In this courageous, groundbreaking book, Jeff Brown takes us on the spiritual ride of a lifetime. The book opens with the author's compelling journey, through a variety of spiritual approaches. Through decades of dedicated exploration and discernment, Brown exposes the transcendent notions of spirituality that limit our human experience. In his fiercely authentic, no-holds-barred style, Brown demonstrates that spirituality is a whole-being awakening, one that heartfully, embraces our entire human experience: our feelings, our stories, our bodies, our relationships with others, and the earth that houses us. Hands-on exercises throughout provide a direct experience of a vital new model. In 'Grounded Spirituality', the author lays down the tracks for an embodied way of being, one that leaves us 'enrealed,' integrated, and purposeful. Not transcending our humanness, but finding meaning and spirituality within in, right in the heart of our imperfect daily lives. Back to our roots, back into our bodies, back into all that makes us magnificently human. Home at last...

The headlines are clear: religion is on the decline in America as many people leave behind traditional religious practices. Diana Butler Bass, leading commentator on religion, politics, and culture, follows up her acclaimed book Christianity After Religion by arguing that what appears to be a decline actually signals a major transformation in how people understand and experience God. The distant God of conventional religion has given way to a more intimate sense of the sacred that is with us in the world. This shift, from a vertical understanding of God to a God found on the horizons of nature and human community, is at the heart of a spiritual revolution that surrounds us – and that is challenging not only religious institutions but political and social ones as well. Grounded explores this cultural turn as Bass unpacks how people are finding new spiritual ground by discovering and embracing God everywhere in the world around us—in the soil, the water, the sky, in our homes and neighborhoods, and in the global commons. Faith is no longer a matter of mountaintop experience or institutional practice; instead, people are connecting with God through the environment in which we live. Grounded guides readers through our contemporary spiritual habitat as it points out and pays attention to the ways in which people experience a God who animates creation and community. Bass brings her understanding of the latest research and studies and her deep knowledge of history and theology to Grounded. She cites news, trends, data, and pop culture, weaves in spiritual texts and ancient traditions, and pulls it all together through stories of her own and others' spiritual journeys. Grounded observes and reports a radical change in the way many people understand God and how they practice faith. In doing so, Bass invites readers to join this emerging spiritual revolution, find a revitalized expression of faith, and change the world.

An engaging, inspirational memoir that takes readers on a soul-searching journey toward heart-consciousness and spiritual authenticity Ever since childhood, Jeff Brown did all the things he was supposed to do to become successful in the eyes of the world. He was on the Dean’s Honor List as an undergraduate. He won the Law and Medicine prize in law school and apprenticed with a top criminal lawyer. It had been Brown’s lifelong dream to practice criminal law and search for the truth in the courtroom. But then, on the verge of opening a law practice, he heard a little voice inside telling him to stop, just stop. With great difficulty, he honored this voice and began a heartfelt quest for the truth that lived within him. Although he didn’t realize it at the time, Brown was actually questing for his innate image, the essential being that he came into this lifetime to embody. He was searching for his authentic face. By going inside and connecting his spirituality with his emotional life, he learned essential lessons. By learning to surrender to the "School of Heart Knocks"—the school of life—the found his authentic face and embraced the call to write. Soulshaping is an inspiring memoir for anyone who has heard a whisper of something truer calling out to them amid the distractions of modern life. Jeff’s dramatic and often funny story takes readers through remarkably human experiences—emotional, physical, and economic—as he vividly recounts his journey to discover his soul’s purpose. A work of courageous self-creation, Soulshaping reminds us that we are all truly connected, that our seemingly isolated struggles are actually part of the shared human challenge to live a life that is heart-centered and soul-driven.

