Spirituality Books

There are other good reviews here that discuss why this book is so good. I will only add what they didn't cover.

My favorite part of the book was when the authors covered cultural and sociological issues, such as retention and attendance rate. For example, did you know that Mormon attendance on Sundays in the USA/Canada is only about 50%? I was really surprised by that. For some reason I thought it would be a little bit higher. (In the USA/Canada, weekly attendance is about 83 to 87 percent for English Jehovah's Witness congregations. The attendance is higher for foreign language congregations in those countries. Jehovah's Witnesses are frequently mistaken for Mormons and vice versa.) The book, "Leaving the Fold", written by a Mormon, sheds some light on the situation.

They joked about Mormon parents buying their kids cars so that the young men would become missionaries, but that the Mormon church is now stricter about getting "worthy" candidates for missionary service. Although I knew that young single women can also become missionaries, I didn't know that some retired Mormon couples also serve as missionaries.

My interest in the Mormon religion stems from the fact that I've been mistaken as one. I'm actually one of Jehovah's Witnesses now and I would never become Mormon. I simply disagree with their theological beliefs and teachings about the Bible.

For example, the authors admit that Joseph Smith made corrections to the King James Version of the Bible and gave some examples where this occurs. They explained that their version of the KJV Bible is the only accepted one by the Mormon church authorities but that they didn't know why the LDS honchos don't accept modern day translations that are based on modern day discoveries of older parchments and scrolls. I'm referring in particular to the Dead Sea Scrolls. All the authors say is that the modern day Bible translations are not acceptable to the LDS church honchos. To my ears, this sounds like a convenient way for the Mormons to keep saying "we believe the Bible only as far as it's been accurately translated." For example, many mainstream Christians, while acknowledging the beautiful language of the archaic English used in the KJV Bible, prefer using a modern English Bible that is based on older and more accurate scrolls/parchments. That's why they printed the New King James Version of the Bible.

The old KJV Bible was printed in the year 1611 CE. Since then, many more ancient Bible scrolls/parchments have been discovered that correct the flaws in this version of the Bible. It will be interesting to see if other ancient parchments will come to light in the near future.

At any rate, this book is excellent for anyone who wants a reasonably comprehensive view of the biggest Mormon sect from a devout Mormon point of view.

I am not Mormon but I wanted to learn as much as I could about the LDS faith in as short a period of time as possilbe. I read the book in two days and found the information I was looking for. It is an excellent introduction to a truly great faith. The lifestyle is too restrictive for me but I can see the benefit and reasoning behind it. My only real complaints about LDS beliefs is the churchs positon on breeding and tithing 10%. Over population is a serious problem and it does not help the environment for people to have seven, eight or nine children even if they can afford it. But I really like the LDS emphasis on family and family values. I support Mitt Romney as President and will gladly argue with anyone that his faith is not a reason to vote against him. This book has given me some useful knowlege to use in support of that cause.

As a non-Mormon (with no intention of converting) who used to live in La Jolla, California, I became curious about Mormonism after passing the La Jolla Temple everyday on my way to work. The fact that I was forbidden to go inside made it that much more intriguing. I have had Mormon colleagues, Mormon friends-of-friends, but never anyone to actually tell me what Mormonism is all about and why I should be interested. I bought this book with a little fear and trepidation (what if it makes me want to convert???). My fear was completely unfounded. "Mormonism for Dummies" gives a relatively unbiased view of Mormonism in a pleasant, often funny text. I now have more compassion for Mormons (although I still do not want to convert) and a more thorough understanding of what they believe. I highly recommend this book for Christians. I am buying a copy of it for my brother for Christmas.

We recently were relocated through my husbands employer to Salt Lake City. And I'd known a few mormons. However, I was warned it was "different" down there in Utah. SO I got this book to help me understand a bit. Glad I did. For basic information, this book seems to be very informative. It doesn't have everything (how can it?) The glossary of terms was great. Whenever we'd hear something, we'd immediately look it up. They have a section in there about how a typical Sunday service is held - information which was of no use to us. There is a lot of the history of the religon.

If you're moving to SLC, this is an indispensible tool.

