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Readers of bell hooks's fiery and eloquent attacks on racism and sexism might be surprised to see her take on the elusive subject of love, but in her own unique way, hooks beautifully weaves her childhood search for that emotion with society's misuse (and dire need) of it. All About Love takes apart the sentimental and often fleeting aspects of romance, stuck in the muddled urges of sex, and details the problems that arise from the confusion between the two. What hooks does best is reveal that the true force of love lies in its spiritual, redemptive power, which can impact positively on humankind: "When angels speak of love they tell us it is only by loving that we enter an earthly paradise," she writes. "They tell us paradise is our home and love our true destiny." --Eugene Holley Jr.
Book Description
"The word "love" is most often defined as a noun, yet...we would all love to better if we used it as a verb," writes bell hooks as she comes out fighting and on fire in All About Love. Here, at her most provacative and intensely personel, the renowned scholar, cultural critic, and feminist skewers our view of love as romance. In its place she offers a proactive new ethic for a people and a society bereft with lovelessness.
As bell hooks uses her incisive mind and razor-sharp pen to explode th question "What is love?" her answers strike at both the mind and heart. In thirteen concise chapters, hooks examines her own search for emotional connection and society's failure to provide a model for learning to love. Razing the cultural paradigm that the ideal love is infused with sex and desire, she provides a new path to love that is sacred, redemptive, and healing for the individuals and for a nation. The Utne Reader declared bell hooks one of the "100 Visionaries Who Can Change Your Life." All About Love is a powerful affirmation of just how profoundly she can.
Customer Reviews:
It goes both ways, Hooks.......2006-10-07
I think people who know nothing about love should avoid writing books about it. Hooks knows a bit more about hate. This is obvious from her own words.
Quote:
Bell Hooks (black professor of English at City College of New York)
"I am writing this essay sitting beside an anonymous white male that I long to murder." [From her book A Killing Rage, quoted by David Horowitz in Hating Whitey, Spence Publishing, 1999, p. 31.]
Hooks needs to understand that hate is wrong no matter where or who it issues forth from...black or white or anyone. Hate isn't right. I think anyone who hates someone, especially an anonymous, innocent person, should seriously consider adequate professional counseling for an extended period of time.
I think there are disorders which include the definition of hating strangers as one of their markers. We should never encourage or condone this kind of sick behavior. Thank you for your time.
A Treatise on Love.......2005-07-14
bell hooks' "all about love" is an excellent treatise on the importance of love in a culture that glorifies greed and self-hate. hooks offers much-needed criticism of society's abandonment of love and shows where the lack of love has left communities impoverished and addicted to drugs, alcohol, and/or shopping. Not only does hooks offer an alternative to the self-hate learned from family, media, and patriarchal society, but she gives simple, easy to follow steps that will lead individuals to self-love and communities to shared love and pride. Even if you don't agree with everything hooks says, it is a great book for anyone looking for a positive alternative to the widespread cynicism and lovelessness America has come to embrace.
Brave.......2003-01-19
Thankfully, bell hooks is always brave enough to tell it like it is. Love is a verb not a feeling. There is an obvious connection between love as experienced within families and abusive romantic relationships. Read and begin to think critically about these core survival issues.
Her observations are wise. Her grasp of history is absolute. Her ideas stimulate intelligent and loving thought, conversation, and action. Read this book.
A thoughtful, intriguing, and truly enjoyable book.......2002-12-02
bell hooks is one of the most gifted intellectuals of our time and this book is one of her best books. Before reading this book, I was only familiar with bell hooks in the context of her role as a social critic and scholar in terms of her writings on issues such as race, gender, and class; but what this book does is allow people to think critically about a subject so thought provoking but commonly explored and discussed within the commercial confines of popular culture. This book allows the reader to transcend thinking of love in terms of romantic love and love for our families, but also envision love as an emotion of compassion and a foundation for ethics and social change in terms of love for self, humanity, and the environment.
Very liberating!.......2002-07-24
I LOVE this book...read through it very quickly and look forward to reading it again. It did more for me than any "self-help" book I've picked up because she explores the issues surrounding love and why we are unable to love ourself. And there is no pressure to "practice" certain healing methods. The book is thought provoking and inspirational. I've struggled with the issue of lovelessness all my life and was on the verge of destroying a very wonderful relationship because of my inability to love myself first. I am better able now to understand where those feelings are coming from and how to deal with them and let them go. This book has helped to liberate me. And now I can learn to love myself and my partner on a much deeper level. Upon finishing the book, I woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and renewed with a new way of looking at love and how we love. From time to time, we do find ourselves discouraged and question whether we will find love in our lives without realizing that love exists in all of us and around us. Bell Hooks is a great writer; I admire her ability to express her thoughts on the issue of love and to be able to share it with the rest of world. She speaks to you in this book. Thank you, Bell Hooks!
