In America, we live in a fast-paced, self-indulgent society of pleasure-seeking people who predicate their lifestyles on consumer-oriented and materialistic notions. Influenced by this world around us, our hearts may become faithless, dishonest, deceptive, distressed, and, at times, evil. Hence, our hearts become damaged. However, in the quiet of our solitude, we can deeply reflect on how to become devout and pious as we awaken the pure heart. In Awaken the Pure Heart, author Tallal Alie Turfe explains that while the heart pumps blood through the network of arteries and veins called the cardiovascular system, it is also the spiritual control center of lifethe very center of our existence, and the very essence of who we are. The heart is the center of the soul. It is the seat of our emotional intelligence, intention, and desires, and it is the point of our personal contact with God as He judges. By looking to the Quran as a healing source and by slowing down and reflecting in solitude through prayer and supplication, we too can restore our hearts and the hearts of others. The heart is more than the most important organ in the human body. It is also the quintessence of our spiritual and emotional well-being. Acceptance causes the heart to be elated or jubilant, while rejection causes the heart to be saddened or troubled. Thus, by listening to our hearts, we can discover how to embrace its purity and live with virtue in the modern world.

Grade level: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, p, e, i, s, t.

I have always loved him. Though that love has evolved, metamorphosed, transmuted over time (and sometimes it felt a little—maybe a lot—like hate), what hasn’t ever changed is that I love him. But I didn’t comprehend the depth of my love, the teeth and claws and desperate prayers of my love, until six hours ago: They say he’s missing… The Royal Zodiac—me and my inner circle—hasn’t been complete these past two years since the attack. Every time we get close to a potential candidate to recruit into our ranks, they disappear, the most likely scenario being that Medusa and her minions got to them first. And now she has Dalair. I won’t rest until I get him back. My name is Sophia Victoria St. James. I am Queen of the Pure Ones. This is my Awakening.

Find Your Way to Greater Closeness with God Jeff Deyo invites you into a conversation about worship in a book that was written for anyone seeking to experience the Lord in a deeper way. Does Gods presence seem distant? Do you have a friend who has grown numb to the things of God? Have you given up on hearing Gods voice in the way so many authors and preachers talk about? Are you ready to awaken your life to a vibrant, one-on-one relationship with the Father once and for all? This is your moment. Your hope is about to be restored as you consider these questions and more: Are we truly present in Gods presence? Do we encounter songs, artists, and atmospheres without encountering God Himself? What do we do when we lose the emotion that often surrounds worshiping God? Why are so many of us tempted to put ministry for God above intimacy with God? Are we unintentionally worshiping the image of a false god when we cherry-pick easy-to-swallow scriptures about Gods character? Can the good work of serving the poor and moving in the supernatural cause us to miss the one thing? Do we allow potential embarrassment to keep us from loving and worshiping God extravagantly? Shift your perspective on relationship with God from obligation to invitation and rediscover authentic worship that reaches from the secret place to the marketplace.

A key Dzogchen text—available together with its Tibetan commentaries, including from the fifteenth Karmapa—from a preeminent translator. The Aspiration Prayer of Samantabhadra, one of the most famous and often-recited Dzogchen texts, is at once an entreaty by the primordial buddha, Samantabhadra, that all sentient beings recognize the nature of their minds and thus become buddhas, and also a wake-up call by our own buddha nature itself. This monumental text outlines the profound view of Dzogchen in a nutshell and, at the same time, provides clear instructions on how to discover the wisdom of a buddha in the very midst of afflictions. In this volume, Karl Brunnhölzl offers translations of three versions of the Aspiration Prayer and accompanies them with translations of the commentaries by Jigmé Lingpa, the Fifteenth Karmapa, and Tsültrim Sangpo. He offers further contextualization with his rich annotation and appendices, which include additional translation from Jigmé Lingpa, Longchenpa, and Patrul Rinpoche. This comprehensive, comprehensible book illuminates this profound text and greatly furthers our understanding of Dzogchen—and of our own nature.