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Jesus' remarkable and rather puzzling statements from the Gospel of Thomas, considered "secret sayings," have suffered centuries of misinterpretation, reinforcing a skewed view of both Christianity and Jesus himself. In Christian Zen, noted scholar Robert Powell deciphers their true meaning and shows how they mirror Zen philosophy. His commentaries explain that the sayings embody the timeless teaching of advaita, the esoteric expression of the inner meaning of all the great religions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A non-dual interpretation of The Gospel of Thomas
In this book, Robert Powell interprets the Gospel of Thomas from a non-dual perspective. What I mean is, he interprets Jesus as an enlightened teacher who is simply pointing to the kingdom of heaven all around you, the oneness of everything. Jesus is saying you are not separate from God, and never were. You need only to drop all religious concepts and see. This is what esoteric Christianity is all about. There are other books about this. 'Inner Christianity' by Richard Smoley is also very good.

Jesus teaches Zen
This very small book lists verses of the gospel of Thomas on each page and then gives the authors comments about what he believes they mean. The authors opinion is that in the gospel of Thomas Jesus is teaching nonduality and how to discover the true Self and over come the illusion of separation and individual ego by living truly in the eternal Now.I agree with the authors opinion completely and believe this book is closer to the true esoteric teachings of Jesus than the Bible. This is a perfect book for beginners that are searching for truth or studing Zen. ... Read more

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Singapore Architecture captures thearchitectural heritage of Asia's crossroads city. The early temples, chophouses and colonial monuments hold historical significance, while the modern skyline reflects Singapore's role as a 21st-century powerhouse. The recent work of local architects represents a unique and dynamic mix of cross-cultural influences, combining traditional Asian style with a thorough knowledge of modern architecture.
Filled with full-color photographs ofprivate houses, public buildings, shrines, mosques and office towers, this book reflects the broad spectrum of Singapore's buildings. ... Read more

Product Description
This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishings Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the worlds literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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This maths study guide is one of a series written by experienced examiners and teachers to follow the demands of all GCSE syllabuses and Scottish Standard Grade. The series aims to present the important information in a clear and direct way, with the emphasis on improving study skills and exam performance. Topic-by-topic coverage is presented with many examples and diagrams, together with quick tests to check progress, and there is a bank of recent GCSE exam questions (with answers) to fine-tune exam technique. ... Read more

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This book is the basic foundation of the largest youth organisation in the history of the world . It was designed to be read by young people and to motivate them to develop all of their skills. It continues to be a major force in motivating young people to prepare to be active citizens in society. However it also contains simple truths for adults on the nature of young people and how best to help them learn and to achieve their full potential. It is required reading for adults educating or working with young people. ... Read more

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Where did my project go wrong?

Have you found yourself asking this question in the face of a challenged or failing project? Often, the answer can be traced back to a poor decision, an untimely decision, or the absence of a decision somewhere in the course of the project. If you re ready to get your next project on the path to success, The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions will show you how.

This practical guide helps project managers and their teams becomebetter decision-makers by focusing on the key issues associated with decision-making. You will learn how to frame the decision, gather information, close the decision, get approval within the organization,and start implementing.

-Understand how successful decision-making contributes toproject success
-Learn how to make the decisions required for successful management of complex, large-scale projects
-Discover techniques that facilitate the decision-making process
-Understand decision analysis as it relates to project management

You will also benefit from real-world decision-making vignettes and case studies that demonstrate how a project manager's decisions are instrumental in a project's success. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A fine survey
'Where did my project go wrong?' If you're a manager facing a failed or failing project, The Project Manager's Guide to Making Successful Decisions is for you. It helps teams and managers focus on key issues of the decision-making process, from understanding how to contribute to a project's success to understanding decision analysis procedures. A fine survey, this is a top pick for any serious business library catering to managers. ... Read more

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Classroom Communication and Diversity is an integral resource for teaching awareness of diversity issues and communication in the classroom. Drawing on the research in the communication and education disciplines, authors Robert G. Powell and Dana Caseau provide theoretical models and useful strategies for improving instructional practices. They address the ways in which culture influences communication in the classroom, and assist teachers in developing the skills necessary to meet the needs of the students in their classrooms.

