Religion Books

Beth Moore writes for the modern Christian woman. We aren't whimpering victims waiting for a rescue. She writes to encourage us.

I have read this book multiple times in the past few years since I was introduced to it. I have also given it away multiple times. Anytime I start to feel confusion or doubts or just weary on the walk with God, second to the Bible, this book is an infusion of faith. Beth outlines 5 key faith statements that infuse your belief system. Grasping these and holding on to them changes the way you live...

I also read and experienced the video sessions by the same name. The book is a great reminder, as well as a first introduction for folks.

God is who He says He is.
God can do what He says He can do.
I am who God says I am.
God's word is alive and active in me.
I can do all things in Christ.

I'm Believing God...blue bracelet and all.

I am enjoying and being very challenged by this book. It was recommended to me by a friend who did a DVD study with it.

This book is not just a book. God has expanded my faith and changed my view point of day to day life. There is not another Christian book out there that can impact your life like this one did me. READ IT TODAY!

I can't say enough good things about Beth Moore.
Great work, it brings your faith to a new level.

I'm using this book in my Men's Group. It's superb - excellent teaching and solidly Biblically based. Our discussion has been deep. The guys are really enjoying the book, and are learning how to "Develop a Conversational Relationship with God".

Dallas Willard writes, "If our gospel does not free the individual up for a unique life of spiritual adventure in living with God daily, we simply have not entered fully into the good news that Jesus brought." And "When Christ's abiding presence becomes our guide, then guidance becomes an almost unconscious response to the gentle moving of His Holy Spirit within us." Developing a unique and genuine relationship with God is the premise of Hearing God. It moves us past the rituals and into personal communion with the Christ that desires to express Himself through each of us, moment by moment. Highly recommended.Christian Meditation and Relaxation Four Cd Set

Dallas Willard gives plenty of examples from real people's lives of how God communicates with us on a daily basis. highly recommended... a must read for any serious christian

I found this book to be very helpful. I struggle to hear the Lord and after I was loaned a copy of this book from a friend, I opted to buy one for myself.

I definatly urge anyone to purchase it if they are having the same problems.

I'm still reading this but it has already challenged me to surrender all for a closer walk with God. Day by day I'm doing that. And a new and greater intimacy between us is developing.
This is the 3rd book by Dallas Willard I've read in the past year. Each has had demonstrable impact on my thinking and being. But "Hearing God" has been the most accessible and the one I find easiest to put into practice daily.

As a newbie to parenthood, I find this book enlightening and helpful on many levels. Trying to stay present and in the moment is a constant struggle, but the authors give you the gift of their experience and knowledge to help you stay engaged in the day to day joys of being a parent. Our culture is so busy being over stimulated that we are losing sight of all of god's gifts before us each day, including raising our family! Stop, breathe and enjoy your child before this day is over!

I read this book when I was 2 months pregnant with my first child. Now at 11 months old, I plan on rereading it. I'm a practicing Buddhist, so this fit with my belief. However, everyone can benefit from reading this book. People of all faiths can certainly relate. I passed it on to my sister, who is a Christian, and she had the same praise. Read it.

Worthwhile reading for time-strapped parents who want to be more present in their everday interaction with their children.

The Kabat-Zinns have written a unique book in as much as it is one of the very few that apply mindfulness to parenting. Those portions of the book, where this application is described, are very good. Afterall, Jon Kabat-Zinn has done a fair bit towards popularizing this form of meditative practice. However, the book falters when the authors advise about bringing up children and disciplinary issues. They fail to distinguish, in any practical way, between utter laissez faire and much-needed corrective action. The reader is left to his/her own devices to figure out a path that should be followed. Well, one really does not need a book to tell us that the path is unique and must be forged by each parent. The manner in which mindfulness can help in charting this path is poorly described.
Overall, I recommend this book only for a few chapters (approx. 75 pages) that are very good. The rest does nothing to improve parenting skills.