I kept hearing on TV that surveys show a lot of people were saying they would not vote for a Mormon for President. Since the Constitution says "no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States," I wondered what in Mormonism could be so extreme that it would cause a large number of people to abandon one of the basic moral principles of our nation and create a religious test for public office.

I read the book from cover to cover. Apparently the religion is less sadistic than many of the world's mainstream religions. I could find nothing that precludes a president being a member of that church, although churchly duties take a lot of time and might interfere. There are extremists in any religion, but my impression from the book is that Mormonism has fewer than most. In choosing a president, Americans have prefered one that puts his country over his religion.

(In the interest of disclosure, I disagree with most of the political views of many Mormons, but the religion doesn't seem to preclude public office and seems, on the whole, to be better than most.)

The book bogs down a bit when it gets to church organization, but that might be because I was more interested in the philosophy than in the structure. I gave it only 4 stars because I got bored near the end.

I highly recommend all Adam's books for everybody who wants to take charge of their own life and it's quality. Adam's books guide you how to awaken you innate powers to heal yourself and others. They can save you tons of money on medical bills and side effects that conventional medicine brings with its treatments. Adam's stuff works! I use it on myself and on my love ones. It works long distance as well (thousands of miles from the subject).

I have been to Adam's weekend intensive seminar and he is "the real deal!" He is genuine, honest, and friendly. I have read all his books and highly recommend his seminars and books to anyone interested in alternative health or anyone with chronic illness.

I've read several negative blogs trashing Adam and am wondering what's the big deal? After reading this book I came to believe that we truly all can heal (ourselves & others), I learned tools that resonated with me, and I tried them and they worked ... for me. This book opened up a whole new world to me and I'm left mystified why someone would trash a person and method that when employed only has positive results? Finally someone in the healing arts comes forward and freely shares the nuts & bolts "how to" of what works for him (and can work for us) & seeks to empower others, not glorify himself or say his is the only modality that works. I love to learn new methods of energy healing but get tired of books leading me to believe they will show me how, yet at their conclusion find I have to sign up for an expensive weekend retreat or series of training classes. I don't want to make a career of this, I have other interests, but I'd like to do my part to help heal our planet and this book greatly empowered my belief that I can make a difference.

This is probably the most comprehensive of Adam's books. Ancient wisdom from such a young man. There is much of value in this book and I would highly recommend it for anyone who works with energy.

The Path of the Dreamhealer is not just remarkably well written, it turns out to be a very penetrating account of the human spirit in relationship to the cosmic whole. Adam guides us with precision ease through the Creation, how our body, mind and spirit integrate into all that is in such an easy to read and grasp format. Its illustrations well enhance the effectiveness of the processes outlined in the book.Though I am aware of other critics' counterclaims on Adam's healing technigues, I agree with Adam that there are no miracles involved here, rather a knowing more of your Self involved here. It is only due to ignorance that things appear or seem miraculous. Adam's honest and refreshing advice has been for everyone to practice, practice, practice! Ability is involved and naturally needs to be cultivated through diligent exercise, which includes feeling your tai chi energy ball, seeking auras, and forming imaginative visualisation skill with the help of the colorful illustrations included. I have come to the conclusion that this outstanding literary offering is an invitation to transcend many of our current healing practices , from psychoanalysis to reiki, without any mind numbing intellectual jargon. More astounding is the realization that this is the work of an extraordinarily bright and gifted teenager. I am giving this book a second readthrough and give it 5 stars.
Charles Wildbank
P.S. After this review was written, I have had the pleasure of meeting Adam at one of his workshops in Toronto. It was well attended, about 500 people. Two healing sessions were given by Adam to entire room. Though I am deaf, I was able to feel the effects of his intention throughout the brief sessions. Most likely, everyone would yield different results or experiences compared to each other, but what I felt was a type of white noise vibration as if my ears would pop. I did have a persistent health issue present, a problem with rotating one of my shoulders as it was painful. Though no healing claims were promised by Adam, I did go through a gradual recovery within a week. The book explains everything.

A very good guide if you are going to Italy, and want to venerate the Italian saints during your holiday.

