meet each new day refreshed and inspired. In this insightful collection, quotations from Alice Walker, Will Rogers, Gertrude Stein, Carlos Castaneda, George Eliot, Dorothy Parker, and many others introduce thoughtful meditations on balance, self-esteem, relationships, independence and more. These wise reflections provide enduring reassurance and strength for every day and night of the year.
Customer Reviews:
night light.......2006-03-05
i love this book. used this book in the parent meeting we have here in san antonio like alaon. the parents group share on a very good leval and new parents also. I would use this book again. thanks for writing this. barbara
Love this Book.......2001-11-29
First meditation book for evenings I have seen and I love it! Gives you something to think about and great for journal writing.
Great Book.......2000-03-31
I also own Peace of Mind which i read in the morning, I read this book before I go t bed, I really enjoy, GOD BLESS
Book Description
Within all of us lies a source of infinite bliss and compassion for others. The special methods explained within Tantric Buddhism enable us to discover this bliss for ourselves. Contemporary Tantric master, Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, explains step-by-step how we can generate a deeply peaceful and concentrated mind by harnessing the subtle energy system within our own body. With this blissful awareness we can uncover our true nature, destroy ignorance and suffering at its root, and swiftly become a source of inspiration and benefit for others. In short, Clear Light of Bliss is a Tantric meditator’s handbook, which reveals the most profound secrets of the ancient yogis and makes their blissful experience accessible to the modern world.
Customer Reviews:
this author makes everything crystal clear.......2007-05-13
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso makes very difficult Buddhist concepts and practices crystal clear. To me, his books are indespensible. All of his books are like textbooks to be referred to time and again for reference. This and Clear Light of Bliss are great tantric Manuals.
Dakini Land is another Tantric work by this author and is highly rated. I will be purhasing this one shortly.
Topics covered in the reviewed book- Isolated speech, Isolated Mind,
Isolated Body. Description of lower tantras and Highest Yoga Tantra.
How to advance from Generation stage to completion stage. In short, another great book by this author.
A TANTRIC MEDITATION MANUAL THAT REVEALS THE MOST PROFOUND SECRETS OF THE ANCIENT YOGIS.......2006-09-22
Geshe Kelsang Gyatso's Clear Light of Bliss, gives extensive instructions on the generation stage and completion stage of Secret Mantra, the most profound and powerful teachings Buddha ever gave. Geshe Kelsang explains in great detail how we can generate a deeply peaceful mind and achieve powerful concentration by harnessing the subtle energy system within our own body. Utilizing this energy source, we can meditate powerfully and effectively on the true nature of reality, destroying the ignorance that prevents us from experiencing the supreme joy of permanent happiness and freedom from suffering.
I recommend this book to anyone that is searching for a deeper explanation of the inner-workings of our energy and how it can be used to improve our meditation practice and our minds so that we can be of greater benefit to others. These are advanced instructions so I would not recommend this book to someone who has no familiarity with Tantra at all. For a great introduction to Tantra I would recommend one of Geshe Kelsang's other books on the subject, Tantric Grounds and Paths.
The real Holy Grail.......2005-09-08
How many of us have walked past this book whilst browsing in a book shop without even spotting it much less buying it, reading it and appreciating it for what it is? I have had a taste of the clearlight and I have had a taste of bliss. I know on a deep experiential level that the instructions are true and precious beyond words. Imagine as a christian walking over a the holy grail and the body of christ buried below the floor and not knowing they were there, not that the finding would ever do you much good. Clearlight of Bliss is the real holy grail becasue it tells how enlightenment works and how to get there in precise detail without any of the usual new age mumbo-jumbo or contradictions or loose ill-defined language prevalent elsewhere. It is exact, crystal clear and written with complete authority. I do not believe any other author comes close. However, It can not be readily understood if the reader has not read other books nor can it be readily understood by anyone who has not practised highest yoga tantra - the search for the holy grail is long but the way is mapped out, illuminated and the guide has gone before you and come back for you and will be your friend and companion on the way. This book is more than a spiritual travalogue of the path it is a precise set of instructions set out for all to see.
