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Blessings of the Cosmos: Wisdom of the Heart from the Aramaic Words of Jesus
This book includes a spoken-word audio CD, which is not available with the digital ebook edition.
Aramaic the language of Jesus and his disciples has captured the imagination of seekers from every faith and spiritual tradition. Since the publication of his bestseller Prayers of the Cosmos, Aramaic scholar Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz has become a foremost expert at uncovering the rich layers of meaning found in Jesus' native wisdom sayings. Now, in Blessings of the Cosmos, this renowned author presents a collection of all-new translations of Jesus' best-loved benedictions and invocations for peace, healing, divine connection, and more Come unto me, all ye that labor blessings to renew and re-dedicate your life's sacred vocation Ask, and it shall be given you discovering your origin in the source of Love itself Jesus' parting words to the disciples, from the blessing of greater works to the many mansions teaching to the great commandment on love, and more Jesus' Beatitudes in blessings for our inner being
Whether for personal inspiration or use in communal worship and rites of passage, Blessings of the Cosmos offers you a heart-opening prayerbook that will guide you toward an ever deepening, daily experience of the divine.
Aramaic the language of Jesus and his disciples has captured the imagination of seekers from every faith and spiritual tradition. Since the publication of his bestseller Prayers of the Cosmos, Aramaic scholar Dr. Neil Douglas-Klotz has become a foremost expert at uncovering the rich layers of meaning found in Jesus' native wisdom sayings. Now, in Blessings of the Cosmos, this renowned author presents a collection of all-new translations of Jesus' best-loved benedictions and invocations for peace, healing, divine connection, and more Come unto me, all ye that labor blessings to renew and re-dedicate your life's sacred vocation Ask, and it shall be given you discovering your origin in the source of Love itself Jesus' parting words to the disciples, from the blessing of greater works to the many mansions teaching to the great commandment on love, and more Jesus' Beatitudes in blessings for our inner being
Whether for personal inspiration or use in communal worship and rites of passage, Blessings of the Cosmos offers you a heart-opening prayerbook that will guide you toward an ever deepening, daily experience of the divine.
99 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 1, 2006
34 people are currently reading
98 people want to read
About the author
Neil Douglas-Klotz
66 books92 followersNeil Douglas-Klotz, Ph.D. is a renowned writer in the fields of Middle Eastern spirituality and the translation and interpretation of the ancient Semitic languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Arabic. Living in Scotland, he was for many years co-chair of the Mysticism Group of the American Academy of Religion. A frequent speaker and workshop leader, he is the author of several books. His books on the Aramaic spirituality of Jesus include Revelations of the Aramaic Jesus, Prayers of the Cosmos, The Hidden Gospel, Original Meditation, and Blessings of the Cosmos. His books on a comparative view of Native Middle Eastern spirituality include Desert Wisdom: A Nomad’s Guide to Life’s Big Questions and The Tent of Abraham (with Rabbi Arthur Waskow and Sr. Joan Chittister). His books on Sufi spirituality include The Sufi Book of Life: 99 Pathways of the Heart for the Modern Dervish and A Little Book of Sufi Stories. His biographical collections of the works of his Sufi teachers include Sufi Vision and Initiation (Samuel L. Lewis) and Illuminating the Shadow (Moineddin Jablonski). He has also written a mystery novel set in the first century C.E. Holy Land entitled A Murder at Armageddon.
In addition, he recently edited five “Little Books” published by Hampton Roads, four devoted to a new selection of the work of Lebanese American writer, poet, and mystic Kahlil Gibran, and one dedicated to Wild Wisdom, a collection early ecological writers and mystics.
In addition, he recently edited five “Little Books” published by Hampton Roads, four devoted to a new selection of the work of Lebanese American writer, poet, and mystic Kahlil Gibran, and one dedicated to Wild Wisdom, a collection early ecological writers and mystics.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
January 16, 2020
A deep dive into the words of Jesus in what would have been his native tongue, Aramaic. Want to buy a copy so I can meditate with it regularly. Wish I had listened to the audiobook to hear the Aramaic spoken.
Appreciated the tiers of interpretation the author leads us through. He offers more than a literal translation; also uncovered etymylogical roots, relationships to other words or concepts, connotations, etc. Really portrayed the symbolic quality of Jesus’ language and the poetry of his words, which would have been lost on me without this contextual support.
