Coleman Barks has played a central role in making the Sufi mystic Rumi the most popular poet in the world. A Year with Rumi brings together 365 of Barks's elegant and beautiful translations of Rumi's greatest poems, including fifteen never-before-published poems. Barks includes an Introduction that sets Rumi in his context and an Afterword musing on poetry of the mysterious and the sacred. Join Coleman Barks and Rumi for a year-long journey into the mystical and sacred within and without. Join them in recognizing and embracing the divine in the sublime, in the ordinary, and in us all.

The Restorative Nature of Ongoing Connections with the Deceased is a guide to stimulating thought and discussion about ongoing attachments between bereaved individuals and their deceased loved ones. Chapters promote broad, inclusive training and dialogue for working with clients who establish and/or maintain a restorative connection with their deceased loved one as well as those who find aspects of such connections to be psychologically or spiritually problematic or troublesome. Bereavement professionals will come away from this book with a better understanding and a deeper skillset for helping clients to develop continuing bonds.

The way we talk to ourselves is often unkind and filled with self-judgments. These overly harsh self-criticisms can make us feel unworthy and incomplete. What if what you really need is not higher standards for yourself, but greater self-compassion? In Living with Your Heart Wide Open, you’ll discover how mindfulness and self-compassion can free you from the thoughts and beliefs that create feelings of inadequacy and learn to open your heart to the loving-kindness within you and in the world around you. Based in Western psychotherapy and Buddhist psychological principles, this book guides you past painful and self-limiting beliefs about yourself and toward a new perspective of nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of who you are, just as you are. You’ll receive gentle guidance in mindfulness and compassion practices that will lead you away from unproductive, self-critical thoughts and help you live more freely and fearlessly, with your heart wide open.

Desire a book to cozy up with by a wintery window? How about an addictive page-turner for sunbathing on the beach? Thousands of new books are published each year, and if you're a book lover or just book curious choosing what to read next can seem like an impossible task. A Year of Reading relieves the anxiety by helping you find just the right read, and includes fun and interactive subcategories for each choice, including: • Description and history • Extra credit • Did You Know? • Have You Seen the Film? • and more! A Year of Reading also gives advice and tips on how to join or start a book group, and where to look for other reading recommendations. Perfect for clubs or passionate individuals, this beautiful and concise second edition is the essential guide to picking up your next inspiring, entertaining, and thought-provoking book.

Examines the impact of Persian poetry in the work of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Emerson in Iran is the first full-length study of Persian influence in the work of the seminal American poet, philosopher, and translator, Ralph Waldo Emerson. Extending the current trend in transnational studies back to the figural origins of both the United States and Iran, Roger Sedarat’s insightful comparative readings of Platonism and Sufi mysticism reveal how Emerson managed to reconcile through verse two countries so seemingly different in religion and philosophy. By tracking various rhetorical strategies through a close interrogation of Emerson’s own writings on language and literary appropriation, Sedarat exposes the development of a latent but considerable translation theory in the American literary tradition. He further shows how generative Persian poetry becomes during Emerson’s nineteenth century, and how such formative effects continue to influence contemporary American poetry and verse translation. “This is the book, on this subject, I have been waiting for. Indeed, Sedarat goes further than satisfying curiosity about familiar but undertheorized figures, texts, and traditions, he also reveals ones that I didn’t know I should know and care about. His prose is at once lucid and learned. He manages, with great tact and insight, to move from poet to poet, poem to poem, line to line, across time and tradition, so that the reader remains oriented to the idea at hand, and, moreover, capable of grasping its relevance to the project and its broader significance for our thinking about the legacy of Emerson’s writing and thought.” — David LaRocca, author of Emerson’s English Traits and the Natural History of Metaphor

"We are created in rhythm, kept alive in rhythm, evolve through rhythm. Tides, breath, and blood flow in rhythm. We are born into a universe of currents, and our heart is the great conductor of the body, orchestrating our flow." The mystical foundations of all the world's spiritual paths meet in a single, sacred place: the heart of the seeker. We have reached a time when scientific understanding mirrors the teachings of the great wisdom traditions in revealing our energetic heart as the light of consciousness, the fire of love, a field of intelligence. Tending the Heart Fire, the first book by pioneering yogini Shiva Rea, is an invitation to embody our extraordinary potential at this turning point in time, to reconnect your life to the rhythms of your body and the natural world—to live in flow with the pulse of life. Weaving together wisdom from the great world traditions—including yoga, Ayurveda, Tantra, and modern science—Shiva presents an essential resource for becoming a firekeeper of the sacred heart. This diverse treasury is filled with mediations, life guidance, seasonal rituals, and daily practices, including: Insights for harmonizing with the sacred junctures of time—the daily, weekly, lunar, and solar cycles of manifestation and renewal Aligning with the seasons—how to adapt your diet, exercise, and yoga rhythms throughout the annual cycle Ways to honor the great sacred holidays, rites, and festivals Awakening of sahaja—the natural flow at the origins and source of yoga asana and sacred embodiment at the heart of yoga and Tantra Skills for tending your inner fire in every aspect of life and healing imbalances that can support a renewable energy lifestyle A visual teaching with over a hundred full-color images, including reference charts, diagrams, illustrations, and ancient poetry for inspiration The legacy of the Heart Fire is more than eight hundred thousand years old—and in our modern world, we need more than ever to consciously reconnect to the radiant field that transcends time, space, and culture. "The direct awakening of the heart often happens when we are at a crisis point, when the armor of our heart has to crack," writes Shiva Rea. "Let us return to the power and magnificence of our hearts—as living fire, as intelligent energy and electromagnetic radiance, and as our illuminating guide toward love, creativity, and deep knowing of our true sacred nature."

