M. Robert Mulholland Jr. fleshes out a carefully worded definition of spiritual formation that encompasses the dynamics of a vital Christian life and counters our culture's tendency to trivialize, methodize and privatize spirituality. Now revised and expanded by Ruth Haley Barton with a new foreword, practices and study guide.
The healthy Christian life is one of continuing spiritual, emotional, and relational growth. But so many of us feel stuck or stagnated at one stage of the journey. It's not always clear to us where or why we are stuck, making it difficult to take the next step on our journey of the soul. That's where Bill and Kristi Gaultiere come in. After decades in private practice as counselors and therapists, they have developed a unique model for growing in grace. In Journey of the Soul, they draw on more than 70,000 hours of providing therapy and spiritual direction to show you how to identify your current stage of faith and the next steps to take based on your unique needs and struggles. With Scripture, self-assessments, and soul care practices to support your progress along the way, this insightful and inspiring book will be a treasured companion on your journey no matter where you are or how long you've been following Jesus.
Winner of the Janey Loves 2022 Platinum Award Popular meditation leader and poet John Siddique draws on more than 40 years of practice to offer this uniquely helpful road map to the spiritual journey, highlighting the changes that show us we’re making progress and the obstacles that will certainly come up. This book is a guide to the spiritual path that clearly reveals the signposts of success on the journey, as well as the blockages and traps that hold us back from a life of presence, meaning and enlightenment. By laying out the signs and blockages clearly and honestly and with a lot of love and humour, the book offers a wonderful resource for growth. Whatever level of freedom the reader feels drawn to – basic human freedom, or the great goal of the spiritual life of enlightenment – this roadmap will guide readers to tread the path of their ordinary life and receive the benefit in the here and now. From Signpost 1, The Arising of Questions to, finally, Signpost 16, Giving Everything to Love, the book explores all the indications of progress those who embark on a spiritual journey will encounter, offering reassurance as well as highlighting blocks such as the painbody, object consciousness, spiritual bypassing, the cult of individualism and dualistic thinking, and hard-to-spot cultural, religious and spiritual influences. In addition to sharing encouraging real-life stories, the books also offers a huge range of tools and practices, from using writing and drawing to explore our own teachability to self-reflections designed to expand awareness and let go of ego, to instructions for effective, safe, meditative practices little known in the West.
A roadmap for spiritual formation In Mansions of the Heart, author R. Thomas Ashbrook begins with his personal story of frustration and confusion while serving as a pastor of the church. He tells of discovering a new path of spiritual transformation and offers seekers a way to move forward on their own spiritual paths. Written for anyone who wants to develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with God, Mansions of the Heart offers a step-by-step guide through a spiritual-formation road map based on Teresa of Avila's seven mansions. This spiritual classic reveals various phases of spiritual formation, for which Ashbrook offers a personal guide to spiritual transformation. Mansions debunks commonly held myths that lead to spiritual dead ends and describes a clear pathway to a deepening love relationship with God. The book also offers church leaders a process for helping people in their faith communities grow as disciples of Christ.
Mapping your spiritual journey is a technique used in spiritual direction, on retreats and pastoral work, as a way of recognising and interpreting God’s presence in the highs and lows of your life experiences. This book offers creative ways to explore your own spiritual journey, helping you to trace your relationship with God from the beginning, whether looking at your entire life or exploring significant moments. It can be done in multiple creative ways – drawing, collages, timelines, maps, collections of objects or photographs, modelling, journaling, making a garden and more. It offers suggestions for ways to reflect on your journey by looking at parallels in the narratives of the Bible and in everyday life and to learn from these how to deepen your understanding of God’s presence and actions in your life.
The practice of Vipassana or insight meditation was described by the Buddha as the “direct way” for the overcoming of all sorrow and grief and for realizing Nibbana, the state of perfect liberation from suffering. The essence of this practice consists in the four foundations of mindfulness: mindful contemplation of the body, feelings, states of mind, and mind objects.
When you are on a journey, it helps to have a map of the terrain and a guide to help you along the way. In this book, Mark Conner presents such a map and guides us through the stages of faith that are common to the spiritual journey. This journey is rarely linear or in a straight line. There are many curves, twists and surprises along the way. Sometimes we seem to move in circles or in random patterns that don't make sense at the time. Nevertheless, God is at work in our lives. Welcome to the journey of faith.
This book made its way to you because deep, hidden memories may be bubbling up from within, synchronicities that bring with them a mysterious sense of knowing. You may have an unmistakable sense that a major transformation is happening to the planet. Something is changing within you. This book will help you flesh out the latent memories that have been sleeping in your soul; the hidden wisdom that you possess within. The Soul Map will help you awaken. It will teach you the things you need to know during this very special time for humanity. The entire reason you are here is to remember that you have unlimited power within the creation, and that you are always wholly and exquisitely loved. Subjects and chapters: The Chakra Map, The Seven Levels of Soul Evolution, The Way Your Soul Learns Shifting from one Density to the Next, The Birth of Your Soul, First Level of Soul Evolution, Second Level of Soul Evolution, Third Level of Soul Evolution, Fourth Level of Soul Evolution, Fifth Level of Soul Evolution, Sixth Level of Soul Evolution, Seventh Level of Soul Evolution, Volunteer Souls, If You Want to Shift, You have to Heal, Blocks to Shifting, Are You Ready to Awaken? Surrender, More Practices, The Great Shift
Salvation is more than a ticket to heaven, more than a judicial change of status. Spiritual wholeness is a journey; it is a walk with God.When the Hebrews traveled from Egypt, through the Sinai Desert, and into Canaan to possess their inheritance, they gave us an unforgettable description of a journey unmatched in all human history. Full of adventure, warfare, romance, temptation, rebellion, and surprise, their journey from bondage to freedom is one of the greatest stories ever told. The Journey to Spiritual Wholeness, however, is not just about their journey; it is about yours! Gently but firmly, Jesus himself is inviting you to come: "Follow me," he says. This book serves as a kind of traveler's aid for you on your spiritual journey. So pack your bags and get ready for an adventure like no other. Come on, let's go!"I love this book."-Matt Friedeman (John M. Case Professor of Evangelical Studies, Wesley Biblical Seminary)"Warm, engaging, readable, and enlightening."-Dave Engbrecht (Senior Pastor, Nappanee Missionary Church, Indiana)"Careful, methodical, and incisive." -Jerry B. Jenkins (Bestselling Author, Left Behind series)"I enthusiastically recommend this [book]."-Timothy C. Tennent (President, Asbury Theological Seminary)"You'll never look at the Exodus story through the same lens again."-Ron Mackey (Executive Director, Deerfoot Lodge)
Writer Dilys Gater, born in North Wales, captured the mystical echoes of Welsh history, tradition and magic in many of her novels: also in CELTIC WISE WOMAN, one of the non-fiction books which established her reputation in the field of psychic and spiritual work. Her twenty years experience working with the public as a professional psychic medium produced a series of thoughtful and instructive guides for the spiritual student at every level - now being re-issued in the SILVER GROVE SERIES. This compilation volume offers a complete introduction and companion to the spiritual journey - how to begin living with psychic awareness; how to progress safely; how to work with guides and spirits; how to discover one's true identity and purpose and follow one's own individual path. Instructional sections for practical work are included throughout the book.