This guidebook on secular spirituality will appeal to both religious and nonreligious people. Basing its premises in values—and everyone has values—it offers broad avenues and private paths to achieve sustained, empowering, exalted, and expanding “Soul Celebration” experiences singular for every individual because each person’s value system is exclusively theirs alone. It also offers shorter, simpler “Spiritual Snacks” to provide instantly available, delectable bits of spiritual nourishment for spur-of-the-moment joyful experiences of being uniquely alive in today’s impersonal world. Our essential value center defines our distinctive personhood. This interior core can be activated by external stimuli into experiences of sustained secular spiritual bliss that celebrate our one-and-only inimitable personhood. How? By connecting to and uniting—becoming “One”—with three “other” here-on-earth entities that can stimulate our value center both emotionally and physically: nature, art, and romantically beloved humans. These three alone can open gateways that lead to the highest renewal of the essence—the soul—of Selfhood in a secular manner. By learning to approach the wonders of the physical universe selectively, we can experience a “merging” with chosen aspects of nature and come away with a glorious sense of having participated in eternity. A museum stroll, a novel, and music may turn into exhilarating experiences because art at its best expresses ideas that make manifest—in external, material form—the artists’ values. If they match our own, we may feel elevated to the point of experiencing the art aesthetically and spiritually. Romantic love with its sexual component is the ultimate secular spiritual experience because the most desirable and cherished human being is a living embodiment of our supreme values making this mind-body union the most sacred of all. Plus, happily, along with the three primaries, families and friends are rewarding subcategories for sharing marvelous spiritual-like experiences.

The New York Times bestselling author and senior fellow at the Discovery Institute blends science and religion in this thoughtful guide that teaches modern believers how to use the leading wellness trend today—intermittent fasting—as a means of spiritual awakening, adopting the traditions our Christians ancestors practiced for centuries into daily life. Wellness minded people today are increasingly turning to intermittent fasting to bolster their health. But we aren’t the first people to abstain from eating for a purpose. This routine was a common part of our spiritual ancestors’ lives for 1,500 years. Jay Richards argues that Christians should recover the fasting lifestyle, not only to improve our bodies, but to bolster our spiritual health as well. In Eat, Fast, Feast, he combines forgotten spiritual wisdom on fasting and feasting with the burgeoning literature on ketogenic diets and fasting for improved physical and mental health. Based on his popular series “Fasting, Body and Soul” in The Stream, Eat, Fast, Feast explores what it means to substitute our hunger for God for our hunger for food, and what both modern science and the ancient monastics can teach us about this practice. Richards argues that our modern diet—heavy in sugar and refined carbohydrates—locks us into a metabolic trap that makes fasting unfruitful and our feasts devoid of meaning. The good news, he reveals, is that we are beginning to resist the tyranny of processed foods, with millions of people pursuing low carb, ketogenic, paleo, and primal diets. This growing body of experts argue that eating natural fat and fasting is not only safe, but far better than how we eat today. Richards provides a 40-day plan which combines a long-term “nutritional ketosis” with spiritual disciplines. The plan can be used any time of the year or be adapted to a penitential season on the Christian calendar, such as Advent or Lent. Synthesizing recent science with ancient wisdom, Eat, Fast, Feast brings together the physical, mental, and spiritual benefits of intermittent fasting to help Christians improve their lives and their health, and bring them closer to God.

Latino folklore comprises a kaleidoscope of cultural traditions. This compelling three-volume work showcases its richness, complexity, and beauty. Latino folklore is a fun and fascinating subject to many Americans, regardless of ethnicity. Interest in—and celebration of—Latin traditions such as Día de los Muertos in the United States is becoming more common outside of Latino populations. Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions provides a broad and comprehensive collection of descriptive information regarding all the genres of Latino folklore in the United States, covering the traditions of Americans who trace their ancestry to Mexico, Spain, or Latin America. The encyclopedia surveys all manner of topics and subject matter related to Latino folklore, covering the oral traditions and cultural heritage of Latin Americans from riddles and dance to food and clothing. It covers the folklore of 21 Latin American countries as these traditions have been transmitted to the United States, documenting how cultures interweave to enrich each other and create a unique tapestry within the melting pot of the United States.

The essential resource and guide to African American spirituality and traditions. This is a fabulous resource for anyone who wants to understand African American spirituality, shamanism, and indigenous spiritual practices and beliefs. It is designed to be informative while providing hands-on recipes, rituals, projects, and resources to help you become an active participant in its wonderfully soulful traditions. Inside you will find: 1. A celebration of healing, magic, and the divination traditions of ancient African earth-based spirituality 2. An explanation of how these practices have evolved in contemporary African American culture 3. A potpourri of recipes, rituals, and resources that you can use to heal your life Among the topics covered: African spiritual practices of Santeria, Obeah, Lucumi, Orisa, and Quimbois Hoodoo--and how to use it to improve your health Ancient healing rituals and magical recipes of Daliluw Talking drums, spiritual dancing, clapping, tapping, singing, and changing ower objects, tricks and mojo bats, and herbal remedies Previously published as The Big Book of Soul.

To nourish your spiritual self you need "rest" from your hectic life. This book shows you how to do it. "Renew the soul and your perspective of daily life will completely change. It is simply a matter of taking time, slowing down, shifting mundane consciousness into realms of higher insight and giving yourself the gift of reflection and contemplation." --from the Introduction While broad interest in Jewish meditation is a relatively new phenomenon, meditative practices have been deeply rooted in Judaism for thousands of years. Here, Rabbi David A. Cooper shows newcomers and experienced meditators alike how Jewish meditation can be an integral part of daily life, and can refresh us in our day-to-day encounters with ourselves, other people and in ritual, prayer, Torah study and our celebration of the Sabbath and other holy days.