'I have plucked the finest flowers of the unmown meadow and worked them into a row which I now offer to you', wrote John Moschos as he began his tales of the holy men of seventh-century Palestine and Egypt. This translation offers readers contemporary insights into the spirituality of the desert.

John Moschos' Spiritual Meadow is one of the most important sources for late sixth-early seventh century Palestinian, Syrian and Egyptian monasticism. This undisputedly invaluable collection of beneficial tales provides contemporary society with a fuller picture of an imperfect social history of this period: it is a rich source for understanding not only the piety of the monk but also the poor farmer. Brenda Llewellyn Ihssen fills a lacuna in classical monastic secondary literature by highlighting Moschos' unique contribution to the way in which a fertile Christian theology informed the ethics of not only those serving at the altar but also those being served. Introducing appropriate historical and theological background to the tales, Llewellyn Ihssen demonstrates how Moschos' tales addresses issues of the autonomy of individual ascetics and lay persons in relationship with authority figures. Economic practices, health care, death and burials of lay persons and ascetics are examined for the theology and history that they obscure and reveal. Whilst teaching us about the complicated relationships between personal agency and divine intercession, Moschos’ tales can also be seen to reveal liminal boundaries we know existed between the secular and the religious.

A guide to self-realization and reattunement with nature that utilizes the ancient shamanic wisdom of cultures from around the world • Focuses on the development of grounded spirituality based on the connections indigenous traditions have with nature • Contains 33 hands-on experiential exercises and 50 shamanic meditations • Written by the author of Earth Medicine and Shamanic Experience Those of us who live in the so-called “advanced” modern world have been educated to use our minds and encouraged to satisfy our physical needs. But in so doing, we have become isolated from the very essence of our existence as individuals--our own spirit. In Shamanic Spirit Kenneth Meadows introduces Shamanics, his spiritual science of living, which recognizes the primacy of the spirit and acknowledges that spirit is inherent in all living beings and life forms. Shamanics is a practical way of becoming aware of our multi-dimensional reality and using that awareness to cultivate and refine the spirit within. Using the symbolic structure of the Medicine Wheel--which helps us establish a sense of direction, extend perception, and examine relationships--Meadows presents 33 hands-on experiential exercises that help readers discover the truth about themselves. His approach also draws upon and integrates universal shamanic concepts from such regions as the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India, China, and Polynesia to show readers how to release their dormant potentials, generate creativity, and meet the challenges of their lives with confidence and self-assurance.

In the spring of A.D. 587, John Moschos and his pupil Sophronius the Sophist embarked on a remarkable expedition across the entire Byzantine world, traveling from the shores of Bosphorus to the sand dunes of Egypt. Using Moschos’s writings as his guide and inspiration, the acclaimed travel writer William Dalrymple retraces the footsteps of these two monks, providing along the way a moving elegy to the slowly dying civilization of Eastern Christianity and to the people who are struggling to keep its flame alive. The result is Dalrymple’s unsurpassed masterpiece: a beautifully written travelogue, at once rich and scholarly, moving and courageous, overflowing with vivid characters and hugely topical insights into the history, spirituality and the fractured politics of the Middle East.

This book is a must for everyone who has thought at some time I must have lost my faith, or My faith is not what it should be. It is for all those who blame themselves for being unable to feel certian about the religious opinions given them as a necessary beliefs to hold. It is also for those who are concerned about the faith is a choice, often with difficult features, and never a thing: but a living process. Anyone interested in exploring this deeply personal and valued-laden aspect of life will find ideas to ponder and fresh understandings to consider.

Align Your Creative Energy with Nature’s “Everything we know about creating,” writes Tina Welling, “we know intuitively from the natural world.” In Writing Wild, Welling details a three-step “Spirit Walk” process for inviting nature to enliven and inspire our creativity.

An American Library Association Notable Book In discrete disclosures joined with the intricacy of a spider's web, James Galvin depicts the hundred-year history of a meadow in the arid mountains of the Colorado/Wyoming border. Galvin describes the seasons, the weather, the wildlife, and the few people who do not possess but are themselves possessed by this terrain. In so doing he reveals an experience that is part of our heritage and mythology. For Lyle, Ray, Clara, and App, the struggle to survive on an independent family ranch is a series of blameless failures and unacclaimed successes that illuminate the Western character. The Meadow evokes a sense of place that can be achieved only by someone who knows it intimately.