New to the second edition is an expanded skills component, additional teaching resources, and an increased focus on the role of diversity in the classroom. Much of the information shared in this text derives from the authors' research and experience in schools and from the experiences of others, including teachers, parents, and children. Their experiences, combined with the cross-disciplinary approach, produce a volume of unique perspectives and considerable insight.

Product Description
Contents: My Apologies; My Education; Art and Acting; Sport; Spying and Scouting; Soldiering; Matabeleland; The South African War; The South African Constabulary; As Inspector-General of Cavalry; Life Number Two; The Boy Scouts and Girl Guides; The War; Looking Back; With 8 illustrations and 115 Drawings by the Author. The following is Powell's explanation of why he wrote this book: 'I didn't want to write this yarn about myself; an autobiography is bound to be an egotistical repetition of 'I" but several different people have asked me to write some of my experiences because they might be helpful to young fellows in aiming their lives.So it is mainly for these-and I include girls as well as men under the term 'fellows" -that I write, seeing that I have passed through the 'varsity' of the world above-mentioned.I don't propose to make it a formal biography beginning with my babyhood and going progressively through the years of my life.It will rather be a sort of hotch-potch or plumb-pudding, though I am afraid the plumbs will be few and you will have to pick them out for yourself."Although Powell's introduction is exceedingly modest, this book will take you on a tour of the adventures, viewpoints, and accomplishments of the remarkable man who founded scouting.Essential reading. ... Read more

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Get into the center of the action with The Stadium, a book that takes you to some of the finest event centers across the globe.
Sports fans in the United States can revisit their own home fields such as the Reliant Stadium in Houston, SBC Park in San Francisco, Oriole Park in Baltimore, and experience international attractions such as the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Wembley in London,Arsenal in London, and the Olympic Stadium in Sydney. With 250 eye-popping photos and 70 architectural plans,this book defines the stadium as a worlwide cultural icon. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

the stadium:architecture for the new grobal culture
I am studying about economics of sports facilities,
so that hardly can find books about these theme in japanese.
I think this book is very useful that sports facilities of worldwide.
I recommend this book who are interested in sports facilties and culture of local identities.

Great Book but needs a CD
If you're looking for an architectural book that includes drawings such as floor plans, sections and elevations then you're in the right place.

This book offers a lot of pictures for 18 different stadiums including the Wembley Stadium in London.. i would have given it five stars but unfortunately most of the drawings are too small to be read or understood professionally.. i think they should have added a CD just like most architectural books now a days with full size images to help you view it in details.

STADIUMS
Very good book on some spectacular sports stadiums.The text is very informative and the images are first rate.It is such a relief that stadiums are back to having style and not just totally utilitarian, like my beloved Astrodome.It is so sad to me that the Astrodome ushered in the multisport stadium, that type of stadium is almost extinct and the few that still stand like Houston's so called "Eighth Wonder of the World", linger like some sort of bad experiment that went horribly wrong.To appreciate how far stadium architecture has come, just look at Relient Stadium, which is profiled in this book, and compare it to the old grey lady next to her...the afore mentioned Astrodome....sic transic gloria. ... Read more

Product Description
These wisdom-filled articles are gems offered us by the Russian esotericist Valentin Tomberg (1900-1973). Written in the 1930s, at the time he was also writing important studies on the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Apocalypse, these early articles presage Tomberg's later, more mature works on Christian Hermeticism. This was the 'anthroposophical' phase of his life, which ended during World War II, when he followed Christ's call to join the Catholic Church in order to bring the Christian esotericism of the Church of John into the exoteric Church of Peter - a step that truly represented a sacrifice on the part of this remarkable man. For in following this call of Christ to the Catholic Church, Tomberg took the step of leaving his karmic community-that of the anthroposophical movement founded by Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). This step was a fulfillment of the words of Christ, of the Risen One, to Peter concerning John: 'If it is my will that he should wait until I come again, what is that to thee?' (John 21:22). These words relate to the task of the Church of John to 'wait'-that is, to cultivate the esoteric teachings 'behind the scenes'-until the onset of Christ's Second Coming, which began during the 1930s, when they could begin to emerge by bringing the esoteric teachings into the Church.For students of Christian Hermeticism, these early articles by the founder of this new spiritual stream reveal in particular something of the esoteric teachings underlying the author's Russian spirituality. The penetrating insights they offer are seeds that subsequently blossomed in his later works. As well as being of interest to students of Christian Hermeticism, these essays are relevant to anyone interested in Russian spirituality and, moreover, to everyone interested in esoteric perspectives concerning the present situation of humanity. The author of this work was a spiritually enlightened teacher whose care and concern extended beyond the plight of the Russian people under Soviet communism to include the challenges facing every human being in our time. Understood as a manual for enlightenment, to be worked with meditatively over and over again, this work is one of the great treasures of humanity's spiritual literature-a priceless jewel for every spiritual seeker in our time. ... Read more