I was hoping this book would help me learn to be a calmer, more patient, and contented parent. While there were lots of examples, I felt this book was rambling and didn't really give me practical help.

excellent book, very informative, inspiring and easily understood.
excellent book for believers and unbelievers.

thank you

dino

Conservative evangels have misdirected the development of Christian Faith by gimmicks, acronyms, and rigid doctrine. Henry directs us back to the basics of developing our own faith and nurturing others through experience. IT IS A MUST READ !

I've completed Experiencing God twice in ten years. I find it very revealing about where I am in my spiritual development and it causes me to dig deeper, and seek God with renewed passion. I highly recommend this study. It's simple to follow, well presented and promises growth to the one who truly desires to be a man or woman of God.

This book is the best I have read yet. It clears up the relational gap between a born again child of God and to God himself. It really made me think about the circumstances already in my life and how God is already a part of that. All I have to do is be odedient and have a love relationship with a holy, just God. The book says in a nutshell that God is already at work in my life and He invites me to come join Him daily. The book explains how. AWESOME!

I ordered 7 copies of this book for my small group thinking this was the Experiencing God workbook. I wanted to make sure everyone knows this is not the workbook. The original book done a decade ago was redone and they added little questions through out the book. That is what this book is. If you are looking for the adult workbook it has a partially red cover. I can say that I love this book and I have done the youth edition of the workbook and loved that as well.

This guide provides nothing more than the history instead of a guide on Karma Sutra. Wish I could sue the author for such lies!

Nothing can't really beat the Kama Sutra for information about sex and relationships. The ancient text is suprisingly informative and helpful, even in our modern age. A lovely book with nice illustrations that everyone should have in their library. That is the "something old." If you are looking for "something new" to add to your library along with the Kama Sutra, try The Sensuous Couple's (Flip Over) Guide to Seismic Oral Sex. This text is a flip over book that gives you everything you need to know about cunnilingus on one side, then flip it over you can learn everything you need to know about fellatio. If you want to make your library totally complete, add Five Minutes to Orgasm Every Time You Make Love: Female Orgasm Made Simple to the mix. You won't ever have to buy any more books. Your library is complete.

Historically very interesting and informative.
Drawings are quaint.It does give a better insight into the subject of human sexuality.

This book gives you not only the original text of the 14th century Kama Sutra, like some other books also do, but it also gives you beautifully photos from very old and newer drawings, medals, pottery and many other art forms. The photos relate to the topic dealt with at that partical episode.
A book you should place for ever in your library, not only the hardcore sex-fanatic, but also every person interested in literature and in the origin of our Western culture.

This is the exact form of the Kama Sutra that I have been looking for. It is illustrated with original Indian artwork. It is an abridged version of the Kama Sutra text but it has the sections that most individuals are most often interested in, the ones on sex. It is not a book that is all about sex but has a large part about relationships and gives some good insight into the Indian culture.

This book reproduces an insightful and spirited recent debate between Christopher Hitchens and Douglas Wilson over what Dostoevsky called the Eternal Questions: What is the real nature of the universe in which we find ourselves? What are the ultimate bases of reason and ethics? Are there any ultimate sanctions governing human behavior? Though Hitchens is always worth reading for his quick wit and frequently surprising arguments, unfortunately in this debate he does not come off at his best. While graciously conceding that Hitchens has clean hands, Wilson wielding a very fine knife shows that Hitchens, sad to say, doesn't have any hands to begin with.

Hitchens is of the view that the universe is the accidental consequence of swirling particles, claiming that his reason has led him to this conclusion. Wilson, in the style of C.S.Lewis, points out that if the world outside Hitchen's head is given over wholly to such irrational chemical processes, the world inside Hitchens' head can be no differently composed, and that what Hitchens refers to as "rational argument" has been "arbitrarily dubbed" so.

Similarly, if there are no ultimate, objective standards in ethics, then despite Hitchens rhetorical maneuverings, what follows is what Dostoevsky's Ivan pointed out long ago: there is no "good" or "bad for "everything's permitted." Hitchens' "fulminations" against assorted zealots are, as a result, also merely arbitrary.