Nature Spirituality from the Ground Up invites you to go beyond simply exploring the symbols of nature and encourages you to bury your hands in the earth and work with the real thing. This is a book on green spirituality that makes a difference, empowering you to connect with totems as a part of your spiritual life. Uniquely approaching totems as beings we can give to, rather than take from, Lupa shows how orienting yourself this way deepens your spiritual connection to the earth and helps you rejoin the community of nature. And while most books on totems focus on animals, Nature Spirituality from the Ground Up helps you work with interconnected ecosystems of totems: plants, fungi, minerals, waterways, landforms, and more.

Is it possible to be grounded AND have a rich interior life? Is it possible to get through the day with poise when everything hits the fan? Is it possible to have a spiritual life and not be a wing-nut? For Jen Weigel, the answer to all three questions is a resounding YES. This is an honest, amusing teaching memoir rooted in Weigel’s everyday experience as a mother, television personality, and performance artist. Weigel provides 13 common-sense rules for developing a sane and satisfying interior life--ranging from “trust that you are where you are supposed to be in every moment” to “always look for signs,”--to “don’t get lost in a guru.” What makes this book so fun and refreshing is Weigel’s voice--and the fact that, in the words of one of her friends, she is a “magnet for really bizarre shit.”Whether she is playing chicken with deranged Chicago drivers with “Jesus Saves” bumper stickers, trying to keep those extra pounds off, interviewing celebrities on television, or encountering the spirit of her dead father (who keeps appearing in the guise of a cardinal--a bird, not a prelate), Weigel maintains a zest for learning, living, and loving. Her high-spirited stories illustrate core life principles and convey an immediacy and energy that readers will find delightful.

Human beings are fundamentally relational—we develop, heal, and grow through relationships. Integrating insights from psychology and theology, Todd W. Hall and M. Elizabeth Lewis Hall present a definitive model of spiritual transformation based on a relational paradigm, showing how transformation works practically in the context of relationships and community.

"Essential Spirituality beautifully articulates the benefits of spiritual living in the material world."-Dan Millman, author, Everyday Enlightenment and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior "Deceptively simple. Its power is rooted not only in Dr. Walsh's formidable intellectual capacity to deal effectively with a vast body of religious literature but in his own deep spiritual practices in a multitude of disciplines over many years. An important contribution."-Ram Dass, author, Be Here Now "An absolute masterpiece . . . Essential Spirituality is helpful to both the unseasoned and seasoned seeker. The writing is deep, simple, and clear yet at the same time poetic and musical. A must read."-GERALD G. JAMPOLSKY, M.D. author, Love Is Letting Go of Fear "Energetic, engaged, and occasionally electrifying. . . . The field of spiritual books has been looking for its own Lewis Thomas or Carl Sagan, and I believe Roger Walsh may be that one."-KEN WILBER, author, One Taste and A Brief History of Everything Based on over twenty years of research and spiritual practice, this is a groundbreaking and life-changing book. In his decades of study, Dr. Roger Walsh has discovered that each of the great spiritual traditions has both a common goal and seven common practices to reach that goal: recognizing the sacred and divine that exist both within and around us. Filled with stories, exercises, meditations, myths, prayers, and practical advice, Essential Spirituality shows how you can integrate these seven principles into one truly rewarding way of life in which kindness, love, joy, peace, vision, wisdom, and generosity become an ever-growing part of everything you do.

What are spiritual gifts? Storms has spent several decades teaching on the topic of the spiritual gifts and equipping believers in the faithful practice of God's gifts. Yet there remains a great deal of confusion about the nature of the gifts and how they best function in the body of Christ. In this comprehensive guide to the spiritual gifts, Storms addresses the many bizarre and misleading interpretations while confronting the tendency to downplay the urgency of spiritual gifts for Christian living and ministry. He explains how spiritual gifts--both the more miraculous and the everyday--are given to build up the body of Christ. God has graciously provided these "manifestations of the Spirit" so that believers might encourage, edify, strengthen, instruct, and console one another, all with a view to an ever-increasing, incremental transformation into the image of Jesus Christ. Throughout this guide, Sam Storms unpacks the glorious truth that there is a supernatural and divine energy or power that fills and indwells the body and soul of every Christian believer. Understanding Spiritual Gifts is useful as a reference to address common questions about the gifts, but it also serves as a training manual for using and exercising the gifts in ministry. It is perfect for any individual or group who wants to grow in their understanding of spiritual gifts for today.

