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Born to Fly: A handbook for butterflies-in-waiting
Everyday Life, Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneySometimes it can feel as though we are living in the worst of times – a world of chaos, uncertainty and breakdown. But could this also be the best of times – a crucible of change in which a wiser and more spiritually mature future is being forged? The stars are most clearly visible in the deepest darkness. The butterfly emerges out of the worst meltdown of the chrysalis. In Born to Fly, Margaret Silf helps us to explore what it would mean for each of us to be such an emerging butterfly – to be an agent of spiritual transformation in our own lives and in the world around us. What kind of future do we desire for ourselves, for those who follow after us, and for the whole of creation? And if the choices we make today are shaping that future, how might we learn to make those choices more wisely? The second part of the book takes us on a gentle journey in five stages through the process of transformation mapped out for us by the caterpillar as it changes from a pesky garden grub, taking what it wants without regard for the rest of creation, to a butterfly, giving life wherever it lands? Born to Fly is designed to be read for personal reflection and inspiration, or alongside fellow readers, with suggestions for further discussion. It is a companion book to Margaret Silf's Hidden Wings.£12.99 -
Thomas Merton: The Exquisite Risk of Love : The Chronicle of a Monastic Romance
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyWhile recuperating from an operation on his spine in a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky, Thomas Merton befriended a female nurse charged with his care. They fell in love. On returning to the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Merton had been living as a Trappist monk, their clandestine romance continued. In his journal Learning to Love and a collection of eighteen poems, Merton chronicled his relationship with `M.', the gentle, kind and mysterious young woman who opened a window to his heart after his life long refusal of women. Here, for the first time, Robert Waldron explores Merton's rich and full experience of the sacred game of love with reference to Eighteen Poems as well as Merton's own personal account, and how it made it possible for him to attain a spiritual and psychological wholeness he had never known before. Indeed, the book wonderfully illustrates the value in daring to live for the love of another.£12.99 -
A Retreat with Thomas Merton
The Inner JourneyThe celebrated spiritual writer Thomas Merton remains one of the most influential voices of our day. His many books have become modern spiritual classics and he opened up the riches of the monastic tradition for many. Here, Esther de Waal devises a seven day personal or group retreat programme using extracts from Thomas Merton's writings and a selection of the photography for which he was also renowned. She creates a retreat that can be made at home, at a centre or on holiday, over a week or a period of weeks. The focus of each of the seven days is: The Call; Response; The Solitary Within; Encounter With Christ; The Demands of Love; Common and Natural and Ordinary; Integration.£14.00 -
Celtic Daily Prayer – music CD
Celtic Daily Prayer & Liturgy, Celtic Daily Prayer & Liturgy, Celtic Prayer, Celtic Studies & Spirituality, Music & Creativity, Northumbria Community Resources & TeachingSung and spoken versions of Morning, Midday and Evening Prayer; and Complines for each day of the week. This music and liturgy is recorded in normal Audio CD format and can be played on any CD player or computer. This album is also available as an audio download. To purchase the download please click on one of these options:£10.00 -
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Into the depths: A Journey of Loss and Vocation
Everyday Life, The Inner JourneyIn January 1984, Sr Mary Margaret Funk, a Benedictine nun from Indiana, paid a visit to Maryknoll missionary nuns working in Bolivia. On what should have been a routine trip to the local town for a convocation ceremony, a flash flood swept away the jeep in which she, three nuns, a priest, and a disabled boy they had adopted were travelling. Only she and the priest survived What happened that night catapulted Sr Meg into twenty-five years of prayer and self-examination. She relentlessly explored her relationship with the transcendent and immanent God, the profundities of her religious tradition, her commitment to spiritual practice, and her very human failings. It was a journey that left her spiritually naked before the terrible love of God; a journey to keep one's heart open to the transforming wounds of suffering. In the great tradition of spiritual confessions from Augustine to Thomas Merton's The Seven-Story Mountain, Into the Depths is a fearlessly honest and simply told account of one woman's struggle to engage at the deeper levels with the most profound questions of faith.Original price was: £12.99.£8.99Current price is: £8.99. -
