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The Open Church
by Michael NovakMichael Novak's eyewitness report on the second and pivotal session of Vatican II in 1964 vividly inter weaves pageantry, politics, and theology. An unusually well-informed lay intellectual, who had earned a theological degree just before the Council, Novak applauded the purposes of Pope John XXIII and his successor Paul VI-"to throw open the windows of the church." In this report, he coined the classic description of the foes of the reforms at Vatican II as the party of "nonhistorical orthodoxy," emphasizing the eternal and unchanging, neglecting history and contingency. The author recounts many moments of high drama-Pope Paul VI's opening speech, the vote on the collegiality of bishops, the plea of Cardinal Bea on behalf of the chapter on Jews, and Bishop De Smedt's defense of religious freedom. His colorful chapter on the American bishops in 1964 serves as a fascinating benchmark, as do his many insights into the new role of the laity. His final chapter is a moving tribute to the Open Church engaging the contemporary world, and his new introduction brings this report up to date. This work will be of compelling interest to those interested in the post-conciliar fall of Communism, under the great John Paul II-who took his name from his two predecessors at Vatican II. The winner of the million-dollar Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion (1994), Michael Novak is a theologian, author, and former U.S. ambassador. He currently holds the George Frederick Jewett Chair in Religion and Public Policy at the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, D.C. where he is director of social and political studies. His writings have appeared in every major Western language, and in Chinese, Bengali, Korean, and Japanese. Also available from Transaction are his Catholic Social Thought and Liberal Institutions, The Experience of Nothingness, The Guns of Lattimer, Unmeltable Ethnics, Belief and Unbelief, and Choosing Presidents.
The Open-Focus Life: Practices to Develop Attention and Awareness for Optimal Well-Being
by Les Fehmi Susan Shor FehmiLearn to change your mindset, relieve anxiety, dissolve pain, and bring a greater sense of wellbeing into your life by changing how you pay attention, with easy-to-apply techniques and in-the-moment exercises from Dr. Les Fehmi&’s Open Focus method. How you pay attention affects literally every moment of your conscious life, so learning how to be flexible with your focus can profoundly change how you respond to everyday challenges. The Open-Focus Life shows you many different ways of paying attention that you were never taught in school and illustrates how to use different attention styles as powerful tools to help you feel better, act more effectively, and improve the quality of your life. Dr. Les Fehmi and Susan Shor Fehmi, pioneers in biofeedback, have spent decades developing and applying these methods with clients from all walks of life in their private clinical practice. In The Open-Focus Life, they coach you through common everyday stressors and show you how to shift out of modes of attention that exacerbate negative feelings and into modes of calm and balance. Based on peer-reviewed neuroscience and clinical experience, these quick, practical techniques will improve how you feel about your body, how you relate to people at work and at home, and how you interact with your everyday environment, to achieve a more relaxed life with less chronic physical and emotional pain.
Open Hands, Willing Heart: Discover the Joy of Saying Yes to God
by Vivian MabuniFrom a veteran Cru staff member, Bible teacher, and popular speaker comes an invitation for Christian women to discover how yielding ourselves wholly to God, especially in the midst of challenging circumstances, lends new purpose to our lives.We know that the center of God's will is the best place to be, but surrender is easier said than done. A host of hurdles, from busyness and bitterness to complacency and control, can prevent us from moving where He directs. In this challenging yet warmhearted book, Vivian Mabuni provides an authentic look at what it means to willingly risk saying yes to whatever God asks--and highlights a practical path to the deeper joy of a yielded life.
An Open Heart
by Harry KrausTheir Messages--From Beyond the Grave--Might Destroy Him They hover between life and death, their hearts stopped on the surgery table. And the messages Dr. Jace Rawlings' open-heart surgery patients bring back from beyond the grave cannot be ignored. For they predict the deaths of people around him, and point a finger of suspicion straight at him. It thrusts Jace into a firestorm of controversy and danger. A maelstrom blown by the darker winds of political intrigue and spiritual warfare. And the forces working against him will do anything to stop him from uncovering a truth they will kill to hide. He'd come to Kenya to establish a heart-surgery program for the poor. But what he will find in that place where he grew up will put everything at risk-his marriage, his career . . . his life.