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"Our very `I' consciousness is possible because the mineral earth--the first layer of the interior of the Earth--and the other chthonic regions exist. Our human nature is a reflection of the subearthly and supraearthly realms that comprise the macrocosm and the microcosm. `The true meaning of the microcosm-macrocosm analogy is not that the human being is a little cosmos, but that the cosmos is a big human being.' From this perspective, it makes complete sense that the subterranean realms described by spiritual science live within the deepest realms of our human nature and subconscious life of darker feelings and will. Deep within the human being, they radiate into the shadows of thought. This region is more familiarly known as Hell, Hades, or the Abyss. The subterranean spheres, then, are the Earth's `dark side.'" --Paul V. O'Leary (from his introduction)

Throughout human history, ancient wisdom and traditional myths have placed human beings between the heavens and the underworld, describing the heavens as the light-filled realm of the gods and the source of goodness, and characterizing the underworld as a demon-filled realm of darkness and the source of evil. Modern science, however, denies the heavens and knows little of the Earth's interior -- even physically -- beyond the first few miles, after which it simply resorts to conjecture based on the extrapolation of existing sensory data. In other words, natural science fails to take into account that the Earth is a living, spiritual being and ignores the presence of its soul-spiritual qualities and influences.

To remedy this, during the early twentieth century, Rudolf Steiner researched the psychic, spiritual, and cosmic nature of the Earth's interior. He described how the different layers of the inner Earth affect and interact with human beings living on Earth. More theologically and cosmically, he spoke of the layers of "Hell," through which the Jesus Christ traveled in the period between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection, uniting and integrating himself with the Earth and human destiny.

The seven authors in The Inner Life of the Earth approach this difficult and little-discussed topic from different directions. They discuss how the forces emanating from the interior of the Earth affect the weather, our atmosphere, human beings, and how human behavior in turn affects them, showing that earthly and human evolution are a unity and should never be thought of as occurring separately. They also discuss the deep significance of Christ's incarnation, by which he united with the Earth to become the Spirit of the Earth.

Without Christ's deed, the Mystery of Golgotha, which reunites cosmic and human evolution with the divine, human beings would be unable to work in freedom with Christ or with Sophia, divine feminine Wisdom, in her form as the Soul of the Earth, to overcome evil and help lift all creation toward goodness and greater human, cosmic, and divine fellowship. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Critical Review
In this book, editor Paul O'Leary, along with his co-contributors, attempts to explain and expand upon selected remarks from Rudolf Steiner concerning the chthonic regions of the Earth.
The starting material is Steiner's statement (not given in the book) of Sept. 4, 1906, in his GA 95: "At the Gates of Spiritual Science." In lecture #14 of the series he describes the nature of the inner layers of the earth (see below).

These remarks are peculiar for two main reasons.

One, although Steiner is famous for observations that push the limits of what constitutes ordinary common sense and which force reevaluation of conventional wisdom, the remarks in question are so "out there" as to be uncharacteristic even for him.

Two, on the face of it, and as far as I can determine (enough to warrant this review) they are, as literally stated and as a practical matter, false. An excruciating amount of mental gymnastics is required to make sense of them, and this, only in the light of consistent personal experience in those realms. Steiner's own prefatory remark is itself false and untrue, unsupported by himself as well as by any current ethnographical and anthropological research that I am aware of, unless it be by the uncomplimentary indications of the Aztec demonology.