As with all interpretive texts, the symbolism makes Jesus’ words both more and less specific. They are deepened and widened, given room in their original context to spread in all their nuance and complexity. They are also focused, channeled, with sharp imagery and emotional direction. I appreciated the chance to meditate on his words in new ways that reflected his genius and poetry.
Appreciated the tiers of interpretation the author leads us through. He offers more than a literal translation; also uncovered etymylogical roots, relationships to other words or concepts, connotations, etc. Really portrayed the symbolic quality of Jesus’ language and the poetry of his words, which would have been lost on me without this contextual support.
As with all interpretive texts, the symbolism makes Jesus’ words both more and less specific. They are deepened and widened, given room in their original context to spread in all their nuance and complexity. They are also focused, channeled, with sharp imagery and emotional direction. I appreciated the chance to meditate on his words in new ways that reflected his genius and poetry.
July 18, 2025
I love Neil Douglas-Klotz. I would love a whole translation of the Peshitta (the Aramaic Bible) by him. The Aramaic understandings of Jesus' teachings are far more resonant and meaningful for me. I am super grateful for his work.
May 23, 2017
An amazing spiritual High. For seekers of the Divine and students of Comparative Religious studies, this book offers wonderful insights.
March 13, 2025
very cool!
July 15, 2014
Not sure what exactly I was expecting from this book, but it wasn't what I expected. I learned about it within the context of reading The Lotus and the Lily. This book takes 15 well known teachings of Jesus from the New Testment and presents them in text from the King James Version of the Bible, then in Aramaic (the language of Jesus), then an interpretaton, then a section on the meaning of specific words. Following this is reference to a CD with music and a guided body meditation as well.
I read the book on my Kobo so didn't have access to the images or music.
There is some good historical context in this book that made me realize how much of the interpretation of the Bible I am familiar with but only from the Greek interpretation of the original Aramaic - and that the Greek interpretation or writing came long after the time Jesus lived in.
So a revelation to me is the fact that during Jesus time there was no concept of eternal damnation in hell - that all came later with the Greeks. Hmmm.
Another revelation to me is that the word for Sacred Unity (God) in Aramaic is Alaha. Pretty close to Allah isn't it?
The quoted text from the Lotus and the Lily book that drove me to read this book was this:
"When we pursue a right relationship with the Universal One and allow this relationship to realign our lives, we produce a condition of receptivity in which anything we need to help us complete our purpose in life will be supplied by the universe."
So I found the source of that and that is why I read this book.
I read the book on my Kobo so didn't have access to the images or music.
There is some good historical context in this book that made me realize how much of the interpretation of the Bible I am familiar with but only from the Greek interpretation of the original Aramaic - and that the Greek interpretation or writing came long after the time Jesus lived in.
So a revelation to me is the fact that during Jesus time there was no concept of eternal damnation in hell - that all came later with the Greeks. Hmmm.
Another revelation to me is that the word for Sacred Unity (God) in Aramaic is Alaha. Pretty close to Allah isn't it?
The quoted text from the Lotus and the Lily book that drove me to read this book was this:
"When we pursue a right relationship with the Universal One and allow this relationship to realign our lives, we produce a condition of receptivity in which anything we need to help us complete our purpose in life will be supplied by the universe."
So I found the source of that and that is why I read this book.
November 28, 2007
I have attended Neil's workshops in Columbus for the past 4 years. Two years ago, when the workshop was based on this book I was going through a very difficult time. One of the first beatitudes we went through was, "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall separate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." Neil entitles this chapter..."A Particularly Bad Day". The morning before the workshop started was a particularly bad day, the weekend was a blessing. Hearing Neil speak of the Aramaic words of Jesus brings a whole new light of understanding and peace. I would recommend all of his books, and not only that, attend his workshops if you can.
March 31, 2010
I really enjoyed the various translations based on the original Aramaic. The idea of the book is really good, and I was very excited to be able to join in the prayers with the 80min CD included. I was hugely disappointed by the prayer "songs." The were extremely western and reminded me of a hippie string party, rather than authentic near eastern prayer songs. He should have stayed true to the theme of reaching back into this time period. Instead, the CD ruins the feeling, and also casts skepticism and doubt around the genuineness of his entire study.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews