Soulful Spirituality
Soulful Spirituality

Author: David G. PhD Benner

Publisher: Brazos Press

Published: 2011-03-01

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13: 1441214364

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Spirituality has an indispensable role to play in the expression of our humanity. However, spiritual practices can sometimes make us less, not more, authentically human. We may be good Christians, but we aren't good human beings. How can we ensure that our spiritual journey is conducted in a way that allows us to become fully alive and deeply human? David Benner has spent thirty-five years integrating psychology and spirituality. Here he presents an expansive, psychologically informed understanding of spirituality, probing the contrasts between soulful and soulless spirituality, deep and shallow religion, and healthy and unhealthy relationships with God to affirm the vital role of human development in the spiritual journey. Benner then suggests soulful practices for cultivating the Christian spiritual life. This book will appeal to readers seeking depth and substance in their quest for authentic spirituality. It will also be a helpful resource for mental health professionals and spiritual directors. Reflection questions and exercises for individual or group use are included at the end of each chapter.d

My Year of Living Spiritually
My Year of Living Spiritually

Author: Anne Bokma

Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

Published: 2019-10-26

Total Pages: 185

ISBN-13: 1771622342

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In 2017, Anne Bokma embarked on a quest to become a more spiritual person. After leaving the fundamentalist religion of her youth, she became one of the eighty million North Americans who consider themselves spiritual-but-not-religious, the fastest growing “faith” category. In mid-life she found herself addicted to busyness, drinking too much, hooked on social media, dreading the empty nest and still struggling with alienation from her ultra-religious family. In response, she set out on a year-long whirlwind adventure to immerse herself in a variety of sacred practices—each of which proved to be illuminating in unexpected ways—to try to develop her own definition of what it means to be spiritual. In My Year of Living Spiritually, Bokma documents a diverse range of soulful first-person experiences—from taking a dip in Thoreau’s Walden Pond, to trying magic mushrooms for the first time, booking herself into a remote treehouse as an experiment in solitude, singing in a deathbed choir and enrolling in a week-long witch camp—in an entertaining and enlightening way that will compel readers (non-believers and believers alike) to try a few spiritual practices of their own. Along the way, she reconsiders key relationships in her life and begins to experience the greater depth of meaning, connection, gratitude, simplicity and inner peace that we all long for. Readers will find it an inspiring roadmap for their own spiritual journeys.

Surrender to Love
Surrender to Love

Author: David G. Benner

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2015-09-24

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0830899448

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In this expanded edition of a spiritual formation classic, David G. Benner explores the twin themes of love and surrender as the heart of Christian spirituality. God doesn't want his people to respond to him out of fear or obligation, but invites us to enter into an authentic relationship of intimacy and devotion—by surrendering to love.

Spirituality and the Awakening Self
Spirituality and the Awakening Self

Author: David G. PhD Benner

Publisher: Baker Books

Published: 2012-02-01

Total Pages: 257

ISBN-13: 1441236236

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Being human is a lifelong journey of becoming. This journey defines our humanity, for it is a journey toward our source and our fulfillment, described in Christian theology as union with God. If we remain open to God as our sense of self awakens, we experience a deeper consciousness of being in him. The self that emerges during this process is larger, more enlightened, and whole. David Benner, who has spent thirty-five years integrating psychology and spirituality, presents psychological insights in a readable fashion to offer readers a deeper understanding of the self and its spiritual development. Drawing on a broad range of Christian traditions, Benner shows that the transformation of self is foundational to Christian spirituality. This book will appeal to readers interested in a psychologically grounded, fresh exploration of Christian spirituality; professionals engaged in pastoral care, counseling, and spiritual direction; and students in ministry development and spiritual formation courses. Questions and answers for individual or group use are included at the end of each chapter.

The Soul Searcher's Handbook
The Soul Searcher's Handbook

Author: Emma Mildon

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-11-17

Total Pages: 272

ISBN-13: 1582705240

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A fun guide to everything mind, body, spirit that defines New Age practices for a new generation.

Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls
Spiritual Direction and the Care of Souls

Author: Gary W. Moon

Publisher: InterVarsity Press

Published: 2009-09-20

Total Pages: 251

ISBN-13: 0830876960

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In recent years, many Christian clergy, laity and mental health professionals have rediscovered the ancient practices of spiritual direction. Seen as a refreshing alternative to the techniques and limitations of modern psychology, such practices offer new insights for pastoral care. But many remain unclear on what spiritual direction is and whether its methods are applicable to their own clients and parishioners. Spiritual direction is a practice of Christian soul care that is found most notably in the Catholic, Orthodox and Episcopal traditions but is also present in Wesleyan/Holiness, Pentecostal/charismatic, social justice and Reformed communities. Predating modern counseling and psychotherapy movements but sharing key principles and insights for spiritual formation, spiritual direction offers significant resources for today s pastors, counselors, therapists, chaplains and other caregivers attuned to the work of God in people s lives. In this landmark volume, editors Gary W. Moon and David G. Benner, along with a team of expert contributors, provide a comprehensive survey of spiritual direction in its myriad Christian forms. Specific chapters offer careful historical perspective and contemporary analysis of how Christians from various backgrounds have practiced spiritual direction, with particular attention to each tradition s definition of spiritual direction, the process of authentic transformation, the role of the spiritual director, indicators of mature spirituality and other aspects of the spiritual direction process. Chapters also provide psychological and clinical insight into how spiritual direction is similar to, different from and can be integrated with psychotherapy and pastoral counseling to help others experience spiritual transformation and union with God.

