Traditional indigenous cultures in many parts of the world have displayed a profound appreciation of the relationship between human and ecosystem health, something global culture is trying to rediscover under the label of sustainability. A spiritual resource for sustainable living, this poem records the creation story of the Sami, a nomadic people of Northern Europe, and then retells several Scandinavian folk-tales derived from their playfully animistic world view. Their deep kinship with the wild is shown in their awe for bears: The bear is more like people are Than any other thinking...

Richard Rolle of Hampole, the first of the four great 14th century English contemplative authors, is often called, with justice, "the father of English mysticism." For him the life of contemplation was essentially a musical state, and song, rightly understood, embraced every aspect of the soul's communion with reality. Sudden outbursts of lyrical speech and direct appeals to musical imagery abound in his writings, as in those of no other mystic; and this constitutes their outstanding literary characteristic, as he declares himself at the very dawning of his mystical vision: "Looking to heaven...

A flower of mystical insight from 14c. England, this book records the visions and prescient theological world-view of Julian, an anchoress at Norwich. Her unique and visceral retelling of both the birthing and the dying of Christ, the first book to be written in English by a woman, has never been excelled in the clarity and eloquence of its language. Here, preserving the humility of the original in a modern idiom, is a metered poetic version of her revelations: ...she who's Mother of our Savior Is mother of all who shall be saved; And our Savior our very Mother, In whom we are endlessly born...

Limited resources, increasing populations, and unyielding political and religious systems have engendered conflicts around the world. As a consequence, commercial interests, established institutions, and government powers have threatened fundamental aspects of human rights. The poetry in this book interprets, in a metered format, sworn statements obtained at Baghdad Correctional Facility, Abu Ghraib, Iraq, January 16-21, 2004, and obtained by the Washington Post. It finds a dark music in the plain speech of men detained and manipulated by strangers: He said, If I give you some torture, What...

This anonymous work was originally written as a manual for teaching meditation and the contemplative life to medieval monks and nuns. Recent interest in meditation practice and centering prayer have led to a re-appraisal, discovering the possibility of psychotherapeutic benefits from studying the medieval text, by helping readers to understand pride as a distortion of truth and an impediment to wholistic living, and "meekness" as a path to health. Now for the first time this influential text has been rewritten in rhymed, measured poetry for use in guided meditation and other forms of self-...

The first monument of real Christianity among the Saxons was the Heliand, an epic on the life of Christ in Old Saxon alliterative verse, dating from about 830. The original work attempted to make the newly imposed Christian religion intelligible to the warlike Saxons. The Heliand, extant in four manuscripts, and the fragmentary Old Saxon Genesis are all that remain of Old Saxon poetry. This poetic harmony of the Gospels employs modern English alliterative verse couplets, in a complex structure of 75 cantos, to generate a vigorous retelling of the story of the Christ as an epic tale...

Long before the birth of Jesus, Confucius tried to characterize human ethics and responsibilities in both personal and social spheres. The Book of Change is here arrayed with aphorisms of this thoughtful Chinese philosopher and related commentary. The ancient sayings are interpreted as a book length poem: Good people find ways to be strong, / And they do not cease from trying. / One of my pupils said to me, / "Question yourself three times a day: / Have you lost good faith with your friends? / Have you aimed true deeds at false ends? / Do you preach what you do not do?"

Continuing in the grand tradition of Rumi and Kahlil Gibran, Kabir invites us to explore the light within our own sensuality. This incomparable 15th century poet, weaver, mystic and musician of Benares helps us to find the eternal goodness of pure sensation, without allegiance to any creed or cause. "Open the window to the west, / In the sky of love, now be lost; / Drink the sweeter honey that steeps / And imbues with heat, the petals / Of the lotus of the heart's lips. / Receive the waves in your body: / What splendor is in the warm sea / Hearken to the sounds of conches / And bells, rising...

Medieval Muslim philosophy of religion and ethical living by the polymath Al-Ghazzali, here interpreted in modern English verse by poet Jabez L. Van Cleef. This book will impart an appreciation for the unity of all human spirit in its quest for knowledge and understanding of the divine.

Traditional indigenous cultures in many parts of the world have displayed a profound appreciation of the relationship between human and ecosystem health, something global culture is trying to rediscover under the label of sustainability. Since the beginning of time, human beings have told the story of their own beginning, and of the origins of the four directions, the heavens, the God-People, the earth, and all its creatures. The Navajo People tell a story of great psychological power and depth. First recorded by 19th century ethnographers, the Navajo Creation story is here interpreted as an...