Desert
Wisdom:
Sacred
Middle Eastern Writings
from
the Goddess through the Sufis
by Neil
Douglas-Klotz
Shortlisted for
Common Boundary Magazine's 1995 Green Dove Award.
Following
the threads of myth and story that have consciously and unconsciously
helped shape Western thinking, Desert Wisdom weaves a deep,
rich, colorful tapestry that gives new meaning to many familiar sacred
writings from the Middle East. Desert Wisdom includes stunning
new translations and versions of texts from the Goddess era,
from the Jewish Scriptures, from the Dead Sea Scrolls and Gnostic literature,
from the Aramaic words of Jesus, from the Quran and from the
classical Sufi poets Hafiz, Sa’adi, Shabistari
and Rumi. Through translation, chant, meditation and body prayer,
Desert Wisdom invites readers to experience these sacred earth
traditions and open a door to wisdom in their own lives.
1995. HarperSF,
266 pages,hardback ISBN:0-06-061996-1 $20. UK £13.
To
purchase, go directly to our secure
online shop.
Reviews:
“If
you talk with your friends while in the midst of reading Desert
Wisdom they will probably suspect you’ve fallen
in love. And they will be right, for Neil Douglas-Klotz has provided,
for the modern reader, a way into one of the planet’s most
powerful experiences of an ecstatic and mystical love--the way
of the native Middle Eastern wisdom traditions. In particular,
Douglas-Klotz’s translations of some of the sayings of
Jesus are the most radical, penetrating, and exhilarating I have
ever read. Desert Wisdom is a passage
way for anyone wishing to contact the ruminous and creative energy
capable of transforming our time into a new millennium of peace
and wisdom.”
--Brian
Swimme, Co-author, with Thomas Berry, of The Universe
Story
“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
“Neil
Douglas-Klotz is a Master of Sacred Dance. He takes us
into the domain of the Nazarene Lord of the Dance via the Aramaic
rhythms and cadences that still to this day have the power to
raise us to heaven.”
--Rabbi
Zalman M. Schachter, Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal,
Author of Paradigm Shift, Spiritual Intimacy
“Desert
Wisdom opens a new window on the ancient texts of the Middle
East through which we can view their insights from a fresh perspective.
Douglas-Klotz has the rare ability to approach a diversity of
traditions with respect and sensitivity. This helps us to honor
their commonalties rather than focus on their divisions. An important
book in this time when peace in that region once again has become
a fragile possibility.”
--Starhawk, author
of The Spiral Dance and The Fifth Sacred Thing
“In
Desert Wisdom, Neil Douglas-Klotz continues in the same radical
spirit as his work translating the “Our Father” prayer
in Prayers of the Cosmos. He opens our eyes anew
to the mystical truths and sacred depths of scriptural and non-scriptural
passages that have become so overly familiar in their superficial
translations that they can no longer move our hearts. He moves
us from the letter that kills to the spirit that gives life and
he assists in today’s all important task to undergo deep
ecumenism, that is, the eliciting of wisdom from our traditional
religious sources. This is a prophetic and mystical accomplishment
of the first order!
--Matthew
Fox, author of Original Blessing and The
Reinvention of Work
“This
collection, entitled Desert Wisdom, was written
with pure intentions and intricate detail by Neil Douglas-Klotz.
It is undoubtedly a landmark book, the beginning of a major movement
in the Western world to understand the holy words. It is a comprehension
of the teachings of various prophets, especially those in the
Holy Quran, which have led the development of a great school
called Sufism (the school of understanding). The best and
only solution to many national and international problems is
understanding and recognizing the deeper meanings behind these
words. However, in order to appreciate and learn from this
book, one must free oneself from cultural and regional prejudices,
as the author is exempt from both.”
--Shah Nazar
Ali Kianfar, Ph.D., Co-founder, International
Association of Sufism
“In
these troubled and heated spiritual times, Mr. Douglas-Klotz’s Desert
Wisdom comes along like a refreshing breeze of cool,
arid air. Mr. Douglas-Klotz has not only collected some of the
finest words that are spiritual, humourous and thought-provoking,
but he has managed to translate them from their original Semitic
tongues into beautiful prose and poetery. Middle Eastern enchantment
for the soul. Bravo!
--Fred
Alan Wolf, Ph.D., American Book Award-winning author
of Taking the Quantum Leap and The Dreaming
Universe
“Desert
Wisdom is a soulful book which demands a change of
consciousness. I admire Neil Douglas-Klotz’s courage
in confronting our Western world’s one-sided views with
the deeply mystical practices and teachings of Native Middle
Eastern peoples. What a rich, spiritual gift we have
in the ancient wisdom of that region of our planet. For those
who wish to deepen our sense of interconnectedness, Neil’s
beautiful, poetic translations are like melodic chants inviting
us to breathe with and take our place in the cosmos. Desert
Wisdom is a sound spiritual guide for our postmodern
times.”
--Marlene
DeNardo, S.N.D., Instructor in Women’s
Studies, Spirituality and Ecology at the Institute in Culture
and Creation Spirituality
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