An Open Heart: Practicing Compassion in Everyday Life
by Dalai LamaCompassion -- sympathy for the suffering of others and the desire to free them from it -- is wrestled with in all spiritual traditions. Yet how does one actually become a compassionate person? What are the mechanisms by which a selfish heart is transformed into a generous heart? When His Holiness the Dalai Lama came to New York in 1999, he spoke simply and powerfully on the everyday Buddhist practice of compassion. Weaving together the contents of several sacred texts, he showed that the path to compassion is a series of meditations. An Open Heart lays out this course of meditation, from the simplest to the most challenging, describing the mental training techniques that will enable anyone of any faith to change their minds and open their hearts. In these meditations the deepest and most profound insights of Buddhist practice become part of one's way of knowing and experiencing the world. An Open Heart is a clear and simple introduction to the Buddhist path to enlightenment, by its greatest teacher, His Holiness the Dalai Lama.
An Open Heart: Practising Compassion in Everyday Life
by Dalai Lama The Dalai LamaIn the Dalai Lama's own words: 'It is my hope that the reader of this small book will take away a basic understanding of Buddhism and some of the key methods by which Buddhist practitioners have cultivated compassion and wisdom in their lives. The methods discussed have been taken from three sacred texts of Buddhism. I would like to stress at the outset, however, that one doesn't have to be a Buddhist to make use of these meditation techniques. Meditation is merely the process whereby we gain control over the mind and guide it in a more virtuous direction. Meditation may also be thought of as a technique by which we diminish the force of old thought habits and develop new ones. Yet the techniques themselves do not lead to enlightenment or a compassionate and open heart. That is up to you, and the effort and motivation you bring to your spiritual practice.'
Open Heart
by Elie Wiesel Marion WieselTranslated by Marion WieselA profoundly and unexpectedly intimate, deeply affecting summing up of his life so far, from one of the most cherished moral voices of our time.Eighty-two years old, facing emergency heart surgery and his own mortality, Elie Wiesel reflects back on his life. Emotions, images, faces and questions flash through his mind. His family before and during the unspeakable Event. The gifts of marriage and children and grandchildren that followed. In his writing, in his teaching, in his public life, has he done enough for memory and the survivors? His ongoing questioning of God--where has it led? Is there hope for mankind? The world's tireless ambassador of tolerance and justice has given us this luminous account of hope and despair, an exploration of the love, regrets and abiding faith of a remarkable man.
Open Heart, Clear Mind
by Thubten Chodron. . . conveys a clear understanding of Buddhism as it has been practiced by Tibetans, in easily comprehensible language. --His Holiness the Dalai Lama
Open Heart, Open Mind: Awakening the Power of Essence Love
by Eric Swanson Tsoknyi RinpocheIn Open Heart, Open Mind, Tsoknyi Rinpoche--one of the most beloved of the contemporary generation of Tibetan Buddhist meditation masters--explains that a life free of fear, pain, insecurity, and doubt is not only possible, it's our birthright. We long for peace, for the ability to love and be loved openly and freely, and for the confidence and clarity to meet the various challenges we face in our daily lives.Within each of us resides a spark of unparalleled brilliance, an unlimited capacity for warmth, openness, and courage, which Rinpoche identifies as "essence love." Timeless and imperishable, essence love is often layered over by patterns of behavior and belief that urge us to seek happiness in conditions or situations that never quite live up to their promise. Drawing on rarely discussed teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Rinpoche describes how such patterns evolve and offers a series of meditation exercises to help us unravel them and, in the process, reawaken an energy and exuberance that can not only bring lasting fulfillment to our lives but ultimately serve to enliven and inspire the entire world, as well.With great humor, intelligence, and candor, Tsoknyi Rinpoche also details his own struggles to reconnect with essence love. Identified at an early age as the incarnation of a renowned Tibetan master and subjected to a rigorous monastic training, he ultimately renounced his vows, married, and is now the father of two daughters.As he recounts his own efforts to strike a balance between the promptings of his heart and an obligation to preserve and protect the teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, Rinpoche provides a bridge between ancient wisdom and modern life, and encourages each of us to rediscover the openness, fearlessness, and love that is the essence of our own life.From the Hardcover edition.
