Self-Help

Deepen Your Capacity to Live Free from Addiction—and from Self and Selfishness

"Twelve Step recovery is much more than a way to escape the clutches of addictive behaviors. Twelve Step recovery is about freeing yourself from playing God, and since almost everyone is addicted to this game, Twelve Step recovery is something from which everyone can benefit."
—from the Introduction

In this hope-filled approach to spiritual and personal growth, the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are uniquely interpreted to speak to everyone seeking a freer and more God-centered life. This special rendering makes them relevant to those suffering from specific addictions—alcohol, drugs, gambling, food, sex, shopping—as well as the general addictions we wrestle with daily, such as anger, greed, and selfishness.

Rami Shapiro describes his personal experience working the Twelve Steps as adapted by Overeaters Anonymous and shares anecdotes from many people working the Steps in a variety of settings. Drawing on the insights and practices of Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, he offers supplementary practices from different religious traditions to help you move more deeply into the universal spirituality of the Twelve Step system.

Inspiration, encouragement and spiritual practice from across faith traditions for all who seek hope and wholeness through letting go.

We all carry wounds that can bind up our hearts and keep us from fully loving—and fully living—in the present. Our pain may come from devastating trauma or unconscious resentment from accumulated everyday grievances. No matter the depth of the hurt, in the warmth and wisdom of this inspiring guidebook readers will find courage to face the past and begin the process of letting go.

Contributors active as spiritual directors, clergy, religious scholars and retreat leaders draw on the depths of their own spiritual practice, religious traditions and sacred texts to offer hope and encouragement for the journey of forgiveness. They provide a rich variety of practices for cultivating an open and forgiving heart, both toward ourselves and others, as well as step-by-step guidance in the process of forgiveness. They share their insights on:

• Healing ourselves through forgiveness
• Overcoming obstacles to forgiveness
• Letting go of resentment, blame and anger
• Forgiving ourselves
• Deciding whether to restore relationships
• Asking for and accepting forgiveness
• Receiving Divine forgiveness
• Fostering mercy in our hearts
• Seeking peace and reconciliation in our communities

For use by individuals as well as groups in worship or counseling settings, this wide range of perspectives, offered with grace and compassion, will gently move readers toward the wholeness and freedom that come from true forgiveness.

Contributors: Nancy L. Bieber • Rev. Carolyne Call • Rev. Dr. Joan Brown Campbell • Nancy Barrett Chickerneo, PhD • Paul Wesley Chilcote, PhD • William Cleary • Nancy Corcoran, CSJ • Linda Douty • Rabbi Ted Falcon • Marcia Ford • Rev. Dr. Marie M. Fortune • Tamar Frankiel, PhD • Rabbi Edwin Goldberg, DHL • Caren Goldman • Rev. Steven Greenebaum • Judy Greenfeld • Kent Ira Groff • Diana L. Guerrero • Rabbi Karyn D. Kedar • Kay Lindahl • Rabbi David Lyon • Pastor Don Mackenzie • St. Maximos • Ron Miller • Diane M. Millis, PhD • Rev. Timothy J. Mooney • Rev. Dr. John Philip Newell • Linda Novick • Rev. Larry J. Peacock • Gordon Peerman • M. Basil Pennington, OCSO • Jan Phillips • Susan Quinn • Imam Jamal Rahman • Marty Richards, MSW, LCSW • The Rev. Canon C.K. Robertson, PhD • Rev. Nanette Sawyer • Rev. Dr. Donna Schaper • The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori • Aaron Shapiro • Rami Shapiro • Louise Silk • Rev. Susan Sparks • Aaron Spevack, PhD • Rabbi Elie Kaplan Spitz • Molly and Bernie Srode • Tom Stella • Sohaib N. Sultan • Terry Taylor • Yoland Trevino • Rev. Jane E. Vennard • The Rev. Peter Wallace • Cynthia Winton-Henry

Authentic teaching is messy, exciting, frustrating, joyful, challenging—and sacred.

