text, such as the grief process of a father whose 8 year old daughter disappeared or the Tibetan saint Milarepa welcoming demons whose presence reminds him to be aware and have mercy.
Levine makes clear that healing does not necessarily mean continuing existence in a human body. Sometimes the healing comes and then is followed by death. This
Healing Into Life and Death by Stephen Levine is not a recent book. However, it contains so much wisdom that it is one of those books that does not age and continues to support the healing journey that tends to be a long one for most of us. Levine explores the many aspects of healing that he learnt about whilst working with people who came to him to learn how to die. Chapters include "Letting the Healing In', "Exploring the Unhealed" and 'Love is the Bridge".
I love this quote from Chapter 7 - "Love is the Bridge. It is the whisper of underlying suchness. To enter this reality, we let go of the thoughts and feelings that filter mercy and forgiveness, the resistance, the fearful thoughts that seduce awareness into identification with the unhealed. We let the mind float in the heart."
The book is full of touching stories woven into the
is not seen as a failure, for healing into death is as valuable as healing into life. The chapters are interspersed with a series of beautiful meditations, including A Meditation on Great Heart, a Meditation on Grief and Opening the Heart of the Womb.
Reading this book can only bring more awareness, gentleness and understanding into the heart. It is full of compassion for human suffering and pain and offers clear guidance on the path through this pain to a deep and sincere healing.
Publisher: Anchor; 1st Anchor Books Ed. edition ASIN: B00BXU9XFY
Love Poems from God, edited and translated by Daniel Ladinksky, is a book that really doesn't need too much of an introduction. It contains poems written by the following mystics and saints Rumi, Rabia, St Francis of Assisi, Hafiz, Tukaram, St Catherine of Siena, Mira, St Teresa of Avila, St Thomas Aquinas, Meister Eckhart and St John of the Cross.
Each poet is given a chapter and each chapter begins with a short summary of the poet's life.
As you would expect, the poems are beautiful, inspiring and often moving. It is the sort of book to keep by your bed side and dip into it whenever you feel the need for some wise words.
I like to use it in the same way as angel or oracle cards, opening a page at random and often finding the perfect words of wisdom that I need for that moment in my life.
Publisher: Penguin Books Australia
ISBN-10: 0142196126