Many people have read books like the 'Da Vinci code' or 'the holy blood, holy grail' and are riveted with tales of knights and secret organisations, some have made the grail their life long study and yet none of them has the slightest idea that the real grail can be found on a shelf in a bookstore just around the corner?
Detailed explanation of Tibetan Buddhist "Raja Yoga".......2004-12-23
This is my favorite of the 5 Kelsang Gyatso books I've read. Many other Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhist) books refer to or even provide some explanation of the Vajrayana psychic system (which seems to me to parallel the Hindu Raja Yoga approach). But, in his usual thorough manner, the author provides a very organized and detailed description herein. I attended one of his weekend gatherings and was impressed with him, though I've heard he's had some falling out with other Vajrayana lamas. His New Kadampa school is, I believe, a follow-up to the now defunct Kadampa school of Tibet which, I believe, the present Gelugpas (headed by the Dalai Lama) evolved from. It seems to me that the Gelugpa "Mahamudra" is VERY different from the Kagyu Mahamudra. The latter is quite similar in many respects to the Nyingmapa Dzogchen. The four main schools of Tibetan Buddhism are: Nyingmapa (the oldest based on 9th century translations), the Kagyu and Sakya (evolved about the same time), and the Gelugpa (the newest, I believe). Though the relatively recent Rime ecumenical movement attempted (pretty successfully) to provide cross-over teachings across the four schools. In any case, this book, while certainly not easy reading, provides a great source of information on esoteric, hard-to-find Vajrayana principles.
Extremely clear explanation on Mahamudra.......2000-06-02
Based on oral teachings received by the author, as well as authentic works from great masters like Je Tsonkhapa and the first Panchen Lama, this book provides a detailed and precise explanation of the completion stage practices of Tantric Mahamudra. It takes the reader from the initial Meditation on the Subtle Body, through Inner Fire Meditation, to the final attainment of Full Enlightenment. Some of the topics include: Channels, Winds, and Drops, Clear Light and the Four Joys, Nine Mixings and the Two Mudras, the Nature of Mind, instructions to achieve Tranquil Abiding, Meditation on Emptiness, the Illusory Body, Clear Light and Union, and Resultant Mahamudra. Although the main purpose of this book is to explain the advanced practices of Mahamudra, students of different levels will benefit from the clear and practical explanations and instructions on many aspects of Vajrayana Buddhism. These include foundational issues, like how to develop meditative concentration, and how to meditate on emptiness. It also answers question like "what causes the dream body to enter the gross body when we wake from the dream state?" And on to instruction on how to mix with the Truth Body, Enjoyment Body, and Emanation Body during death. One gets as much out of this book as one is capable of, and cannot help but being inspired by it. Geshe Kelsang Gyatso Rinpoche has been residing and teaching in the West for more than twenty years, transmitting ancient wisdom to the modern world. A fully accomplished Tantric Master, he wants this book to especially benefit the Western Dharma practitioners. First published in 1982, this book is already a classic. The writing is simple and direct. The explanations and instructions are extremely clear, leaving nothing to guesswork. Especially valuable for the practitioners, are the superb and unparalleled descriptions of the inner states. Making this book more than just a philosophical discourse or a reference, but a veritable guide.
Book Description
While providing many accounts of near-death experiences (NDEs) from men, women, and children of all ages and backgrounds, Lessons from the Light is much more than just an inspiring collection of NDEs. In Lessons near-death expert Kenneth Ring extracts the pure gold of the NDE and with a beautiful balance of sound research and human insight reveals the practical wisdom held within these experiences.
As Stanley Krippner states, "In this remarkable book, Ring presents evidence that merely learning about the near-death experience has similar positive effects to those reported by people who actually have had near-death experiences. Kenneth Ring is one of the few authors whose gifts include the capacity to transform their readers' lives."