"Through stories, information and reflection, we [will look] inward, going more deeply into the discovery of who we are, not only as teachers but also as women and men for whom teaching is only a part of life. I believe the deepest calling … is the call to be who we truly are."
—from Chapter Seven, “Teaching Who We Are”

Beloved teacher Rev. Jane E. Vennard leads an inner exploration of the hopes and fears, joys and frustrations, gifts and limitations that influence teachers of all kinds—teachers like you—every day. Drawing on her own experience as well as stories from many teachers in conventional and unconventional settings, she inspires you to reconnect to your original desire to open minds and hearts to learning. With reflection questions, practices and activities, she helps you reinvigorate your passion for your vocation, your students and your subject, thus recognizing how teaching is a sacred art.

Wholeness Is Limiting—Possibilities Emerge When We're in Pieces

Everyone experiences brokenness at some point in their lives—a romantic relationship fails, a job ends, a dream dies, an illness emerges. During these times it is easy to focus on our human frailty and to want nothing more than to be whole again. But what are we missing when we overlook the ugliness, fear, anger and vulnerability of being in pieces? The Nityas, or the Eternal Moon Phase Goddesses of Tantric philosophy, teach us that we miss the empowerment of the full human experience and the growth that comes from renewing ourselves again and again.

This introduction to Tantric mythology as a contemporary resource for personal and spiritual growth guides you to reach into your pain and ask the larger questions about your relationships, not only with your lover but also with your community and with yourself. Each goddess prompts you to explore some aspect of relationship, such as loneliness, true love, equality, instinct, learning from the other, and learning to be alone. In seeking answers to these questions—supported by yogic wisdom, modern research into psychology and sociology, and nightly meditation and journaling practices—you will find empowerment in discovering who you are and what you truly desire.

Where do our journeys take us?
What do we leave behind?
What do we carry with us?
How do we find our way?

You are invited to consider a more graceful way of traveling through life. With arresting clarity, Journeys of Simplicity offers vignettes of forty travelers and the few, ordinary things they carried with them—from place to place, from day to day, from birth to death.

Edward Abbey • Nellie Bly • Raymond Carver • Dorothy Day • Marcel Duchamp • Dolores Garcia • Emma "Grandma" Gatewood • Mohandas Gandhi • Peter Matthiessen • William Least Heat Moon • John Muir • Robert Pirsig • Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton • Henry David Thoreau • Father Zossima • and others

Encouragement and inspiration from across faith traditions for walking with sorrow and honoring loss.

"As an expression of the soul, grief has its own purposes and timing.... You can let grief work for you by responding to it imaginatively.... Grief may feel overwhelming, but that is only because it is time for you to expand your heart and make it capable of far more love and connection. In this way, grief is a pathway to a more soul-centered life.“
—from the Introduction by Thomas Moore

This soulful companion for grief offers wisdom and creative spiritual practices for expressing and experiencing sorrow while keeping a life-giving connection to the past. Whether you need to grieve in words or silence, in solitude or in company with others, this compassionate guidance from across spiritual traditions will meet you where you are, helping you find wholeness and a renewed vision of yourself and the world.

For use by individuals as well as in groups or counseling settings.

Cultivate the potential for deeper connection in every conversation.

"To think of conversation as a sacred art challenges us to imagine all the conversations in which we participate, from the acquaintance we run into at Target to the dialogue for which we've spent weeks in preparation, as a potentially sacred conversation."
—from the Introduction

We often find ourselves distracted and overwhelmed by a constant stream of information and demand for connectivity. Now more than ever, we need to develop our capacity for greater presence in our daily lives and relationships. One of the best ways to do this is by improving the quality of our conversations. Dr. Diane M. Millis offers us inspirational stories, insights and spiritual practices from many faith traditions to increase our awareness of the deep, natural holiness waiting to be unlocked in our everyday encounters.