To dispute the necessity of a God behind the Big Bang, Hitchens, with unusual complacency, rests his case on the principle called Ockham's Razor, the argument that it's bad logic to multiply entities. The problem here is that Ockham's Razor is at best a rule of thumb, never a guarantee of a royal road to truth in any particular case.

On the other side, the weakest part of Wilson's case, in my view, is his failure to address the idea that the necessity for ultimate sanctions does not lead to the existence of a particular God, much less the God of Christianity. His arguments in the present debate end, in fact, at a considerable distance from either conclusion, though Wilson seems unaware of this shortcoming.

Both men agree that it's possible in behavior for a person to be a righteous, ethical atheist. What is missing in their presentation here, however, is what can be found in Shakespeare's addition to the ending of the pagan story of King Lear. It will be remembered that the character of Cordelia is so ethically fine that Elizabethans would have dubbed her a "natural Christian." She is murdered, almost gratuitously, at play's end, and her distraught father cradles her broken body in his arms, a pieta whose meaning has yet to make any sense in the world of brutal men. The play's argument, I'd claim, supports Hitchens in his view that one can be a fine person without a Redeemer God yet on the scene. It also supports Wilson in his sense that ethics are not enough to make life bearable, since very often "the virtuous miscarry and the wicked prosper." If there is no Redeemer - though ways can be found to hedge on this - ultimately there is no Justice, and in Paul's words "we are the most miserable of creatures." Human life becomes mere history, filled with bad luck but lacking any meaningful, tragic dimension. How much interest one has in the need of a Redeemer rests finally on how much poignancy one senses in existence.

When America's most influential conservative thinker (and Catholic) William F. Buckley died early this year (2/27/08) my sense of loss centered on this one thought: When Bill Buckley's "Firing Line" disappeared from television (almost a decade ago) we lost perhaps the greatest `give-and-take' (liberal/conservative debates) ever to grace our TV screens.

Buckley's record-setting program ("longest-running TV show with just one host,") treated us to the very best in debates. (How could it not, with a guest list that ranged from Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, to Clare Boothe Luce and Henry Kissinger, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Jackson, Jimmy Carter, William Kuntsler, Daniel Patrick Moynihan, Louis Auchincloss, Tom Wolfe and Allen Ginsburg (and a host of other 'bright lights').

Most of Bill's shows were `political' . . . but my all-time favorite featured a former atheistic journalist (turned Catholic) Malcolm Muggeridge -- a program that, (like this book) is at the heart of the perennial subject most worth debating . . . the "existence of God."

When I mentioned this book this morning at breakfast, my wife said: "Christopher Hitchens IS an intelligent man, isn't he?" And I thought (to myself, but didn't say out loud) that, "I've heard better, historical `apologetics for atheism' than those advanced in this book!"

What I said (out loud) though, was: "Yes, he IS (smart) and - for that reason -- you'll really enjoy the `point/counterpoint' from the "Christian apologist" here, Douglas Wilson. [I'm certain Bill Buckley would have enjoyed 'hosting' this one!]

Anyway, it would take a better mind than mine to recapitulate in fewer words, Mr. Wilson (who writes with a C.S. Lewis 'economy-of-style') in his brilliant reflections on Mr. Hitchens' best arguments. May I share a couple of favorites: See if they don't `speak' to your heart and mind (and life experience):

---------

"Your first point (is) that the Christian faith cannot credit itself for all that `Love your neighbor' stuff -- not to mention the Golden Rule, and that the reason for this is that such moral precepts have been self-evident to everybody throughout history who wanted to have a stable society.

"You then move on to the second point, which contains the idea that the teachings of Christianity are `incredibly immoral.' Apparently, basic morality is NOT all that self-evident. So my first question is: Which way do you want to argue this? Do all human societies have a grasp of basic morality, or has religion `poisoned EVERYTHING'?"

"The second thing to observe in this regard is that Christians actually do not claim that the gospel has made the world better by bringing us turbo-charged ethical information. There have been ethical advances that are due to the propagation of the faith . . . but that is not `where the action is.' Christians believe - as C. S. Lewis argued in THE ABOLITION OF MAN - that non-believers do understand the basics of morality.