Customer Reviews:
Lessons from the Light.......2007-08-23
This is a very good book in that the author reports the results of extensive studies of near-death experiences. I was especially impressed by his description of the life review experience and what it did to the people who experienced it. One thing puzzled me. Other books and accounts of near-death experiences describe cases where the experiencer went directly to hell or the "void." This book gives almost no recognition of that as a possibility. Did Ring want to promote a positive view of what happens after this life? Or, are the other writers catering to what some people want to be the case?
The best book on Near-Death Experiences.......2007-04-21
If you buy one book on the near-death experience, make it this one. Lessons from the Light is a treasure; radiant, direct, and moving. Like the light seen in the near-death experience, Dr. Ring's masterpiece is replete with messages and healing gifts for anyone who picks it up. In fact, it is impossible to read Lessons and not be transformed by its message, woven together from the many golden threads of Dr. Ring's case studies. We learn there is another mode of existence where the blind and comatose can see, babies can watch their birth from above, and life never ends. This testimony compels us to open our hearts to a luminous compassion for ourselves, others, and the planet. These personal glimpses beyond the veil help us re-envision the face of death from that of a feared specter to that of the perfect lover we have always longed for.
Ironically, by learning about dying, we gain crucial insights about living that can redirect our understanding to the things that matter; what we take with us to the other side, especially love and service to others. Nobody is lost to us, and we take no secrets or possessions to this final destination. These lessons can enrich our lives immeasurably, save us from wasted years and futile pursuits, and gift us with joy and peace of mind that can last a lifetime. With the Light, all ends well, however life appears as we experience it.
Good read but technical.......2007-04-12
This book was very informative and insightful about what is learned from near-death experiences. It reads very technical and dry though so not for the impatient reader.
Positive-minded, inquisitive, and spiritually uplifting antidote to the fear of death........2006-12-10
Professor Emeritus of Psychology and co-founder and past president of the International Association for Near-Death Studies Kenneth Ring, Ph.D. presents Lessons From the Light: What We Can Learn from the Near-Death Experience, a compilation of both individual experiences and the latest studies concerning Near-Death experiences, or NDEs. One strong conclusion is that NDEs overwhelmingly influence or persuade those who experience them toward belief in an afterlife. Numerous personal testimonies of religious or spiritual awakening resulting from NDEs are also presented, in this positive-minded, inquisitive, and spiritually uplifting antidote to the fear of death.
A need to live the questions.......2006-08-30
There is absolutely no doubt as to Kenneth Ring's sincerity and compassion, as well as his long-term commitment to expanding our understanding of near death phenomena. And we can be very grateful for the courage of people who were willing to share experiences that are so deeply personal. For those reasons alone I could have given "Lessons from the Light" five stars - had it not gone further than this to claiming definitive answers to questions of life and meaning. It is because of the assumptive role of this book that I see the need for a strong note of caution.
For example, Ring states quite arbitrarily that, at death, we not only review our life, we invariably relive it. However, not everyone described such an event in their NDE - a "white crow" in his theory that the author ignores. There are also disturbing implications for people who have suffered a great deal. Is Ring saying that they must relive their own suffering? I would not wish even those who have treated me cruelly to experience the pain I felt. To what purpose? Surely this is in direct contradiction of the image of compassionate love that the author presents. It certainly negates the concept in wisdom literature of our life journey being progressive and transformative.
Perhaps the greatest concern I have regarding this book (and others that make the same claim) is its unqualified exhortation to "love." Given that humankind has many contradictory definitions of love, I see an urgent need to qualify the word, especially in the context of the life lessons this book claims to teach. Love is often equated solely with a feeling of euphoria - an interpretation emphasised in this book. But love is sometimes spelled N-O. In other words, loving actively is far from easy and not at all comfortable. Love, in fact, has backbone. Out of all the messages the author gives as paramount, this is perhaps the most vital life lesson he could omit. Vulnerable readers may infer from this omission - to their detriment - that love is acquiescent to abuse.
