The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul. This item is unavailable.The Water of Life: Initiation and the Tempering of the Soul

In response to demand for a new edition of The Water of Life, Michael Meade has revised and refined the classic text and added a new preface that addresses the important issue of men and violence in modern culture. As a recent reader remarked, This book is even more prescient and important at this critical point in the world than when it was first published. At once a mythic journey, a study in depth psychology and a treatise on initiation, Meade mines ancient stories, finding wisdom and guidance for the turbulent times in which we live. Throughout the text, the water of life functions as a core symbol for both personal and cultural renewal, and for the redemption of nature from a wasteland condition. Using ideas gleaned from many years of cutting-edge work with at-risk youth and oppressed communities, Meade's writing has the ring of lived truth.

Michael Meade, born and raised in New York City, is a renowned storyteller, author, and scholar of mythology, anthropology, and psychology. He combines hypnotic and fiery storytelling, street savvy perceptiveness, and spellbinding interpretations of ancient myths with a deep knowledge of cross-cultural rituals. His ability to tap into ancestral sources of wisdom to help people of today heal their communities inspires thousands of men and women throughout the United States, Canada, and the British Isles. His unique translations of age-old myths and symbols into culturally relevant, everyday language earned him an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Pacifica Graduate Institute. Michael is also the founder of Mosaic Multicultural Foundation, author of Awakening the Soul, The Genius Myth, Fate and Destiny, Why the World Doesn't End, co-editor of The Rag and Bone Shop of the Heart, and editor of the cross-cultural anthology on rites of passage: Crossroads: A Quest for Contemporary Rites of Passage.