The Way Of Nature And The Way Of Grace

Amid all the controversy, criticism, and celebration of Terrence Malick's award-winning film The Tree of Life, what do we really understand of it? The Way of Nature and the Way of Grace thoughtfully engages the philosophical riches of life, culture, time, and the sacred through Malick's film. This innovative collection traverses the relationships among ontological, moral, scientific, and spiritual perspectives on the world, demonstrating how phenomenological work can be done in and through the cinematic medium, and attempting to bridge the gap between narrow "theoretical" works on film and their broader cultural and philosophical significance. Exploring Malick's film as a philosophical engagement, this readable and insightful collection presents an excellent resource for film specialists, philosophers of film, and film lovers alike.

Eric Alan masterfully integrates his stunning color photography of nature with profound prose on the spiritual dimensions of nature. Wild Grace is a beautiful celebration of the details of the natural world, and a meditation on living mindfully within it. Eric Alan masterfully integrates his stunning color photography of nature with profound prose on the spiritual dimensions of nature. Dividing Wild Grace into two sections (Sensing the Spirit and Living the Spirit), Alan draws us into the natural world as cathedral where deep lessons await us.

“Perhaps you hunger to finally end the struggle of living from a consciousness of fear and separation. Perhaps you yearn for a saner, wiser, more spiritually elegant way to move through our world. Perhaps you are weary of the dizzying pace of a culture that drives us ever further from our true nature. There is another way: a way of Grace. This book is a hand of friendship to help you come to abide in the living presence that you are and always were.”—Miranda Macpherson, The Way of Grace Many of us struggle to truly live what we believe spiritually. What if closing that gap wasn’t about trying harder, but something quite the opposite? The Way of Grace is a guide to spiritual surrender and nondual realization based on the practice of ego relaxation—a holistic, feminine approach to welcoming all of your experience and responding with compassion and wisdom in a world in need of your unique gifts. “Grace has four primary dimensions, or ways that it comes alive,” explains Macpherson. “Ego relaxation gives us access to these dimensions, so we can stop trying to beat ourselves into spiritual shape and yield instead to an unshakable presence within.” In The Way of Grace, she shares reflections, inquiries, and meditation practices for each phase of your journey: • Relaxing into the Ground of Grace—move beyond identification with your personality and return to the felt sense of your connection to Grace as your natural and ever-present foundation • Receiving the Blessings of Grace—move beyond “the spiritual poverty of lack” and rediscover the gift of life in every moment through the portals of trust, humility, patience, and joy • The Transforming Power of Grace—move beyond that which limits your full freedom through forgiveness, compassion, unwinding ego identity, and abiding in your boundless nature • Living the Embodiment of Grace—continue to surrender anything that binds you into self-centered patterns and behaviors and become a “Grace-delivery device,” the presence of love here on Earth “Grace will always deepen, season, and bring out the very best in you,” writes Macpherson. “You are its embodiment, always and forever.” The Way of Grace will be your steady companion to “live as the fountain we were made to be, letting the living waters flow to quench our parched and tired Earth.” Foreword by Russ Hudson.

Were all asking the same kinds of questions, with the same goal in mind: How do I fit in? How can I navigate life gracefully? How can my life be more satisfying? How can I experience more love, joy, awe, and wonder? By learning, understanding, and applying the inherent wisdom that we find in the natural world, we can connect with people and with our planet, with our own hearts and souls, and create a life that is not only better for us as individuals, but perhaps together, create a world that works for everyone. With simplicity and humor Jeff shows how the wisdom of nature can free us, untangle us from the complexity of our ego-driven lives. This is the wisdom of the ordinary for each of us to treasure. Allow these clear and profound teachings to awaken you, so that you can glimpse the divine that is within you and all around. Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee , Ph.D., Sufi teacher and author like a friendly sharing across a backyard fence or an informal exchange of insights across a cup of coffee, Jeff Anderson has written...about the times we live in, the challenges we face, and the kind of life and consciousness that may help us not just survive but prosper." David Spangler, author of Apprenticed to Spirit and Facing the Future A thought-provoking, humorous and touching collection of truly helpful ideas. Dr. Edward Viljoen, author of Practice the Presence and Spirit Is Calling