Most of all, it is important not to make assumptions about the COMPLETED death experience from what are only NEAR death experiences, a distinction that Ring fails to make. For one thing, the needs of those who return (to complete a life task, for example) could be very different from the needs of those who move on. The problem is that, in our urgency to find answers, we are strongly tempted to manufacture them - to find ANY answer - but which is often far less empowering than the truth. According to the poet Rilke, we need the courage to "live the questions" and to accept that we can only grow into them.
Perhaps the best way to approach this book is to remember the advice of Ram Das: "The spiritual journey is individual, highly personal...it isn't true that everybody should follow one path. Listen to your own truth."
Book Description
This is the first book to introduce the fourteen joyful and highly symbolic events that make up the Via Lucis, the Christian Way of Light, an ancient spiritual tradition celebrating the post-Resurrection life of Christ on Earth.
The Stations of the Light, with its “good news” of healing and salvation, is becoming an increasingly popular devotion throughout the United States and the world, and was recognized by the Vatican in its Jubilee 2000 campaign. While Christians of all denominations are familiar with the Stations of the Cross, few know how to celebrate the Stations of the Light, a practice that came into being through inspiration from ancient Roman sources.
Stations of the Light is a clear and inspiring guide to making this ancient ritual part of contemporary Christian life. The stations mark the fourteen sacred events in the post-Easter story, from “Jesus Rises from the Dead” to “Pentecost: The Risen Lord Sends the Holy Spirit.” For each one, Mary Ford-Grabowsky presents a variety of spiritual practices that invite readers to form their own realistic and sacred image of the event. Beginning with relaxation and releasing the imagination, these exercises are designed to help convey the story and foster inspiration, and include ancient and contemporary meditations, reflections, and prayers; as well as journal writing, artwork, music, and mantras.
Customer Reviews:
"Stations of the Light" ancient practice brings fresh inspiration.......2007-08-27
This book came with me on a recent personal retreat. It uses the major events surrounding Easter, and the season immediately following the Resurrection, as the focal points for contemplation at each station. I didn't know when I packed the book that it would become a major inspiration for my time apart from the daily busyness of a Pastor's life. (God provides what we need, just when we need it most.) I had been through some extra struggles in the course of the past year, and had just been given some new challenges to face. A day apart to think and pray was desperately needed. "Stations of the Light" provided a way of looking at these challenges through the lens of God's enduring love and promise in Christ. I picked it up, thinking I might find some restful thoughts to comfort my soul, and I couldn't put it down! I found not rest, but courage for continuing the journey of faith. I was reminded that whatever new surprise life might bring, whether joyful or sorrowful, delightful or challenging, this too is of God. I entered the retreat with dozens of questions, and this book helped me focus my energy as I walked along the 14 stations of light. At the end, I knew with Julian of Norwich that "all shall be well, and all shall be well, all manner of thing shall be well." An experience of loss became for me a welcoming ground for spiritual understanding. I discovered opportunities to know myself better, to more fully live out my calling, and to better serve God and other people. I took the book back to my church and used it as the basis for a 24 hour prayer vigil for my congregation. We set up several of the stations around the outer perimeter of the sanctuary, with pictures downloaded from the web and quotes from the book as prayer-starters. It was very well-received by those who participated in the vigil. I highly recommend this book for those with contemplative souls!
Customer Reviews:
Seeing Christ through windows of Icons.......2007-10-01
This little book gives insight into the use and purpose of praying with (NOT TO) Icons
of Christ and the LIfe of Christ.
Meditation on four icons, most enjoyable..........2005-10-11
This small, very pretty, and interesting book in the sense that it has a lot to say in a short period of text (as if text had time in it), is certainly something to meditate on and think about. Just about a few days reading, Rowan Williams has managed to meditate and so interpret in a theological way, these icons: The Transfiguration, The Resurrection, Christ as one of the eternal Trinity, Christ as judge of the world and ruler of all.