"Paul the apostle refers to the Gentiles, who did not have the law but who nevertheless knew by nature some of the tenets of the law (Rom. 2:14). But the world is not made better because people can understand the ways in which they are being bad . . .

"It has to be made better by `Good News' - we must receive the gift of forgiveness, and the resultant ability to live more in conformity to a standard we already knew (but were necessarily failing to meet.

"The gospel makes the world better through (that) Good News, not through guilt trips or good advice."

[And in a final point made by Douglas Wilson to Christopher Hitchens]

"You make a great deal out of your individualism and your right to be left alone: Given your atheism, what account are you able to give that would require us to respect the individual?

"How does this individualism of yours flow from the premises of atheism?

"Why should anyone in the outside world respect the details of your thought life any more than they respect the internal churnings of any other given `chemical reaction'? If there is a distinction, could you show how the premises (starting assumptions) of your atheism might produce such a distinction?

-----

I'm delighted that our Canadian edition (published by our largest publishing house, McClelland & Stewart) includes a delightful forward by Jonah Goldberg --- my favorite alumnus of Billy Buckley's "National Review" magazine (too young, alas, ever to have appeared on "Firing Line").

Mark Blackburn
Winnipeg Canada

I followed the original debate at the Christianity Today website as it was occurring. Very interesting.

If I may paraphrase or sum up a point that Wilson made in his debate with Hitchens, "If there is no God and we're just a bunch of organic chemical reactions, that's all we are doing... we're just fizzing."

Counter Point 1) Two people arguing with one another DO seem to "react" to one another's points in a reflex-like fashion based on well worn ruts (or intricately tangled tendrils) of thought formed during each person's respective life times of unique experiences, readings and ponderings. One point provokes a response which provokes a counter, ad infinitum, like ping pong reflexes on display, and neither person seems to need to think very hard to keep the game going indefinitely.

Any fresh evidence marshaled in support of each point is likewise dealt with in a summary fashion, the mind being flexible enough to invent ways to question the new evidence, or invent a special rule or corollary as an exception in which to fit the new evidence, or it can stretch one's overall views just a tad in one direction to make the new evidence fit one's overall brain-mind pattern, or it can toss up a point that it finds more "fundamental" and hence more worth focusing upon and stuff the new evidence into a "less fundamental" side compartment to examine later or forget about.

So each mind is flexible enough to be able to do all the imaginative and inventive "adjustments" I mentioned above, and most minds will chose to make such minor adjustments rather than take the immense time and effort needed to switch over completely to a whole new system of mental architecture. In that sense we are all relatively conservative once we have a well worked out system with grooves worn into our mind-brains.

(For one example of the brain-mind's conservatism one may note the case of the "soft" atheist, Antony Flew, who, though he came to question his former atheism that he had developed in books for decades, still told his Christian friend, Habermas, that he had not necessarily come to believe in a personal deity, nor in an infallible holy book, nor in the Christian religion. I also read of another similar instance in Christianity Today, in an article that stated that most Evangelicals convert in their teens, and that every year past the age of twenty that a person lives and does not convert to Evangelical Christianity, that that person has an increasingly less chance of doing so later in life.)

Counter Point 2) Another difficulty is that our brain-mind functions in a three-dimensional fashion with neurons connected to neurons in all directions and likewise with thoughts connected one with another in equally deep and wide fashion, such connections being forged over each individual's unique lifetime of experiences and learning. Yet we are restricted by nature to communicating with each other via a LINEAR process that consists of a whittling down of our three-dimensional understandings into a thin stream of words. It's little wonder that people find it difficult to fully express what's in their three-dimensional brain-minds to one another, and it's little wonder that people with differing views do not often come to agree with one another during "debates."

Counter Point 3) Trying to make the other person's view appear absurd by comparing it to something absurd is not the same as proving that your view is "more rational." It's simply a rhetorical technique, like comparing the violin works of Fritz Kreisler to the mere scrapping of cat's entrails. Or like comparing marvelous books and the stories they relate to mere ink stains on train-track-flattened tree guts. But in reality I'm quite certain that one's fellow human beings (whether theistic or atheistic) when listening to such music or reading such books, are getting more out of them than the "ad absurdum" descriptions above! The question therefore is not whether atheists and theists both can have similar feelings and interests that lay in the human realm, but whether or not the everyday human realm is connected partly or wholly with some other realm that theists claim exists.

