From the beloved British novelist, “a love story that’s simply, grandly, satisfying” (Kirkus Reviews). While traveling home to London, divorcé Sylvester Wykes witnesses a most unusual event: A woman leaps off a locomotive to rescue a sheep in distress. The mystery woman disappears, but Wykes cannot get her out of his head—and is soon caught up in the kind of romance he never thought he’d have again. Ever since losing her husband and child in one catastrophic night, Julia Piper has been consumed by guilt and loneliness. Her neighbors find her a bit odd—and after her daring attempt to save a sheep, she must somewhat agree. But as she strives to piece herself back together while taking on a job tending house for an enigmatic man, she comes to realize that perhaps her chance at finding happiness is not yet out of reach. “Wesley’s dialogue still comes bouncing off the page” in this charming, cynically romantic novel about the emotions, frailties, and desires that drive us, and the search for that one person who can make us whole (Publishers Weekly). “A complex, multilayered, love story . . . vintage Wesley.” —Kirkus Reviews

"Michael's stories have the same combination of clarity and intuitive richness as his music. A fine, contemplative guide to the artist's dedicated life." David Whyte poet, lecturer author of The Heart Aroused and Crossing the Unknown Sea Michael Jones' inspiring and award winning book about his life at the piano offers many rich insights to help the reader find this story for themselves. "Who will play your music if you don't?" He asks. "What is emerging at the periphery of your awareness now? When do you feel that you are fully living your own 'signature in creation' - a place to which you often long to return?" Too often we focus on building our careers, based upon an identity crafted from our trained skills and abilities - an identity that does not accurately reflect our primary strengths, wants or needs. Michael suggests an alternative - through personal narratives that burst with wonder and magic - he offers vivid portrayals of how, through seemingly ordinary people and events, we can discover clues for living a fulfilling and imaginative life. Each story builds upon another as Michael reveals his journey toward creating a life that feels whole and complete. Throughout he offers others an invitation to reconnect with the essence of who they truly are. To begin he suggests that we learn to trust that there is a dimension of life behind life, one that lives through us and brings with it a renewed sense of dignity and grace each time we do what we love, feel what we feel and simply be ourselves. Virtually every page of this truly beautiful book provides wise and wonderful clues for allowing the creative impulse within us to emerge. Throw out your books of creativity exercises and read this book instead!

How do people make sense of their experiences? How do they understand possibility? How do they limit possibility? These questions are central to all the human sciences. Here, Vincent Crapanzano offers a powerfully creative new way to think about human experience: the notion of imaginative horizons. For Crapanzano, imaginative horizons are the blurry boundaries that separate the here and now from what lies beyond, in time and space. These horizons, he argues, deeply influence both how we experience our lives and how we interpret those experiences, and here sets himself the task of exploring the roles that creativity and imagination play in our experience of the world.

How do we help our kids connect with God? Most parents want their kids to learn to love God. But most of us struggle to facilitate real spiritual experiences. It's hard enough to have a meaningful conversation with our kids about spiritual things, let alone help them experience true transformation in the presence of God. Jared Patrick Boyd discovered that children's spiritual formation is rooted in the imagination. When we lead our children through guided times of imaginative prayer, they can experience a connection with God that transcends mere Bible knowledge or doctrinal content. This unique resource provides six units of weekly guided imaginative prayer, themed around core topics: God's love, loving others, forgiveness, God as king, the good news of God, and the mission of God. Each unit has six sessions, providing a yearlong experience of spiritual formation for children ages five to thirteen. Through imaginative prayer, you can help your child connect with God. As you do so, you may find yourself connecting more closely with your child, and your own formation as a parent will deepen into greater awareness of God's work in your lives.

There is no end of talk and of wondering about 'art' and 'the arts.' This book examines a number of questions about the arts (broadly defined to include all of the arts). Some of these questions come from philosophy. Examples include: · What makes something art? · Can anything be art? · Do we experience "real" emotions from the arts? · Why do we seek out and even cherish sorrow and fear from art when we go out of our way to avoid these very emotions in real life? · How do we decide what is good art? Do aesthetic judgments have any objective truth value? · Why do we devalue fakes even if we -- indeed, even the experts--- can't tell them apart from originals? · Does fiction enhance our empathy and understanding of others? Is art-making therapeutic? Others are "common sense" questions that laypersons wonder about. Examples include: · Does learning to play music raise a child's IQ? · Is modern art something my kid could do? · Is talent a matter of nature or nurture? This book examines puzzles about the arts wherever their provenance - as long as there is empirical research using the methods of social science (interviews, experimentation, data collection, statistical analysis) that can shed light on these questions. The examined research reveals how ordinary people think about these questions, and why they think the way they do - an inquiry referred to as intuitive aesthetics. The book shows how psychological research on the arts has shed light on and often offered surprising answers to such questions.

This concise guide aims to increase what we understand by innovation in the arts and identify and support opportunities and strategies for the unique ways in which artists and arts administrators think about, engage in, and pursue successful innovation in their diverse creative practice. Innovations in the Arts are often marginalised from a research perspective, in part because of the lack of a sound and compelling theoretical framework to support and explain process distinctions from business and management innovation. This book identifies three key concepts - art innovation, art movement innovation, and audience experience innovation - supported by formal theory for each concept presented and evidenced through case studies in art history. In this way, the book enables readers to identify, explain, and support their innovation efforts as visual, literary, and performing artists and arts administrators. It also explores strategies for pursuing innovation in practice. Drawing attention to the unique ways in which artists and arts administrators think about and engage in innovation, this readable book will be an essential reading for students in all aspects of the creative and cultural industries and an essential guide to developing and promoting innovation in the arts for practitioners and researchers alike.

The Oxford Handbook of the Philosophy of Consciousness provides the most comprehensive overview of current philosophical research on consciousness. Featuring contributions from some of the most prominent experts in the field, it explores the wide range of types of consciousness there may be, the many psychological phenomena with which consciousness interacts, and the various views concerning the ultimate relationship between consciousness and physical reality. It is an essential and authoritative resource for anyone working in philosophy of mind or interested in states of consciousness.