This resource is a catalyst for anyone who would like to enrich seemingly ordinary conversations as well as for leaders in educational, ministry and corporate settings who want to:

• Increase their capacity to listen deeply
• Become more self-aware and attentive to others
• Learn how to move beyond conventional topics to exploring purpose, meaning and values in conversation.

Discover how Jesus’s blessings convert emotional suffering from a source of shame to a resource for faith. Long description: When you hurt, what does it mean for your faith? Too often church culture and religious individuals suggest that emotional pain shows lack of faith or sin against a punitive God. How ironic—Jesus suffered loneliness, misunderstanding, persecution and death to meet us at the lowest places and lift us to hope and life with his resurrection. Reframing apparent defeat as the first step in a life of purpose, this book shows how Jesus’s blessings, the Beatitudes, address the paradox of living through suffering on the way to joy. When you feel depressed or anxious, unworthy or ashamed, this book helps you recognize Jesus as a fellow struggler who meets you in your suffering, offering and embodying life and hope. It will help you hear Jesus’s blessing you when you feel least worthy of blessing. This vital resource features engaging spiritual practices and group discussion questions ideal for use by individuals on their own, in counseling or in groups. Christians and seekers in emotional pain as well as counselors, clergy, spiritual directors, Stephen ministers and family members will gain needed insight and guidance for the spiritual journey through suffering.

A gentle, clear guide to finding hope and help in troubled days.

"When you begin to understand what brokenness means, you will be armed with information that empowers you to take the steps that can turn your leaden feelings into opportunities for health and happiness. When you can accept (and perhaps even celebrate) your brokenness, you can cease your endless search for 'healing' and get on with your life, scars and all."
—from Chapter 1

We each have broken areas of our lives. Whether from things that happen to us or as consequences of our own choices, there are times and situations where our very souls feel fractured.

With wisdom and profound personal experience, Terry Taylor guides you through a compassionate yet highly practical process of facing, accepting, and finally integrating your brokenness into your life—a process that can ultimately bring mending. He offers a clear-eyed, kindhearted method based on teachings and practices from many religious traditions, including:

• Ancient Christian practice of Lectio Divina to face our brokenness
• Tibetan practice of tonglen to generate compassion for ourselves
• Jewish tradition of Sabbath-keeping to give us the space we need to mend
• Muslim practice of hajj—pilgrimage—to bring the journey full circle

No matter your faith tradition, you will find lovingkindness and wise counsel in this useful, step-by-step guide to transforming these moments of supreme vulnerability into opportunities for reflection and spiritual growth.

Stress is a part of modern life—discover how to use it to grow spiritually, emotionally and psychologically.

"Stress takes life and gives life.... It can propel us forward into new opportunities but can also hold us back in fear and exhaustion. It is our mission to help you learn how to adopt [new] strategies and turn stress into a positive force in your life."
—from the Introduction

Stress can limit our perspective, leaving us feeling trapped and out of control. But stress can also be a force for good: It is our challenges that most compel us to reach out for relationship. And our proudest moments come after overcoming obstacles we thought were insurmountable.

Based on personal experience and their work as therapists, and drawing on decades of psychological research, George R. Faller, MS, LMFT, and The Rev. Dr. Heather Wright have come to see that stress can be healthy and positive. They equip us with the skills and the knowledge we need to reframe our thinking about stress, understand and embrace our darker emotions, and become stronger through difficulty.

To live the surrendered life—a life no longer centered on control and hence no longer at odds with the ordinary suffering of everyday living. Rabbi Rami closely examines the first three steps of Twelve-Step recovery to help us cut through the denial, illusions, and falsehoods that bind us in our fight with addictions of all kinds. He draws upon his half-century engagement with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, as well as his own and other people’s struggles in Twelve-Step recovery, to guide us in our awakening to reality’s freedom and the path to living joyously and well.

Push your writing through the trite and the boring to something fresh, something transformative.

