Explores the nature of human awareness as represented in the Garden of Eden, Cain and Abel, Abraham and the sacrifice of Isaac, and humanity’s covenant with God.

Many silent and forgotten voices are brought to life in this volume which presents the accumulated wisdom of women mystics, theologians, spiritual directors, poets, visionaries, mothers and activists over eleven centuries. Featured writers include Julian of Norwich, Hildegard of Bingen, Catherine of Siena, Teresa of Avila, Therese of Lisieux, Bernadette of Lourdes, Bridget of Sweden, Wendy Beckett, Joan Chittister, and many more, some translated into English for the first time. Their concerns are broad ranging and they reflect on: Prayer, Family life, a woman's lot, suffering, comfort and consolation, women's ministry and its restrictions and more. All these varied voices are linked by a common thread: in every age women have sought authentic spiritual self expression. This anthology is an inspiration for all women today who are seeking opportunity to define and realise their charisma.

Looking to the vast human history of water worship, a crucial study of our broken relationship with all things aquatic—and how we might mend it. Early human relationships with water were expressed through beliefs in serpentine aquatic deities: rainbow-colored, feathered or horned serpents, giant anacondas, and dragons. Representing the powers of water, these beings were bringers of life and sustenance, world creators, ancestors, guardian spirits, and lawmakers. Worshipped and appeased, they embodied people’s respect for water and its vital role in sustaining all living things. Yet today, though we still recognize that “water is life,” fresh- and saltwater ecosystems have been critically compromised by human activities. This major study of water beings and what has happened to them in different cultural and historical contexts demonstrates how and why some—but not all—societies have moved from worshipping water to wreaking havoc upon it and asks what we can do to turn the tide.

A vital resource for sustainability educators, learners and decision-makers on how we can build a more sustainable future. In this ground-breaking book, leading sustainability educators are joined by permaculturists, literary critics, ecologists, artists, journalists, engineers, mathematicians and philosophers in a deep reflection on the skills that people need to survive and thrive in the challenging conditions of the 21st century. Responding to the threats of climate change, peak oil, resource depletion, economic uncertainty and energy insecurity demands the utmost in creativity, ingenuity and new ways of thinking to reinvent self and society. Among the many skills, attributes and values described in The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy are values reflection, coping with complexity, permaculture design, transition skills, advertising awareness, effortless action, and ecological intelligence, each accompanied by ideas for active learning exercises to help develop the skill. Far from being a rigid or definitive statement of the one right way however, the handbook is exploratory, aiming to open up new, unthought-of paths, possibilities and choices. With contributors including John Naish, Satish Kumar, Patrick Whitefield, John Blewitt, Stephan Harding and Stephen Sterling, this is intended for educators, learners and anyone else interested in the vital issue of the skills we need to survive and thrive in the 21st century and build a more sustainable future.

While growing up on a cotton farm in rural Texas, Martha Elaine Couch could never have predicted that one day, she would earn three degrees from Texas Tech University and travel to more than one hundred and ten countries. In a charming and uplifting memoir, Couch shares details of a life well lived that include anecdotes and thoughts about her parents and the rest of her family, her childhood in rural West Texas, her experiences working with youth and adult volunteers and as a professor, and her devoted faith in God as she journeyed away from her home to see the world. Included are Couch’s recollections about her exciting trip to the White House during George W. Bush’s tenure, seeing Muhammad Ali lighting the Olympic flame in Atlanta in 1996, visiting Tiananmen Square and Mao’s Burial Tomb just a few months prior to the uprising, and surviving the emergency evacuation of a plane at the Cusco airport. Couch also shares journal entries from her mother’s diaries that reveal a fascinating look at life in rural Texas during another era. Smile More, Pray More details the life of a world traveler as she ventured away from her childhood in rural Texas and experienced more than she ever imagined.