Book Description
The Phoenix Affirmations, named for the town in which the principles were created and the mythological bird adopted by ancient Christians as a symbol of resurrection, offers disillusioned and spiritually homeless Christians and others a sense of hope and a more tolerant, joyful, and compassionate message than those we often hear from the media and some Christian leaders. These twelve central affirmative principles of Christian faith are built on the three great loves that the Bible reveals: love of God, love of neighbor, and love of self. They reflect commitments to environmental stewardship, social justice, and artistic expression as well as openness to other faiths. Transcending theological and culture wars, inclusive and generous in spirit and practice, these principles ask believers and seekers alike to affirm their Christian faith in a fresh way.
Customer Reviews:
Progressive Christianity.......2007-05-21
The core values of Christianity are challenged in this summary of what many of today's Christians think and believe today.
Thoughtful & Thought-provoking.......2007-03-29
I won't go into much detail on the theology of this little book -- suffice it to say that the size of the book has nothing to do with the HUGE impact these affirmations will have on fundamental/conservative/evangelical/liberal Christianity. The thoughts expressed here are those of a "new" look -- progressive Christianity and so challenge the core beliefs of Christianity that the thoughts expressed here would be difficult to accept for any of the "normal" theological liones of thought.
Having said that, however, these affirmations are, as the authors clearly state, only a beginning in the process of discovering what Christianity will have to be about if it is to survive into the 21st century. Read this book with an open mind and heart and it will affirm and challenge you. Coming from an evangelical background, it was both challenging and frightening -- but not in a way that was altogether negative. Judging from the thought that went into these concepts, and the wave of interest they are generating around the USA (the world?), the church is alive ... and growing. It will truly be exciting to see what Christianity wil be like in the 21st century!
Faith for the 21st century.......2006-11-05
This book is an excellent summary of what thoughtful, progressive Christians are thinking today. It is [rpvocative, not exhaustive, in laying out an agenda for living out one's faith in this complex contemporary American culture. Both as an individual study and as a group discussion, the author helps Christians to articulate a stronger faith and non-beleivers to see a way to amke sense of the Christian gospel.
The Phoenix Affirmations.......2006-11-03
The Phoenix Affirmations was a real eye opener for me. It has caused me to look at Christianity in a whole new way. For me this book paints the future of the Christian church.
Welcome to Progressive Christianity.......2006-09-03
Eric Elnes is just one of many Christians trying to change the discussion of Christianity and Christian values in American culture today. This small book, built around the 12 affirmations he and colleagues, friends, and co-religionists in Arizona have put together, is a fine summation of what many Christians today would like folks to understand should be the character of 21st century Christianity. It is a book whose ideas resonate with those in other faiths as well. It should be an invitation to those who have walked away from the church to reconsider their faith and return to work with others to make sure the church is tolerant, inclusive, compassionate, and is a church that takes faith, prayer, and the Bible seriously (if not literally in the last case). Each chapter covers an affirmation, treating it in most cases with an incident drawn from Elnes's pastoral experiences. It is an easy read. Give it your consideration.
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Amor, Libertad, Soledad: Una Nueva Vision de
Osho
Manufacturer: Gaia
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ASIN: 8484450392 |
Book Description
Nos guste o no, en el mundo moderno la libertad es nuestra condicion basica, y mientras no aprendamos a vivir por y con nosotros mismos, nos estaremos vetando la posibilidad de encontrar el amor y la felicidad junto con otra persona.
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Passion : Visions of Love, in Word and Image
Running Press
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ASIN: 0762401516 |
Average customer rating:
- The Spirit of every Man
- Iyanla, I love you!
|
The Spirit of a Man: A Vision of Transformation for Black Men and the Women Who Love Them
Iyanla Vanzant
Manufacturer: HarperOne
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In the Meantime: Finding Yourself and the Love You Want
Accessories:
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RESPeRATE Blood Pressure Lowering Device
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Airborne Effervescent Health Formula, Original Orange, 10 Tablets (Pack of 3)
ASIN: 0062512390 |
Book Description
Iyanla Vanzant is known internationally as the leading authority on spirituality and empowerment for Black women. As a featured speaker at the Million Man March, she launched her message to the Black men who have long been part of her following. With forthrightness and powerful insight, Vanzant teaches them how to recognize and draw upon the power of the spirit within themselves. Recognizing the obstacles set before Black men in the past and the powerful forces still at work against them today, Vanzant seeks to help both men and women nurture the strength and power they possess - that of their history, their souls, and their relationships with each other. The Spirit of a Man is a brilliant and transformative blend of practical self-help, contemporary spirituality and ancient African spiritual wisdom.