"Writing as spiritual practice has nothing to do with readers per se. You aren't writing to be read; you are writing to be freed. Writing as spiritual practice is conspiratorial rather than inspirational. It conspires to strip away everything you use to maintain the illusion of certainty, security and self-identity. Where spiritual writing seeks to bind you all the more tightly to the self you imagine yourself to be, writing as spiritual practice intends to free you from it."
—from Rami’s Preface

This isn’t about how to write spiritual books. It isn’t about the romance of writing. It doesn’t cover the ins and outs of publishing and building a brand. Instead, this fresh and unapologetic guide to writing as a spiritual practice approaches writing as a way to turn the spiral of body, heart, mind, soul and spirit that leads to spiritual awakening.

Lead by renowned spirituality teacher Rami Shapiro and award-winning writer and writing coach Aaron Shapiro—and featuring over fifty unique, practical exercises—it takes you beyond assigning inspirational words to the page. It shows you how to use your writing to unlock the joy of life and the infinite perspectives and possibilities that living provides.

Find hope and renewal in life's natural cycle of ordinary losses and new beginnings.

"When we intentionally enter into our everyday walk through small losses, the terrain of larger losses, the valley of the shadow of death, is not totally unknown. It is not completely unfamiliar, alien, terrifying, for we have walked some of this way before with our lesser losses. We can journey through this valley of loss, for journey through it we must. And we can emerge markedly changed, but alive, on the other side."
—from the Prologue

Going beyond loss as a problem to be resolved, a grief to be worked through, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton, a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman, reframes loss from the perspective that our everyday losses help us learn what we need to handle the major losses. Weaving in spiritual and classical themes, personal and scriptural story, Dr. Copeland-Payton shows us that by becoming aware of what our lesser losses have to teach us, the larger losses of our lives become less terrifying. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice and questions for reflection to help you:

• Mine the hidden depths of painful losses of things and places
• Traverse the devastating loss of relationships and the heart-wrenching death of people we love.
• Overcome the steep, dark slopes of loss of beliefs and faith.
• Venture past our fear of the losses of aging and our own death.

Does the Golden Rule matter?
It depends on the game.

"We have to shift the game before we can promote the Rule. This is why teaching morality alone is insufficient. Educating our children in the Golden Rule without teaching about finite and infinite games and zero-sum and nonzero worldviews is a waste of time. Doing so would be like teaching them the rules of chess while insisting they play only checkers."
—from Chapter 10, “Play Different”

This provocative and challenging exploration of the Golden Rule, widely accepted as humanity's moral true north, neither praises the Rule uncritically nor naively insists that it is applicable in every situation. Rather, it looks critically at the Rule in the context of game theory to see where it works and where it doesn’t, when it is applicable and when it isn’t. It shows you why knowing the difference can offer you a powerful way to transform your life from one driven by fear to one driven by love.

This philosophical game changer is written for people of all faiths or none who praise the Rule and yet violate it over and over again. It invites you into the fascinating world of ethical decision making in a way that helps you use the Golden Rule as a fulcrum for shifting your life from often unethical competition to compassionate and even loving cooperation.

Is bad behavior the new normal? How do we change it?

"Each of us has the power to make the planet a more hospitable, pleasant, caring, and safe place to live.... It starts with respecting others and recognizing their right to be here. Saving Civility is about how we contribute to society and work together—locally and globally—with greater respect, awareness, understanding, and acceptance of one another. A polite planet embodies a worldview of a civilized society—one that is enlightened and empathetic."
—from the Introduction

Cyberbullying, hostile and polarizing political infighting, and tasteless and tactless behavior may be on the rise, but it doesn't have to be this way. Sara Hacala, a certified etiquette and protocol consultant, offers a definitive look at what civility means and how it can change the nature of everyday interaction. She goes beyond a superficial discussion of proper manners to present civility as a mind-set that encompasses values and attitudes that help you embrace your connections to others and repair society. Tapping the wisdom of ancient spiritual luminaries as well as the latest social science research, she provides fifty-two practical ways you can reverse the course of incivility and make the world a more enriching, pleasant place to live.

