A guide to monasteries and convents in the United States and Canada covers contact information, accommodations offered, points of interest in the area, and travel directions.
This guidebook features more than 450 places of spiritual retreat in 20 countries, and includes brief descriptions of each holy place, contact information, a listing of Websites, and more.
A traveler's guidebook to religious houses all over Italy that accept overnight guests. Complete information about and directions for each house are included. +
“An invitation to share, if briefly, in the contemplative spirit of monastic life.”—National Geographic Traveler For centuries monasteries have been places of solitude and retreat. Many monasteries and convents offer hospitality to those seeking a quiet place and a time of purposeful rest, reflection, and renewal. This book is your guide to guesthouses at convents and monasteries throughout the United States and Canada. Each chapter includes contact information, directions by car and by public transportation, accommodations offered, meals provided, charges, each place’s history and description, nearby points of interest, and special notes; illustrations and a helpful index round out the book. Locations range from Midtown Manhattan to the Pacific Coast, Chicago to Florida’s orange groves. The cost of these lodgings is surprisingly low— ideal for budget travelers. The monasteries and convents featured span a spectrum of Christian traditions, yet each is open to pilgrims of any faith.
Travellers and pilgrims seeking a unique experience can now uncover the ancient secrets of convents and monasteries around Europe. We reveal these atmospheric and affordable places that accommodate tourists or those pursuing a pilgrimage or spiritual retreat. Suitable for the traveller, the pious and the curious alike, this user-friendly travel guide provides accommodation, local tourist information, places of pilgrimage, travel tid-bits and anecdotes against a fascinating backdrop of history and religion.
Little known fact: Buddhist Monks are amazing at cleaning and tidying. In this one-of-a-kind guide to cleaning your home, Buddhist monk Shoukei Matsumoto reveals how to make your home as spotless as it is tranquil and peaceful. For Buddhist monks cleaning well is a cardinal skill and, in A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind, readers will discover their never-before-shared cleaning pro tips. In the Zen Buddhist tradition, true enlightenment is impossible if your home has even a speck of dust and, as such, Buddhist monks have much to teach us lay people about achieving a truly Zen clean. A Monk's Guide to a Clean House and Mind features charming illustrations and step-by-step instructions on such essential household cleansing tips as: First, Air It Out: Before cleaning anything Monk's first open the temple windows to purify the air and let the crisp morning breeze in. Don't Procrastinate: 'Zengosaidan ' is a Zen expression meaning that one should put all their efforts into each day so they have no regrets. In the context of cleaning, this means don't put off cleaning those dishes you've left in the sink. Remember to Put On Your Samue: Samue robes are worn by Japanese monks when they perform their daily duties of cleaning and looking after the temple. Easy to move in and to wash and care for, they are the perfect cleaning attire. From cleaning up everything from your kitchen sink, toilet, and that pile of unidentified stuff in the corner of your garage to your mind, body, and spirit, this book will guide you in creating a home environment that will calm your thoughts and nourish your soul.
These days more and more people are scheduling getaways to retreat centers for their spiritual well-being--over 1.2 million Catholics alone during 1997. Located throughout the United States and Canada, these centers cater to the needs of people seeking quiet time, regardless of religious affiliation. Retreat possibilities range from one day of solitude surrounded by nature, to a few days of quiet time under the guidance of a resident spiritual director, to a week experiencing the rigorous rhythms of community monastery life. In A PLACE FOR GOD, Timothy Jones shares the wisdom of his pilgrimages to retreat centers as diverse as a mountaintop hermitage overlooking the Pacific and a monastic oasis on Chicago's South Side. First he explains everything about retreats: what they are, why people go, how to prepare, what to pack, and what to do while there. Then he provides an extensive directory of over 250 retreat centers in all fifty states and Canada, complete with all the information readers need to contact the retreat center that is right for them. A PLACE FOR GOD is the perfect resource for anyone who wants to find spiritual fulfillment or simply a place to get away.
The quiet and seclusion of a monastery, abbey, or retreat center provide the time, space, and conditions for the mind to come to stillness. This volume features 127 such places from many spiritual paths: Catholic, Protestant, Buddhist, Jewish, Hindu, Sufi, Quaker. The places themselves are often beautiful, overlooking the sea, or high in the mountains. Some are mansions given to religious orders, with lovely gardens, some are spare Zen temples, some are simple cabins in the woods. All offer a warm welcome to guests seeking a place apart. Molly O'Neil in the New York Times said "The book...is becoming the Michelin guide of the retreat set."
August Turak is a successful entrepreneur, corporate executive, and award-winning author who attributes much of his success to living and working alongside the Trappist monks of Mepkin Abbey for seventeen years. As a frequent monastic guest, he learned firsthand from the monks as they grew an incredibly successful portfolio of businesses. Service and selflessness are at the heart of the 1,500-year-old monastic tradition's remarkable business success. It is an ancient though immensely relevant economic model that preserves what is positive and productive about capitalism while transcending its ethical limitations and internal contradictions. Combining vivid case studies from his thirty-year business career with intimate portraits of the monks at work, Turak shows how Trappist principles can be successfully applied to a variety of secular business settings and to our personal lives as well. He demonstrates that monks and people like Warren Buffett are wildly successful not despite their high principles but because of them. Turak also introduces other "transformational organizations" that share the crucial monastic business strategies so critical for success.