Counter Point 4) Theists think their view is "superior" because it can explain everything in the human, animal and physical realms, all the feelings, all the books, all the knowledge, all the atoms. But notice the explanation provided by theism, i.e., "God did it." God made the brain-mind, beauty, music, atoms, everything, "God did it." But some are not as impressed as others with such an explanation. They ask, isn't saying that "God did it," like saying, "It is like it Is?" And how exactly does that differ from an atheist saying, "It is like it Is?"

And why is "God" used to "explain" the stuff we already agree we "like" in our human realm? Things like sunsets, beauty, kindness, long life, health, etc.? If "God" is being used to explain "all" then you can't only stress the aforementioned things we all "like," but you also have to mention extinctions (including mass extinctions), natural disasters, cosmic disasters, the way we each begin our lives ignorant as did our species, and how our species had to exert itself for centuries to slowly gain knowledge via trial and error, learning to make fire, the wheel, simple machines -- and we have to learn much individually too from birth onwards. And let's add mention of how we each grow old and lose mental agility, lose health, and lose knowledge toward the end of each of our lives, how our sufferings grow, and every living thing dies, which we all get to see and know with the utmost certainty. (As for what happens AFTER death, people hold diverse and argumentative opinions.)

If "God" is a greater mystery than the cosmos but is used to explain the cosmos, then isn't that like explaining one mystery with an even greater mystery?

And how does the use of any single word, including "God," or "chemicals," provide "the answer?" The inexpressible individual moments of each person's life appears richer than the ability of any single word to encompass.

Lastly, if you believe in "God" then by definition that "God" is perfect and was the only Being that ever existed eternally. Nothing existed before God or apart from God, no pre-existent eternal "matter." And that means that literally everything you see and touch came directly and solely out of the power and will of a perfect Being. But how could NOTHING BUT "absolute perfection" produce something that came out of it that was as imperfect, and contained suffering, ignorance, and death everywhere? This is a tough question for me to answer because I see -- and I know everyone else sees --the imperfections, the suffering part, natural suffering, we see how all creatures with bigger brains begin life ignorant and have to learn much simply to get by in life, not make dumb mistakes, and survive life with all of its harsh, relentless, emotionally-charged, sometimes soul-crushing demands, and our lives aren't especially long, and we see death, we see it in all living things. We see destruction in inanimate things too, comets and asteroid colliding with planets, stars exploding, galaxies colliding, black holes sucking matter and probably planets away from stars. I am honestly more sure about death than anything else, and from that realization I find myself siding with a philosopher who once said, "Be kind to others, for everyone is fighting a great battle." We sure are, both physically and psychologically, every day.

Some theists frame that "battle" almost solely as being a "battle with the devil," but personally I'm not so sure of that. It appears to me to be a battle with ignorance, with having to learn all the basic lessons in life just to take care of yourself and not trip up, in a world where even a little error like answering a cell phone while driving can lead to the suffering of yourself and/or others; and always seeing and knowing that you will die since you see age and death all around you in nature and others. If instead, people were popping out of graves fairly often, and I got to meet some of them I'd feel happier, more secure. Perhaps that's why theists of the Christian persuasion put a lot of stress on one particular instance of a bodily resurrection and keep saying it's better to believe without seeing. Personally, I have my doubts concerning theism, and I have met theists with doubts similar to mine who are not afraid to admit they too have uncertainties.

Did you get my points above? I tried expressing them in as best a linear fashion as possible, but they are just a tiny narrow spigot of water compared to what's flowing in three-dimensions through my head after my particular individual lifetime of questioning, exploring and reading, and I doubt we can mind-meld and join all that info in my head with yours to discover where the closest 3-D overlaps occur, where we can most profitably discuss further individual points and issues. "God" or evolution just didn't "make" us able to say more than that, or communicate more than that.