The definitive study of the world's bestselling poet Drawing on a vast array of sources, from writings of the poet himself to the latest scholarly literature, this new anniversary edition of the award-winning work examines the background, the legacy, and the continuing significance of Jalâl al-Din Rumi, today’s bestselling poet in the United States. With new translations of over fifty of Rumi’s poems and including never before seen prose, this landmark study celebrates the astounding appeal of Rumi, still as strong as ever, 800 years after his birth.

In Three Mystics Walk into a Tavern, Jalal ad-Din Rumi, Moses de León, and Meister Eckhart—three of the greatest mystics of all time—meet in Venice for an imaginary night-long conversation that will inspire everyday individuals of the twenty-first century to find their own spirituality and realize that everyone can be a mystic. Although the mystics came from different backgrounds and religious traditions (Islam, Judaism, and Christianity), their spiritual paths led them to similar understandings of a union with the Divine. The three mystics have a timeless and timely message for people who walk the earth eight centuries after they did, no matter an individual’s religious background or even if they have none. It is a message of connecting with the “divine spark” deep within us and within the universe.

A guide to healing from trauma and crisis though the transformative potential of creative visualization techniques. Tapping into the heart's wisdom through creative visualization is an ancient practice, but today guided imagery is used as an adjunct to conventional medical therapies for health issues ranging from cancer and heart disease to post-traumatic stress disorder and addiction. This inspiring guide provides contemporary techniques for using it to transform moments of pain, emotional turmoil, and interpersonal conflict into opportunities for growth and self-realization.

Offering readers an engaging, accessible, and balanced account of the contributions of American Muslims to the contemporary United States, this important book serves to clarify misrepresentations and misunderstandings regarding Muslim Americans and Islam. • Identifies the contributions of Muslims to American fiction, poetry, music, food, architecture, and other cultural forms to document the breadth of their contributions • Highlights the ways in which Muslims have been, and continue to be, routinely depicted negatively in American literature, film, and religious discourse, and documents the potential effects that such depictions can have on individual Muslims and their communities • Offers readers useful tools that allow them to apply a critical eye to the representations of Muslims in the news

I STAND AT THE FOOTHILL, ENORMITY REIGNS MY FEARS. MIGHTY IT LOOKS TO THE EYES, THE LAYERS OF MY TEARS. COME TO ME IN SWEET SURRENDER, OPEN LIKE THE LOTUS BLOOM. FITTING LIKE THE HAND IN GLOVE, HEART TO HEART REVERE. FIELDS OF FLUORESCENT BLOOMING PETALS, SWEET FRAGRANCE PLAYS MY SENSES. SERENE THE SHEATH OF BALMY WINDS, ETERNAL LOVE AND UNION. LIFE CHANGES LIKE THE COLOR OF THE SKY, SHY FROM THE RAYS OF THE MORNING SUN. SUBTLE GRAY FROM THE DARKEST NIGHT, SOOTHING LIGHT AS THE SUN GETS BOLD. SPREADING DEEP BLOOMS OF ORANGE, FLAMING SKIES REACHING FAR AND WIDE . EMERGING SPIRIT BEINGS OF GAIETY, NO MORE HIDDEN IN THE DEPTHS OF IGNORANCE. RISING FROM THE FOLDS OF SLUMBER, LEADING THE WAY TO ILLUMINATION. SEEKER WITHIN AND SEEKER WITHOUT, THE QUEST FOR EVERLASTING TRUTH. LIVING IN THE RHYTHM OF FLOW AND KNOWING, EACH MOMENT UNFOLDS IN LOVE. BEING THE SHORE OF SANDY SMOOTHNESS, THE ROCK STANDING IN PEACE.

Winner of the Nautilus Awards 2020 in Gold: Gift & Specialty Vivid translations by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Omid Safi, Meher Baba, and others combine with Michael and Saliha Green's stunning illustrations to bring the immortal poetry of the great Persian master Hafiz to life “There is this matter of the light in my eyes. If you want to know the Friend, don’t expect elegant arguments! Demand a blessing from one who gives you joy.” —Hafiz (tr. Barks) “Hafiz is without peer!” exclaimed Goethe. Known as “The Tongue of the Hidden Mysteries,” Shams al-Din Muhammad Hafiz of Shiraz is the most revered of Persian poets. When the Sun of Infinite Reality dawned in his being, he poured forth mystic verse so sublime it touched the hearts of kings and commoners alike. Hafiz’s poems of intimate divine love spread through the East in his lifetime, then into the West, influencing such luminaries as Emerson, Brahms, Queen Victoria, Nietzsche, and Garcia Lorca. Today, nearly 700 years after his death, the unmatched genius and bold wit of Hafiz continues to ignite hearts and intoxicate souls everywhere. The Illuminated Hafiz brings together vivid translations by Coleman Barks, Robert Bly, Omid Safi, Meher Baba, Peter Booth, and others with the luminous art of Michael and Saliha Green, weaving them into a stunning contemporary presentation in the tradition of classical Persian illuminated manuscripts and unveiling the mysteries of the path of love. Come, raise a cup! Join with Hafiz and his incomparable love poems in a holy revel on the journey into light.