Nature Religion

In our lives we are often too quick to look for lines that divide the “this” from the “that” but the world we live in does not recognize such clear distinctions. Life and nature exist within a spectrum of complexity rather than in carefully labeled boxes. Science, nature, and spirituality are not pursuits of understanding with contrasting viewpoints and objectives. Each looks at a different aspect of the spectrum of complexity that is the universe. That which we call the divine, or God, is not separate from these things but is both the source and the goal of the continuous evolution...

We all get stuck in hurtful patterns that continue to create more suffering in our lives. In yoga philosophy, these patterns are known as the five kleshas. In this wise, practical guide, Michelle Cassandra Johnson offers us a path toward developing a deeper understanding of them and how they hijack us emotionally.

Further Along the Road Less Traveled takes the lectures of Dr. Peck and presents his profound insights into the issues that confront and challenge all of us today: spirituality, forgiveness, relationships, and growing up. In this aid for living less simplistically, you will learn not to look for the easy answers but to think multidimensionally. You will learn to reach for the "ultimate step," which brings you face to face with your personal spirituality. It will be this that helps you appreciate the complexity that is life.

St. Augustine begins with a statement of what is to be investigated concerning nature and grace; he shows that nature, as propagated from the flesh of the sinful Adam, being no longer what God made it at first - faultless and sound - requires the aid of grace in order that it may be redeemed from the wrath of God and regulated for the perfection of righteousness.

First Nations peoples and Native Americans in North America have long believed in the power of spirit animals or totems. They believed that these animals had lessons to teach and healing or inspirational powers. Wayne Arthurson delves into the world of spirit animals and shows the meanings of these animals to Native peoples and how nature has made its mark on their world.

When you crave space and a few quiet moments for yourself, this book will lead you down the path. Step into the world of guided meditation with these 10 (plus 1 bonus) meditations focused on nature and peaceful moments. Whether you wish to enhance your morning ritual or expand and create a new habit, invite A Pagan's Path to Meditation to be your guidepost. With a fresh approach that includes original music, created specifically for each meditation, your journey to reduced stress, focused intention and strengthened mindset begins here.

In this companion volume to his critically acclaimed, Lambda Literary Award-winning book Gay Spirituality, noted author Toby Johnson further explicates his visionary stance that gay people's nature as outsiders gives them a uniquely powerful perspective on the nature of God and religion. By living outside gender norms, gay people are more open to seeing across boundaries of gender and gain access to a less dualistic outlook on the nature of life.

From conservation to protecting endangered species to sustainable living, A Christian's Guide to Planet Earth offers a faith-based framework for viewing our responsibility to the natural world as well as practical, biblical ways we can care for the magnificent creation around us. Drawing on science and Scripture, this hope-filled and listener-friendly guide helps us navigate questions about caring for and respecting God's world.

How did we get here? All cultures have a creation story, but a little over 150 years ago, Charles Darwin introduced a revolutionary new one. We, and all living things, exist because of the action of evolution on the first simple life form and its descendants. In How Evolution Explains Everything About Life, leading biologists and New Scientist take you on a journey of a lifetime, exploring the questions of whether life is inevitable or a one-off fluke and how it got kick-started.

From time immemorial, artists and poets, prophets, and shamans have drawn strength and inspiration from walking the earth. In The Earth Path, bestselling author Starhawk takes the listener on a journey into the heart of the natural world, showing how we can have a more intimate connection with the world that surrounds us.

When you feel your soul being afflicted with anxiety and turmoil, return to Scripture to find rest. Listening to the Gospels enhanced with peaceful nature sounds in the background will restore the calm your heart needs. Be refreshed and renew your walk with God as you listen to his Word in the most-trusted modern English Bible translation, the New International Version.

In a stunning unification of modern science, religion, and spirituality, God 4.0 presents a provocative new view of transcendence and connection as the activation of an innate quiescent faculty in the brain, a second system of cognition we all share. If developed, it can help to dissolve religious, tribal and cultural biases and usher in a higher level of conscious connection — a new “spiritual literacy.”

In The Nature of the Religious Right, Neall W. Pogue examines how white conservative evangelical Christians became a political force known for hostility toward environmental legislation. Before the 1990s, this group used ideas of nature to help construct the religious right movement while developing theologically based, eco-friendly philosophies that can be described as Christian environmental stewardship. On the twentieth anniversary of Earth Day in 1990, members of this conservative evangelical community tried to turn their eco-friendly philosophies into action.

Studies have shown that listening to the sounds that can be found in nature can improve your mood and state of mind. When you immerse yourself in these sounds, your body reduces stress hormones while positively boosting your mindset. This high-quality audiobook is filled with over 10 hours of the very best recordings of sounds from nature. You will get the chance to totally immerse yourself in the sounds of the sea, rain, thunder, a waterfall, and the sounds of a woodland forest.

This is the story of an audacious journey. It's the story of what happens when people garden, worship, and eat together and invite anyone and everyone to join them. In This Is God's Table, writer and pastor Anna Woofenden describes the way that the wealthy and the poor, the aged and the young, the housed and unhoused become a community in this once-empty lot.

Season Songs is a beautiful ode to nature-centered magical practice and a guide for those who want to get there. Using her own stories and experiences as a witch, Emma Kathryn passionately helps you develop a connection to the natural world in every season so you can strengthen your magic and yourself.

There is something magical about the forest, with its towering trees, ferns, shrubs, and mosses. It becomes even more idyllic when raindrops gently fall on the green leaves. And when the birds chirp their melodious songs in the gentle rain, this provides a perfect background sound for relaxation, meditation, or quiet office work.

Essays exploring the edges, and edginess, of faith and freethought. Former minister Chris Highland presents another collection of essays primarily drawn from his weekly columns in the Asheville Citizen-Times (North Carolina).

There are many reasons why it might seem unwise to walk, mostly alone, through the Middle East. That, in part, is exactly why Leon McCarron did it. From Jerusalem, McCarron followed a series of wild hiking trails that trace ancient trading and pilgrimage routes and traverse some of the most contested landscapes in the world. In the West Bank, he met families struggling to lead normal lives amidst political turmoil and had a surreal encounter with the world's oldest and smallest religious sect.

God or Nature, Whatever is what happens when a philosophy grad student decides to explain Baruch Spinoza—the 17th-century lens grinder who got canceled by every major religion—using sarcasm, swearing, and a deeply unhealthy relationship with Euclidean geometry. Sophia Blackwell takes Spinoza's Ethics (a book structured like a math textbook, only less fun) and translates it into plain, hilarious, possibly heretical English. The result? A philosophical roast that actually teaches you something. Inside, you'll learn: Why Spinoza thought God was just...