WINNER Religion: Christianity 2023 Best Book Awards
Communication is a spiritual practice of generosity and mindful awareness. After 20 years of ministry in diverse contexts, theological study, teaching, and spiritual exploration, this is a truth we finally came to embrace, and we began to see Jesus's teachings as instructions on how we communicate.
Weaving together insights from other wisdom traditions such as Judaism and Buddhism, we started to understand Jesus differently - and more deeply - as a rabbi and a wisdom teacher who is focused on the ways we communicate with ourselves, with each other, and with God. Join us as we engage in this 12-week life-changing journey of reframing and reimagining Jesus's central wisdom teachings as insights into peace, subversion and communication. Come and discover the heart of Jesus's message...that communication is a spiritual practice.
What we see when we view Jesus and his teachings in this way is that our understanding of faith and communication will radically change, and we will have to approach life, neighbors, and ourselves from significantly different attitudes than we do now.
Approaching Jesus from a wisdom perspective is to approach him with the realization that all of his teachings are focused precisely on ending blame, judgment, and violence - attitudes of aggression and possessiveness. His teachings are about learning to communicate differently by ending all of the polarizing things we still bring into our lives today.
What do you do when the love of your life is hanging by a thread?
This is the reality that I found myself in when tragedy struck. Join me in my public and private battle for my husband’s life and career through the story of On Borrowed Breath. Diagnosed with COVID-19, Dr. David Wilkinson, my husband and an otherwise-healthy, 50-year-old surgeon, was suddenly fighting for his life. Placed on life support and given an almost zero chance of recovery, I had to champion his cause and not give up when the odds were against him waking up.
Relying on my faith and the support of praying friends, I found myself needing to make life and death decisions. Should I withdraw life support or fight for my husband’s slim chance of survival through a double lung transplant?
A story of love, perseverance and enduring faith against all odds, this book is for anyone who has been through something larger than themselves, including navigating a major health crisis. May my story offer you strength, love, and hope — no matter what situation you are battling.
Enduring lessons from the desert soundscapes that shaped the Christian monastic tradition
For the hermits and communal monks of antiquity, the desert was a place to flee the cacophony of ordinary life in order to hear and contemplate the voice of God. But these monks discovered something surprising in their harsh desert surroundings: far from empty and silent, the desert is richly reverberant. Sonorous Desert shares the stories and sayings of these ancient spiritual seekers, tracing how the ambient sounds of wind, thunder, water, and animals shaped the emergence and development of early Christian monasticism.
Kim Haines-Eitzen draws on ancient monastic texts from Egypt, Sinai, and Palestine to explore how noise offered desert monks an opportunity to cultivate inner quietude, and shows how the desert quests of ancient monastics offer profound lessons for us about what it means to search for silence. Drawing on her own experiences making field recordings in the deserts of North America and Israel, she reveals how mountains, canyons, caves, rocky escarpments, and lush oases are deeply resonant places. Haines-Eitzen discusses how the desert is a place of paradoxes, both silent and noisy, pulling us toward contemplative isolation yet giving rise to vibrant collectives of fellow seekers.
Accompanied by Haines-Eitzen’s evocative audio recordings of desert environments, Sonorous Desert reveals how desert sounds taught ancient monks about solitude, silence, and the life of community, and how they can help us understand ourselves if we slow down and listen.
WINNER Multicultural: Nonfiction Religion: Eastern 2023 Best Book Awards
WINNER Health: Death & Dying 2023 International Book Awards
From an early age, Kyomi’s life was filled with emotional difficulties—an adulterous father, an overreliant mother, and a dismissive extended family. In an effort to escape the darkness of her existence in Japan, Kyomi moved to the States in February 1990 to start a new life as a researcher working at NIH in Bethesda, MD. Soon, she fell in love with her husband-to-be: Patrick, a warm, charismatic British cancer researcher whose unconditional love and support helped her begin to heal the traumas of her past. Eventually, their journey together led them to change their careers and move to San Diego, CA, where they dedicated themselves to a Buddhism practice that changed both their lives—aiding them in their spiritual growth and in realizing their desire to help others.