The authors involved, however, do not attempt a critical analysis of the starting-point text, but take Steiner's highly difficult esoteric remarks at mundane face value and proceed to extrapolate them into speculations which are at no point referenced back to personally vetted or vouched experience. As a result, the overall impression gained from a reading of the book is that the interior of the Earth is an evil place which no one in their right mind would or should dare to experience.

One explanation of Steiner's remarks, one that none of the authors consider, is that the characteristics of the "Nine Layers" as he describes them are only the initiatory threshold barriers of the actual realms, realms which embody both the past developmental history and the current foundational basis for all that transpires in the ordinary natural world. As such, these realms are no more and no less divine than the ones which surround us in the outer cosmos. Thus, to consider those realms as adequately and fully described by Steiner in this excerpt - as the authors do - is to succumb to the illusion that the projected shadow of the fallen consciousness is the real thing. Steiner does have other remarks about the inner nature of the Earth which O'Leary does not cite, either in this book nor in his other two edited books on the same subject, remarks, which if taken into account, would force some serious rethinking of his position.
Neither O'Leary or his contributors make reference to any of the other spiritual pathways which might shed light on the subject nor do they make any attempt at reconciling their views with those many alternate perspectives in which the Earth is _not_ composed of progressive layers of evil. Their perspective is dominated exclusively by the small closed circle of self-referential anthroposophy. A hundred years on, this is fatally limiting.

Two stars for an exemplary case study of backfired attempt at initiation. An extended analysis of Stiener's text and the book under review from: mozartg@yahoo.com


Rudolf Steiner:

"The occult science of all epochs says the following about the interior of the earth....

1. The topmost layer, the mineral mass, is related to the interior as an eggshell is to the egg. This topmost layer is called the Mineral Earth.

2. Under it is a second layer, called the Fluid Earth; it consists of a substance to which there is nothing comparable on Earth. It is not really like any of the fluids we know, for all these have a mineral quality. This layer has specific characteristics: its substance begins to display certain spiritual qualities, which consist in the fact that as soon as it is brought into contact with something living, it strives to expel and destroy this life. The occultist is able to investigate this layer by pure concentration.

3. The "Air Earth". This is a substance, which annuls feelings: for instance, if it is brought into contact with any pain, the pain is converted into pleasure, and vice versa. The original form of feeling is, so to speak extinguished, rather as the second layer extinguishes life.

4. The "Water Earth", or "Form Earth". It produces in the material realm the effects that occur spiritually in Devachan.

5. There, we have the negative pictures of physical things. In the "Form Earth" a cube of salt, for example, would be destroyed, but its negative would arise. The form is as it were changed into its opposite; all its qualities would pass out into its surroundings. The actual space occupied by the object is left empty.

6. The "Fruit Earth." This substance is full of exuberant energy. Every little part of it grows out at once like a sponge; it gets larger and larger and is held in place only by the upper layers. It is the underlying life which serves the forms of the layers above it.

7. The "Fire Earth." Its substance is essentially feeling and will. It is sensitive to pain and would cry out if it were trodden on. It consists, as it were, entirely of passions.

8. The "Earth-mirror" or "Earth-reflector". This layer gets its name from the fact that its substance, if one concentrates on it, changes all the characteristics of the earth into their opposites. If the seer disregards everything lying above it and gazes down directly into this layer, and if then, for example, he places something green before him, the green appears as red; every color appears as its complementary opposite. A polaric reflection arises, a reversal of the original. Sorrow would be changed by this substance into joy.

8. The "Divisive" layer. If with developed power one concentrates on it, something very remarkable appears. For example, a plant held in the midst of this layer appears to be multiplied, and so with everything else.But the essential thing is that this layer disrupts the moral qualities also. Through the power it radiates to the Earth's surface, it is responsible for the fact that strife and disharmony exist there. In order to overcome this disruptive force, men must work together in harmony.
That is precisely why this layer was laid down in the Earth - so that men should be enabled to develop harmony for themselves. The substance of everything evil is prepared and organized there. Quarrelsome people are so constituted that this layer has a particular influence on them. This has been known to everyone who has written out of a true knowledge of occultism. Dante in his Divine Comedy calls this layer the Cain-layer. It was here that the strife between the brothers Cain and Abel had its source. The substance of this layer is responsible for evil having come into the world.

