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Luisteren én lezen

Rami Shapiro

To live the surrendered life—a life no longer centered on control and hence no longer at odds with the ordinary suffering of everyday living. Rabbi Rami closely examines the first three steps of Twelve-Step recovery to help us cut through the denial, illusions, and falsehoods that bind us in our fight with addictions of all kinds. He draws upon his half-century engagement with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, as well as his own and other people’s struggles in Twelve-Step recovery, to guide us in our awakening to reality’s freedom and the path to living joyously and well.

SkyLight Paths

The Art of Spiritual Living

Surrendered—The Sacred Art: Shattering the Illusion of Control and Falling into Grace with Twelve-Step Spirituality

Rev. Jane E. Vennard

Authentic teaching is messy, exciting, frustrating, joyful, challenging―and sacred.

 "Through stories, information and reflection, we [will look] inward, going more deeply into the discovery of who we are, not only as teachers but also as women and men for whom teaching is only a part of life. I believe the deepest calling … is the call to be who we truly are."
 ―from Chapter Seven, “Teaching Who We Are”

Beloved teacher Rev. Jane E. Vennard leads an inner exploration of the hopes and fears, joys and frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds―teachers like you―every day. Drawing on her own experience as well as stories from many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, she inspires you to reconnect to your original desire to open minds and hearts to learning. With reflection questions, practices and activities, she helps you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject, thus recognizing how teaching is a sacred art.

Teaching—The Sacred Art: The Joy of Opening Minds and Hearts

Rabbi Rami Shapiro

Deepen Your Capacity to Live Free from Addiction—and from Self and Selfishness

"Twelve Step recovery is much more than a way to escape the clutches of addictive behaviors. Twelve Step recovery is about freeing yourself from playing God, and since almost everyone is addicted to this game, Twelve Step recovery is something from which everyone can benefit."
—from the Introduction

In this hope-filled approach to spiritual and personal growth, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are uniquely interpreted to speak to everyone seeking a freer and more God-centered life. This special rendering makes them relevant to those suffering from specific addictions—alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, sex, shopping—as well as the general addictions we wrestle with daily, such as anger, greed, and selfishness.

Rami Shapiro describes his personal experience working the Twelve Steps as adapted by Overeaters Anonymous and shares anecdotes from many people working the Steps in a variety of settings. Drawing on the insights and practices of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, he offers supplementary practices from different religious traditions to help you move more deeply into the universal spirituality of the Twelve Step system.

Recovery—The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice

Dr. Sheryl A. Kujawa-Holbrook

Explore the many dimensions of the pilgrimage experience and change your orientation to the world.

"Pilgrimage is an opportunity for pilgrims to cultivate their inner life (or inner voice) in a way that leads to a greater sense of peace and compassion—a sense that pervades all of life."

—From Chapter 6, “Preparing to Practice”

Pilgrimage is a spiritual practice of nearly every major religion of the world. If you are a Christian you may travel to sites associated with the life of Jesus; Jews might visit the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem and other sacred places in the Holy Land of Israel; Muslims participate in the Hajj, the journey to Mecca; Buddhists visit the sacred sites related to the life of Buddha. Even if you practice no religion at all you will still find that you most likely participate in this practice—the Jefferson Memorial in Washington, DC, and Lenin's tomb in Moscow are considered national pilgrimage sites. As a spiritual practice, pilgrimage transcends religious, national, cultural and linguistic boundaries.

This fascinating look at the sacred art of pilgrimage integrates spirituality, practice, spiritual formation, psychology, world religions and historical resources. It examines how the world’s religious pilgrimages evolved as central spiritual practices and the relationship between pilgrimage and transformation. It explains what makes a place holy, and why and how some sites are so compelling that they attract thousands, even millions of pilgrims each year.

Pilgrimage—The Sacred Art: Journey to the Center of the Heart

Open your heart and mind and discover—through the sacred art of lovingkindness—the image and likeness of God in yourself and others.
 
 "The question at the heart of this book is this: Will you engage this moment with kindness or with cruelty, with love or with fear, with generosity or scarcity, with a joyous heart or an embittered one? This is your choice and no one can make it for you…. Heaven and hell are both inside of you. It is your choice that determines just where you reside.”
—from the Introduction 

 We are all born in the image of God, but living out the likeness of God is a choice. This inspiring, practical guidebook provides you with the tools you need to realize the divinity within yourself, recognize the divinity within others, and act on the obligation to manifest God’s infinite compassion in your own life. 
 
 Guided by Rabbi Rami Shapiro, you will explore Judaism’s Thirteen Attributes of Lovingkindness as the framework for cultivating a life of goodness. Shapiro translates these attributes into practices—drawn from the teachings of a variety of faith traditions—that allow you to actualize God’s glory through personal deeds of lovingkindness. You will enrich your own capacity for lovingkindness as you: 
 
 • Harvest kindness through compassionate honesty
 • Make room in your heart for reality
 • Recognize the manifestations of God
 • Embrace the paradoxical truth of not-knowing 
 • Be present in the moment 
 • Do right by others
 
With candor, wit, and honesty, Shapiro shows you that by choosing to act out of love rather than fear, with kindness rather than anger, you can transform how you perceive the world and ultimately lead a more complete spiritual life.

The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice

Ana Hernandez

Open your mind and heart, lift your voice, and discover how 
the sacred art of chant can enrich your spiritual life.
 