Multicoloured Meditations
CreativityA beautiful collection of 16 outlines to colour in, designed by Mary Fleeson, companion of the Northumbria Community, and produced by the Lindsifarne Scriptorium.£4.49 -
A Silent Action: engagements with Thomas Merton
Spiritual GrowthThomas Merton's life, especially once he had become a writer, was to a great extent one of dialogue with people who were distant, both geographically and historically. In these probing and perceptive studies, Rowan Williams looks closely at the key intellectual and spiritual relationships that emerge in Merton's writings, exploring the impact on him of thinkers as diverse as Hannah Arendt, Karl Barth, William Blake, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Olivier Clement, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Paul Evdokimov, Gerard Manley Hopkins, Vladimir Lossky, John Henry Newman, Boris Pasternak and St John of the Cross.£11.99 -
Advent and Christmas Wisdom with Thomas Merton
Advent & Christmas, Resources for the Christian YearAdvent and Christmas are special times for all Christians. The spiritual longing of the Advent season can only be satisfied by the joy and celebration of a Christmas focused on Jesus' birth in our hearts. Advent and Christmas Wisdom with Thomas Merton give readers the opportunity to experience Advent and Christmas in a way that unwraps the spiritual joy, allowing it to shine brighter that all the tinsel and trappings that can blind our eyes to the deeper meaning of the season. This book is arranged for use on every day of the Advent and Christmas seasons. Each day's reflection begins with a scriptural quotation, continues with a thought from the writings of Thomas Merton, and concludes with a prayer for the day. Merton's writing capture the familiar themes of the season: the Incarnation, anticipation, angels, giving, and many others - each drawing us closer to the joy of welcoming the Saviour into our lives. An appendix includes a suggested plan for using each day's meditation as part of a morning or evening prayer.£11.99 -
The Cost of Discipleship
Influences & Suggested ReadingWhat can the call to discipleship, the adherence to the word of Jesus, mean today to the businessman, the soldier, the labourer, or the aristocrat? What did Jesus mean to say to us? What is His will for us today? Drawing on the Sermon on the Mount, Dietrich Bonhoeffer answers these timeless questions by providing a seminal reading of the dichotomy between 'cheap grace' and 'costly grace'. 'Cheap grace', Bonhoeffer wrote, 'is the grace we bestow on ourselves...grace without discipleship...Costly grace is the Gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must know...It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it give the man the only true life.' The Cost of Discipleshipis a compelling statement of the demands of sacrifice and ethical consistency from a man whose life and thought were exemplary articulations of a new type of leadership inspired by the Gospel, and imbued with the spirit of Christian humanism and a creative sense of civic duty.£21.99 -
Seize the Day
Daily Readings, Monasticism & New Monasticism, New Monasticism, Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyDietrich Bonhoeffer's faith-driven resistance to the Nazis during World War II resulted in his execution. Multitudes have been inspired by the hauntingly powrful words of this man who was willing to die for his convictions. In this collection of 365 meditations Dr Charles Ringma allows us to experience the power of Bonhoeffer's words in a way that challenges us to live out our discipleship daily - combining personal spirituality with an active concern for those around us. These daily meditations on Bonhoeffer's writings may make you uncomfortable. But if you are willing to wrestle - as Bonhoeffer did - with what it means to be a follower of Christ, you'll be empowered to seize each day.£20.99 -
Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth
Influences & Suggested ReadingPraised by many as the most important contemporary book on Christian spirituality, this timeless classic has helped well over a million people discover a richer spiritual life infused with joy, peace and a deeper understanding of God. This book explores the 'classic disciplines' of the Christian faith: the inward disciplines of meditation, prayer, fasting and study; the outward disciplines of simplicity, solitude, submission and service; and the corporate disciplines of confession, worship, guidance and celebration.£10.99 -