An Open-Hearted Life: Transformative Methods for Compassionate Living from a Clinical Psychologist and a Buddhist Nun
by Russell Kolts Thubten ChodronA life overflowing with compassion. It sounds wonderful in theory, but how do you do it? This guide provides practical methods for living with this wonderful quality, based on traditional Buddhist teachings and on methods from modern psychology--particularly a technique called Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT). The methods presented by the two authors--a psychotherapist and a Tibetan Buddhist nun--turn out to have a good deal in common. In fact, they complement each other in wonderful ways. Each of the sixty-four short chapters ends with a reflection or exercise for putting compassion into practice in various life situations.
Open Hearts, Closed Doors: Immigration Reform and the Waning of Mainline Protestantism
by Nicholas T. PruittA history of mainline Protestant responses to immigrants and refugees during the twentieth centuryOpen Hearts, Closed Doors uncovers the largely overlooked role that liberal Protestants played in fostering cultural diversity in America and pushing for new immigration laws during the forty years following the passage of the restrictive Immigration Act of 1924. These efforts resulted in the complete reshaping of the US cultural and religious landscape.During this period, mainline Protestants contributed to the national debate over immigration policy and joined the charge for immigration reform, advocating for a more diverse pool of newcomers. They were successful in their efforts, and in 1965 the quota system based on race and national origin was abolished. But their activism had unintended consequences, because the liberal immigration policies they supported helped to end over three centuries of white Protestant dominance in American society.Yet, Pruitt argues, in losing their cultural supremacy, mainline Protestants were able to reassess their mission. They rolled back more strident forms of xenophobia, substantively altering the face of mainline Protestantism and laying foundations for their responses to today’s immigration debates. More than just a historical portrait, this volume is a timely reminder of the power of religious influence in political matters.
Open Judaism: A Guide for Believers, Atheists, and Agnostics
by Rabbi Barry L. SchwartzOpen Judaism offers a big-tent welcome to all Jews and Judaism. It is at once an invitation to the spiritually seeking Jew, a clarion call for a deeply pluralistic and inclusive Judaism, and a dynamic exploration of the remarkable array of thought within Judaism today. In honest, engaging language Barry L. Schwartz, a practicing rabbi and writer, presents traditional, secular-humanistic, and liberal Jewish views on nine major topics—God, soul, Torah, halakhah, Jewish identity, inclusion, Israel, ethics, and prayer. Teachings from many of Judaism&’s greatest thinkers organically reveal and embellish foundational ideas of Orthodox, Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism. The conclusion sets forth core statements of belief in Judaism for believers, atheists, and agnostics, thereby summarizing the full spectrum of thought and enabling readers to make and act on their own choices.
An Open Letter to a Jehovah's Witness
by Roy ZuckUnderstanding what Jehovah's Witnesses teach and believe is crucial to counteract their aggressive evangelism campaigns. Roy Zuck offers this letter in the absence of direct, compassionate literature to hand to them to explain Scriptural truth and the difference between their faith and Christianity. In booklet form, it is compassionate while clearly explaining the Deity of Christ and how the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses contradict the Bible.
An Open Letter to a Jehovah's Witness
by Roy ZuckUnderstanding what Jehovah's Witnesses teach and believe is crucial to counteract their aggressive evangelism campaigns. Roy Zuck offers this letter in the absence of direct, compassionate literature to hand to them to explain Scriptural truth and the difference between their faith and Christianity. In booklet form, it is compassionate while clearly explaining the Deity of Christ and how the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses contradict the Bible.