Terrence Malick is one of the most important and controversial filmmakers of the last few decades. Yet his renown does not stem from box office receipts, but rather from his inimitable cinematic vision that mixes luminous shots of nature, dreamlike voiceovers, and plots centered on enduring existential questions. Although scholars have thoroughly examined Malick’s background in philosophy, they have been slower to respond to his theological concerns. This volume is the first to focus on the ways in which Malick integrates theological inquiries and motifs into his films. The book begins with an exploration of Malick’s career as a filmmaker and shows how his Heideggerian interests relate to theology. Further essays from established and up-and-coming scholars analyze seven of Malick’s most prominent films – Badlands (1973), Days of Heaven (1978), The Thin Red Line (1998), The New World (2005), The Tree of Life (2011), To the Wonder (2012), and Knight of Cups (2015) – to show how his cinematic techniques point toward and overlap with principles of Christian theology. A thorough study of an iconic filmmaker, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars in the emerging field of religion and film.

As a Bible teacher, Gayle had taught for decades about the amazing power of grace in a person's life. Yet it took a crisis in her husband's life and the crumbling of her own life around her for her to have an epiphany about the true nature of grace. In Courageous Grace, Gayle chronicles and explains her newfound insights. Despite common misperceptions, grace is not safe. It's not easy. Frankly, it takes courage to show grace to those who deserve less. Oftentimes, the person showing God's grace gets counted among the sinners, just as Jesus experienced centuries ago. Gayle explores the story of Jesus forgiving the adulterous woman to reveal the courageous side of showing grace. We live in a society that vacillates between glorifying sin and crucifying those who fall. Gayle encourages us to take the road less traveled--daring to do the hard work of showing God's grace to the sinners among us. It's what followers of Christ are called to do.

Leaving a promising career in academic philosophy to embark on a career in film, American director Terrence Malick has created cinematic works of art that are also deeply philosophical. His contribution to philosophy through a half century of filmmaking has become the focus of increasing scholarly attention. Inviting the reader along a journey of reflections at the intersection of film, art, and philosophy, Life Above the Clouds brings together an international team of contributors to present the most current and definitive statement of the filmmaker's work. Accessibly written and exploring films such as Badlands, Days of Heaven, The Thin Red Line, The New World, The Tree of Life, To the Wonder, Knight of Cups, Song to Song, and A Hidden Life, the nineteen essays herein will be of interest not only to scholars and students of philosophy, theology, film studies, and aesthetics, but also to anyone with a true love of film.

Although it is a somewhat underrepresented form of literature in popular sensibility, poetry finds relevance in the modern world through its appearance in cinema. Film adaptations of poems and depictions of poets on the screen date back to the silent era and continue to the present day. However, there have been few serious studies of how cinema has represented the world of poetic expression. In Verse, Voice, and Vision: Poetry and the Cinema, Marlisa Santos has compiled essays that explore the relationship between one of the world’s oldest art forms—poetry—and one of the world’s newest art forms—film. The book is divided into three sections: poets on film, poetry as film, and film as poetry. Topics include analyses of poet biopics (such as Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle), filmic representations of poets or poetic studies (including Pyaasa), films inspired by particular poems (such as Splendor in the Grass), and the avant-garde phenomenon of the “poem-film” (such as The Tree of Life). Poetic influences considered in this volume range from William Shakespeare to e.e. cummings, and the films discussed hail from several different countries, including the U.S., the U.K., India, China, Italy, and Argentina. Featuring a great diversity in the age, genres, and countries of origin of the films, these essays provide an in-depth look at how poetry has been interpreted on film over the years. By addressing a heretofore unexamined aspect of film studies, Verse, Voice, and Vision will appeal to fans and scholars of both literature and cinema.