...give me your best argument. You know, the one you just know that everyone will find meaningful. You see, any attempt to assert that life is meaningless proves that meaning exists, whether you like it or not.

After reading this, I still find myself befuddled as to how a man of Hitchens' intellectual caliber can fail to see the glaring inconsistency of his argument. Pastor Wilson winsomely and repeatedly puts the obvious question before Mr. Hitchens: what is good, and how do you know? (Okay, that's two questions) Apparently, Mr. Hitchens doesn't know - 'evolution' is the closest thing to an answer that he offers. What he does know, however, is that he is very nearly a chimpanzee, miracles are silly (spontaneous generation being excluded), and that we'd all be better off as Atheists. He just can't tell us why. Fizzing indeed. "Is Christianity Good for The World?" is a short read and is very accessible - no prerequisite for a philosophy degree before diving in. Very helpful in the way of exposing the bankruptcy of Atheistic reasoning in light of God's truth. Don't shy away from putting this in the hands of unbelieving friends and family, either - as long as you're willing to follow up with some challenging and winsome discussion. The answer to the question behind the book, by the way, is YES. Only we Christians can ask that question without ripping the rug out from under our own feet. The moment that Mr. Hitchins agreed to the validity of this debate, however, he lost it.

My Husband and I enjoy this practical and beneficial devotional that is solidly founded on God's Word.

it's ok but if you want the full impact you need to buy two one for you and your spouse.

This book is a great way to spend some time together with your spouse to develop a more God-centered marriage. It has brought new perspectives and views on issues that we wouldn't know otherwise (on our own). Definetly would recomend as a couple's activity. The devotions are short and sweet, perfect for a once-a-week study.

My wife and I have had Marriage Problems, and after reading "Sacred Influence" by the same Author, we now read this Devotional book every day, and are getting a lot of help with our Relationship for our ongoing happiness.
Both my wife and I highly recommend it to other couples!

This is a mild book it aids in generating discussion. I had expected more scripture. Gary L. Thomas has written many Christian help books and his other titles are worth reading.

Mr Iyengar says you need teacher to practice Pranayama, on the other side he makes thick book which he himself thinks can not be used without a teacher. After reading many books, I have concluded following:

Try The Little Book of Yoga Breathing: Pranayama Made Easy instead of B.K.S. Iyengar's book and see for yourself.

Scott Shaw's book is an answer to any introductory pranayama and worths it's weight in gold.


Following are two techniques:
Alternate Nostril Breathing
(Anulom Vilom Pranayama with no breath retention) This pranayama (control breathing) is done with alternate breathing from the left and right nostrils for cleansing of Nadis. (energy meridians). Seated in a convenient posture, start off with slow inhalation from the left nostril first by closing the right nostril with the middle of right hand thumb ,and after fully filling the lungs, (not the belly breathing) breathe out slowly from the right nostril by closing the left nostril with the two ( left hand middle and ring) fingers. Now breathe in from the right nostril by closing the left nostril in the above manner and exhale from the left nostril by closing the right nostril with the right thumb. It completes one cycle. Do this for three minutes for two months then gradually increase to 5 minutes.

Do it two hour after eating or drinking. (Do it on empty-stomach) Do not eat for 15 minute after you are done. Better to lie down for five minutes after you are done. If you limit practice to maximum of five minutes, it will be the best.

The very first sign you will experience is lightness in the body and clearer thinking.

The practice of this breathing for a period of three to four months can open up thirty to forty percent of the heart arteries' blockages. This pranayama alleviates all the diseases of the body, leads to the state of joy, enthusiasm for living , fearlessness, peace of mind and deep meditation.

Benefits:
-Hair will regrow within two months of practice.
-Body will go to it's ideal weight by itself.
-Face becomes bright and luminous.
-Lost vision will return.
-Removes fear/anxiety of any kind.
- Aligns both hemisphere of the brain for full brain functionality
- Creates a deeper sense of well-being and harmony
- Helps alleviate migraines and headaches and frazzled states of being
- Works great in situations where you find yourself anxious, board and need grounding
-Blockages in the arteries of the heart are removed and the arteries become clean, making circulation unimpeded.