When I say that this book by its text seems to be about time, I mean in a way that is stretched, that this book takes imagination and thought to follow, expresses some deep beliefs and some insightful ways of becoming more with the spirit of Jesus Christ, and of gaining inspiration to go on with a life in the spirit. That is a mouthful. But afterall, if you are looking for a how-to book, this is not really it--though appreciation and the way of entering into the spirit and substance of the icons is there.
The book did begin as a series of meditations, so there it is also valuable to some who are of a more religious bent since it is by a religious man, the Archbishop of Canterbury. Here is one way we are led to a more inspired way of worship and living in the spirit: "Looking at Jesus seriously changes things; if we do not want to be changed, it is better not to look hard or too long. The apostles in the icon are shielding their eyes, because what they see is not easily manageable in their existing world." From the icon "Transfiguration" about the transfiguration, a depiction.
For repeating myself, this pretty book makes a nice gift. I have given in to a friend who is a minister, and he said he and his wife enjoyed the small book, that it is a keeper. There is a good recommendation for it. How nice to have someone receive a gift and like it very much, to want to keep it. So this is a satisfying book one can go back to and read, and also look at the icons.
Rowan Williams is a thinking mind, a very good theologian (so his reputation admits), and something of an intellectual (kind of a mild kudo for one of so fine a mind). This is an easy way to enter into his writings, and to enjoy his thoughts. If one wants to have a thoughtful book that reflects on the Trinity and also that wonderful icon of three angels called "The Hospitality of Abraham" by Rubrev, and so on some other key biblical themes in the Christian faith, this is a good place to enjoy such things.
"While we can accept all the proper cautions about not treating the figures as simle depictions of the trinitarian persons, there is certainly a convention which understands that the icon is to be 'read' from left to right pointing to the father, the son and the spirit..." My reason for using this quote is to give the reader of this review a taste of the tone of the book. There is something consistently civil and formed about the tone of the book that is part of the hallmark of style about which the book is extant. I say "extant" because there is a spirit about the book that is partially the product of the tone, and the presence that is brought to bear by the writer and the designers of this gift book. That is something that people who like writing and to read will find both enjoyable and interesting about this title.
No doubt about it, the writer Archbishop Rowan Williams is a man of faith who has the gospel in mind, and can be relied on to bring some of the many dimensions of Christ and his light to a reader. Here he speaks of Christ: "In all these meditations on icons of Christ, we find outselves looking at far more than just the representation of human beings of long ago. We are brought into the presence of one who contains everything, who makes everything hang together, who gives us the power to see all things freshly." It is an impressive thing when someone who is sincere and a believer can make his beliefs come to life and meaning to others who are not so advanced in their spiritual lives as he.
The author has managed to write a series of meditations on icons, four of them, and to let the reader know about this God (Trinitarian) who acts in history both in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. A small, pretty book, this title makes a good gift for a religious or Church going friend who has an interest in art or finding ways to enter into the spirit through other dimensions, including the appreciation of icons, especially.
Lux et veritas.......2004-02-19
`The Dwelling of the Light: Praying with Icons of Christ' is a companion volume to 'Ponder These Things: Praying with Icons of the Virgin', a recent book by Rowan Williams, now Archbishop of Canterbury after a distinguished career as an academic and cleric in the Churches of England and Wales (Anglican Church). Williams has a great affinity for the wider breadth of Christian experience, drawing influences and inspiration from Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox practices across the centuries. In this book, Williams continues to explore ways in which meditation and prayer can be strengthened and enhanced with incorporation of iconographic images, this time with icons of Christ.