I just purchased this book and already I'm using it to plan our next trip. The information on how to find the pilgrimage sites, hours, lodging, etc, are thorough and helpful. But more than that, I really enjoy the information on the lives of the saints. If you can't make it to Italy, you can use the book to make a pilgrimage at home by finding a quiet spot and journeying with these saints toward a stronger faith in God. I highly recommend this book.

In 2004 I took a trip to Italy. My intent was to seek out places of high spiritual vibration (due to the historical presence of saints) and to meditate in those places. The Pilgrim's Italy was invaluable in carrying out this vision. Many of the places I visited were off the beaten track and accessible and authentic beyond my imaginings (especially the hermitages associated with St. Francis, about an hour outside Rome). My spiritual life was transformed by my meditations in Italy, and I am forever grateful to the authors for their informative guidance.

We traveled for a month in Italy and it was wonderful to have this book at our side. Suddenly we would find ourselves in a new area and look up the region in the book, only to find yet another saint we might visit! It is said that you can't hardly throw a rock and not hit a saint in Italy, so one could not possibly expect the book to contain them all. But it is wonderfully researched and leads you to even some back and sleepy places in search of inspiration. I remember taking a side journey on the Amalfi coast in search of one of the saints, which resulted in a most spectacular diversion to our otherwise calculated plans, a wonderful surprise worth finding. I recommend the book if you are interested in finding even some of the magnificent inspiration available in Italy.

We just spent 3 weeks in the Assisi area of Italy in May 2007. The book, The Pilgrim's Italy:A Travel Guide to the Saints was invaluable. It quided us to places where we could meditate and pray and go very deep into the vibrations of the saints. It also educated us on the lives of the saints in that area. We felt it gave us an experience that most people are unaware of when traveling to such holy places. Because we read the book prior to the trip and took it with us, we had expections that we could actually experience the presence of the saints and we did. Our expcetations were fulfilled more than we could have imagined. This book is a must for anyone who wants to have a spiritual experince of Italy.

This is a great book about the simplicity of prayer, anytime... anywhere..
Joyce's teaching has impacting me in a great way and this book is solid teaching on prayer.

The chapter on love has answered many questions I had. I am a Christian seeking to be more and more like my Divine Father and this book has helped me. I recommend this book to anyone who is a christian and those who has an open mind to Divine truths and who seek a deep fellowship with God.

I know the title might not sound that juicy. Prayer is not that exciting. Wrong! Read this book if you want to wash away all the garbage you believe about not praying good enough or correctly. Joyce encourages us to identify the originator of all those thoughts and he lives down below. An encouragment to read.

Joyce Meyer has a great way of getting her point across in this book. She is so down to earth and explains things so clearly for everyone to understand. I know how to pray but I have learned so much more from reading this book.
Everyone should spend the time and the money to read this book it will open many doors for you to GOD!!!
Please read it is.... sensational!!!

I really Loved this Book it helped alot.I need a note book for all i learned and want to high light!!recommend greatly!!!

If you are a dormant Christian as I am and are looking to ignite your spiritual life, this is a great book to start with. I accidentally ran in to this book when I needed it most. I could say, I had hit rock bottom, and this book gave me a lift. I am now in a mission of reading all of Joyce Myers books and finding the purpose of my life.

Thank you Joyce!

This is a five star book for guys in and out of recovery. A must read for all Christian men serious about their spiritual future.

Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/R3BWAKYMZ3VMJW It's great to share more words about this book, but the book is about translation from the head to the heard -- to the butt that gets hauled from isolated pain to shared healing, and that gets hauled by other people, real people. I'm one of those broken people, and I'm experiencing the joy of recovery in community. So here's the real me talking about it. ~ Pete Gall, author of My Beautiful Idol

I ordered this book after reading an article in Christianity Today. I expected a book about how men can deal with their personal struggles. What I didn't expect was how brutally honest Nate Larkin is in this book as to his own struggles, and how he found freedom. In this book you will laugh, you will identify, and finally find hope.

Read this book and could not put it down. Nate's got the gift of connecting with nearly everyone. The stories and the lessons will resonate with 90% of the men who read it.