Ujjayi Pranayama

1. You can do this sitting, standing or walking anywhere anytime.

2. Inhale slowly through both nostrils, keeping the throat slightly constricted so as to make a gentle sound that will help you to feel the breath in the throat. The sound will remind you of ocean waves washing up the beach. Concentrate on the feeling of the breath moving in and out through the throat.

3. During inhalation do not allow abdomen to bulge out, let the chest expand.

4. After completing inhalation slowly exhale. (Either by both nostrils or by left nostril) During exhalation chest should go inside and abdomen should remain steady.

Remember :-

1. While doing Ujjiayi air should touch the throat.

2. Breath must be mentally locked in chest area. (Do not do belly breathing)

3. After practicing it for few days, knowing your limitations, keep the ratio between inhalation and exhalation 1 : 2.

4. In easy Ujjiayi Pranayama, inhalation and exhalation can be practiced by both the nostrils.


Benefits:
This simple practice has a subtle influence on the whole body. It calms the mind and has a soothing effect on the nervous system. Ujjayi is very useful for people with high blood pressure as it slows down the heartbeat. It has subtle effects on the flow of life force in the astral (energy) body and helps you to be aware of its movement within the sushumna (astral spine).

This book deals with a very detailed and in depth description of pranayama practice. It is an invaluable document for those who are interested in learning more about yogic breathing practice. In this edition the type is really small (7pts) which is tiring to read.

I teach meditation and I am educated in biology, biochemistry and psychology. I am also a student of world religions and a yoga practioner. During my graduate school years, I was also a Teaching Fellow in Physiology and I teach workshops on pranayama and biofeedback. Therefore, I think my opinion has some weight in this arena although I realize there are more serious yoga practioners who have more in-depth knowledge than me. My purpose in sharing this information is to provide context from my review. I hope this is useful.

This book is incredibly detailed and goes deeply into respiratory physiology, muscles, practices and the details of pranayama practice. There are clear explanations, however, many people may find them to technical without a biology background or the desire to take this information in slowly.

There are many good diagrams and photos in the book that any practitioner will find helpful. In some cases, they are unique in the yoga literature in some way and I can't imagine not having this book on your shelf if you are serious about the practice of pranayama.

While this is not the most colorful or modern looking text, it certainly packs a lot of information into a small space. It is also written by someone who has travelled this road and understands it both technically and from the inside. In short, it is an authoratative text on this subject.

A lighter book along the same lines which I have also read is the Science of Breath. For beginners, this title might be more appropriate. However, any practioner at any level will eventually want to own this book.

This book is a treasure to me. It teaches a safe means of progressing through all of the variations of pranayamas. If all of the advice is taken, there will be no problems in this area of your personal practice.

This is only one part of the yogic path, though. The rest needs to be in place for this to be effective. For that I rely on Yogani's Advanced Yoga Practices book. It gives step by step, safe instructions utilizing the techniques of the Gheranda Samhita, Hatha Yoga Pradipika, as well as other great works. I highly recommend it to any serious yoga student.

I am so glad to have found "Light on Pranayama". I am somewhat of a beginner to the serious practice I've undertaken, but with this book I feel confident that I will succeed. Thank you BKS Iyengar.

As far as I know, it is the only work that gives such complete instructions for this very important aspect of yoga. It deserves more attention.

Learning about world religions can be quite a task, but this book takes you on a world tour to discover each covered religion in a modern, practical sense. While the book covers the all important history of each religion, there were easier to understand with the addition of the author's first-hand observations of the culture in which it resides. This was one of the few textbooks I didn't want to sell back to the bookstore.

Thank you very much for the experience, although, being that I reside in the State of Hawaii, I was a little "foggy" once I purchased the product. I could not find anywhere on the page on how to adjust the "shipping", is it "because" I live in Hawaii that I am only allowed the "standard" media mail option? There is no such thing as 2-3 business day shipping? I would really like this clarified before purchasing again. I am willing to pay more for the shipping, as long as I can receive my product in a timely manner. If I need to allow additional time for "standard shipping", then I need to know! Because I am definitely planning on purchasing again now that I have gone back to school! Thank you very much for your time.