Open Mind: View and Meditation in the Lineage of Lerab Linga
by Eva Natanya His Holiness the Dalai Lama B. Alan WallaceGet to know the teachings and legacy of the celebrated Lerab Lingpa, the influential confidant of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama, in this collection of practical instructions on the Great Perfection and reflections on the nonsectarian (rimé) approach to Tibetan Buddhism.Lerab Lingpa (1856–1926), also known as Tertön Sogyal, was one of the great Dzogchen (Great Perfection) masters of the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries and a close confidant and guru of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. This volume contains translations by B. Alan Wallace of two works that are representative of the lineage of this great “treasure revealer,” or tertön. The first work, composed by Lerab Lingpa himself, is The Vital Essence of Primordial Consciousness. It presents pith instructions on all the stages of the Great Perfection, which is the highest form of meditation and practice in the Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism. In this practice, the meditator comes to see directly the ultimate nature of consciousness itself. The work guides the reader from the common preliminaries through to the highest practices of the Great Perfection—the direct crossing over and the achievement of the rainbow body. The second work, Selected Essays on Old and New Views of the Secret Mantrayana, is a collection of seven essays by two of Lerab Lingpa’s close disciples, Dharmasara and Jé Tsultrim Zangpo. Dharmasara wrote six of the essays, providing detailed, erudite explanations of the compatibility among the theories and practices of Great Perfection, Mahamudra (a parallel practice tradition found in other schools), and the Madhyamaka view, especially as these are interpreted by the Indian pandita Candrakirti, the Nyingma master Longchen Rabjam, and Tsongkhapa, founder of the Geluk school of Tibetan Buddhism. The one essay by Jé Tsultrim Zangpo (a.k.a. Tulku Tsullo), “An Ornament of the Enlightened View of Samantabhadra,” contextualizes the Great Perfection within the broader framework of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism and then elucidates all the stages of practice of the Great Perfection, unifying the profound path of cutting through and the vast path of the spontaneous actualization of the direct crossing over. This volume will be of great interest for all those interested in the theory and practice of the Great Perfection and the way it relates to the wisdom teachings of Tsongkhapa and others in the new translation schools of Tibetan Buddhism.
Open Mind, Open Heart: The Contemplative Dimension of the Gospel
by Thomas KeatingThis book is designed to initiate the reader into a deep, living relationship with God. Written by an acknowledged spiritual master, the book moves beyond "discursive meditation and particular acts to the intuitive level of contemplation." Keating gives an overview of the history of contemplative prayer in the Christian tradition, and step-by-step guidance in the method of centering prayer. Special attention is paid to the role of the Sacred Word, Christian growth and transformation, and active prayer. The book ends with an explicit treatment of the contemplative dimension of the gospel.
Open Minded: Working Out the Logic of the Soul
by Jonathan LearFreud is discredited, so we do not have to think about the darker strains of unconcious motivation anymore. We know what moves our political leaders, so we don't have to look closely at their thinking either. In fact, the author argues, everywhere we look in contemporary culture, knowingness has taken the place of thought. This book is an assault on that deadening trend, especially as it affects our deepest attempts to understand the human psyche - in philosophy and psychoanalysis. It explodes the widespread notion that we already know the problems and proper methods in these fields and so no longer need to ask crucial questions about the structure of human subjectivity.
Open My Heart to Hear: Hymn-Based Devotions
by Northwestern Publishing HouseDive deeper into the beauty of time-treasured and new favorite worship songs in this collection of hymn-based devotions!Open My Heart to Hear is an opportunity to meditate on the words of beloved hymns and marvel at how they point you to the amazing nature of God's love for you. From "Savior of the Nations," "Come," and "When I Survey the Wondrous Cross," to "Christ Is with Me" and "Do Not Let Your Hearts Be Troubled," hymns both familiar and new form the foundation for the faith-strengthening truths expressed in these 90 brief devotions based on hymns from Christian Worship: Hymnal. Explore the riches of God's grace in each hymn's poetry in this collection of devotions and pray alongside the hymn writer: "Lord, open now my heart to hear, and through your Word to me draw near"
The Open Path: Recognizing Nondual Awareness
by Elias AmidonThe globally renowned spiritual teacher offers a guide to awakening our most enlightened nature—the unified awareness behind all consciousness. Interest in nondual awareness as the essence of spiritual awakening is rapidly expanding throughout the Western world. Those who follow spiritual paths, such as Buddhism, Hinduism, Sufism, and Kabbalism, often come up against a kind of ceiling due to their religion&’s cultural context or a belief system that places awakening beyond the reach of adherents. For years, Elias Amidon has helped seekers break through their blockages with his nine-month Open Path trainings conducted all over the world. In The Open Path, Amidon shares the lessons and exercises of these trainings. It is a guide to the realization of the silent ground of all being, and to expressing that realization in your daily life.