Customer Reviews:
The Spirit of every Man.......1999-11-29
Author IYANLA VANZANT offers a spectular guide line, for every man who want to know his spiritual side of themself. The book offers a great guide for Afro-Americans, especially young African American male. My two elder brother read this book and they recommended i read it. This is the first book of VANZANT that i have read, and i would recommmend young African Americans to really read this book. "America's greatest crime against the Black man was not slavery or the lynching, but that he was taught to wear a mask of slef-hate and self-doubt" -Malcolm X
The Author included this quote in the book, It truely inspired me to think about who I am as a young Africa American male. Thank You VANZANT
Iyanla, I love you!.......1997-08-19
I am a 21 year old black man, who for so long knew that there was more to life but could not figure out what it was. Months of searching lead me to realize that I had to become more spiritual.
I went on to read numerous books on spirituality and self-improvement, but after learning these principles I had no way of applying them.
This book showed me how to apply what i had learnt and also taught me a lot more things about life and my relationship with the Creator.
This book is a must for every black man or woman who is at the entrance of the tunnel, sees the light at the end, but does not know how to walk through. Iyanla took my hand and I'm sure she'll take yours. After she has lead you to the light, you learn the ultimate lesson: you have been and will always be able to lead others through this tunnel.
Average customer rating:
- Osho is great for 3.5 reasons
- Read This and be FREE
- A must have for healthy relationships
- Hopeless romantic? Try not to read this book......
- A beautiful period now begins of your reading and seeking.
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Love, Freedom, and Aloneness : A New Vision of Relating
Osho
Manufacturer: St. Martin's Press
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ASIN: 0312262272 |
Book Description
Why are so many people nowadays living alone?The model of the traditional family is breaking down, children barely into their teens are experimenting with sex, and half of all marriages in developed countries end in divorce.In this book, Osho explains why these phenomena are happening and how they can actually be viewed as a cause for celebration rather than worry. In a post-ideological world, where all the old moralities are clearly out of date, we have a golden opportunity to redefine and revitalize the very foundations of our lives. We literally have the chance to start afresh with ourselves, our relationships to others, and how we define fulfillment and success for the individual and for society as a whole.Why is it that people who are happy being alone have the best chance to be happy being with someone else?In the modern world, like it or not, freedom is our basic condition and until we learn to live with that freedom, learn to live by ourselves and with ourselves, will we have any possibility of finding love and happiness being together with someone else. Provocative as always, Osho is wise as well as funny, an appealing and commonsensical guide to the complexities if modern life. AUTHORBIO: Osho is one of the best-known and most provocative spiritual teachers of the Twentieth century.Beginning in the 1970s he captured the attention of young people from the West who wanted to experience meditation and transformation.More than a decade after his death in 1990, the influence of his teachings continues to expand, reaching seekers of all ages in virtually every country of the world.
Customer Reviews:
Osho is great for 3.5 reasons.......2007-03-26
I love OSHO. Yes, he is a very smart, interesting, and well-spoken guru. Let's all rejoice that he wrote so many books.
Here are the 3.5 reasons why OSHO rules and you should really get this book.
1. Osho is funny. He'll have you cracking up as you learn about how to be a master in bed or how to be less needy.
2. Osho reminds us that the Universe is naturally nice and wants us to be happy. Wow, that's so simple by easy to forget.
3. Osho gets us to do something instead of just think about it. Do something and learn how it feels. That's true learning.
3.5 Osho teahces us that it's beautiful to be alone. So enjoy it!
Read This and be FREE.......2007-01-05
This book is now my "the one book I'll ever need".
Osho does NOT try to convert you. Pah! He invites you to know yourself and be free and this book has totally redefined my old, sick ideas about love. My beloved and I are happier now than ever.. truly... open your mind and sprout two wings-"aloneness and love" ; ) I'd love to have cases of these and walk around tossing them to strangers., friends, neighbors, lovers and YOU.
A must have for healthy relationships.......2006-08-15
This book describes and educates what a healthy long term love relationship looks and feels like. Many people do not have any idea. Instead of wanting a relationship out of "neediness" people can experience a "fullness to share."