Chanting with an intention to open our hearts and minds to the presence of God in us helps us to be quiet in the face of mystery and learn how to hear what it has to say to us…. Chanting is holistic. It will transform you, you will embody the change, and people will notice the new, more grounded you. More important, though, you will notice the new, more grounded you. 
—from the Introduction
 
The Sacred Art of Chant invites you to use your own voice to create sacred sounds—no matter your religious background or vocal ability. Drawing on chants from several different faith traditions, this invigorating guidebook is ideal for anyone who wants to enliven their prayer experience in a unique way and navigate a path to a conscious relationship with God. 

Chant isn’t just about monks or ancient Hindu gurus—this dynamic spiritual art continues to be developed and practiced today. Like other spiritual disciplines, chant can lead to limitless and unexpected benefits. With a steady practice and an open mind, you may find that chant helps you to:
 
 • Cultivate clarity, focus, and compassion in your daily life 
 • Improve your listening skills 
 • Raise your energy level 
 • Improve your receptivity to other people
 • Transcend the limits you impose on yourself 
 • Feel more comfortable in your own skin 
 • Ultimately, lead a more complete spiritual life

The Sacred Art of Chant: Preparing to Practice

Kay Lindahl

Poor listening leads to misunderstandings and lost opportunities.
Learning to listen well requires spiritual practice.

It happens at work and at home, with strangers and close friends, in heated debates and in quiet conversations—you hear someone speaking, but often you don’t truly listen.

Kay Lindahl’s highly respected workshops are attended by people from a broad range of backgrounds. Her first book, The Sacred Art of Listening, has been published to acclaim in North America, Europe, and Asia. Now she offers practical, easy-to-follow advice and exercises to enhance your capacity to listen in a spirit-filled way. Using examples from her own life and her work as a teacher of the sacred art of listening, Lindahl explores the nature and use of silence, reflection, and divine presence as foundational qualities of listening and shows you how you can apply these in your everyday life.

This valuable workshop-in-a-book examines the varied ways we are called to deep listening, including:

 • Contemplative listening
 • Reflective listening
 • Heart listening
 • Listening in groups
 • Listening in conversations … and more

You will find yourself inspired to discover how different your conversations will be when you stop just talking and start really listening.

Practicing the Sacred Art of Listening: A Guide to Enrich Your Relationships and Kindle Your Spiritual Life

Rev. Thomas Ryan, CSP

Open your mind and heart and discover how the sacred art of 
fasting can strengthen your spiritual appetite
 
Fasting as a religious act increases our sensitivity to that mystery always and everywhere present to us…. It is an invitation to awareness, a call to compassion for the needy, a cry of distress, and a song of joy. It is a discipline of self-restraint, a ritual of purification, and a sanctuary for offerings of atonement. It is a wellspring for the spiritually dry, a compass for the spiritually lost, and inner nourishment for the spiritually hungry. 
—from chapter 9
 
Though fasting is practiced in some form by nearly every faith tradition throughout the world, it is often seen as scary or something only for monastic life. But fasting doesn’t have to be intimidating. And it doesn’t have to mean going weeks without food. 
 
The Sacred Art of Fasting invites you to explore the practical approaches, spiritual motivations, and physical benefits of this ancient practice by looking at the ways it is observed in several faith traditions. Inspiring personal reflections, helpful advice, and encouragement from people who practice fasting answer your questions, allay your fears, and reveal how you too can safely incorporate fasting into your spiritual life.

The Sacred Art of Fasting: Preparing to Practice

Aaron Shapiro

Push your writing through the trite and the boring to something fresh, something transformative.

"Writing as spiritual practice has nothing to do with readers per se. You aren't writing to be read; you are writing to be freed. Writing as spiritual practice is conspiratorial rather than inspirational. It conspires to strip away everything you use to maintain the illusion of certainty, security and self-identity. Where spiritual writing seeks to bind you all the more tightly to the self you imagine yourself to be, writing as spiritual practice intends to free you from it."
—from Rami’s Preface

This isn’t about how to write spiritual books. It isn’t about the romance of writing. It doesn’t cover the ins and outs of publishing and building a brand. Instead, this fresh and unapologetic guide to writing as a spiritual practice approaches writing as a way to turn the spiral of body, heart, mind, soul and spirit that leads to spiritual awakening.

Lead by renowned spirituality teacher Rami Shapiro and award-winning writer and writing coach Aaron Shapiro—and featuring over fifty unique, practical exercises—it takes you beyond assigning inspirational words to the page. It shows you how to use your writing to unlock the joy of life and the infinite perspectives and possibilities that living provides.

Writing—The Sacred Art: Beyond the Page to Spiritual Practice

Marcia Ford

Tap into the power of the Divine. Learn how to forgive—and be forgiven. 
 
Everyone knows that forgiveness is a virtue and a key to emotional, spiritual and even physical well-being. But learning how to actually forgive—or to accept forgiveness, as the case may be—is a sacred art few of us have mastered. 
 
 It doesn’t have to be that way. Writing from personal experience and her broad knowledge of many faith traditions, Marcia Ford offers a new perspective on forgiveness and reconciliation, an approach rooted in the Spirit that can be learned by anyone no matter how deep the hurt. Through real-life examples, penetrating reflections, scriptural references and practical suggestions, Ford outlines the steps that one by one can help you to forgive, including: 
 
 • Coming to terms with anger, bitterness and resentment
 • Understanding the differences between forgiveness and reconciliation 
 • Taking the initiative, even when you’re the one who’s been wronged 
 • Strategies for listening “with the heart” in emotionally charged situations 
 • Knowing when to forgive and forget—and when to forgive and take action
 • Ways of allowing the power of the Divine to work through you
 • Finding compassion for others—and for yourself
 • … and much more