You may be interested in…
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Simplicity: The freedom of letting go
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneySimplicity – The Freedom of Letting Go by Richard Rohr St Francis’s ancient call to the simple life of freedom and happiness, as seen by America’s foremost Franciscan. Richard Rohr shows you how to: Recognize your radical dependence on others Understand why less is more Break through to contemplation Embrace a deeper spiritual freedom “Rohr’s kind of contemplation is an adventure in the wilderness, letting God call me by name and take me to a deeper place of peace that the world cannot give.” St. Anthony Messenger£16.99 -
Discernment – reading the signs of daily life
Everyday Life, Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyHenri Nouwen understood the spiritual life as a journey of faith and transformation that is deepened by accountability, community and relationships. And the practice of discernment is about how to read the 'signs of the times' in daily life in order to know what to do next. Nouwen believes our calling and mission may be made clear through the people we meet on our path, the circumstances that each day brings, the books and sacred texts we read and meditate on, and through current events. Discernment seeks the will of God, requiring the disciplines of contemplative prayer, compassionate action and theological reflection. Discernment has been compiled by two of Nouwen's longtime students, Michael Christensen and Rebecca Laird, from coursework, journals and unpublished writings.£13.99 -
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An Altar in the World
Church & Leadership, Everyday Life, Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyIn this highly acclaimed and lyrical book, the best-selling author Barbara Brown Taylor reveals the countless ways we can discover divine depths in the small things we do and see every day. People go to extraordinary lenghts, she writes, to discover this treasure. 'They will spend hours launching prayers into the heavens. They will travel half way around the world to visit a monastery in India...The last place most people will look is right under their feet, in the everyday activities, accidents and encounters of their lives...the reason so many of us cannot see the red X marks the spot is because we're standing on it.' An Altar in the the World shows us how heaven and earth meet in such ordinary occurrences as hanging out the wahing, doing the supermarket shop, feeding an animal, losing our way. It will transfrom our understanding of ourselves and the word we live in and renew our sense of wonder at the extraordinary gift of life.£12.99 -
Beauty’s Field: seeing the world
Culture & MissionAs the leader of the World Community for Christian Meditation, Laurence Freeman's calling takes him all over the world to teach and lead groups who want to practice contemplative prayer. In this spiritual travel memoir, he recounts timeless, memorable and moving stories of people, places and events in which he has encountered God 's transformative presence. The title of the book comes from a Shakespeare sonnet and the book explores how the life of God can be found in the most unlikely places, not only in the world's beauty but even in its tragedy. Slum priests quietly bringing hope to the favelas of Brazil, the gloriously fat stone ladies of Malta which are the world's oldest depictions of God, the different effects of a mountain-top retreat on an investment banker, a tired social worker and a cancer patient, the impact of a child's death on a whole community - these and many more stories movingly reveal how the sacred strains to find expression in every life, every place, every day.£12.99 -
From Wild Man to Wise Man: Reflections on male spirituality
Influences & Suggested Reading, Seasons of Life, The Inner JourneyFrom Wild Man to Wise Man: Reflections on Male Spirituality is a revised and updated edition of Richard Rohr's earlier best-seller, The Wild Man's Journey: Reflections on Male Spirituality. For this new work, Rohr added three chapters that discuss John the Baptist, Saint Paul and grief. An appendix provides a structure for a men's group, based on Rohr's work with M.A.L.E.S (Men as Learners and Elders), a program of the Center for Action and Contemplation, which Richard founded and now directs in Albuquerque, New Mexico.£14.50 -
Mindfulness and Christian Spirituality: making space for God
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyMay I be safe and protected. May I be at peace in mind and body. May I live with ease and kindness. (Kindness practice, p. 120)We can all engage with such longings - and wish these good things for the people we love. Mindfulness practice is hugely popular these days! But what, Tim Stead asks, does it have to offer Christianity? How might it help us to transform the way we manage stress and open up more completely to the promised 'life in all its fullness'? Key is the definition of mindfulness as being more fully aware of our own experience in the present moment in a non-judgmental way. The author finds that 'distractions', so often the bane of those trying to pray, can be taken note of without our being caught up in or taken over by them. A non-judgemental approach seems entirely consistent with talk of grace, and as Christians we know we can only ever experience God in the present moment. Tim reflects:'If I feel loved entirely without judgment, I will gradually dare to allow every aspect of myself to come into the light of God's gaze and so into relationship with the rest of myself - and this is how healing comes.'£9.99 -