9. The "earth-core." This is the substance through whose influence black magic arisesin the world. The power of spiritual evil comes from this source."
... Read more

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Examines the lifetime achievements of the man who founded the Boy Scout Movement in Great Britain and saw it expand all over the world. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Baden-Powel Founder of the Boy Scouts
A friend of mine suggested the book to me. I didn't find it as useful as he suggested it may have been. ... Read more

Product Description
In 1982 there appeared a remarkable book, written by an author who wished to remain anonymous, entitled Meditations on the Tarot: A Journey into Christian Hermeticism. This book was destined to become a spiritual classic of the twentieth century. Distinguished scholar Antoine Faivre called it "the most beautiful and instructive book of the twentieth century concerning western esotericism." Father Bede Griffiths said "to me it is the last word in wisdom." Trappist Abbot Basil Pennington wrote "it is such a rich collection of wisdom drawn from such a staggering number of diverse sources that it leaves the mind almost reeling. Besides the Bible we find the Upanishads, the Cabbala, the Hermeticists, and men as diverse as Origen and Chardin, Plato and Bergson, Jung and John of the Cross, Kierkegaard and Nietzsche. It is without doubt the most extraordinary work I have ever read." And Cardinal Hans Urs von Balthasar described the author as "a thinking, praying Christian of unmistakable purity."Students of Meditations on the Tarot now have cause for celebration, for in 2007 a collection of the author's notes was published - preliminary studies of the images of the Tarot cards, illustrating the method he followed. This methodology is now revealed for the first time in English translation through the inclusion of material published in Part Two of this volume. Unfortunately, the notes cover only the last nine Arcana, from XIV to XXII, the notes to the first thirteen Arcana having gone missing.Part One comprises three lectures held by Robert Powell, the translator of Meditations on the Tarot into English from the original French manuscript. These lectures, held in California in 2006, 2007, and 2008, were delivered to an audience of friends of Christian Hermeticism, who gather every year to converse and share concerning the path of Christian Hermeticism. The second lecture, in particular, serves as an introduction to Part II. Also included is additional background material from the Luxembourg (Kairos) and German (Achamoth) editions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Mastering Advanced Italian
An effective way to get obtain better fluency with Italian.The readings are nicely guided, with a key to all the answers to the exercises, which makes this book a great candidate for those wanting to do self-study.The readings themselves also provide fascinating insight into Italian culture. ... Read more

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In today's world, it is all too easy to become preoccupied with our own wants and needs and forget about those around us. We may feel we don't have the time to think beyond our own individual problems and complexities, but in order to live fulfilled lives we need to express generosity. Through the act of being generous, we are one step closer to achieving enlightenment. This book highlights the way in which we need to examine our lives and experiences on a deeper level in order to practice compassion, love and kindness. Through generous actions, we open up our minds and souls and benefit from the rewards of bestowing happiness upon others. ... Read more

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Life doesn't have to be filled with stresses and strains, it can instead be filled with joy and harmony. To be content with our lives, and be at one with our inner selves, we need to be aware of and in tune with our individual sense of personal power. This book encourages us to reject the complexities of day to day living that we ourselves create, by confronting the basic fundamentals of life and following what is simple and true. With thought-provoking quotations, this enchanting book is a refreshing and inspirational way to achieve inner peace and live a balanced life. ... Read more

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Compiled and edited by Robert Powell this book attempts to distill the essence of the teachings of Nisargadatta Maharaj from the available information and present the result in terms that are readily intelligible and do not require any specialised religious or philosophical knowledge or aptitude. ... Read more

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Illustrated. Contents: Observation and Deduction; Self-Education; On Not Being a Sily Ass; Common Sense; Resourcefulness; Endurance; On Being Accurate; Patience; Gratitude; Courtesy; Goodwill; Honour; Keeping You Nerve; Courage; Keeping Your Pecker Up; Humour; Don't Swank; On 'Sticking it Out"; How To Be Fit; The Duty of Service; Helpfulness; Responsibility; Self-Sacrifice. ... Read more