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Desert Wisdom:

A Nomad’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions from the Heart of the Native Middle East

By Neil Douglas-Klotz

Part oracle, part meditation book, and part Aladdin’s cave of Middle Eastern myth and sacred story, Desert Wisdom offers a fresh way to hear the ancient visionary voices of the Middle East that generated three (or more) of the world’s great religions.

Renowned Sufi scholar and teacher Neil Douglas-Klotz, author of The Sufi Book of Life and Prayers of the Cosmos, has revisioned his acclaimed 1995 classic for the 21st century. Praised by scientists, poets and mystics alike for its ecological approach to “hearing” the native wisdom of the Middle East on its own terms, Desert Wisdom takes us on a journey from ancient Egypt throughout the Middle East to Sufi poets like Rumi and Hafiz. In between, we spend time hearing Genesis the way a storyteller might have told it and sit at the feet of the Aramaic-speaking prophet, Yeshua of Nazareth.

Through it all, Desert Wisdom presents us ancient wisdom about life’s biggest questions—like:

Why am I here? Who am I? And how do I love?

Endorsements:

“If you talk with your friends while in the midst of reading Desert Wisdom they will probably suspect you’ve fallen in love.”

—Brian Swimme, co-author with Thomas Berry of The Universe Story

“Middle Eastern enchantment for the soul. Bravo!”

—Fred Alan Wolf, Ph.D., American Book Award-winning author of Taking the Quantum Leap, featured in the film “What the Bleep Do We Know?”

“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

“A prophetic and mystical accomplishment of the first order!”

—Dr. Matthew Fox, author of Original Blessing and The Reinvention of Work

“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

“Douglas-Klotz…takes us into the domain of the Nazarane 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, Founder, Aleph Alliance for Jewish Renewal, author of A Heart Afire

“This book weaves ancient sacred messages by the golden thread of unity, revealing clearly the one spiritual reality behind all existence. Open the book anywhere, and you will discover delightful inner openings and insights.You may even hear a silent dialogue between the sacred soul and its shadow. A most timely and useful contribution to all religious and spiritual studies.”

—Shaykh Fadhlalla Haeri, Founder, The Academy of Self Knowledge, South Africa, author of The Thoughtful Guide to Sufism and Son of Karbala

Already have the first (1995) edition? Upgrade now:
What’s New in Desert Wisdom 2.0:

Seven new translations from the Aramaic words of Jesus.
Ten new translations from the Hebrew (Genesis, Zohar and Dead Sea Scrolls).
Three new translations from the Qur’an.
Book reorganized for better use as an oracle in a similar format to The Sufi Book of Life.
Meditations rewritten and keyed to “Life’s Big Questions.”
All notes and commentary revised and updated.
New “Quick Start Guide” and Preface.
Complete indexes to meditations and textual strands, plus new index to the notes,
Commentary and front matter.
Plus: all translations from the first edition revised and updated, with improved transliteration of original texts.