Contemplation in a World of Action
The Inner JourneyThe spiritual and psychological insights of these essays were nurtured in a monastic milieu, but their issues are universally human. Thomas Merton lays a foundation for personal growth and transformation through fidelity to "our own truth and inner being". Our desire and need to attain "a fully human and personal identity" is the focus of Merton's concern.£24.99 -
Ancient Paths CD
Celtic Prayer, Creativity, Music & Creativity, Spiritual GrowthAnna's first solo album includes some of her 'signature' pieces as well as some songs of her own. Some of you will recognise familiar words from the Complines in Celtic Daily Prayer drawn from Carmina Gadelica and other traditional sources. Here they are set to Anna's own music which has emerged over the years of saying and singing these night-time prayers with her children, Joel and Martha. Anna says, 'I hope you will want to play this album often and that it will capture something of the rhythm of the tides, the sounds of the island and also its stillness.'£12.00 -
See, Love, Be: mindfulness and the spiritual life
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyMany have been hugely helped by mindfulness practice. But how do we move beyond our initial goal of functioning well to live a life marked by deep awareness, genuine compassion and ease of being? Tim Stead is an accredited mindfulness teacher who seeks to explore this very question. Offering new versions of familiar practices, he meditates on three key themes - see, love, be - that connect strongly with the concerns of many great spiritual traditions. A practical eight-week guide with audio MP3 CD£9.99 -
Streams of Living Water
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyIsn't it a shame that the rich tapestry of Christian belief and practice has so often been rigidly carved up, crammed into denominational boxes and padlocked shut? Richard Foster addresses this by identifying six major strands of Christian spirituality within the worldwide church that have contributed at various times and places across the centuries. They are: The Contemplative tradition - or the Prayer-filled life, The Holiness tradition - or the Virtuous life, The Charismatic tradition - or the Spirit-empowered life, The Social Justice tradition - or the Compassionate life, The Evangelical tradition - or the Word-centred life, The Incarnational tradition - or the Sacramental life, Foster's celebration of spiritual life incorporates history's most significant Christian figures and movements. It serves as a refreshing example of how real peopl have evaded preconceived ideas and lived wonderful Christ-centred lives in spite of constricting labels.£10.99 -
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Into the Silent Land: The Practice of Contemplation
Spiritual Exercises, The Inner JourneyAn introduction to contemplative prayer that draws on insights from the Eastern Orthodox tradition of the Jesus Prayer, from the Western Carmelite tradition, from poets and novelists and from the author's own experience as a retreat director and confessor.£11.99 -
Caim: A4 signed print
Creativity, Spiritual GrowthBackground: Artist Mary Fleeson tells us that...'"Caim" was originally designed as a CD cover for an album of prayers set to music by the same name, therefore the imagery reflects themes of the music included, however as is often the case the illustration evolved into something which speaks beyond the obvious inspiration. The hand seems to reach out in a loving, gentle gesture to caress the face of the Creator, symbolised by the star (Revelation 22:16 ‘I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.’). The complex knotwork intersperses three overlapping circles which represent the Trinity and the patterns and colours are life patterns, weaving and merging, coloured by experiences, actions and reactions.' Printing and Sizing: This item is 210mm x 297mm and is printed on 300gsm card stock using our in-house printer. Each print is individually signed by Mary Fleeson and is packaged in a cellophane wrapper with a descriptive backing sheet explaining more about the piece and the Scriptorium.£12.50 -
Spiritual Formation: Following the Movements of the Spirit
Influences & Suggested Reading, Spiritual GrowthSpiritual formation, I have come to believe, is not about steps or stages on the way to perfection. It’s about the movements from the mind to the heart through prayer in its many forms that reunite us with God, each other, and our truest selves.
Henri Nouwen, from the Introduction
Henri Nouwen, beloved author, priest and spiritual guide, counseled many people during his lifetime, but his principles of spiritual formation were never written down. Now, Michael Christensen, one of Nouwen’s longtime students, and Rebecca Laird have taken the famous course in spiritual formation and supplemented it with his unpublished writings to reveal Nouwen’s sage advice on how to live out the five classic stages of spiritual development.
I always knew I was in the presence of a spiritual master when I was with Henri Nouwen. Here are some simple, wise words that will allow the master to continue to teach.
Richard Rohr, O.F.M., author of The Naked Now
One of the book’s many strengths is its integration of an area especially important to Nouwen, the contemplation of icons and other works of art – visio divina – in order ‘to behold the beauty of the Lord’.
Jim Forest, author of Praying with Icons and The Road to Emmaus