Il mondo ha conosciuto la poesia 'The Invitation', recitata e letta in migliaia di occasioni pubbliche e private, e molto spesso genericamente attribuita ad anonimi nativi americani. Adesso è il momento di conoscere la sua vera autrice: Oriah Mountain Dreamer. Tradotto in quindici lingue, questo libro, che dalla poesia ha preso le mosse, rivela la saggezza di Oriah e ci sfida a vivere una vita più autentica. In un mondo di chiacchiere infinite, ingorghi continui e giornate sovraccariche di impegni, 'Al centro del fuoco' ci propone un nuovo modo di vivere, fatto di intimità profonda, fedeltà assoluta e pace tra noi e il mondo che ci circonda. Ci invita ad abbracciare la varietà dell'esperienza umana, dal desiderio e dalla bellezza al dolore e al tradimento, e ad aprirci a tutto ciò che è possibile. Ci invita pertanto a restare in piedi al centro del fuoco. Accetta l'invito e apriti a essere tutto ciò che sei veramente.

Shared by word of mouth, e-mailed from reader to reader, recited over the radio, and read aloud at thousands of retreats and conferences, "The Invitation" has changed the lives of people everywhere. In this bestselling book, Oriah expands on the wisdom found within her beloved prose poem, which presents a powerful challenge to all who long to live an authentic life.

In a world of endless small talk, constant traffic jams, and overburdened schedules, "The Invitation" opens the door to a new way of life -- a way of intimacy, honesty, and peace with ourselves, others, and the world around us. Oriah invites us to embrace the varieties of human experience, from desire and commitment to sorrow and betrayal, and to open ourselves to all that is possible. The Invitation is an invaluable guide to overcoming the obstacles that stand in our way and to discovering the true beauty that life has to offer.

Accept the invitation and open yourself to a more meaningful life.

In her previous books, Oriah Mountain Dreamer has challenged readers to live with passion and honesty, to embrace the true, fallible, human self. What We Ache For is a moving and eloquent call to delve deeply into our creative selves, to do our creative work, and offer it to the world.

The creative process is essential to human nature. It is as essential as spirituality and sexuality, and in fact all three are deeply intertwined. What We Ache For is a practical book allowing readers to embrace the urgency and necessity of their creativity, whatever their medium -- writing, painting, sculpture, dance, music, or film. As Oriah says, "Doing creative work allows us to follow the thread of what we ache for into a deeper life, offering us a way to cultivate a life of making love to the world."

Following Oriah through this journey in such chapters as "The Seduction of the Artist," "Learning to See," and "Risk and Sacrifice," What We Ache For challenges and inspires readers to fully embrace their artistic selves as a way of forging a path of spiritual unfolding.

A beautiful presentation of Oriah's signature prose poem, preceded by a chapter relating the full life story behind the poem and then followed by a chapter on the life of the poem and its remarkable effect on people's lives, including her own.

The prose poem The Invitation was originally passed from reader to reader over the internet and hand–to–hand; it was these readers who helped make the book a best–seller.

This small, beautifully presented book, incorporating the poem and two short additional new chapters by Oriah, gives old and new readers the beloved poem in a fresh way, as a gift for others or oneself. The often moving and sometimes funny chapters give a fresh, full account of how the poem came to be, and then discuss the life of the poem after it was written and circulated to so many readers, via the internet, photocopies, and eventually the full book The Invitation. Artwork will accompany each paragraph of the poem.

The Call exhorts us to heed the voice inside us, calling us to discover and to live fully our true selves and our heart's desires - finding our own unique calling, not in the expectations of others and in the outside world, but deep within ourselves.

I have heard it all my life
A voice calling a name I recognized as myown.
Sometimes it comes as a soft-belliedwhisper.
Sometimes it holds an edge of urgency.
But always it says: Wake up my love. Youare walking asleep.
There's no safety in that!

The Call, like Oriah's previous books, starts with an evocative, richly textured prose poem. In it, Oriah challenges readers to discard what they know of themselves as seen through other people and the world around them, and to delve deep into their own selves to find who they truly are. She persuades the reader that there is nothing as essential as what you believe yourself to be, and that it's not necessary to search for meaning in other people and the world's agendas; just be confident of your own distinct gifts, challenges and dreams.

You may be familiar with her bestselling book The Invitation or heard her on The Oprah Winfrey Show and NPR. With her first original audio production, Oriah Mountain Dreamer takes you on an inspirational "journey into the soul's desires," bringing a new vision to what it is we most want from life. On Your Heart's Prayer, Oriah challenges you to find your heart's longing-a deep purpose encompassing not only daily life, but your ultimate destiny. Drawing from the tradition of shamanic medicine, she details the way to narrow the gap between how we want to live and how we're actually living. Blending ruthless honesty, humor, and insight, Oriah shows us how to let longing grow larger than fear; how to retrieve lost parts of the self; how to accept that which is beyond our control; and much more.

An inspirational and challenging poem, looking at the subject of human spirituality.

Welcome to The Dance, the wise and practical book that expands on Oriah Mountain Dreamer's new moving prose poem. In this compelling book the acclaimed author of The Invitation challenges readers to live with passion, energy, and honesty. The key, says Oriah, is to savour the everyday world of family, friends, love, and work with clear minds and open hearts. When we are physically and emotionally stressed and our spirits are depleted, we must realise that happiness has not vanished but is buried beneath the clutter of our harried lives. With rare courage and honesty, Oriah unveils the challenge of her inspiring poem through compelling stories from her own experience, offering us tools to become fully the person we already are -- not ways to change."To dance -- to live in a way that is consistent with our longing" -- is to discover a gift that we can give ourselves again and again over a lifetime. To dance, alone or with others, is to be who we truly are as we fulfill our soul's desires. To do this, we must learn how to let go and slow down, returning to the sacred emptiness where we encounter our true self. Practical, inspiring, and profoundly illuminating, The Dance is an invitation to discover a place of connection, serenity, and joy that is uniquely our own."

Visionary author Oriah Mountain Dreamer brings to life the wisdom of her beloved invitation, which has touched hearts everywhere with its fresh and spirited call to live life more deeply, honestly, and well.

Like the inspirations for Robert Fulghum's All I Really Need to Know I learned in Kindergarten, Cherie Carter-Scott's If Life Is a Game, These are the Rules, and Margaret Fishback Power's Footprints, the poem that sparked The Invitation has been embraced around the world, passed along by thousands who have discovered and treasured its message. In this lovely gift book the author speaks from the heart, reflecting on everything from desire to betrayal and offering practical - and often surprising - suggestions for how to live the ecstasy of everyday life, learn to recognise true beauty in ourselves and the world around us, and how to find the sustenance that our spirit longs for.

The poem Invitation has been recited and quoted at countless spiritual conferences, and on network radio by Robert Bly, Jack Kornfield, Angeles Arrien, and many other spiritual leaders.

From the Invitation:

? doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.

It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive ...'