In a fast-paced world full of distractions, spiritual practice can help us become more centered-more in touch with ourselves and others, more in touch with the world around us, more in touch with God. Sacred Pauses is an introduction to this more centered way of life. The author, a pastor in British Columbia, begins with her own longing for personal renewal. What would it take to feel renewed every day? Instead of waiting for a vacation to smooth out the tensions of life, instead of waiting until the end of the week to shed our weariness, what if we could take time out every day? Live a renewed life every day? Be refreshed by God every day? Sacred Pauses offers simple ways for readers to do just that. Each chapter explores a different spiritual practice-from the classic disciplines of Scripture reading and prayer to other creative approaches such as paying attention, making music, and having fun. With plenty of stories from real life and ideas to try, this book is personal and practical. Its flexible format is appropriate for personal use or in a group, every day or any time. Free downloadable study guide available here.

A guide to the transformative power of Buddhist psychology—for meditators and mental health professionals, Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike. You have within you unlimited capacities for extraordinary love, for joy, for communion with life, and for unshakable freedom—and here is how to awaken them. In The Wise Heart, celebrated author and psychologist Jack Kornfield offers the most accessible, comprehensive, and illuminating guide to Buddhist psychology ever published in the West. Here is a vision of radiant human dignity, a journey to the highest expression of human possibility—and a practical path for realizing it in our own lives.

Our lives are full of words. We rarely pause to attend to them, much less take time for personal retreat. This book encourages you to stop and revel in the sights, sounds, and meanings of what we say about God. Rachel Hackenberg offers the word-weary, the word-lover, and the spiritually hungry to explore the words of faith anew and thereby meet The Word afresh. Through twelve deceptively light-hearted chapters on letters and definitions, grammar and poetry, this book spa rks spiritual inspiration even as it provides practical exercises for an enlivening personal retreat experience! Rachel G. Hackenberg is an ordained United Church of Christ minister and author of Writing to God and Writing to God: Kids’ Edition. She facilitates workshops on prayer & worship, clergy renewal, and congregational vitality. She blogs at faithandwater.com. "Rachel Hackenberg invites us to reconsider and re-engage with the words we typically use to describe, rather than to fully express, our faith. Sacred Pause is a book to savor. It's as much a devotional as it is a guide for a creative retreat that will change the way you'll encounter Scripture and live the Gospel." —Meredith Gould, PHD, author of Service as a Spiritual Practice "This book will awaken you to a sensational faith, encompassing all your senses and enabling you to experience the holiness of God in the quotidian adventures of life. An antidote to spiritual stagnation, this text will get you out of your chair and onto your feet, dancing with God, singing with the Spirit, and jumping for joy with Jesus." —Bruce Epperly, author of Holy Adventure

With over 25,000 copies sold of the hardcover version, this paperback edition of Macrina Wiederkehr's bestselling book,Seven Sacred Pauses: Living Mindfully Through the Hours of the Day, invites readers to learn how to pray the hours through the practice of consciously pausing at the seven sacred moments of each day, making their daily passage through time a more sacred pilgrimage. Using scripture, poetry, reflections, personal stories, and quotes from a rich array of spiritual teachers for many religions, Wiederkehr helps readers become more attuned to living in the present moment and develop a kindred spirit with the rich tradition of the sacred hours. Seven Sacred Pauses is a wonderful gift to those who seek to find balance in their busy days and to bring the practice of the Divine Hours home to their own hearts.

Terry Hershey, a popular author and retreat leader, understands that slowing down is difficult when you live in a fast-forward world. However, he also knows from personal experience that there is always a price to pay if we don't regularly take time simply to pause--to cease activity, to treasure quiet time, and to discern the deep meaning of life's little moments. In The Power of Pause, Hershey uses powerful stories and meditations, inspiring quotes, and a specific call to action at the end of each chapter to help us understand the profound value of slowing down in our daily lives and taking time for the truly important things. Over the course of 52 brief chapters, we learn how to take back the life God always intended for us to have by letting go of the things that keep getting in our way.

In 2022, JD O’Donnell made a spontaneous decision to walk away from her job, retirement, health insurance, and even her reputation to embark on a yearlong sacred pause that allowed her to rest, reflect, pray, and discover how she ended up in a state of angst. With the hope that she would eventually emerge with a new sense of purpose and direction, O’Donnell leaned into her sacred pause as unresolved issues from her past began surfacing and forced her to face relationships and wounds formerly pushed aside. In a retelling of her deeply personal journey, O’Donnell pours her heart and soul into recounting her experiences with infertility, adoption, depression, betrayal, and heartbreaking loss. As she reveals how she allowed herself the time and space to revisit the periods in her life that held the most significance, she discloses how, despite feeling pain and despair, she discovered cathartic healing and a renewed purpose. O’Donnell’s remarkable story is an unfiltered testament that invites others to embrace vulnerability, unlock their resilience, and forge an unshakeable bond with the divine. The Power of a Sacred Pause shares inspirational insight into a Christian woman’s transformative journey of spiritual resilience and healing as she bravely faced unresolved life experiences with Jesus by her side.

Music of Silence shows how to incorporate the sacred meaning of monastic living into everyday life by following the natural rhythm of the hours of the day. The book tells how mindfulness and prayer can reconnect us with the sources of joy. “An invitation to join in quiet ecstasy, to rediscover sacred rhythms.” — Jack Kornfield, author of A Path with Heart