A powerful and thought-provoking look at "reunions" of all kinds as roads to remembering and re-membering ourselves.

"Reunions with people, places, things, and ourselves happen every day around us and within us. Whether to participate or not will always be your choice."
—from the Introduction

Explore humankind's timeless, universal and deeply spiritual desire to reunite for the sake of healing and wholeness. Whether we wander far from home or reminisce from our favorite armchair, people of all faiths or none whatsoever undertake journeys to remember, restore and re-member the missing pieces of our stories, psyches and souls:

• Do you occasionally Google a person from your past in hopes of “catching up”?
• Do you leaf through old address books to try to call someone for the first time in decades?
• When you visit gravesites or memorials, can you pinpoint what drew you there?
• Have you felt an urge to revisit your birthplace or travel to your ancestors' homelands?
• Do you feel compelled to attend an upcoming high school, family or other reunion? If not, why not?

Delve deeply into ways that your body, mind and spirit answer the Spirit of Re-union’s calls to reconnect with people, places, things and self.

Start your healing journey to forgive or seek forgiveness—buoyed by spiritual and psychological insights and practical steps.

"We have both witnessed the power of forgiveness as well as the devastating sense of loss that comes from withholding forgiveness. We invite you to journey with us as we explore all the dimensions of forgiveness, learning how to apply this gift to yourself and your life, as well as using it to guide others toward a happier, more peaceful existence."

—from the Introduction

Everyone seeks forgiveness at some point in their lives—in families, from friends, in workplaces, in communities or from ourselves—but we often falter when we discover the practice takes more than simply saying or hearing “I forgive you.”

In this dynamic look at the process of forgiveness, conflict resolution experts Myra Warren Isenhart and Michael Spangle look at what is really keeping you from forgiving or seeking forgiveness. In addition to focusing on the soulful benefits of forgiveness, they also draw on insights from many fields—communication, psychology, counseling and theology, as well as their own original research—to explore the mental and emotional barriers in your path.

Learn how to:

• Make distinctions between forgiveness, apology and reconciliation
• Identify the conditions that make reconciliation appropriate or inappropriate
• Understand the elements of an effective apology
• Extend forgiveness to yourself
• Assist others in their own forgiveness journey

What are the qualities you need to live fully and lead authentically in our age?

"Is it possible for our institutions of work to become, in the words of American political analyst Yuval Levin, 'soul-forming institutions'? If so, what does leadership become? In this book, Dr. Millis clears a path and points the way for those willing to set out on this journey. The personal stories she asks us to ponder and put into practice transform abstract ideas such as ‘deep engagement’ into living realities. Leadership becomes a personal quest and calling."

—from the Foreword

Leadership consultant and coach Diane M. Millis offers a tool kit for leaders of all kinds and all levels of spiritual involvement—people of faith, people of no faith, spiritual but not religious—for deepening our engagement with our true selves, one another and the communities in which we live and work. Millis provides guiding precepts from many wisdom traditions to help us realize what we most value and identify where we find passion and purpose. As a result, we will be better able to inspire others in all that we do.

Intriguing and challenging, this thought-provoking resource is ideal for use in personal reflection as well as for small group discussion, as a way to invite others to tap into their own leadership potential.

A thoughtful, down-to-earth look at helpful ways to lessen human suffering.

This book takes you on a lively, sometimes light-hearted, journey through nine Buddhist practices that can bring "blessed relief" to a wide range of human suffering—and teaches you skills to reduce suffering in the long term for yourself and others.

The practices help you:

• Loosen the grip of suffering
• Engage and question limiting views, thoughts and opinions
• Deconstruct ten common assumptions
• Be present in each moment
• Survive emotional storms
• Develop peaceful communication skills
• Deepen communication with your partner
• Appreciate mortality and the preciousness of life
• Cultivate compassion

As you read the chapters and engage in each practice, you will work with your own stories of suffering—stories in which you have felt abandoned, deprived, subjugated, defective, excluded or vulnerable—and you will learn how to release yourself from suffering by investigating it with curiosity and kindness.

