The essence of religion was once widely thought to be a unique form of experience that could not be explained in neurological, psychological, or sociological terms. In recent decades scholars have questioned the privileging of the idea of religious experience in the study of religion, an approach that effectively isolated the study of religion...

In recent years Sufism has undergone something of a revival as a spiritual alternative to other manifestations of Islam. This book investigates the development of Sufism in Western societies, with a regional focus on North America and Europe. Exploring a number of issues relating to the dynamic tensions between religious globalization processes...

Monotonization of the world. Strong spiritual impression of all travels of the last years, despite the individual happiness: a pale drab of monotonization of the world. Everything is becoming similar in its outward appearances, leveling out in a uniform cultural scheme. The individual customs of peoples are wearing off , the way of dress is...

Until recent times medical science could do little to prevent or cure life-threatening diseases that claimed young lives and made infant mortality commonplace. But today those 85 and over form the most rapidly growing percentage of the population. While death from infectious diseases has been widely controlled, only two of the current top 10...

John Cort explores the narratives by which the Jains have explained the presence of icons of Jinas (their enlightened and liberated teachers) that are worshiped and venerated in the hundreds of thousands of Jain temples throughout India. Most of these narratives portray icons favorably, and so justify their existence; but there are also...

The acclaimed metaphysical epic that binds together the cosmological phenomena of our time, ranging from crop circles to quantum theory to the resurgence of psychedelic drugs, to support the contention of the Mayan calendar that the year 2012 portends a global shift-in consciousness, culture, and way of living-of unprecedented...

From feng shui to holistic medicine, from aromatherapy candles to yoga weekends, from Christian mystics to New Age gurus, spirituality is big business. There has been an explosion of interest and popular literature on mind, body and spirit and ‘personal development’. We now see the introduction of modes of ‘spirituality’...

Religious beliefs and practices, which permeated all aspects of life in antiquity, traveled well-worn routes throughout the Mediterranean: itinerant charismatic practitioners journeying from place to place peddled their skills as healers, purifiers, cursers, and initiators; and vessels decorated with illustrations of myths traveled with them....

This new first edition guide introduces two exotic destinations fast becoming required stops for globetrotting tourists. Through our expert author, readers are exposed to the rich culture and poignant history in Cambodia and Laos. Discover the region's food and gift markets, lovely beaches and islands, colorful temples, and charming...

All over the planet Drunvalo Melchizedek is known and immensely loved as a great spiritual teacher. Through workshops and books he brought his vision of the Flower of Life and the Mer-Ka-Ba to the world. Now, based on his latest series of workshops, he shares his experiences of living in the sacred space within the heart, and he explains the...

David Icke's most powerful and explosive book so far. Every man, woman and child on the planet is affected by the stunning information that Icke exposes. He reveals in documented detail, how the same interconnecting bloodlines have controlled the planet for thousands of years. How they created all the major religions and suppressed the...