Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World

by Elisa Davy Pearmain (Editor)

CLEAN COPY. NO WRITING OR MARKS ON COVERS OR PAGES.

Genres: Theology, Buddhism

144 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1998

Reviews

[Jean Becker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I gulped, guzzled, lapped up these stories. We all need a refresher right now. A refresher of the spirit. A refresher of a sense of humor. A fresher in taking the long view. This was a delightful and refreshing splash of story, wrapped around truth.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

These little tidbits are lovely for daily reading, sermon illustrations, discussion with a group, anything. I love how they come from all different cultures.

[Jim Towle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent collection of "wisdom" tales which should be in every storytellers collection.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I stumbled on this book when looking for wisdom stories to use in my own (feeble) attempts at story telling. I wanted something with a spiritual basis, but not just one faith. This book has stories from many places - Buddhist, Hasidic, Middle Eastern, Native American, Sufis, Christian, Desert Fathers, Rumi, Japan, Zen, Burma and Tailand, Africa and China...

In her introduction, Pearmain talks about the connection between spirituality and storytelling (my own note: read Psalms or Proverbs aloud if you want to find great stories!) She gives suggestions for personalizing the stories to fit situations, and the use of visualization and journaling. This is a short section, and not key to the book -- the stories are definitely good ones!

Each story fits most often on just two pages -- some a tiny bit longer. This is handy for those of us with limited room in the brain.

Pearmain gives also some ideas after each story for ways to further explore it (through meditation, visualization, writing, art, etc.), on ways for the teller and listeners to make a personal connection to the story, and a little encouraging bit on sharing the story.

This book is an excellent source -- short short stories from all around the world, with stories that have a way of telling the truth in an entertaining wa

[Norabear · Rating 4 out of 5]

I originally got this from the library but then bought one for myself. A tale a week from all the wisdom literature from many countries and belief systems with exercises to help you explore and incorporate the themes into your life.

[Rev. Sharon Wylie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful collection, well edited and indexed. Each story (or sometimes two stories are paired) comes with a section of reflection questions and exercises.