Then Patrick was diagnosed with stage IV metastatic melanoma in the brain—and, after a fierce, three-year-long battle against his cancer, died on July 4, 2016. Devastated, Kyomi spent a year lost in grief. But when she one day began to write, she discovered that doing so allowed her to uncover truths about herself, her life history, and her relationship with Patrick. In the process, she surfaced many old, unhealed wounds—but ultimately writing became her daily spiritual practice, and many truths emerged out of the darkness. After many years of struggle and searching, Kyomi finally found the love and light that had existed within her all along.
WINNER Religion: Christianity 2023 International Book Awards
What if we've been looking at faith all wrong? What if the rise of spiritual consciousness is not a mere byproduct of cultural factors, but an echo resounding from eternity?
Atheists like Richard Dawkins often mock prayer, equating it to calling upon a fairy in the sky. This misunderstanding pervades western society, criticizing those that practice traditional faith as "old fashioned" or "out of touch." In A Holy Haunting, Dr. Sam D. Kim interacts with this perception of faith and challenges readers to look at faith another way.
The rise of modernism was both a blessing and curse for the church; while modernists articulated belief in a succinct and coherent fashion, they reduced the mystery and wonder of faith to nothing more than blind belief. According to Dr. Sam D. Kim, faith is not a set of beliefs, but a central aspect of human existence—defining who they are in the deepest ontological sense.
Unlike many who discredit the power of the spiritual or immaterial, Dr. Kim sees human consciousness—the soul—as evidence of humanity being forged in the corridors of eternity, before the primordial universe and the Big Bang. A roadmap of discovery for skeptics and believers alike, A Holy Haunting befriends the doubter, challenges the churchgoer, and gives fresh perspective to the seeker.
WINNER Religion: Christian Inspirational 2023 International Book Awards
Life is an incredible gift, brimming with seemingly endless possibilities. Often, our days are filled with joy and purpose. But life can change in an instant, plunging us into a sea of chaos and fear as our faith is tested. Perhaps we are going through a prolonged season of suffering that feels like it will never end—and we spiral into the depths of despair.
But here’s the thing: no matter what season of life we’re in, we’re meant to live in a way that glorifies God. We’re meant to find joy, hope, and peace in the midst of suffering. Yet, we know it’s easier said than done.
Many of us are emotionally drained from allowing our fears and anxieties to rule. We feel trapped in a constant uphill battle. This isn’t the life God intends for us. There is hope!
This best-selling and award-winning book will challenge your faith in a powerful way. It is extremely practical and filled with inspiration on every page. It will transform your perspective. Find the hope you need to live in victory as you glorify God in both the good and challenging seasons of life.
WINNER Religion: Eastern 2023 International Book Awards
Who am I? What is my purpose in life? These are timeless questions. Indian philosophy and the yoga tradition offer a comprehensive understanding of the human being, from its conception of the mind to the nature of the soul, a path of self-discovery and doorway to inner liberation. With a fresh and modern interpretation of the five elements -- earth, water, air, fire, and space -- readers are presented with a practical and accessible approach to knowing themselves more deeply, illuminating how we might see other people with more compassion, tolerance, and acceptance. With a framework that integrates the physical body with the inner terrain of the subtle bodies, Yoga and the Five Elements is an ideal guide for yoga practitioners and teachers to explore a modern interpretation of ancient wisdom. For contemporary spiritual seekers and individuals with no background or experience with yoga, Yoga and the Five Elements offers an imminently practical approach to self-development.
WINNER Religion: General 2023 International Book Awards
Gathered by Murad al-Adnani and translated and curated by Nishat Lal, In the Garden of Remembrance is a collection of prayers to brighten your heart, ease your burdens, and bathe you in the fragrance of faith.