Alone Together CD
Music & Creativity, Northumbria Community Resources & TeachingAn eclectic collection of music written and performed by Community musicians and singers. The musical styles represented in these 19 tracks include a capella, chant, folk, rock, instrumentals - from solo sitar to string quartet - and a children's song. Over 50 Community folk, from USA, Scotland, England, the Netherlands and Germany, have sung in English, Old English, Gaelic and Dutch to create this eclectic collection that forms a snapshot of the diversity that is Northumbria Community. The lyrics for the CD can also be downloaded from our website. You can also download this album via iTunes or at Amazon (MP3) [playlist images="false" ids="6001,6003,6004,8435,8437,8439,8441,8443,8445,8447,8449,8451,8453,8455,8458,8460,8464,8466,8468"]£7.50 -
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Contemplative Prayer
Influences & Suggested Reading, Scripture & PrayerThomas Merton's classic study of monastic prayer and contemplation brings a tradition of spirituality alive for the present day. But, as A M Allchin points out in his Introduction to this new edition, Contemplative Prayer also shows us the present day in a new perspective, because we see it in the light of a long and living tradition. Merton stresses that in meditation we should not look for a 'method' or 'system' but cultivate an 'attitude' or 'outlook': faith, openness, attention, reverence, expectation, trust, joy. God is found in the desert of surrender, in giving up any expectation of a particular message and 'waiting on the Word of God in silence'. Merton insists on the humility of faith, which he argues 'will do far more to launch us into the full current of historical reality than the pompous rationalisation of politicians who think they are somehow the directors and manipulators of history'.£9.99 -
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The Wisdom of the Desert
Desert Monasticism, Influences & Suggested ReadingThe Wisdom of the Desert was one of Thomas Merton's favourites among his own books - surely because he had hoped to spend his last years as a hermit. The personal tone of the translations, the blend of reverence and humour so characteristic of him, show how deeply Merton identified with the legendary authors of these sayings and parables, the fourth century Christian Fathers who sought solitude and contempation in the deserts of the Near East. The hermits of Scete who turned their backs on a corrupt society remarkably like our own had much in common with the Zen Masters of China and Japan, and Father Merton made his selection from them with an eye to the kind of impact produced by the Zen mondo.£13.00 -
Hidden Wings: Emerging from troubled times with new hope and deeper wisdom
Everyday Life, Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneyYou must become the change you long for. Fine words, a great vision, but where to begin? We caterpillars know. From the moment we are conceived in our parents' mating dance, we already contain the cells that hold our future butterfly. Let us tell you our story... Tumultuous changes are occurring in the world around us, and the structures and values by which we have charted our lives seem to be collapsing. Many of us are struggling to plot a spiritual path through this unfamiliar landscape, and to believe in a positive future. Hidden Wings is a book offering hope and understanding. Using the example of a caterpillar entering the devastating, world-altering stage of the chrysalis, before emerging – transformed – as a butterfly, Margaret Silf helps us to see that these times of chaos could in fact be an opportunity for profound spiritual transformation.£12.99 -
Reaching Out
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyA classic work of spirituality that explores the three movements of the spiritual life: reaching out to our innermost self from mere loneliness to creative solitude, reaching out to our fellow human beings from arid independence to self-giving and finally reaching out to God who 'calls us from the darkness of our illusions into the light of his glory.'£5.99 -
Anxious For Nothing: finding calm in a chaotic world
