Showing results by author "Kenneth Langer" in All Categories

Comedy is how we cope with the absurdity of life. The person who cannot step back and see how ludicrous are most of the things we encounter in life is the person who gets mired and engulfed in them. Comedy lets us step back and see the whole picture. It reminds us of what is really important which certainly includes laughing and laughing often. These four comedies each take on several situations but exaggerate them until they become enlarged and laughable. To each are added an unusual use of standard theatrical tradition. A writer of one play becomes involved with his own characters. ...

Stagehands argue about their relationship between acts, a mountain climber struggles to rise above the summit of public opinion, the man once sent to kill a princess finds her working at a diner, retired superheroes lament their new life, and a villain threatens to blow up the world if he can get the Henchman Union to end contract negotiations. These are some of the situations found in this second collection of ten-minute plays. Each one is designed to be produced with just a few actors, few props, and within a single setting. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Is it possible to be ethical without being religious? For a very long time, moral training was always a part of religious teaching. The idea was that the spiritual life meant not only knowing the divine but living out its principles. Soon moral and religious teaching became intertwined to the point that people believed a lack of spiritual training also meant a lack of moral development. But, ethics does not have to be relegated to the exclusive domain of the church, mosque, or synagogue. We can learn to live well together simply because we all want to coexist in a peaceful and kind world. ...

What if the world was filled with ministers–people who cared about the well-being and wholeness of others? To minister is to attend to the needs of others and there are many great people who have committed their lives to that mission but not everyone is able to dedicate themselves to becoming a professional minister. Some choose to help others as a lay minister or non-professional caregiver. This text serves as a guide for training and support for people who want to become lay ministers or group facilitators of any spiritual tradition.

An interstellar Do Not Disturb sign, a smartwatch that may be a little too smart, love found in a silent meditation retreat, two former circus clowns enter a boxing ring, and an entire conversation with only three words are just some of the humorous and dramatic situations found in this third collection of ten-minute plays. Each one is designed to be produced with just a few actors, a few props, and within one or two simple settings. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Somewhere in your house tucked away in some dark dusty drawer you probably have a deck of standard playing cards. You may have used them to play Poker or Bridge and thought that was all they were good for but that is true no longer. In this book are the directions and rules for more than 52 new and original card games. Why spend loads of money on specially printed card sets that are designed for only one game when you can use those old cards to play a wide variety of new games? Take a break from the electronics, gather the family and friends together, and try out some new and exciting card ...

An undercover vampire, a prophetic park bench, an audience on stage, a mixed-up fairy tale, a bad hand, a little gibberish, some self care, a dental obsession, and the end of the world are some of the things you will encounter in this fourth collection of ten-minute plays. Most are designed to be produced with just a few actors, a few props, and within one or two simple settings. They are easy to perform or fun to just read.

Emergent Spirituality is a practical application of the theology and philosophy outlined in its predecessor book entitled “The Emergence of God.” After a review of the basic principles and premises of emergent spirituality this work introduces personal and group rituals, services, and practices that help individuals and communities connect to the rhythms of the universe and to each other.

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...

Awri was a well-respected investigator who lived and worked in the big city of Yakrutich until the day he disappeared. Now his former partner, Chief Detective Exi, is searching for him. In partnership with her former nemesis, Kim, the two detectives follow the trail of a man who transforms himself into the harbinger of a rebellious philosophy that will one day influence the lives of the people of all the worlds of the Milleran Cluster. The events in this work take place between Books One and Two.

The important questions of life can haunt us–especially if we try to avoid them–but working to answer them provides richness and meaning in our lives. It is possible to live a life with purpose, a life aligned with nature and all living beings, a life that benefits ourselves and those we love, and it is possible to do all these things regardless of spiritual tradition or practice. Religion, relationships, information, and insights are all tools to be used but, ultimately, you are the builder of your life. No one will live it but you and no one else will be ultimately responsible for the...

Erut s a simple farmer who found himself forced into the military by the power-hungry Kevutians bent on controlling all the asteroids of a region known as the Milleran Cluster. He is shipped to the verdant planet Pa'Myshka only to be falsely accused of stealing from the fees imposed on the subjugated Myshkans. He escapes from his fellow soldiers only to find himself amidst a band of rebels known as the Sifuti. Ony'a, grand-daughter of Zoe and a Myshkan with some connection to the Sifuti, uses her abilities to determine that Erut is telling the truth when he says the only thing of interest ...

There are a lot of games that use a few dice but few games that use a lot of dice. Grabbing a big handful of dice and throwing them on a table, however, is a great deal of fun and the games in this book let you do just that. You can buy a set of forty dice at most game and toy stores and now you can use those forty brightly colored cubes to play a great many fun and engaging games together. This book and a few inexpensive items are all you need to enjoy some new games suitable for the whole family. Take a break from the electronics and enjoy some interaction with your friends and family ...

Turn off the virtual and return to the actual. In a world of virtual reality, virtual friends, and digital anonymity, there are still those who enjoy playing real games with real people. No matter how complex a video game may be there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction with friends around a table full of fun and playful game elements. And there is nothing more iconic to tabletop games than dice: plain dice, colorful dice, tiny dice with dots, polyhedral dice, lawn dice, and many other shapes and types of dice are an important part of the generation of chance elements that make ...

Ony’a and Erut are rescued from the onslaught of the Kevutian forces on the planet of Pa’Myshka by the stranger known as Zao but their troubles are far from over. Ony’a wants to take revenge against the Kevutian forces and the cruel dominion they have built over the other planets of the collection of asteroids known as The Milleran Cluster. Over time they have tortured and imprisoned the inhabitants of those worlds in their never-ending quest for resources and faithful workers of their Corps. Erut has become one of the prisoners and desires his freedom and a chance to destroy the ...