The Open Road
by Pico IyerIyer, who has previously written about Buddhism and globalism, now offers this account of the travels of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama and his effort to inform the world about current conditions in Tibet under Chinese rule. Equal time is spent on observing the day-to-day routines of this icon, both in public and in private, and providing a broader explanation of the man's philosophies and goals. Anyone who has expressed an interest in knowing more about the Dalai Lama will enjoy this revealing study. Annotation ©2008 Book News, Inc. , Portland, OR (booknews. com)
The Open Secret: A New Vision for Natural Theology
by Alister E. McGrathNatural theology, in the view of many, is in crisis. In this long-awaited book, Alister McGrath sets out a new vision for natural theology, re-establishing its legitimacy and utility. A timely and innovative resource on natural theology: the exploration of knowledge of God as it is observed through nature Written by internationally regarded theologian and author of numerous bestselling books, Alister McGrath Develops an intellectually rigorous vision of natural theology as a point of convergence between the Christian faith, the arts and literature, and the natural sciences, opening up important possibilities for dialogue and cross-fertilization Treats natural theology as a cultural phenomenon, broader than Christianity itself yet always possessing a distinctively Christian embodiment Explores topics including beauty, goodness, truth, and the theological imagination; how investigating nature gives rise to both theological and scientific theories; the idea of a distinctively Christian approach to nature; and how natural theology can function as a bridge between Christianity and other faiths
The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission
by Lesslie NewbiginAimed at bringing contemporary concerns in mission theology to a wide-reading public, this volume flows from Newbigin's extensive experience in the mission field and from lectures developed especially to prepare men and women for missionary service. Newbigin describes the Christian mission as the declaration of an open secret—open in that it is preached to all nations, secret in that it is manifest only to the eyes of faith. The result is a thoroughly biblical attempt to lead the church to embrace its Christ-given task of presenting the gospel in our complex modern world. This revised edition includes a helpful index and a new preface.
The Open Secret: An Introduction to the Theology of Mission
by Lesslie NewbiginAimed at bringing contemporary concerns in mission theology to a wide-reading public, this volume flows from Newbigin's extensive experience in the mission field and from lectures developed especially to prepare men and women for missionary service. Newbigin describes the Christian mission as the declaration of an open secret—open in that it is preached to all nations, secret in that it is manifest only to the eyes of faith. The result is a thoroughly biblical attempt to lead the church to embrace its Christ-given task of presenting the gospel in our complex modern world. This revised edition includes a helpful index and a new preface.
Open Secret: Postmessianic Messianism and the Mystical Revision of Menaḥem Mendel Schneerson
by Elliot R. WolfsonMenaḥem Mendel Schneerson (1902-1994) was the seventh and seemingly last Rebbe of the Habad-Lubavitch dynasty. Marked by conflicting tendencies, Schneerson was a radical messianic visionary who promoted a conservative political agenda, a reclusive contemplative who built a hasidic sect into an international movement, and a man dedicated to the exposition of mysteries who nevertheless harbored many secrets. Schneerson astutely masked views that might be deemed heterodox by the canons of orthodoxy while engineering a fundamentalist ideology that could subvert traditional gender hierarchy, the halakhic distinction between permissible and forbidden, and the social-anthropological division between Jew and Gentile. While most literature on the Rebbe focuses on whether or not he identified with the role of Messiah, Elliot R. Wolfson, a leading scholar of Jewish mysticism and the phenomenology of religious experience, concentrates instead on Schneerson's apocalyptic sensibility and his promotion of a mystical consciousness that undermines all discrimination. For Schneerson, the ploy of secrecy is crucial to the dissemination of the messianic secret. To be enlightened messianically is to be delivered from all conceptual limitations, even the very notion of becoming emancipated from limitation. The ultimate liberation, or true and complete redemption, fuses the believer into an infinite essence beyond all duality, even the duality of being emancipated and not emancipated-an emancipation, in other words, that emancipates one from the bind of emancipation. At its deepest level, Schneerson's eschatological orientation discerned that a spiritual master, if he be true, must dispose of the mask of mastery. Situating Habad's thought within the evolution of kabbalistic mysticism, the history of Western philosophy, and Mahayana Buddhism, Wolfson articulates Schneerson's rich theology and profound philosophy, concentrating on the nature of apophatic embodiment, semiotic materiality, hypernomian transvaluation, nondifferentiated alterity, and atemporal temporality.