In 2014 John Harvey fulfilled his one-year commitment to sit in the forest once each week for one hour to observe nature. It turned out to be a richly rewarding experience. He learned to more fully see, hear, smell, and feel; he learned much about the natural world-the environment, flora and fauna, the progression of the seasons, and weather; and at the end of the year, he felt physically, emotionally, mentally, and even spiritually rejuvenated. He shared his experiences and discoveries in his book The Stillness of the Living Forest. But as time went on, Harvey realized he had many questions about the connection between time spent in nature and one's health and well-being. As a psychologist, Harvey was eager to learn if others who spent time in nature had experienced outcomes similar to his. He began to read relevant books and research articles and found that the physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits of spending time in nature are well established. There were also findings pointing to nature's positive impact on feelings of connection, self-knowledge, and personal transformation and spiritual growth. Harvey realized that it was time for a sequel to his book, time to take an all-embracing journey through both contemporary scientific and traditional literary sources to understand how and why time in nature is so beneficial. Nature's Pathways to Mindfulness explores scientific information on the benefits of time spent in nature and the processes and theories that explain these benefits, recounts many of Harvey's personal experiences in nature, and provides step-by-step guidance on how to conduct a nature sitting experience.
It started with a personal commitment to sit an hour each week for a full year in the same spot in the woods. John Harvey's intention was to reconnect with nature and observe the flow of natural life through the four seasons. As Harvey settled into his weekly routine of visiting his sit spot and fully engaging his senses, rich and illuminating experiences began to unfold. His encounters with nature included seeing and listening to a plethora of birds, from tiny wrens to large hawks, from sweet-singing warblers to rattling woodpeckers; enjoying the sight of seasonal plants such as wild violets, trout lily, and skunk cabbage; sitting out in the open during weather events that ranged from glorious warm summer sunshine to an Alberta clipper in the winter; and spotting the occasional deer and even a black bear. In all cases, Harvey sought to observe, listen, appreciate, and learn. Learn he did--about the birds, animals, plants, and trees that surrounded and intrigued him. But his remarkable encounters with nature also facilitated self-discovery, fostered insight, and nurtured empathy and intuition.
Can film capture what our eyes can't see? There are many examples--both historical and contemporary--of photographs of spirits or ghosts. These images alternately have been derided as hoaxes or, at the other extreme, held up as irrefutable proof of the otherworld. Photography and Spirit examines these mesmerizing images of phantoms, psychical emanations, and religious apparitions.
Drawing upon eighty images taken between 1860 and today, John Harvey explores spirit photography from the various perspectives of religion, science, and art. Some of the photographs he considers were taken by scientists, others by amateur and commercial photographers, and still others by robotic surveillance devices. The diverse origins of the spirit photographs have inspired a multiplicity of interpretations and engendered, in some cases, high levels of skepticism. Harvey's analysis probes the connections between the images, human imagination, and larger cultural traditions. Photography and Spirit transforms what are often fringe objects of kitsch into revelatory artifacts of cultural history, drawing from them thought-provoking insights into the historical connections between the material and spiritual worlds, representations of grief, and human cultures' enduring fascination with the supernatural.
Photo images of ethereal spirits render the border between what is real and what is fantastic indistinguishable. Photography and Spirit challenges our pre-conceived notions and offers an intriguing new perspective on the nature of photography.
Stress has been described as a modern epidemic and the number one threat to the physical health, emotional well-being, and productivity of modern men and women. This book goes beyond simplistic and mechanical explanations of the stress response to a comprehensive view of how the mind, body, and emotions interact to create stress. We are given a wealth of practical techniques to relax both body and mind and to restore health and harmony to our lives. Exercise, diet, meditation, relaxation procedures, breathing techniques, and guidelines for a healthy lifestyle are presented in a manner that is easy to understand and lends impetus to immediate application.
Most importantly, this book thoroughly examines the role of the mind in the stress problem. The mind is seen as both the cause of stress and the ultimate arena for managing stress. Drawing on the perspectives of contemporary psychology as well as on traditional wisdom, a range of strategies are presented for changing self-talks, increasing self-awareness, and ultimately, for quieting the restless mind. It is this Quiet Mind that is calm, peaceful, and confident amid change and turmoil. And it is the Quiet Mind that takes us beyond stress management to positive personal growth.
The inaugural volume in the Handbooks for New Testament Exegesis series, Interpreting the Pauline Letters begins by exploring the components of narrative--setting, characterization, and plot--and then develops the foremost theological themes in each of the books traditionally ascribed to Paul. The method sets the task of exegesis within the literary context of first-century letters as well as the theological context of major themes present in Paul's letters. The book goes beyond exegesis to discuss strategies for communicating the central truthesof Paul's first-century messages to a twenty-first-century audience. Each chapter includes a list of helpful resources to the step of interpretation discussed. A glossary defining technical words and samples of moving from exegesis to proclamation make this guide practical and user-friendly. Designed as a handbook for seminary and graduate students, the book provides a go-to guide that will also serve seminary-trained pastors, upper-level college students, and well-motivated lay people. As readers work through this handbook, they will begin to see and interpret the narrative writings as Paul intended them to be understood.
Best known as a writer of crime fiction - notably the 12 volume Charlie Resnick series - and as the mainstay, for two decades, of Slow Dancer Press, John Harvey's own poetry has perhaps stayed too long below the radar.
This, his first collection in sixteen years, brings together the best of his two earlier books, Ghosts of a Chance and Bluer Than This, along with a number of new poems which show a greater depth and maturity and variety of form, further fusing together the intimate and personal with a passionate understanding of music and painting and the ways in which they can affect and illuminate our lives.
How do you feel about networking? I can help you love it as much as I do.
Most people see networking as a necessary evil - something to be endured or even avoided. But there is a minority who really embrace and enjoy networking. Like me, they understand the vast benefits it brings, the extraordinary value it adds to their professional and personal lives and, crucially, they know how to do it well and with ease.
In this handy book, I'll show you how you can overcome your reservations and fears about networking, and I'll coach you in all the skills and insider secrets that I've developed over the years. These secrets and skills have helped make networking a vital ingredient in my success, and they can do the same for you, too.
So, whether it's entering a room full of strangers that fills you with dread, or the idea of striking up a conversation with someone you've never met that makes you anxious, let me help you. I'll explain how to build a robust networking strategy that can revolutionise finding exciting opportunities, lucrative new clients, and sought-after decision makers. And, by placing networking at the heart of what you do, you'll discover exactly how to make it more rewarding, productive, effective and, yes, even fun!
What actions must a boy take to become a man? One might use a razor to clear his first growth of beard, while another could employ it as a weapon -- both actions might be a fitting rite of passage.
In these dazzling works of fiction, seventeen masters of crime and suspense explore what it means to be a son, what it means to be a father, what it means to be a man. Spanning continents and decades, the stories are set in interconnected worlds both instantly recognizable and astonishingly believable, from long stretches on a dry Texas highway to a bleak London alley, from the claustrophobic confines of an after-hours backroom poker game to a rundown jazz joint in Manhattan.
Amid card sharks, revolvers, and shallow graves, the characters who inhabit these stories strive to discover what is right, what will give them dignity, what will earn them respect. Whether at the age of ten or thirty-five, all will come face-to-face with a situation that will brutally separate the men from the boys.