Cannot recommend this higher

As you start this book or read some of the reviews you might think that it is just for folks struggling with "Technicolor sins" - on line porn, substance abuse, infidelity - whatever. You may think that it is really not for you but in reality all sins are Technicolor sins - those listed above as well as addiction to pride, reputation, self-righteousness - are ones that divide us from the Father and from others if we do not recognize them. Pirates helps us call all our sins Technicolor (I won't tell you which ones are mine but they are all fairly acceptable sins at least in ministry circles) and sends us to the Father for forgiveness and help and to other men for help and understanding.

I would recommend this book to all Christian men if you are willing to take an honest look at your heart and your relationships with other men. It calls us to the Father and to community for help and healing

Bhagwan Ramana Maharshi wrote a few short essays [ who am I, upadesa saram, Ulladu Narpadu [Forty verse] in local Tamil language , later translated into English by several authors..He also sang some hymns --all these are found in "Collected works" edited by Arthur Osborne]...Ramana answered numerous questions put to him by hundreds of devotees who met him in Tiruvannamalai [South India] over a period of nearly 40 years [from about 1910 to 1950]more so in later years..[He did not preach or give lectures or talk from a platform].His answers constitute veritable " Spritual instruction' to all...this includes , not only the path of non-duality [Advaita] but also devotional path [Bhakti] ..many authors have superficially written about His methods ...It is wise to read this book and similar ones by Devaraja Mudaliar for clear perception of Ramana maharshi's teachings.Robert Powell has done great service especially to english-reading westerners in this regard.The spiritual wisdom of Ramana Maharshi can be easily gleaned from this work...no further 'teaching' or satsang is required from superficial teachers of Advaita who flood the market with books.

Inner Directions, didn't even bother with an index. Pathetic. Get the original, and indexed, version published by T.N. Venkataraman. I'd give that version 5 stars.

Oh, the book itself? Only one of the greatest spiritual books ever put together. Ramana Maharshi was the 20th century Buddha, and his words of wisdom are must reading for any serious spiritual aspirant.

A number of neo-Advaita "gurus" in recent years--Adyashanti, Andrew Cohen, Gangaji, Ramesh Balsekar, David R. Hawkins, the late Jean Klein, et al--have written books on Self-Realization, but these all pale in comparison to "Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi." The late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj's "I Am That" and Sri H.W.L.Poonja's "The Truth Is" are worth reading, but even these books lack the verticality, or esoteric depth, of Ramana Maharshi's teachings.

If I could, i'd give it 100 stars. I have no words to describe this book. Buy it. Download it from the Net (its available for free on Ramana's website). Buy many copies. Give it to friends who are truly spiritualy minded. Buy other copies. Why?

I could give many reasons: the sheer brilliance of his answers, the keen wits of his arguments, the love, humbleness and peace that flow from this pages like nothing i've seen before. But i'll give none. Someone said in a review above: this book is Rock bottom. Couldn't agree more. Thats the book i'd take to a desert island. For sure! This is it. The real thing.

However, as well pointed by other reviews, its not suitable for everyone. It might be good to start with a smaller one (like "Who Am I?", available for free on Ramana's official website).

You'll either LOVE this book or dislike it, like some previous reviews. Thats ok. Ramana would say: nevermind the others, let them be. Find out who you are. All others will be fine in due course. Brilliant. Truthful. Humble. Rock bottom.

Examples? Just a few:

God? Reply: Forget about God. You exist right here and right now. No one denies that. Find out who you are first, then inquire about God, if you feel inclined to do so.

Siddhis (Occult powers)? Reply: Forget about siddhis. They are all manifestations of the duality, therefore ilusory. Do not seek them. Its imaterial to spiritual realization. Find out who you are.

Help others? Reply: Realize your true Self. Interfere the least possible with the affairs of others and be compassionate. Thats the most effective help, indeed the only true help. The silence of the sages accomplishes more than all the speeches of men.

Yoga and other practices? Reply: They are good as aids to Realization, but not essential. The Self IS always. Can you not exist now? Do you need to do anything to be as you are, to abide in your true nature? Simply turn the mind within and seek your source. Asanas, pranayama, etc, may be left aside. Self-enquiry alone will do.

