A lifelong Peruvian shaman and curandero (healer) provides a rare, in-depth look into the world of Ayahuasca, a special medicine used in healing ceremonies by Indigenous South Americans for thousands of years that is taking the world by storm. A mysterious and powerful plant medicine with curative powers that is drunk as a "tea" during a sacred ceremony, Ayahuasca has been known to change people's lives dramatically. But what was once a healing experience practiced only by Indigenous South Americans--and sought out by the adventurous few--has, in the past fifty years, become increasingly popular around the world. Hachumak has been practicing Ayahuasca ceremonies in his compound in the Amazon for twenty-five years. In this remarkable book, he shares his secrets to broaden our understanding of this powerful medicine and protect it from misuse and exploitation. Whether you are curious or skeptical, you will gain a deeper understanding of what shamanism is and how and why it works, as well as its possibilities and limitations. In Secrets of a Shaman, Hachumak reveals his own history of learning to become a shaman, explaining how a traditional Ayahuasca ceremony unfolds when run by an experienced curandero, and describing in detail what to expect--both physically and psychologically--while under the influence of the sacred plants. Open minds who have embraced Michael Pollan's How to Change Your Mind and the works of Roshi Joan Halifax, as well as those interested in spirituality and alternative healing, will be mesmerized by this unique and fascinating book that presents aspects of shamanism never before revealed.

The world has many facets. Some are easily seen at first glance; others lie hidden, awaiting discovery. Journey into the Invisible gives children a brand-new way of looking at the world we live in, while making the information inside approachable and interesting for young readers. Discover how microscopes are made and what they are actually used for—then begin the exploration! You’ll discover fascinating facts and incredible (and sometimes gross!) images of plants, insects, rocks, water, and even the human body! Included are factoids and microscopic images of: • Human hair • Teeth • Mosquitoes • Tap water • Snow • Sand • Pollen • Leaves • Butterflies • And much more! Learn how the hairs of a nettle behave like tiny hypodermic syringes and that plain old house dust is actually teeming with fascinating microorganisms. With stunning photos and sidebars full of mind-boggling tidbits, this book is sure to appeal to children fascinated by science and the world around them. The perfect addition to any elementary school classroom!

Explores the minority peoples on their skiffs and herders on the steppe. Closely observing daily life in these remote regions, they document the many lifestyles and adventures of the Chinese natives, among them the visit of an old Catholic fisherman at a church that has been without a priest for over 40 years.

Ruth Silvers young life was challenged in ways most of us will never know. A silent, frightened child with undiagnosed vision loss, her world was one of limited vision that ultimately became one of total darkness. Once the situation had a nameretinitis pigmentosa (RP), a progressive eye diseaseshe at least knew what she was dealing with. As she grew, her other contact with the worldsoundwas also taken from her. Where others might have given up, Ruth refused to surrender to the darkness and silence. As Ruth Silvers world shrank around her, her heart and ambition grew. She never stopped looking for ways to add meaning to her life. Inspired by her own experiences and challenges, she founded the Center for Deaf-Blind Persons in Milwaukee, a nonprofit agency dedicated to helping others living with the double disability of deaf-blindness. Ruths story demonstrates how a resilient spirit can propel a profoundly disabled person forward toward a happy, productive life. A charming young man by the name of Marv was destined to change her life even more; their enduring love story is one of hope, patience, and acceptance. Invisible dispels myths, suggests useful teaching procedures, gives hope to people who are disabled and their families, and offers reassurance through her example that a person with profound disabilities can live a full, rich life.

A strikingly honest look into Islamic culture?—in particular women and Islam?—and what it takes for one woman to recreate herself in the land of invisible women. Unexpectedly denied a visa to remain in the United States, Qanta Ahmed, a young British Muslim doctor, becomes an outcast in motion. On a whim, she accepts an exciting position in Saudi Arabia. This is not just a new job; this is a chance at adventure in an exotic land she thinks she understands, a place she hopes she will belong. What she discovers is vastly different. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a world apart, a land of unparalleled contrast. She finds rejection and scorn in the places she believed would most embrace her, but also humor, honesty, loyalty and love. And for Qanta, more than anything, it is a land of opportunity. Very few Islamic books for women give a firsthand account of what it's like to live in a place where Muslim women continue to be oppressed and treated as inferior to men. But if you want to learn more about the Islamic culture in an unflinchingly real way, this book is for you. "In this stunningly written book, a Western trained Muslim doctor brings alive what it means for a woman to live in the Saudi Kingdom. I've rarely experienced so vividly the shunning and shaming, racism and anti—Semitism, but the surprise is how Dr. Ahmed also finds tenderness at the tattered edges of extremism, and a life—changing pilgrimage back to her Muslim faith." — Gail Sheehy

"The Invisible Line" shines light on one of the most important, but too often hidden, aspects of American history and culture. Sharfstein's narrative of three families negotiating America's punishing racial terrain is a must read for all who are interested in the construction of race in the United States." --Annette Gordon-Reed, Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Hemingses of Monticello In America, race is a riddle. The stories we tell about our past have calcified into the fiction that we are neatly divided into black or white. It is only with the widespread availability of DNA testing and the boom in genealogical research that the frequency with which individuals and entire families crossed the color line has become clear. In this sweeping history, Daniel J. Sharfstein unravels the stories of three families who represent the complexity of race in America and force us to rethink our basic assumptions about who we are. The Gibsons were wealthy landowners in the South Carolina backcountry who became white in the 1760s, ascending to the heights of the Southern elite and ultimately to the U.S. Senate. The Spencers were hardscrabble farmers in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, joining an isolated Appalachian community in the 1840s and for the better part of a century hovering on the line between white and black. The Walls were fixtures of the rising black middle class in post-Civil War Washington, D.C., only to give up everything they had fought for to become white at the dawn of the twentieth century. Together, their interwoven and intersecting stories uncover a forgotten America in which the rules of race were something to be believed but not necessarily obeyed. Defining their identities first as people of color and later as whites, these families provide a lens for understanding how people thought about and experienced race and how these ideas and experiences evolved-how the very meaning of black and white changed-over time. Cutting through centuries of myth, amnesia, and poisonous racial politics, The Invisible Line will change the way we talk about race, racism, and civil rights.

Searching for the meaning of lifes experiences? Your soul purpose? Unlocking the Invisible Child: A Journey from Heartbreak to Bliss reveals the key to self-healing of body and mind, through the grace and gratitude of the heart and soul, via the all-knowing, compassionate invisible child within. In Unlocking the Invisible Child: A Journey from Heartbreak to Bliss, Laura Mayer shares her remarkable journey. It began with the discovery of a crippling and supposedly fatal disease at age fourteen. She chronicles the forty-year course of the disease, along with her multistage self-healing process, and suggests that anyone can take a similar journey to heal their own life. Mayer knows that all the medicine in the world could not have healed her, had she not gone deeper and unlocked the invisible child inside her. Over the past five years, Mayer has witnessed a total transformation in body, mind, and spirit. Aware that if she could mend her heart, her body would heal, she started to trust in the universe and listen to its messages. There are as many paths toward healing as there are individuals in need of healing. This means there is no formula, no sure-fire, cookie-cutter method that applies to everyone. Unlocking the Invisible Child is the amazing account of Laura Mayers remarkable journey. She reveals to us a truththat healing is and has always been the unique journey of the soul. Mayer writes from the heart. Her courageous account will inspire and encourage anyone who wants to be more than they are at present. Larry Dossey, M.D. author of The Power of Premonitions, Healing Words, and Reinventing Medicine