Long before Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the Middle Eastern desert bloomed with wise indigenous traditions. Ancient Aramaic, Hebrew, Egyptian, Sumerian, and other texts suggest rich and influential religions supporting enormous diverse communities. Today, Native Middle Eastern spirituality continues to emit a perfume that transcends the political and religious conflicts of the modern world, offering a common voice full of life, meaning, and hope. Here, for the first time, these voices are translated and rendered into a musical and poetic language that lifts the spirit, eases the mind, and calms the body. Gathering a marvelous bouquet of ancient Middle Eastern wisdomstretching from goddess cultures to Sufi mysticism - Neil Douglas-Klotz has harvested the sacred literature of Egyptian, Judaic, Christian, Gnostic, and Islamic religious traditions.

Desert Wisdom: Sacred Middle Eastern Writings from the Goddess Through the Sufis

Religion & Spirituality

Douglas-Klotz, Neil

Klotz, Douglas

Islam

Harpercollins

Part meditation book, part oracle, and part collection of Sufi lore, poetry, and stories, The Sufi Book of Life offers a fresh interpretation of the fundamental spiritual practice found in all ancient and modern Sufi schools—the meditations on the 99 Qualities of Unity. Unlike most books on Sufism, which are primarily collections of translated Sufi texts, this accessible guide is a handbook that explains how to apply Sufi principles to modern life. With inspirational commentary that connects each quality with contemporary concerns such as love, work, and success, as well as timeless wisdom from Sufi masters, both ancient and modern, such as Rumi, Hafiz, Shabistari, Rabia, Inayat Khan, Indries Shah, Irina Tweedie, Bawa Muhaiyadden, and more, The Sufi Book of Life is a dervish guide to life and love for the twenty-first century.
On the web: http://sufibookoflife.com

The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Alternative Medicine

Penguin??Books

The traditional prejudiced Western view of the Middle East is dominated by Islamic fundamentalism and the oil industry. There is an atmosphere of fear and mystery that surrounds the whole region. This book aims to dispel that fear and reveal the richness of its culture and spirituality. The author explores ancient goddess cultures, Aramaic words of Jesus, Egyptian, Ancient Judaic, Gnosticism and Sufism, offering a powerful resource for healing and change in the West.

Desert Wisdom: The Middle Eastern Tradition - from the Goddess to the Sufis

HarperCollins, Publishers

In two previous books, Neil Douglas-Klotz pioneered a radical new way of translating the words of Jesus---filtering them through the imagistic worldview of the Aramaic language which Jesus himself spoke. Seen through this lens, familiar sayings such as "Blessed are the meek" come into vibrant contemporary focus as "Healthy are those who have softened what is rigid within." In The Hidden Gospel, Douglas-Klotz employs this approach to decode the spiritual and prophetic messages hidden within key words and concepts in the sayings and stories of Jesus. We learn to our delight, for instance, that when Jesus spoke of "goodness" he used a word which in Aramaic means "ripe" and refers to actions which are in time and tune with the Sacred Unity of all life. The Hidden Gospel aims to bridge the gap between the historical Jesus of the scholar and the Jesus of faith of Christian believers. It will appeal to everyone looking for an alternative spiritual vision of Jesus and his message.

The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus

Christian Books & Bibles

Quest Books

This book teaches step-by-step how early practitioners may have meditated in all three religions springing from the Middle East. Based on translations from Jesus' native language, Aramaic, Neil Douglas-Klotz links Jesus' own way of meditating to that of early Jewish and Islamic mystics. What he finds is a shared focus on sacred "beginnings" rather than on apocalyptic "endings." As he says: "This original meditation lies behind the Christians' awe at the rebirth of the Christ Child each midwinter. It fuels the heartfelt hope of Jews in the New Year celebraations of Rosh Hashana. And it roots the devotion of Muslims each year during the fast of Ramadan. These are all celebrations of hope, not fear, and of love, not hatred. By experiencing the creation story as our own, we have the same opportunity to renew ourselves and to deepen our connection with the Divine every day." We also experience the one meditative practice that might unite our Christian, Judaic, and Islamic communities in a troubled world.

The Genesis Meditations: A Shared Practice of Peace for Christians, Jews, and Muslims

Part oracle, part meditation book, and part Aladdin’s cave of Middle Eastern myth and sacred story, Desert Wisdom offers a fresh way to hear the ancient visionary voices of the Middle East that generated three (or more) of the world’s great religions. Renowned Sufi scholar and teacher Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of The Sufi Book of Life and Prayers of the Cosmos, has revisioned his acclaimed 1995 classic for the 21st century. Praised by scientists, poets and mystics alike for its ecological approach to “hearing” the native wisdom of the Middle East on its own terms, Desert Wisdom takes us on a journey from ancient Egypt throughout the Middle East to Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafiz. In between, we spend time hearing Genesis the way a storyteller might have told it and sit at the feet of the Aramaic-speaking prophet, Yeshua of Nazareth. Through it all, Desert Wisdom presents us with ancient wisdom about life’s biggest questions like: 
Why am I here? Who am I? And how do I love? "Middle Eastern enchantment for the soul. Bravo!" --Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., featured in the film "What the Bleep Do We Know?" "Read this book aloud. Let the sounds wrap around your heart. These are translations so unhampered by reduction, stiffness and religiosity that the modern window opens quiet on the ancient garden." --Carolyn McVickar Edwards, Author of The Storyteller's Goddess "A prophetic and mystical accomplishment of the first order!" --Dr. Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing and The Reinvention of Work "Open the book anywhere, and you will discover delightful inner openings and insights." --Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, author of Sufi Links and Spectrum of Reality Already have the first (1995) edition? What's New in Desert Wisdom 2.0: *Seven new translations from the Aramaic words of Jesus. *Ten new translations from the Hebrew (Genesis, Zohar and Dead Sea Scrolls). *Three new translations from the Qur'an. *Book reorganized for better use as an oracle in a similar format to The Sufi Book of Life. *Meditations rewritten and keyed to "Life's Big Questions." *All notes and commentary revised and updated. *New "Quick Start Guide" and Preface. *Complete indexes to meditations and textual strands, plus a new general index *Plus: all translations from the first edition revised and updated, with improved transliteration of original texts.