Everyday Life, Scripture & Prayer, Seasons of Life, The Inner JourneyWhen it comes to anxiety, depression, and stress-related illnesses, America is the frontrunner. Thankfully, there's a practical prescription for dealing with them. Anxious for Nothing, the most recent book from New York Times bestselling author, Max Lucado, provides a roadmap for battling with and healing from anxiety. Does the uncertainty and chaos of life keep you up at night?Is irrational worry your constant companion?Could you use some calm?If the answer is yes, you are not alone. According to one research program, anxiety-related issues are the number one mental health problem among women and are second only to alcohol and drug abuse among men. Stress-related ailments cost the nation $300 billion every year in medical bills and lost productivity. And use of sedative drugs like Xanax and Valium have skyrocketed in the last 15 years. Even students are feeling it. One psychologist reports that the average high school kid today has the same level of anxiety as the average psychiatric patient in the early 1950s. Chances are, you or someone you know seriously struggles with anxiety. Max writes, "The news about our anxiety is enough to make us anxious." He knows what it feels like to be overcome by the worries and fear of life, which is why he is dedicated to helping millions of readers take back control of their minds and, as a result, their lives. Anxious for Nothing invites readers to delve into Philippians 4:6-7. After all, it is the most highlighted passage of any book on the planet, according to Amazon: Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. In the characteristic tone of his previous books like You'll Get Through This and Fearless, Max guides readers through this Scripture passage and explains the key concepts of celebration, asking for help, leaving our concerns, and meditating. Stop letting anxiety rule the day. Join Max on the journey to true freedom and experience more joy, clarity, physical renewal, and contentment by the power of the Holy Spirit. Anxiety comes with life. But it doesn't have to dominate your life.£14.99 -
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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 -
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 -
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Divine Discontent : The Prophetic Voice of Thomas Merton
Influences & Suggested Reading, The Inner JourneyThomas Merton's best-selling spiritual autobiography, The Seven Storey Mountain, was one of the most influential books of the twentieth century. The original (1948) hardback edition sold 600,000 copies and by 1984 paperback sales had exceeded 3m. It has been translated into 15 languages and remains in print today. The 2015 centenary of Merton's birth provides an opportunity to reconsider both his international reputation and his startling relevance in today's world. Merton was a Trappist monk, writer, contemplative, social critic, pacifist, jazz lover and (in the context of world faiths) ecumenist whose sudden, premature death in unexplained circumstances prompted a further surge of interest in the man and his work. His extensive writings, many only recently available, provide the basis for a fresh examination of his story, permitting Merton to speak for himself whenever possible, but enabling also an analysis of his abiding fascination and the discontents - human and divine - that dominated so much of his life. The author inspires us to look again at our preconceived ideas about the natural world, the prevailing culture, abuses of power, questions of war and peace, contemplation and action, institutions and the freedom of the individual - and the search for God. NB The International Thomas Merton Society has 40 Chapters in the US alone, overseas Chapters in Argentina, Australia (2), France, Japan, New Zealand and Russia, and affiliated organisations in 11 further countries (Belgium & the Netherlands, Brazil, Canada, England, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Poland, Spain and Sweden).Original price was: £20.00.£15.00Current price is: £15.00. -
Who is it that you seek?: Spiral-bound journal
Music & CreativityThe second of a new range of notebooks made for the Community with cover artwork by Francesca Ross who designed the covers of the new Celtic Daily Prayer. This design incorporates the question 'Who is it that you seek?' These spiral bound notebooks have 80 blank pages and printed card covers protected by a clear polypropylene outer cover£6.50 -
How then shall we live?: Spiral-bound journal
Music & CreativityThe third of a new range of notebooks made for the Community with cover artwork by Francesca Ross who designed the covers of the new Celtic Daily Prayer. This design incorporates the question 'How then shall we live?' These spiral bound notebooks have 80 blank pages and printed card covers protected by a clear polypropylene outer cover£6.50 -
Merton’s Palace of Nowhere
Spiritual Growth, The Inner JourneySpiritual identity is the quest to know who we are, to find meaning in life and to overcome that sense of "is that all there is?" At the heart of this quest are found Thomas Meron's illuminating insights leading from an awareness of the false and illusory self as the way to a realization of the true self. For twenty-five years, Merton's Palace of Nowhere has been the standard for exploring, reflecting on, and understanding this rich vein of Merton's thought.£14.00