Caplan (TO TOUCH IS TO LIVE) asserts that "the reality of the present condition of contemporary spirituality in the West is one of grave distortion, confusion, fraud, and a fundamental lack of education." She claims that, as positive as the tremendous rise in spirituality is, there is not any context for determining whether any particular teaching, or teacher, is truly enlightening. Caplan compiles interviews with such noted spiritual masters as Joan Halifax, Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee and Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi on the nature of enlightenment. In the first section, Caplan examines the motivations people have for seeking enlightenment and contends that very often they seek this state as a means of gratifying the ego. This "presumption of enlightenment," she says, often afflicts teachers masquerading as spiritual leaders. These teachers sometimes look down on their students and gloat over how far they have come and how far the students have to go. A second section focuses on "The Dangers of Mystical Experience," in which Caplan claims that many seekers mistake the mystical experience itself for enlightenment; she and the teachers she interviews all assert that enlightenment always involves gaining some knowledge about self and others. The third section, "Corruption and Consequence," focuses on the nature of power and corruption; the fourth section, "Navigating the Mine Field: Preventing Dangers on the Path," provides a survey of the ways in which practitioners can avoid the "pitfalls of false enlightenment." A final section, "Disillusionment, Humility and the Beginning of Spiritual Life," concludes that "the Real spiritual life [is] the life of total annihilation and the return to just what is." Caplan's illuminating book calls into question the motives of the spiritual snake handlers of the modern age and urges seekers to pay the price of traveling the hard road to true enlightenment.

The author recounts his effort to scale Colorado's fifty-four mountains above 14,000 feet, a quest marked by the search for hiking partners among eccentric candidates and his exploration of the culture and history of the "Fourteeners."

A mountain girl, Maya, fights her fate in a traditional Indian family. Poetic and completely original.

Middlehood women share insights, stories, wisdom, and creative ideas for navigating this rich time of change with courage, laughter, and love.

Recently a top Christian leader wrote an article entitled: America is in Crisis: “What do we do?” This theme was very interesting to me thus I read it with great expectations, but was sorry to hear once again that the apparent answer to the question was to return to the old methods that we have been using in the past. The world is changing and there are myriads of new possible methods and tools that can be used in the proclamation of the Gospel. We need to seek new answers to the question of “What do we do?” The title of this book shows both the success of the past but also give us new challenges for the future. Our goal is to complete the great Commission of Jesus Christ and that is to “Make disciples of all nations”. We have had much success in that at the present time we can say that approximately one third of the world claims some adherence to the Christian Faith. But the job is not yet completed. We are only half way there. In climbing a mountain the start is easy and exciting. We look at the beautiful peaks and can imagine what it will be like when we reach the top of the mountain. Once we have reached the peak, we have an unspeakable joy as to our accomplishments. It is only when we are halfway up the mountain that real discouragement sets in. When we are half way towards our ultimate goal we need to get ready for the more difficult part of the task. We have accomplished much but still much needs to be done. There are twelve authors who have contributed to this book. All are experts in one of the ten mountains of culture. The writers of this book are suggesting how we can look at the ten mountains of culture and discover new and creative ways of making the Gospel known to all peoples. This book is intended to both inform the reader of the present situation and to challenge them to think on what we can accomplish when we apply mega thinking to our present satiation. Authors: Jenny Clark · Alan Cross · Timothy Goropevek · Thomas K. Johnson · John Langlois · David McAlvany · Mary-Catherine McAlvany · Timo Plutschinski · Charles Reynolds · Hans-Günter Schmidts · Walker Tzeng · Mark Wagner · William Wagner

A charming instant classic that celebrates the important things in life - family, nature, and time spent together.

From the Newbery Honor and Schneider Award-winning author of The War that Saved My Life comes Halfway to the Sky, a compelling novel perfect for fans of Rain Reign. Twelve-year-old Dani is running away from home, or what’s left of home anyway. Her older brother, who had muscular dystrophy, died a few months ago. Then her father left and her parents got divorced. Now home is just Dani and her sad, silent mother, and Dani’s got to get away. She plans to do something amazing, and go where her parents will never find her: she’s going to hike the whole Appalachian Trail, from Georgia to Maine. The trail is a legend in her family, the place where her parents met, fell in love, and got married 14 years before. Unfortunately for her master plan, her mother doesn’t have much trouble figuring out where Dani’s gone. Now it’s the two of them, hiking for as long as Dani can manage to persuade her mother to keep going. But Dani’s got an even longer emotional journey to make—and it’s one she and her mom need to make together. "A wise and thoughtful book."-The Bulletin "[Readers] will readily relate to the angst and anger and be intrigued by the details about the Trail itself."-Kirkus Reviews