In A Disciple’s Journal, Sister Gargi, an award-winning author, tells the personal story of her spiritual training over two decades with Swami Ashokananda, the illustrious Hindu monk of the Ramakrishna Order who headed the Vedanta Society of Northern California. Readers can eavesdrop on their lively verbatim conversations, during which the author is gradually lifted from a state of uncertainty into the confident possession of her own being through the loving insights and beneficent scolding of an authentic spiritual guide. Views: 55
In the tradition of Graham Swift and Patrick McGrath—-Alan Wall's The Lightning Cage is a gothic, metaphysical novel given the speed and strength of a thriller.A former seminarian, Christopher Bayliss abandons his studies in Rome and returns to England determined to be cleansed forever of the contagion of religion and to leave behind his angels as well as his demons. But then something curious starts to happen: his research into an obscure eighteenth-century poet, Richard Pelham, reintroduces into his life those same ghostly whispers and rumors he thought he silenced for good.And so he flees once more, into a different type of life entirely—-he escapes into worldly success. But even still, it seems he cannot escape the mysteries of Richard Pelham. Soon these dark secrets begin to take over his life as insidiously and completely as they took over the poet over two centuries before. Views: 53
The Four-Chambered Heart is an autobiographical novel by French-born writer Anaïs Nin, part of her Cities of the Interior sequence. It is about a woman named Djuna, her love, her thoughts, her emotions, her doubts, her decisions, and her sacrifices. Views: 47
Beginning with Nin's arrival in New York, this volume is filled with the stories of her analytical patients. There is a shift in emphasis also as Nin becomes aware of the inevitable choice facing the artist in the modern world. "Sensitive and frank...[Nin's] diary is a dialogue between flesh and spirit" (Newsweek). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index. Views: 46
Bestselling author and Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh transforms an ancient folktale into a timeless parable of a young woman who dares to risk her life for her faith. Born to an aristocratic family in rural Vietnam, Kinh Tam's uncommon beauty and intelligence were obvious to all she encountered. From an early age she was drawn to the teachings of Buddha and the rewards of a monastic life, but to please her family she agreed to walk the traditional path of marriage. Throughout her marriage, Kinh Tam's mind was devoted to her husband but her heart never waivered from her true calling. She wanted to be a monk. And yet Buddhism was still new to Vietnam and temples accepted only men for ordination. Making a decision that would forever change her life, Kinh Tam left town, disguised herself as a man, and joined a monastery as a novice. Despite the many challenges of living as a man, Kinh Tam thrived and became a beloved member of the community. Years of... Views: 45
This celebrated volume begins when Nin is about to publish her first book and ends when she leaves Paris for New York. Edited and with a Preface by Gunther tuhlmann; Index. Views: 37
Ladders to Fire explores the erotic attachments of four young women. Nin described it as a “woman’s struggle to understand her own nature.” It began a five-volume “continuous novel,” Cities of the Interior , which includes Children of the Albatross (1947), The Four-Chambered Heart (1950), A Spy in the House of Love (1954), and Solar Barque (1959). Set in the pre-war, expatriate Paris of Henry Miller, this novel — which shocked Nin’s contemporaries — draws its inspiration from her confessional diaries. Although Nin found in her diaries a profound mode of self-creation and confession, she could not reveal this intimate record of her own experiences during her lifetime. Instead, she turned to fiction, where her stories and novels became artistic “distillations” of her secret diaries. Views: 27
Nin's years of struggle and final triumph as an author in America. "Transcending mere self-revelation... the diary examines human personality with a depth and understanding seldom surpassed since Proust...dream and fact are balanced and...in their joining lie the elements of masterpiece" (Washington Post). Edited and with a Preface by Gunther Stuhlmann; Index. Views: 26
Although Anaïs Nin found in her diaries a profound mode of self-creation and confession, she could not reveal this intimate record of her own experiences during her lifetime. Instead, she turned to fiction, where her stories and novels became artistic “distillations” of her secret diaries. A Spy in the House of Love, whose heroine Sabina is deeply divided between her drive for artistic and sexual expression, on the one hand, and social restrictions and self-created inhibitions, on the other, echoed Nin’s personal struggle with sex, love, and emotional fragmentation. Written when Nin’s own life was taut with conflicting loyalties, her protagonist Sabina repeatedly asks herself, can one indulge in one's sensual restlessness, the fantasies, the relentless need for adventure without devastating consequences? Views: 25