What story would Eve have told about picking the apple? Why is Pandora blamed for opening the box? And what about the fate of Cassandra who was blessed with knowing the future but cursed so that no one believed her? What if women had been the storytellers? Elizabeth Lesser believes that if women’s voices had been equally heard and respected throughout history, humankind would have followed different hero myths and guiding stories—stories that value caretaking, champion compassion, and elevate communication over vengeance and violence. Cassandra Speaks is about the stories we tell and how those stories become the culture. It’s about the stories we still blindly cling to, and the ones that cling to us: the origin tales, the guiding myths, the religious parables, the literature and films and fairy tales passed down through the centuries about women and men, power and war, sex and love, and the values we live by. Stories written mostly by men with lessons and laws for all of humanity. We have outgrown so many of them, and still they endure. This book is about what happens when women are the storytellers too—when we speak from our authentic voices, when we flex our values, when we become protagonists in the tales we tell about what it means to be human. Lesser has walked two main paths in her life—the spiritual path and the feminist one—paths that sometimes cross but sometimes feel at cross-purposes. Cassandra Speaks is her extraordinary merging of the two. The bestselling author of Broken Open and Marrow, Lesser is a beloved spiritual writer, as well as a leading feminist thinker. In this book she gives equal voice to the cool water of her meditative self and the fire of her feminist self. With her trademark gifts of both humor and insight, she offers a vision that transcends the either/or ideologies on both sides of the gender debate. Brilliantly structured into three distinct parts, Part One explores how history is carried forward through the stories a culture tells and values, and what we can do to balance the scales. Part Two looks at women and power and expands what it means to be courageous, daring, and strong. And Part Three offers “A Toolbox for Inner Strength.” Lesser argues that change in the culture starts with inner change, and that no one—woman or man—is immune to the corrupting influence of power. She provides inner tools to help us be both strong-willed and kind-hearted. Cassandra Speaks is a beautifully balanced synthesis of storytelling, memoir, and cultural observation. Women, men and all people will find themselves in the pages of this book, and will come away strengthened, opened, and ready to work together to create a better world for all people.

Use this spiritual guide to equip yourself with the tools needed to tear down anxiety and build inner peace. Spiritual people often find that their own expectations of living a life dedicated to a higher power makes them more susceptible to high-functioning anxiety. Sometimes, traditional relaxation techniques either do not work, don’t last, or, in some cases, actually increase their anxiety. Psychotherapist, yoga teacher, and interfaith minister Rev. Connie L. Habash has helped hundreds of spiritual people overcome fear and anxiety, regain happiness, and feel calmer. In over twenty-five years as a counselor helping spiritual people overcome anxiety, Rev. Connie has taught that it takes more than chanting mantras, stretching, or relaxation techniques to calm anxiety. It requires a transformation in perception, moment-to-moment body awareness, and a conscious response to thoughts and emotions. Awakening from Anxiety provides valuable psycho-spiritual tools to deepen spiritual awakening and calm fears:Learn what anxiety is and when it becomes a problemUnderstand the six mistakes spiritual people make that increase anxietyDiscover the seven keys to a more calm, confident, courageous lifeKnow how to break through the old patterns of stress, worry, and fear into a new perception of your true selfExplore spiritual principles and yoga philosophy to cultivate inner peace If you enjoyed Stop Anxiety from Stopping You and First, We Make the Beast Beautiful, Awakening from Anxiety will take your healing and renewal from anxiety to the next level. “A book I will recommend to many for both practical advice and spiritual insights for handling stress, worry, and anxiety.”?Becca Anderson, author of Prayers for Calm