A spiritual memoir by the author of God Is a Verb.

"This book is a treasure map, but not like any you have seen before. Most people believe that the object of a treasure hunt is to find a chest of gold. The mystical approach, however, is that the search itself is the treasure…. Here is an invitation to begin an exploration of the treasure fields of your own mind…the most exciting and rewarding adventure you will ever take." —from the Introduction

Here is an insider's look at a spectrum of mystical traditions—by someone who is remarkably fluent in the language of each. Three Gates to Meditation Practice chronicles more than fifteen years in the spiritual journey of "post-denominational" Rabbi David A. Cooper and his wife Shoshana—years that led the Coopers everywhere from a secluded mountain hut in New Mexico to the Sinai desert, from chanting Sufi dhikr and meditation with Buddhist masters to studying Kabbalah and esoteric Judaism in the Old City of Jerusalem.

The Coopers’ story is an intimate account of what intensive spiritual practice is like, with an ultimate message that is supremely inspiring: The spiritual path is completely within our reach, whoever we are, whatever we do, as long as we are willing to try.

Discover Your Unique Gift

"Creative aging is a choice…. If we remember that transition always begins with endings, moves on to a wilderness period of testing and trying, and only then do we reach the beginning of something new, then we can embrace this encore period of life with hope and curiosity, remembering always that it is our true nature to be creative, to be always birthing new ways of sharing our planet together."
—from the Epilogue

In a practical and useful way, Marjory Zoet Bankson explores the spiritual dimensions of retirement and aging. She offers creative ways for you to share your gifts and experience, particularly when retirement leaves you questioning who you are when you are no longer defined by your career.

Drawing on stories of people who have reinvented their lives in their older years, Bankson explores the issues you need to address as you move into this generative period of life:

• Release: Letting go of the vocational identity associated with your career or primary work
• Resistance: Feeling stuck, stagnant, resisting change
• Reclaiming: Drawing energy from the past, discovering unused gifts
• Revelation: Forming a new vision of the future
• Crossing Point: Moving from stagnation to generativity
• Risk: Stepping out into the world with new hope
• Relating: Finding or creating new structures for a new kind of work

Discover how retirement can lead to new spiritual possibilities.

What now? Where do I go from here?

In many parts of the world, retirement from the daily workforce is a door you walk through in order to discover your soul. In the last third of life, it is an opportunity to focus on the goals that are most important to you.

Creating a Spiritual Retirement invites you to examine your spiritual life and explore ways of making it more meaningful, from three different perspectives:

• "The Individual Spirit"—Contemplate the possibilities for spiritual growth that come with retirement from the daily workplace
• "The Great Spirit"—Discover how to look for the sacred in this life, in both ordinary and extraordinary ways
• "Practical Spirituality"—Create your path to more fully develop a spiritual practice that will provide support, strength, challenge, and comfort in the later years of life.With creative exercises and warm, practical advice, this book is a helpful tool for anyone on their retirement journey.

This unusual "guidebook" helps you deepen your relationship with the unseen but no less real presence of spirit in your life. Each chapter focuses on a particular idea for consideration from a spiritual point of view, and concludes with a reflection and questions designed to help you explore your thoughts during this important time in life.

"Retirement can be a time rich in understanding of ourselves and others. It is a time to gather the wisdom we have gained through the years and make it our own. It is a time to take care of unfinished business. It is a time to look beyond the surface of our lives to the deeper inner meaning that is a part of each of us. It is truly a time to connect with our own inner spirit or soul and with the Great Spirit that animates all life."
—from the Introduction

Supportive, insightful and inspiring, Creating a Spiritual Retirement will help you make the next stage in your life a meaningful one.