Desert Wisdom: A Nomad’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions from the Heart of the Native Middle East

CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

"...gripping...mesmerizingly real...." Kirkus Reviews First century CE, Roman Palestine: Yehuda Tauma believes he’s found his lucky break when he finds a valuable pearl on the floor of the temple of Jerusalem where he works as a scribe. Convinced that his position at the temple only serves to maintain the network of corruption and greed that he eschews, Yehuda and his bodyguard Ioannis set out for a new life in Damascus. But when they come upon the body of Yehuda’s adopted father and mentor outside the village of Armageddon, Yehuda vows to find the killer and uncover the reason he was killed. Ever loyal, Ioannis promises to accompany Yehuda on his avenging mission. As the two men search for the killer, they meet surprising allies and treacherous adversaries along the way. Yehuda and Ioannis must unravel the intricate secret messages and visionary clues left behind by the dead man—while trying to stay alive themselves. Renegade scribes, revolutionary cells, temple spies, oppressive tyrants, and visionary prophets and priestesses collide in this mystery of the volatile first century in the Middle East. "The mystery itself is gripping enough—unfurling slowly, tantalizingly—but the history provided as a backdrop to the fictional narrative is mesmerizingly real.--Kirkus Reviews "[a] subtle blend of genres with mystic elements...the 'whodunit' storyline and some well-chosen characters keep the book entertaining and very enjoyable...reads very easily for such an intellectually stimulating novel."--Historical Novel Society

A Murder at Armageddon: A Judas Thomas Mystery (The Judas Thomas Mysteries)

Literature & Fiction

Chisti, A.K.A.

Genre Fiction

The New Story about the Oldest Stories in the WorldToday apocalyptic predictions and images dominate popular culture and social media. Yet for most of our history, human consciousness focused on the mystery of beginnings, not endings. Our ancestors felt that the most powerful energy and clearest vision for the future could be found at our inception. They meditated on stories of the Great Beginning as the way to go forward. Original Meditation is two books in one. First it investigates the ancient tradition of creation mysticism and shows how Western culture became sidetracked into an increasingly narrow, apocalyptic world view. Second, it shows how we can begin to recover an authentic meditation on our shared beginnings, a meditation that can bring us into a more embodied and compassionate present. To help us on our way, Neil Douglas-Klotz offers us a living anthology of voices, from a mystical view of the first chapters of Genesis, to the Aramaic words of Jesus, to translations of mystical voices like Jelaluddin Rumi, Ibn Arabi, Meister Eckhart and the Jewish Kabbalists. Uniting the native spirituality of the Middle East with Western creation spirituality, we catch a glimpse of the life-affirming energy of "beginning-time" and experience what it means to be fully human in today's world. "After reading this very welcome resource, you will want to join Douglas-Klotz in exclaiming: "Genesis Now!"--Spirituality and Health (voted one of best spiritual books of the year).
"Neil Douglas-Klotz is a rare jewel; a brilliant scholar with heart whose words have the power to reconnect us with our sacred source. This is truly a book for our times…. The perfume of divine belonging rises from every page as this modern mystic skillfully guides us into the essence of the Sacred Mystery.
--Dr. Joan Borysenko, author of Your Soul's Compassp
"Deeply moving, compelling, and radiant with hope, the book is a living prayer that can contribute to personal and inter-religious transformation."
--Mary Ford-Grabowsky, author of Sacred Voices
"By the time we finish this book, we are ready and able to join body, heart, mind, and spirit into a healing wholeness—indeed, the wholeness of Creation."
--Rabbi Arthur Waskow, Director of the Shalom Center, author of God Wrestling

Original Meditation: The Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation

New Age & Spirituality

In "The Hidden Gospel," Douglas-Klotz employs this approach to decode the spiritual and prophetic messages hidden within key words and concepts in the sayings and stories of Jesus. We learn to our delight, for instance, that when Jesus spoke of "goodness" he used a word which in Aramaic means "ripe" and refers to actions which are in time and tune with the Sacred Unity of all life. "The Hidden Gospel "aims to bridge the gap between the historical Jesus of the scholar and the Jesus of faith of Christian believers. It will appeal to everyone looking for an alternative spiritual vision of Jesus and his message.

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

SOUNDS TRUE.

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Douglas-Klotz, Neil. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Douglas-Klotz, Neil

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Douglas-Klotz, Neil. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Desert Wisdom: Sacred Middle Eastern Writings from the Goddess Through the Sufis

The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish

Desert Wisdom: The Middle Eastern Tradition - from the Goddess to the Sufis

The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus

The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus

The Genesis Meditations: A Shared Practice of Peace for Christians, Jews, and Muslims

Desert Wisdom: A Nomad’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions from the Heart of the Native Middle East

A Murder at Armageddon: A Judas Thomas Mystery (The Judas Thomas Mysteries)

Original Meditation: The Aramaic Jesus and the Spirituality of Creation

The Hidden Gospel: Decoding the Spiritual Message of the Aramaic Jesus