Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World [Paperback]

Elisa Davy Pearmain (Editor)

Product Details

• Paperback: 138 pages
• Publisher: Pilgrim Press (December 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829812865
• ISBN-13: 978-0829812862
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,421,442 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great source for telling tales, June 1, 2005

By 

Quaker Annie "reader" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World (Paperback)

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 way.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An opportunity to read and share international wisdom., February 14, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World (Paperback)

This book is designed to be a year-long journey into tales of wisdom from around the world and different cultures. An enjoyable read with ideas for incorporating wisdom, and journeys of the soul shared, in every day life.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good, has more of a nu-age slant., December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Doorways to the Soul: 52 Wisdom Tales from Around the World (Paperback)

I thought the book was pretty concise, and had a good collection of wisdom tales. Handy little book, as well. There were a few stories that seemed a bit of a stretch, and I was not particularly interested in their "personal exercises", but it had some stories I had not seen before. I hope they publish another volume, with lesser known wisdom tales.