The guru? Reply: The guru is within. The guru is the Self. This body you call Ramana is not the guru. Do not prostrate before me with your body, but keep the mind in its source. THAT is true prostration.

And right before his death: " They say i'm going to die. But i'm not going anywhere. I am here. Where else could I go?"

If you grasp the depth of these words, then you will know why i took the time to review this book. Thats my only review, and probably the last.

Like many said above: you simply can not go deeper.

Do yourself a HUGE favor and get this book, even if you hate it afterwards. It is well worth the shot.

This is my second purchase of the same book. This is one of the best books that is written about RM. This provides guidance who are looking for guidance, had half-knowledge / misled and ones who are already enriched by the wisdom of RM. It is amazing that RM's thoughts and words were captured by a non-Indian in those times. Anyways, I wish good for all those who read this book.

This is the sort of book that can resolve your every doubt about the essense of Hinduism. Ramana Maharishi is widely acknowledged to be that rare and precious thing - a man who lived continuously in the state which all the Hindu scriptures promise. If you are not convinced of this 'authenticity', even then the book holds great value as his approach to questions is quite unique: he never says 'I have found it to be so, believe me'. Rather, he asks the questioner to examine his own experiences and tells him/her to make conclusions accordingly. Indeed, this book is an invaluable aid to those who take to that short yet exceedingly steep path of jnana yoga.

However, the book itself is a series of talks, chronologically arranged. The questioners dictate the agenda of discussion, and the responses were recorded immediately. Therefore, you cannot expect anything in the way of additional explanation, commentary, or even continuity. It is a transcript of interviews of Ramana Maharishi. But I assure you, after the initial disconcerting effect of reading disjointed discussions, the book is immensely interesting as all those little questions that have been nagging you are asked, and a great many that may not have occurred to you have been too. This includes the perennial questions like 'Who is God?' 'Why creation?' and 'Does Vaikuntha or Kailasa really exist' etc. I was genuinely delighted to see his explanations, which are concise and profound. But be prepared to ponder most responses for a while.

I say serious aspirants, and particularly those with an aptitude for Jnana Yoga should buy this because the stress is on either surrender or jnana. Karma and Bhakti methods are covered too, but you will have to hunt for them. Having said that, some of his tips on devotion and surrender are brilliant! When someone asks whether they will be liberated after they continue the practise of surrendering, he asks whether that is the question of one who has truly surrendered. When others ask about Japam, he says in an aside that people do not really understand the workings of Grace and Japam, and that once Japam is started one should be content to wait for Grace with faith. That is willpower, and that is the steady determination that brings liberation swiftly. These seemingly obvious truths are nevertheless ignored by most devotees.

F. J. Sheed was a brilliant writer. His To Know Christ Jesus, like Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ, is a great help to reading all four Gospels at the same time coherently, for as the author states, they were not written with chronology in mind, therefore the sequence of Gospel events could be confusing at times. Sheed not only guides the reader step by step through Christ's life, but as a friend of Christ (clearly the author was a man of deep prayer) he also makes the reader stop at certain places along the way to help him meditate and bring depth to the reality of Christ and the significance of His actions on Earth. This is truly a masterful spiritual work. I recommend reading it with the Bible open. It will deepen anyone's understanding and knowledge of Christ and give one a keener sense for detail, and one cannot love what one does not know well, hence the importance of this book.

This book provides the best gospel commentary/reflection known to man.

For every gospel story, this book has a thorough look at the passage along with comments on related passages. This book is well-written and easy to read. You can skip from chapter to chapter, or just read from start to finish.

Though it is easy to read, the material is dense. I've re-read this book 3 times and I'm still getting new stuff from it.

There are few books that I will *specifically* require my children to read. This is one of them. (Though I guess I'll have to wait 'til the kids are about 15-16.)

I checked the web site at www.ignatius.com for this item using the ISBN 13: 9780898704198, and the description there is of a paperback book.

The description below is from the Ignatius site
[ ISBN: 9780898704198
Author: Frank Sheed

Length: 399 pages
Edition: Paperback
]

I think that back in 1992 the book was published in hardcover under ISBN 10: 0898704197, but that edition appears not to be available any more.