While some of the lesser known religions and cults are left out of this book, it does a fabulous job of providing a clear overview to the most influential religions in the world. The historical and cultural perspective provided by the author brought the appropriate perspective to the student.

For almost $100.00, you'd think they'd at least give you a hard-cover. But that's what you must expect from college text books. Thank goodness for Amazon!

This is the review of the 3rd edition.

This is a good introductory textbook. Each religion is introduced with a "First Encounter", based on the author's travels. The chapter then proceeds to describe the history, timeline, basic teachings and practice, and art and literature. Photographs give a taste of the iconography, temples or shrines, and worshippers of each faith, all done in a respectful manner. The chapter on each religion concludes with personal story from the author (for example, visiting the Dalai Lama or inside the monastery on Mount Athos), and then thoughts on the contemporary developments on the religion. These reflect the author's opinion at the time (2005), and I suspect would change from edition to edition. The final chapter "The Modern Search" is perhaps more of an essay on the authors own view on contemporary issues, and perhaps seems focused on the west. At times the text seems like a travelogue, but I do think that allows the reader to focus on cultural aspect.

Erwin McManus' book Wide Awake is an easy read with deep messages. Scriptually based Erwin guides the reader through a process of searching for the dreams and plans the Lord has for you!

The author is a pastor in Los Angeles. The book reads like a sermon to young people complete with bible stories on each page. According to the dust cover, I will learn how to unleash untapped potential and live the impossible. Instead I found simplistic religious answers that God will take care of everything for me if I do what the bible says.

I was hoping for a book based on cognitive behavior therapy to help me eliminate self-limiting behaviors or at least a Tony Robbins style exciting book to propel me to new reaches.

This book is for the depressed. This book is for those who feel they are trapped in the mundane. This book is for those who feel they are just slogging through life, not really experiencing, not really living. McManus inspires, pushes, compels, and challenges you to dream, explore, create, adapt, and live your life.

In Wide Awake, McManus connects living life to the fullest to the teachings of Christ. So often we think that our Christian lives should muted, reverent, holy, and that we should just step back and let God control our lives. McManus reminds us that Christ came to bring life, and life more abundant, and that we could be living our life to the fullest.

The author does challenge some commonly held ideas in mainstream Christianity. Even if you don't agree with everything McManus says, Wide Awake will challenge you to rethink your philosophy of life and your purpose for living.

A must-read for every Christian!

Erwin McManus was a special guest professor in the very first course I took at Bethel University - Seminary in St Paul, MN. He set a very high standard for all who followed. I have quoted from and recommended his book "Seizing Your Divine Moment" for many years.

In "Wide Awake" McManus calls Biblical Christians (not mere religious church attenders but genuine followers of Jesus of the Bible) to seize the challenge of a life of purpose in partnership with the God of creation and the One who loves and values them like no other.

He is no mere motivational speaker, no puffed-up politician spewing platitudes and promises they have no ability (let alone intent) to keep, and no legalist or televangelist who has lost sight of the true message of the Bible. McManus is the real deal; humble, humorous, and transparently human.

Our church is filled with broken people; divorced, recovering from addictions, survivors of abuse and neglect, unemployed and underemployed, orphans and castaways, struggling with their relationships with others and with God. This book speaks the hope of God into their lives as no government program or rah-rah political rally or secular motivational pep talk could ever do - it is the pure truth of God!

God sees every man, woman, and child as filled with opportunities to make a positive difference out of the abundance of love He wants to pour into (and through) them - no matter their temporary circumstances.

The change that matters will never come from a politicians campaign rhetoric or some musicians magical-thinking song or a manipulative commercial - the change that matters comes one heart at a time as we turn away from "chasing the wind" and live the intentionally inspiring "Wide Awake" dream that God longs to place in each of our hearts.

Thank you Irwin for another great book - it is a word from God through your writing.