Hesychius of Jerusalem
Book Bits, Christian Texts

Keeping Silence of the Heart: Cultivating Attention and Sobriety According to the Philokalia

Philokalia means 'love of the beautiful and the good', and the writings that were added to this collection were mostly concerned with the importance of awakening and developing attention and consciousness.

Book Bits

We Only Have One Story – John Steinbeck on Virtue and Vice

East of Eden was John Steinbeck's epic novel written later on in his life that was based on the history of his family in the Salinas Valley in California. With frequent references to the Book of Genesis, the story addresses questions about the fundamentals of human nature, most notably the perpetual struggle within ourselves between… Continue reading We Only Have One Story – John Steinbeck on Virtue and Vice

Book Bits

Altered States and Changed Perceptions

What is it like to be an octopus? This question is at the heart of Sy Montgomery's 'The Soul of an Octopus', a remarkable book that chronicles the author's study of the intimate lives of a group of cephalopods. Their emotional states and social interactions are brought to light as is a wider consideration of the… Continue reading Altered States and Changed Perceptions