I am providing this review solely about the edition that is available here rather than about the content of the book. I haven't read the copy I received yet, it was a paperback even though i was expecting a hardcover.

Frank Sheed takes the four Gospels and brings them together masterfully into one volume. Great explanations of the times and customs surrounding the events also. A must read along with Fulton Sheen's Life of Christ.

You should think you know everything about the life of Christ. try to read this book, and you'll see you have lots to learn. I think it is a really interesting book.

I bought Transfigurations and Grey's earlier book Sacred Mirrors at the same time. Both are visually amazing and the print quality is excellent. I especially liked reading about Alex Grey's journey as an artist that is part of Transfigurations. It's not a path I would want to tread, but knowing about his life gives good insight and empathy into the aesthetics of his work. I'm very glad he met with Tibetan culture, which obviously has influenced him greatly, and helped him escape the dark trap of Euro-American nihilist existentialism

Transfigurations is a beautiful book that does an excellent job presenting the work of Alex Grey, one of the most important artists of our times. There is no artist quite like Alex Grey. For many years, I have used this book and an earlier Grey book, Sacred Mirrors, as a transformative tool both in my own life and helping others.

I bought this book for my son who'd asked for a coffee table art book
by Alex Grey, and he was happy to have received it. When it was under the tree unwrapped after Christmas, I took a look, and it's an interesting work. I'm not sure if it's in his room or if he took it to college; I'll have to look. If it's home, I can read more of it.

It arrived in beautiful condition.

Truly edifying, powerfully enlightening art of the nervous system (peeled open) and all its glory.

The universe is marvelous, indeed. Grey is a shining star.

Although my other books reviews are totally sarcastic this one is sincere. Giving TRANSFIGURATIONS five stars tells you nothing, it is my most cherished possession purchased from Amazon. Alex Grey is the most beautiful inspiring artist I know of, disturbing as well. For both reasons I get goosebumps each time I hear his weird kind of slimy sounding voice on the DVD and audio tapes that I also purchased. I find his whole dark side very intimidating and there are a couple of spots where the blur between holy and immoral is way to ominous for my churchy little, reactionary mind to consider but I'm sure that in his genius he is expressing things that, like all of his works, are simply way beyond my comprehension.

Even though I really like Grey's self-portraits as a boy, I usually skip past the first thirty-five or so pages to his more inspiring works of colorful anatomy charged with energy and connected to occult and mystical symbols of the spirit. I've always thought of these symbols as pertaining to aesthetics who live an isolated existence, however, for Grey's works they seem to be intimately associated with love, family, personal growth, and the journey through life.

I find his most beautiful works to be his oil on linen anatomical scenes of his family which include one of him and his wife embracing and another with both of them, eyes shut, in a moment of reverence with their daughter in which all three pineal glands are actively sharing an interwoven and upward spiraling rainbow of purely intelligent energies. Another is of his young daughter, as a toddler, who draws out a sphere from her heart encircled by a rainbow of noble and vital energy containing within it a Tibetan symbol of primal purity.

Alex Grey expresses better than anyone I've found how religious symbols from around the world are spun from the same spiritual desires and aspirations of people everywhere and are all equally divine.

Transfigurations shows Alex Grey's development through his life cycle from the dark cocoon of young manhood through his emergence as a man of tremendous knowledge and beauty expressed in fantastic colors and intricate and intriguing layers and details. He is clearly one who has made an incredible journey in life and easily ranks with all of the most famous and greatest artists in art history.

There are a plethora of translations of Chinese classics out there, but please know that many of these "translations" are just "re-imaginings" of the original, i.e. the authors usually do not know Classical Chinese (let alone modern Chinese!).

Merton is one such "translater". This is not necessarily a bad thing, as long as one is aware that this does not strictly reflect the original text (although it may resemble it). What we have here is a picking over of existing translations of the Chuang-tzu and a recombination of them. This is often done with some artistic licence.

Merton is better than most in that he is somewhat sensitive to the original material. Things get vastly worse with translations of the Daodejing (for example, Ursula le Guins monstrous butchering). If you want a more accurate account of the Chuang-tzu then I recommend A.C. Grahams' expert translation which is a relatively successful facsimile of the Chinese original (given the difficulty of rendering Chinese into English anyway).

