Love has quite unfairly come to be associated with being happy However it is also one of the most reliable routes to misery We tend to treat our sadness individually as if it were unique & shameful But as this book explains there are some solid reasons why love should be highly sorrowful at times The good news is that by understanding our romantic troubles & griefs seeing them in their proper context & appreciating their prevalence we will cease to feel so alone & so cursed This essay is not a study in despair; it is a guide to a more consoling humane & in its own way joyful perspective on the complexities of love ...

Work can be a route to creativity excitement & purpose Nevertheless many of us end up confused discouraged & beaten by our working lives The temptation is often just to blame ourselves & to feel privately ashamed & guilty However as this book lucidly explains there is a range of well-embedded & intriguing reasons why work proves demoralising including the evolution of modern work the role of technology & the mechanics of the economy This surprisingly cheering book offers us an invigorating perspective over our working lives
- & what we might do at times when our work challenges us almost unbearably
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A key work in the German ' Sturm und Drang' movement Johann Goethe's autobiographical epistolary novel The Sorrows of Young Werther is a defining moment in early Romanticism which has influenced writers from Mary Shelley to Thomas Mann This Penguin Classics edition is translated from with an introduction by Michael Hulse Visiting an idyllic German village Werther a sensitive young man meets & falls in love with sweet-natured Charlotte Although he realises that she is to marry Albert he is unable to subdue his passion & his infatuation torments him to the point of despair The first great 'confessional' novel The Sorrows of Young Werther draws both on Goethe's own unrequited love for Charlotte Buff & on the death of his friend Karl Wilhelm Jerusalem The book was an immediate success & a cult rapidly grew up around it resulting in numerous imitations as well as violent criticism & suppression on the grounds of its apparent support of suicide Goethe's sensitive exploration of the mind of an artist at odds with society & ill-equipped to cope with life is now considered the first great tragic novel of European literature This edition

Includes:: notes & an introduction by Michael Hulse who explores the origins of the novel in the author's life & examines its impact on European culture Johann Wolfgang Goethe (1749-1832) was born in Frankfurt Germany Although he directed the German State Theatre dabbled in the occult & worked on scientific theories in evolutionary botany Goethe is best remembered for his great works The Sorrows of Young Werther & Faust & his part in the 18th century ' Sturm & Drang' movement If you enjoyed The Sorrows of Young Werther you might like Stendhal's Love also published in Penguin Classics

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Deep down inside our bodies lives the soul No one has ever seen it but we all know it's there There is a soul bird who lives inside us all This special bird opens & closes the drawers of our soul in which we keep all our feelings There are drawers for our innermost secrets but also places where we hide away our happiness anger joy jealousy & sorrows The soul bird has the keys to these drawers & can open them when we ask But sometimes the soul bird seems to disobey our wishes & tolerance turns to fear or calm turns to anger Perhaps we don't listen to our soul bird often enough Indeed some of us only hear it once in a lifetime We should try maybe late at night or at another time of peace & quiet to hear the voice of the soul bird & listen to what it is telling us Michal Snunit's The Soul Bird has been translated into 25 languages & has been a bestseller around the world for ten years since its first publication This celebration edition introduces new colour to enhance the beautiful simplicity of Na'ama Golomb's original illustrations This gentle & poetic book has become a firm favourite with both children & adults Showing how the consolation & encouragement we need can be found in small everyday places it is a lovely resource for those moments when we feel in need of spiritual refreshment Its deceptive simplicity conceals a deeper philosophical message for us all ...

In 2011 Sy Montgomery wrote a feature for Orion magazine entitled ' Deep Intellect' about her friendship with a sensitive sweet-natured octopus named Athena & the grief she felt at her death It went viral indicating the widespread fascination with these mysterious almost alien-like creatures Since then Sy has practised true immersion journalism from New England aquarium tanks to the reefs of French Polynesia & the Gulf of Mexico pursuing these wild solitary shape-shifters Octopuses have varied personalities & intelligence they show in myriad ways endless trickery to escape enclosures & get food; jetting water playfully to bounce objects like balls; & evading caretakers by using a scoop net as a trampoline & running around the floor on eight arms But with a beak like a parrot venom like a snake & a tongue covered with teeth how can such a beingknowanything? & what sort of thoughts could it think? The intelligence of dogs birds & chimpanzees was only recently accepted by scientists who now are establishing the intelligence of the octopus watching them solve problems & deciphering the meaning of their colour-changing camouflage techniques Montgomery chronicles this growing appreciation of the octopus but also tells a love story By turns funny entertaining touching & profound The Soul of an Octopus reveals what octopuses can teach us about consciousness & the meeting of two very different minds ...

Here I am! Flora called to Richard as she went downstairs For a second Meg felt disloyalty It occurred to her of a sudden that Flora was always saying that & that it was in the tone of one giving a lovely present She was bestowing herself' The soul of kindness is what Flora believes herself to be Tall blonde & beautiful she appears to have everything under control -- her home her baby her husband Richard her friend Meg Kit Meg's brother who has always adored Flora & Patrick the novelist & domestic pet Only the bohemian painter Liz refuses to become a worshipper at the shrine Flora entrances them all dangling visions of happiness & success before their spellbound eyes All are bewitched by this golden tyrant all conspire to protect her from what she really is All that is except the clear-eyed Liz it is left to her to show them that Flora's kindness is the sweetest poison of them all ...

Selection

Includes:: The Portrait of Mr WH Wilde's defence of Dorian Gray reviews & the writings from ' Intentions'

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Artists The Soul Searchers Label Soul Brother Format Vinyl 12 Album Tracks 1 I Rolled It You Hold It 2 Blow Your Whistle 3 Close to You 4 Funk to the Folks 5 Ain't It Heavy 6 Windsong 7 Ashley's Roachclip 8 We Share 9 If It Ain't Funky ...

This inspiring collection of channelled messages will enlighten encourage & empower you Michelle Stevens has been keenly aware of the presence of her spirit guides in her life since she was eight years old & heard their messages For 30 years she never told anyone about them but in 2012 with encouragement from her guides she created a blog to share their guidance wisdom & support The Soul's Agenda is a stunningly presented compilation of a selection of the messages she has received & continues to receive every day It seems that now more than ever so many of us doubt ourselves we don't believe ourselves to be wise enough strong enough smart enough clever enough or spiritual enough
- when nothing could be further from the truth We find ourselves searching for meaning in life wondering what path to take & asking ourselves Why am I here?' What is my purpose?' & What will make me happy?' With her guides illuminating the way Michelle helps us to find answers to all these questions & more The messages will take you on a practical & profoundly spiritual & personal journey that leads to the well of confidence clarity strength wisdom creativity fearlessness love & joy that already exists in our souls With this discovery of your inner self & strength you will never again feel as if your life is at the mercy of forces outside of your control & as a result your experience of yourself & of the world around you will be changed forever
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Plato & the Greeks called it 'daimon' the Romans 'genius' the Christians ' Guardian Angel'
- & today we use terms such as 'heart'
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