Hopeless romantic? Try not to read this book.............2006-02-17
I haven't finished reading this book (3/4 of the way), but i decided to give back to the community that has assisted me so much with my choice of books..... that and Amazon have a new 'bullying' system of getting reviews out of customers. Anyway, this book is really an eye opener. All the ideas of love that i got from books, films and even my parents now seem so silly and strange- like, where did they get them from? Osho explores what the general public see as love (romantic love), and another love that gives the impression of being a religious love at the get-go (i say that because i've always seen 'unconditional love' as something for the saints and celibates only), but is actually the most important love that we actually need in our lives. A selfish love that is actually unselfish. I wonder how relationships would be if we all possessed this type of love for ourselves..... would we even waste our time on relationships? Probably, not if they're the type that bring attachment. Osho discusses why most relationships and marriages are doomed from the beginning. "Let there be spaces in your togetherness"- very deep quote. He does not bring an authoritarian tone to any aspect of love; all he wants us to have is understanding..... understand the laws of existence and then do what you want.
His views on sex are amazing, just like his views on religion. I suspect both views were responisble for most of the controversy surrounding him- Increase sexual freedom while reducing religion (especially Christianity)? I think Bush and a few teleevangelists would probably not think twice about killing him on live tv if they got the chance. But he's dead so they can't. And his words live on.........
I'm probably a poor reviewer, but do not let that stop you from reading this book, if you ever wondered if there is more to love, or if you want understanding on why people still risk all for love even though it never seems to last (with one partner)
this is definitely the book for you. Just remember to soak everything in before putting on your worn out rationalization cap. Logic is not everything.
A beautiful period now begins of your reading and seeking........2004-01-16
If you are new to Osho then you are in for the most beautiful period of your reading and seeking. Although this seems a bold statement, I feel it is understated. In this one book one will learn a lifestyle that is natural and flowing. There are no rules, no golden gems of a 10 point plan. What you get is how to balance a lifestyle of meditation and love. The polarities. Aloneness and relationships. To seemlessly dance between the two. The style is very flowing like a conversation. This is no accident. The book is put together from talks that Osho has given. Some 5000 hours of recordings have been taken. If you loved Eckhart Tolle's the power of now and wish for more reading of that quality, you will find Osho books equally as good. I've read the full 6 books of the insight series. All are brilliant. I recommend Sex matters highly as well. Osho Zen and Osho Tao are also brilliant. However, if I was asked to recommend one essential book for someone new to Osho it would be Love, Freedom and Aloneness. It's hard to really review Osho because you are not quite sure what's really going on. Just by reading you feel something is happening. That something is a resounding "A-ha" to it. I've read carlos Castaneda all of them, I've read most of Stuart Wilde's books which I thought could not be surpassed yet Osho has done this with ease. With Osho there is no fighting within. You start with were you are and remove things very gently. He loves to bring a gentleness to the way you treat life and especially yourself. I've never thought of brushing teeth violently. However, when you compare that to brushing teeth gently, you begin to understand how you treat yourself. A small violence, but still it is there. Osho takes you on a journey of Man, politics and religion, he unravels the contradictions and the subtle cunning under-current of our politicians and religious leaders. He cannot unravel the mystery of life, he embraces the mystery and uncertainty. What I have noticed when reading is the fluidity of the words, sentences and chapters. You know that there is no-one there. Osho stepped aside many years ago. The words are straight from the great unknown, without filters, pure and brilliant. He was a truely brilliant, intelligent man and yet highly evolved in his spirituality or religiousness[not in the sense that we normally associate with this word. Uncluttered with religious dogma.] as he liked to often use. Once you read his biography you will come to know why you perhaps have not heard much about this man. What he has to say in his books, if understood and applied, will make each person a tower of immortal strength that no force on earth will be able to control. That's why the man was banned from so many developed countries towards the end of his life. His words are all there to lead you to becoming enlightened without an intermediatory. This would be a state of such peace tranquility and blissfulness, that the thought of becoming enlightened doesn't scare me any more.
Book Description
Focus on the Family's marriage book of the year unveils God's incredible design for marriage.
Whatever happened to happily ever after? As divorce rates climb to all-time highs, many couples, including Christians, question the role of marriage and its "lifetime" commitment. In The Marriage Masterpiece, Al Janssen looks at evidence of God's original intent for marriage, offers scriptural answers as to why marriage is still relevant, and paints a picture of what that means to couples today.