Soul Therapy
Soul Therapy

Author: Thomas Moore

Publisher: HarperCollins

Published: 2021-05-25

Total Pages: 244

ISBN-13: 0063071452

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The New York Times bestselling author of the classic The Care of the Soul addresses the needs of those providing soul care to others—therapists, psychiatrists, ministers, spiritual directors, teachers, and even friends—sharing his insights for incorporating a spiritual or soulful dimension into their work and practices. Soul Therapy is the culmination of Thomas Moore’s work. In his previous acclaimed books, he explored the soul in important areas of our lives—work, sex, marriage, family, religion, and aging. In this wise guide, he now returns to his core vocation: teaching practitioners—therapists, psychiatrists, ministers, spiritual directors, and others—how to offer soul care to those they assist. A training manual infused with a lifetime’s worth of wisdom, Soul Therapy is divided into five sections: What therapy or “soul care” is and how it works; What soul work is required of the helper to be able to address the needs of others; How to access and move forward the spiritual dimension; How to apply this work to specific areas, such as work, marriage, parenting, or teaching; How to deal with other issues that arise, such as developing a therapeutic style, dealing with one’s shadow, and the need for self-care. Profound yet practical, enlightened yet grounded in real-world experience, Soul Therapy will become a definitive resource for caregivers and practitioners for years to come.

Calling the Soul Back
Calling the Soul Back

Author: Christina Garcia Lopez

Publisher: University of Arizona Press

Published: 2019-04-02

Total Pages: 233

ISBN-13: 0816537755

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Spirituality has consistently been present in the political and cultural counternarratives of Chicanx literature. Calling the Soul Back focuses on the embodied aspects of a spirituality integrating body, mind, and soul. Centering the relationship between embodiment and literary narrative, Christina Garcia Lopez shows narrative as healing work through which writers and readers ritually call back the soul—one’s unique immaterial essence—into union with the body, counteracting the wounding fragmentation that emerged out of colonization and imperialism. These readings feature both underanalyzed and more popular works by pivotal writers such as Gloria Anzaldúa, Sandra Cisneros, and Rudolfo Anaya, in addition to works by less commonly acknowledged authors. Calling the Soul Back explores the spiritual and ancestral knowledge offered in narratives of bodies in trauma, bodies engaged in ritual, grieving bodies, bodies immersed in and becoming part of nature, and dreaming bodies. Reading across narrative nonfiction, performative monologue, short fiction, fables, illustrated children’s books, and a novel, Garcia Lopez asks how these narratives draw on the embodied intersections of ways of knowing and being to shift readers’ consciousness regarding relationships to space, time, and natural environments. Using an interdisciplinary approach, Calling the Soul Back draws on literary and Chicanx studies scholars as well as those in religious studies, feminist studies, sociology, environmental studies, philosophy, and Indigenous studies, to reveal narrative’s healing potential to bring the soul into balance with the body and mind.

Finding Spiritual Whitespace
Finding Spiritual Whitespace

Author: Bonnie Gray

Publisher: Revell

Published: 2014-06-03

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9780800721794

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Move beyond Coping and Surviving to a Rejuvenating Place of Soul Rest How many of us find ourselves exhausted, running on empty with no time for rest, no time for ourselves, no time for God? Bonnie Gray knows exactly what that's like. On the brink of fulfilling a lifelong dream, Bonnie's plans suddenly went off script. Her life shattered into a debilitating journey through anxiety, panic attacks, and insomnia. But as she struggled to make sense of it all, she made an important discovery: we all need spiritual whitespace. Spiritual whitespace makes room--room in one's heart for a deep relationship with God, room in one's life for rest, room in one's soul for rejuvenation. With soul-stirring vulnerability and heartbreaking honesty, Bonnie takes readers on a personal journey to feed their souls and uncover the deeper story of rest. Lyrical writing draws readers into Gray's intimate journey through overwhelming stress to find God in a broken story and celebrate the beauty of faith. Guided by biblical encouragement and thought-provoking prompts, Gray shows readers how to create space in the everyday for God, refreshment, and faith. She also offers practical steps and insights for making spiritual whitespace a reality, right in the midst of the stress-frayed stories in every season of life. "We live in a culture that brags and boasts about being busy. Into that reality steps Bonnie with a new idea. Whitespace is an important concept and Bonnie has captured it perfectly. If you're exhausted with being exhausted, read this book. If you feel too busy to read this book, then that's probably the best sign of all that you need it."--from the foreword by Jon Acuff, New York Times bestselling author of Stuff Christians Like

The Big Book of Soul
The Big Book of Soul

Author: Stephanie Rose Bird

Publisher: Hampton Roads Publishing

Published: 2010-02-01

Total Pages: 170

ISBN-13: 1612831370

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Soul is the ultimate expression and experience of African-American culture. The Big Book of Soul is the first popular reference book to provide an in-depth examination of the source of soul in African culture and how soul finds its expression today. Author Stephanie Rose Bird takes readers on a breathtaking journey of soul by examining the spirit of animism and how it evolved in contemporary African-American culture. She explores spiritual practices related to diet, dance, beauty, healing, and the arts, and provides readers with ancient healing rituals and practices they can use today. Filled with fun facts, practical advice, and ancient spiritual wisdom, The Big Book of Soul is for any reader who wants a genuine, rooted experience of soul today.