The Life Giving Myth

Myths are the expression of a form of knowledge essential to life. Including mainly previously unpublished work by A.M. Hocart the book examines such issues as: Why a queen should not have been married before; why a guest is sacred; why people are believed to have been turned into stone; how money originated. These issues are considered as part of a socio-religious complex embraced in many parts of the world, both East and West. (There are chapters on the UK, India, Sri Lanka, Africa, Fiji, Egypt, and Ancient Greece).

Segal, on psychoanalytic interpretations.

Six myths lie at the heart of the American experience. Taken as aspirational, four of those myths remind us of our noblest ideals, challenging us to realize our nation's promise while galvanizing the sense of hope and unity we need to reach our goals. Misused, these myths allow for illusions of innocence that fly in the face of white supremacy, the primal American myth that stands at the heart of all the others.

Women in the western democratic world have gained many freedoms in recent years. But in some respects, are as trapped by our cultural paradigm as ever. Reenlisted in epic and endless repeat versions of “happily ever after”, women have not been well served by the all-pervasive narratives they have been raised with. Part map, part workbook, part friend, Ariadne's Thread and The Myth of Happily Ever After provides an overarching narrative across everything women face when staying true to an inner thread of calling.

Dr. Steve McSwain makes a compelling case that your highest purpose in life is to give yourself away and generously share your abundance with the world. The life you've always wanted isn't found in career choice, personal achievements, or even the amount of money you may make in a lifetime. Instead, it's found in one of the simplest, yet most challenging principles ever given. If you miss this principle, you'll miss the life you've always wanted. In an age of unprecedented wealth and record charitable giving, this book is as timely as the morning news. Identifying the 7 most common myths about giving that keep people from being generous, Dr. McSwain shares through real-life stories and practical, step-by-step guidance how to find the meaning of life. If you're looking for happiness and significance in life, this book is a "must read." - Publisher.

Known variously as African studies, black studies, African American studies, Afro-American studies, and Africology, the academic study of the African diaspora as a holistic discipline is a relatively new phenomenon. University programs have been created with reference to a disciplinary matrix, retarding the development of appropriate theory and methods throughout Africana studies. Fifteen leaders in the field of Africana studies provide the conceptual framework for establishing the field as a mature discipline. The focus is on four basic areas: administration and organizational structure; disciplinary matrix; Africana womanism; and cultural aesthetics. The work examines both the theory and the method of scholars in African and African-diaspora studies.

This book showcases six prominent ritual festivals of Ile-Ifẹ̀, Nigeria: namely Ọ̀rànfè᷂̣, Ìtàpá, Òrìṣàlásẹ̀, Ọbaresé, Òrìṣàkirè and Ọwálàrẹ́. It reveals the hidden and enduring beauties of Ifẹ̀ ritual festivals, providing rare information about the region, the acclaimed origin place and spiritual capital of Yoruba people. Through profound analysis of each of the festivals, it affords information that is unusual in both depth and breadth. The text also provides pace for the views of the practitioners of culture-specific literary-ethnographic scholarship. It, however, pushes the critical edges of its engagement with the ritual festivals and represents an important record of enduring cultural legacies with the unusual capacity to inform about Ifẹ̀ rituals in a way that serves the interest of Yoruba cultural studies in general.