Customer Reviews:
Worth more than the cover price!.......2005-05-21
This is an incredible book. After reading this book with an open heart you will never see your marriage the same again. If you love God and love your wife, this book is for you. I recommend this book to evey man who loves his wife and even those who may not be sure.
He who does not love his wife hates himself.
Highly Recommended.......2004-06-17
You'll never look at your marriage quite the same way again, after reading "Marriage Masterpiece." Here is a piece of non-fiction every couple should be required to read every couple of years.
Janssen has an entertaining writing style--colorful, and helpful, and his message about the "oness" of marriage, how God looks at marriage, and how couples ought to view each other is superb.
Customer Reviews:
"The God of Love his eyes upon me cast ...".......2004-03-08
This review relates to the volume -Geoffrey Chaucer:
Love Visions/The Book of the Duchess; The House of
Fame; The Parliament of Birds; The Legend of Good
Women-, Penguin Classics, Translated with an Introduction
and Notes by Brian Stone. 1983. 262 pp.
This volume is a modern English translation of Geoffrey
Chaucer's four "love visions." As Brian Stone says in
the Introduction: "The four long poems presented in
translation span nearly the whole of Chaucer's working
life. *** Chaucer was the fourteenth-century [Middle]
English poet who, basing his work on that of his French
and Italian peers and also, like them, on the work of
the classical and late Latin poets, created highly
original narrative poems, with a skill in story-telling
in which he equalled , if not surpassed his masters.
Ovid, whose outlook on women and sense of the great
variety of life including the absurd, make him of the
ancients most akin to Chaucer, may beat him for
sensuousness and richness of detail, and Virgil and
Dante for high seriousness and epic scope, but Chaucer
offers a subtle humour which enhances the seriousness
and complexity of what he has to say, as well as a
kaleidoscopic range of tone and subject matter."
Each of the four poems has an excellent Introduction.
The four poems are: "The Book of the Duchess"; "The
Book of Fame" (which is subdivded into 3 Books); "The
Parliament of Birds [Fowles]" (the shortest of the
poems); and "The Legend of Good Women", which has
a Prologue; then meeting of Chaucer with an angry
God Of Love who threatens to take revenge on Chaucer
for writing poorly about the powers of Love, and
causing wise people to withdraw from Love's rule,
thinking that "a person is a perfect fool/Who loves
intensely with a burning fire." Then Queen
Alcestis intervenes on Chaucer's behalf and tells
the God of Love to be "more reasonable" (a lovely
bit of irony). Chaucer has offended the God of
Love by his translation of -The Romance of the
Rose-, and his writing of the poem of -Troilus
and Criseyde- in which he portrayed love and
women in a poor light. In compensation, Chaucer
awakens from his dream concerning this meeting
with the God of Love and Alcestis and begins his
"Legend of Good Women", which is subdivided into the
sections titled: "The Legend of Cleopatra, Queen
of Egypt, Martyr"; "The Legend of Babylonian Thisbe,
Martyr"; "The Legend of Dido, Queen of Carthage,
Martyr"; "The Legends of Hypsipyle and Medea,
Martyrs"; "The Legend of Roman Lucrece, Martyr";
"The Legend of Ariadne of Athens"; "The Legend of
Philomela"; "The Legend of Phyllis"; "The Legend of
Hypermnestra." There are excellent Notes from page
233 253, a Select Bibliography, and an Index of
Proper Names.
These works are very accessible and highly enjoyable
and insightful. For many who might "pass up" on
Chaucer because of the "Middle English difficulty,"
this volume will soothe all your fears and delight
your intelligence and your sensibilities. For these
Modern English translations are excellent, and are
in poetic format [not prose], but they are not
stilted or hard to understand.
-- Robert Kilgore.
Customer Reviews:
the unveiling of women.......2000-11-15
If you are interested in womens role in art and science then this book is definitely for you. This book is hard to put down as each essay involves you in an articulate vision of how women were involved in dissection, wax modelling etc in the eighteen and nineteeth century.It explains how acts of violence were (and still today) are acted upon womens body to find the truth about science for doctors and scientists knowledge. Also about the unveiling of women and how this involves man and the scientific field.
Customer Reviews:
The truth about love.......2007-05-25
This book really speaks to me and makes sense. I find it both inspiring and uplifting and when I needed a reminder about what loving someone is really about, it is the book I turn to. Great affirmations and true wisdom. It is a book I would highly recommend. I love It!
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- Black Dog Opera Library Deluxe Box Set (Black Dog Opera Library)
- Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality
- Booking, Promoting and Marketing Your Music: A Complete Guide for Bands and Solo Artists (Mix Pro Audio Series)
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