Protestants particularly have lost the tradition of the use of art work as representative objects for worship. However, the debate over the appropriateness of icons and other imagery is almost as old as Christianity itself. There was a time when icons of Christ were banned because Jesus, being of divine nature, wasn't suitable for depiction. That Jesus could be depicted without violation of the 'no graven images' commandment took a long time to be decided, and finally was deemed permissible because of Jesus' human nature. Rare the depiction of God or God the Father as anything more than a cloud, a hand, or some other vague symbol meant to characterise, more than anything else, the mystery involved rather than an actual physical likeness. Michaelangelo's depictions on the Sistine Chapel ceiling are remarkable not simply from their aesthetic quality, but also in that the image of God is very direct and distinctly human in form. Williams devotes many pages of the introduction to looking at precisely the issue of the theology behind the depiction of Jesus.
However, icons are a special form of art. They are not simple paintings, however elegant, but take the form, from their origination to their veneration, as a form of prayer in and of themselves in very real ways. Christian art was a long time in developing (indeed, the earliest Christians were sometimes thought to be atheists since they had no visible evidence of gods around).
This is a small book. It has a mere 85 pages or so of text, and thus could be read fairly quickly. However, to do so would be to deny oneself the richness of the experience. One can glance at an icon, generally a fairly small object, and think one has seen it. However, the true experience of an icon, and the true experience of this book, comes from re-reading, stopping, meditating, and slowly working through each detail. The book is generously illustrated in word and graphic art. Each of the icons is presented in full colour, with details highlighted in larger size at appropriate points in the text.
Through all the meditations, we are looking for God, and hopefully come to realise that God also looks for us. As Williams said in the previous volume, we find the God who has taken up residence in the heart of our humanity, who prays when we are not looking, not trying, who is at work when we are silent or helpless, and who can never be pinned down to a here or there in our individual lives or in the Church at large.
The icons presented here are depictions of the Transfiguration, the Resurrection, the Hospitality of Abraham, and the Pantocrator. The Transfiguration shows a Jesus in white with a holy representation around him; Moses and Elijah join him as the three disciples sleep in the foreground. Just as Jesus was himself changed, looking at Jesus changes things for us, and the icon drives this home. Ironically, the gospel of John is the gospel which has no Transfiguration story; however, looking at this icon gives the impression that the whole of John's gospel is a story of Transfiguration, so the depiction of Jesus as the Christ is always present in the reading.
The Resurrection is, of course, the pivotal event in the Christian story. The fifteenth century icon shows the risen Christ at the open door, but not of the tomb, but rather the gates of hell. The Resurrection is a point of liberation, and this icon shows the redemption of Adam and Eve (among others), symbolising in a very dramatic way the redemption offered to all humankind. The Resurrection is new birth and new creation, and a bridging of divisions created by sin. All these can be seen in the iconographic image.
The fifteenth century icon by Andrei Rublev of the portrayal of the Hospitality of Abraham may seem like a strange departure in icons about the life and figure of Christ, but in fact in much of Christian thinking, the visitors to Abraham are a prefigured Trinity. The three angels who visit Abraham at the oaks at Mamre represent for later Trinitarian Christians the idea of the Christ who always was, and is, and is to come. There are only three figures - the depiction of Abraham, whose hospitality is highlighted, is missing. The three angelic figures are all human in form, which makes it an impossible literal rendering of the Trinity. As with most icons, the gaze and hand gestures reveal the story, and the icon depicts a proto-trinity very much in Orthodox creedal fashion.
The final icon, Pantocrator, is one of the most familiar of icons of the twentieth century, depicting Christ in the most familiar of roles - that of judge and ruler of the world. The icon shows a benevolent Christ, and unlike many icons, has words to reinforce the meaning - `Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you.' Christ is a humble person still mighty in power; not depicted as a royal (no crown) or militant, there is simple truth here.
The power of icons resides in their continuing ability to draw forth new meaning from sustained meditations. This book helps to reinforce this power, and, with the earlier volume, opens up for all, Orthodox or not, one of the true glories of Orthodox Christianity's contribution to the spiritual life of the world.
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