The millions of recovering addicts who attend Twelve Step programs around the world each dayfor issues ranging from alcoholism to overeating, codependence, gambling, and even chronic latenessquickly learn that sobriety and abstinence hinge on a decision to turn over their will and life to a Power greater than themselves. They also learn, through the program's 11th Step, that prayer and meditation are vital tools for making this conscious contact with a Higher Power of their understanding.

“For God alone my soul in silence waits....” In these reflections on Psalm 62 Margaret Guenther provides the foundation for a time of reflection and retreat without ever leaving home. The book’s first chapter introduces us to ways of making a retreat wherever we are, at a place apart or in the midst of our daily lives. Guenther then offers eight meditations on Psalm 62, with its themes of waiting on God’s presence with patience, trust, and expectation. She explores the images the psalm evokes of longing, silence, waiting, safety, enemies, and God as a rock and refuge. As in all her books, Guenther finds new ways to explore these ancient themes with the wit and practicality of an accomplished storyteller. These eight meditations can be read consecutively over the course of a single day or weekend, or spaced over time with periods of reflection in between. Each meditation ends with ideas for further prayer and pondering. My Soul in Silence Waits is one of our series of Cowley Cloister Books: smaller format, gift edition books designed for meditative and devotional reading.

One of the first questions asked in examining the root causes of discontent should be:When did you stop singing?or: Why aren't we in touch with this vital part of our being? In such an inquiry lies a journey toward the essential qualities that give happiness to the way we lead our daily lives. ThroughoutSong and Silence,Susan Hale explores the meaning of song and the cultural estrangement from our own voices. She shows us how singing can restore a relationship with ourselves, the natural world, and the many human worlds around us. What belongs to each of us coming into life is an ability to express inner feelings through sound. Using this most basic part of human existence can connect us with our deepest spiritual joys. This insight is often forgotten, but still functions in tribal cultures around the planet. Reaching into our common global matrix, Susan Hale shares experiential truths and lessons of the healing power of sound, song, and silence learned in her own journey as a singer. This book offers a fresh point of view, which leads to simple, yet profound, personal growth.

Much of our faith and practice is about words—preaching, teaching, talking with others. Yet all of these words are not enough to take us into the real presence of God. This book is an invitation to meet God deeply and fully through solitude and silence. This expanded edition includes a guide for groups to use for both discussion and practice.

This wonderful book about the spiritual power of silence in the soul could only come from a person to whom silence has become loud with the voice of God. It is a great gift.

The Sunrise of the Soul is the fruit of the last 24 years of an unexpected new life and a journey of transformation that took Gerry Straub from the glamour of Hollywood to the horror of the worst slums on earth. Straub’s journey began in an empty church in Rome during a moment of grace in which the hard shell of his ardent atheism was penetrated by a spark of light, allowing him to see that God was real and loved him just as he was. Eventually, Straub felt God telling him to stop filming the poor and to go live among the poor. He now lives in a crowded slum in Haiti where he operates a home of hope and healing for 69 abandoned kids, 24 of whom are still in diapers. Straub says his journey is far from over and will never be finished. As Karl Rahner reminded us, “In the torment of the insufficiency of everything attainable we ultimately learn that here, in this life, all symphonies must remain unfinished.” Living in a home with 69 kids in Haiti means that the stillness and silence needed for contemplation are virtually nonexistent. After more than four years of intense work in Haiti, Gerry began to commit himself to the rejuvenating power of authentic solitude in order to turn his attention to his own inner spiritual poverty. In the silent predawn darkness of each Haitian morning he waits, reflects, and prays. This book emerged slowly from those many lonely hours of silence.

John Dennison says we have come into this life for a purpose. The soul knows why, and where it is going. But we are asleep, cut off from its guidance. We're left uneasy, discontent, always searching for answers but only finding more questions. We know there is something more.

An introduction to the nature and benefits of silence as a new spiritual reality that can lead to self-awareness and healing in our chaotic, fast-paced world With its beautifully rich prose, Robert Sardello's newest book invites us to experience silence as a companion presence—a creative heart-felt experience that renews, restores, and deepens the body's response to the internal and external world. Drawing on images and ideas from the Trials of St. Anthony, anthroposophy, depth psychology, and phenomenology, the book delves deeply into the subtleties of silence, exploring the phenomenon as a source of wholeness and revitalization. Sharing his own insights from years of experience in spiritual psychology, Sardello takes us on an inner journey beyond the chaotic noise of the ego to a place of inner communion and self-healing. Silence opens our eyes to the importance of cultivating the nurturing aspects of silence in our personal relationships and enables us to awaken the inner currents of spirituality that ultimately lead to a path of universal compassion, service, and healing.

A personal and cultural exploration of silence and its value in our lives—“[an] artful book, mixing autobiography, travel writing, meditation, and essay” (Independent, UK). In her late forties, after a noisy upbringing as one of six children and adulthood as a vocal feminist and mother, Sara Maitland found herself living alone in the country and, to her surprise, falling in love with silence. In this fascinating, intelligent, and beautifully written book, Maitland describes how she began to explore this new love, spending periods of silence in the Sinai desert, the Scottish hills, and a remote cottage on the Isle of Skye. Maitland also delves deep into the rich cultural history of silence, exploring its significance in fairy tale and myth, its importance to the Western and Eastern religious traditions, and its use in psychoanalysis and artistic expression. Her story culminates in her building a hermitage on an isolated moor in Galloway. “Her book is probably unique in its subject, and timely, because good, healing silence is becoming hard to find, and we may not know we need it” (Guardian, UK).