Books
Wholeness and the Implicate Order by David Bohm
In both science and philosophy, Bohm’s main concern was with understanding the nature of reality in general and of consciousness in particular. In this classic work he develops a theory of quantum physics which treats the totality of existence as an unbroken whole. Writing clearly and without technical jargon, he makes complex ideas accessible to anyone interested in the nature of reality.
The Cure for Sorrow by Jan Richardson
Those who know loss will find kinship among these pages. In these blessings that move through the anguish of rending into the unexpected shelters of solace and hope, there shimmers a light that helps us see we do not walk alone.
Figuring by Maria Popova
Figuring explores the complexities of love and the human search for truth and meaning through the interconnected lives of several historical figures across four centuries—beginning with the astronomer Johannes Kepler, who discovered the laws of planetary motion, and ending with the marine biologist and author Rachel Carson, who catalyzed the environmental movement.
The Beauty in Breaking: A Memoir by Michele Harper
The Beauty in Breaking is the poignant true story of Harper’s journey toward self-healing. Each of the patients Harper writes about taught her something important about recuperation and recovery. How to let go of fear even when the future is murky. How to tell the truth when it’s simpler to overlook it. How to understand that compassion isn’t the same as justice.
When Things Fall Apart: Heart Advice for Difficult Times by Pema Chodron
Here, in her most beloved and acclaimed work, Pema shows that moving toward painful situations and becoming intimate with them can open up our hearts in ways we never before imagined. Drawing from traditional Buddhist wisdom, she offers life-changing tools for transforming suffering and negative patterns into habitual ease and boundless joy.
Centering Prayer for Everyone by Lindsay Boyer
Centering Prayer for Everyone is the most welcoming and accessible guide to Christian contemplative practice available. Focusing on five practices—lectio divina, visio divina, walking meditation, chanting the Psalms, and the silent practice of centering prayer—this practical guide collects in one volume everything needed to learn these practices, including concise instructions, readings, and programs.
Sitting with God: A Journey to Your True Self Through Centering Prayer by Rich Lewis
“Rich Lewis’s writing is unique in its simplicity and lack of pretense. And he is nothing if not honest, especially regarding his passion for centering prayer. In this book you will find down-to-earth spiritual practice that echoes throughout Rich’s life as a husband, dad, and financial consultant. Highly recommended!”
— Amos Smith, author of Be Still and Listen
Sister Jaguar’s Journey is the fiercely honest story of Sister Judy Bisignano, a Dominican nun, who after spending 68 years looking for God in all the wrong places, finally found the peace and divine connection she was looking for in the Amazon rainforest. It all starts with a simple invitation to visit the Achuar community in the Ecuadorian Amazon rainforest.
In addition to learning practices to dispose yourself to God’s presence, you will be able to describe the experience and then live out of it.
You will also learn a method for tracking your actions and over a period of time learn how God is moving in your life and to where God may be calling you.
Sitting in stillness, the practice of meditation, and the cultivation of awareness are commonly thought to be the preserves of Hindus and Buddhists. Martin Laird shows that the Christian tradition of contemplation has its own refined teachings on using a prayer word to focus the mind, working with the breath to cultivate stillness, and the practice of inner vigilance or awareness. But this book is not a mere historical survey of these teachings.
In this classic text, Thomas Merton offers valuable guidance for prayer. He brings together a wealth of meditative and mystical influences–from John of the Cross to Eastern desert monasticism–to create a spiritual path for today. Most important, he shows how the peace contacted through meditation should not be sought in order to evade the problems of contemporary life, but can instead be directed back out into the world to affect positive change.
Thomas Merton was the most popular proponent of the Christian contemplative tradition in the twentieth century. Now, for the first time, some of his most lyrical and prayerful writings have been arranged into A Book of Hours, a rich resource for daily prayer and contemplation that imitates the increasingly popular ancient monastic practice of “praying the hours”.