I am a recently retired teacher who for thirty-five years have begun every class (Theology, Sexuality, Physics, Chemistry, Math and in summers Arts and Crafts to kids 4-12 years old) with a sounding of small brass cymbals (Tibetan), a minute of silent breathing followed by a short reading from the Tao Te Ching, Emily Dickinson, a portion of the Sermon on the Mount, or the Way of Chuang Tzu by Thomas Merton.
I meet former students now pushing into their fifties who baldly admit that those moments have stayed with them all these years and they have included meditation as one of the most important activities in their lives.
Thomas Merton's Introductory Notes say it far better than I ever could and should be read .
I can only wholeheartedly recommend that you buy this book and keep it at your desk or bedside for a quick straightening out of your mind concerning what is really important in life.

If you have an interest in learning the deeper meanings of Tao then this is a book you must add to your collection. A seldom translated philosophy of poetic renderings are clearly detailed in the transliterations of Thomas Merton...the spirit of Tao is clearly revealed.

This is a very good translation made by Tomas Merton of Chuang Tzu's works. This also gives a little bit of the view of Tomas Merton due to his Note to the Reader section and his specific selection of some of Chuang Tzu's writings to put in this book. This book has many good proverbs and stories written by Chuang Tzu which can be very enlightening and sometimes humorous. Chuang Tzu is one of the greats of Taoism but of course Lao Tzu takes the top position. If you are interested in the learning about the roots of Taoism you should check out this book and some about Lao Tzu also.

Like a fine wine, this collection is best consumed slowly. As it is clearly stated in the foreward, this is not a faithful reproduction of Chuang Tzu but a collection of personal and spiritual interpretations of his work. Readers that expected otherwise might consider reading the description of the book before purchasing it. It would seem embarassing to write a negative review of a product that goes in complete contradiction of the product's clear description and intentions.

Thomas Merton was a Trappist Monk who took a particular interest in Buddhism and Asian spirituality. Because Merton tragically died at a young age, we will never see a final product of this work. In "The Way of Chuang Tzu", Merton selects writings of Chuang Tzu which reflect a Christian mentality. Obviously, Chuang Tzu was not a Christian. However, this does not disqualify his writings to a Christian audience in any way. If the reader can go into this book with an open mind, he/she is likely to enjoy it. Those who are closed minded to this type of work which may seemingly blur the line between faiths according to their view may be outraged. I would strongly encourage open-mindedness.

Alicia Chole's "Anonymous" is a must-read for anyone who feels they are in a hidden or anonymous season. Her reflective style offers hope and healing with biblical and practical examples. It's a timeless piece of art on paper.

Jackie M. Johnson
"Power Prayers for Women" Author
POWER PRAYERS FOR WOMEN

Our culture works very hard to convince us that any moment we are not in gear and in the spotlight is a waisted moment. Alicia does a beautiful job of challenging this notion and giving meaning to those anonymous times in our life.

It is so comforting because when you are in one of those invisible times you need to be learning something important. That will never happen if we are focused entirely of getting "back into the game."

This book helped me be patient with who I am and what I am doing. Sometimes I like for things to go fast and God does not always work that way. I can choose to enjoy where I am and what I am doing as it is the only opportunity to do it, or waste it by being anxious for the future. It was suprising to see Jesus' hidden years from the Bible. I was skeptical to see if the material would be extra Biblical. It was not! She did great research.

Loved Alicia Britt Chole's insight through the scriptures of Jesus' hidden years. Made me know that I've not really had hidden years but years that have been viewed by Father God as "special and purposeful". I'm sure I will read thei book over and over and will treasure it always.

Written by passionate Christian Alicia Britt Chole, Anonymous: Jesus' Hidden Years and Yours is an exploration into the first thirty years of Jesus Christ's life, "hidden years" in that they passed largely unnoticed by the world. Yet those years spent in anonymity prepared Jesus for true greatness, allowing him room to grow and learn. Anonymous draws parallels form Jesus' experience that can be applied to one's own life, and to appreciate the value of each day rather than slide into anxiety and despair when one's goals are delayed or deferred. A deeply spiritual message of hope and inspiration.