Discovering The Art Of Soul Friending

This friendly, accessible book is about the age-old hunger in human hearts to open, and deepen, and grow towards faithful intimacy with the Source of all that is. This spiritual journey is radically personal, but it is not meant to be entirely solitary. It can be supported at crucial times by friendship with someone who has learned how to listen, through a life of prayer, for the guidance of God’s Spirit in their own soul and in the soul of another. Long ago, in Celtic Christian Ireland, such a person was called an anam cara—a soul friend. “Every soul, from time to time on its mysterious trek towards union with God, needs a human friend for encouragement on the way.” In Discovering the Art of Soul Friending, Carolyn Gratton invites us to say “yes” to the ability to share with another and to disclose something of oneself on each seeker’s journey towards union with God. Enriched by a lifetime of insights gained from educating groups around the world, she guides aspiring spiritual companions to: -a discernment of their own level of spiritual maturity; -sensitivity in the art of spiritual guidance and to a seeker’s desires, the soil from which their truest love can spring; -a commitment to prayer and the transformation of consciousness it makes possible; -rootedness in their own faith tradition and, throughout life, an openness to the expanded perceptions possible in our multicultural world. Carolyn completes each chapter with what she calls a “Book Providence” section—an annotated bibliography of resources that can expand the discernment skills and contextual awareness of potential soul friends.

This friendly, accessible book is about the age-old hunger in human hearts to open, and deepen, and grow towards faithful intimacy with the Source of all that is. This spiritual journey is radically personal, but it is not meant to be entirely solitary. It can be supported at crucial times by friendship with someone who has learned how to listen, through a life of prayer, for the guidance of God’s Spirit in their own soul and in the soul of another. Long ago, in Celtic Christian Ireland, such a person was called an anam cara—a soul friend. “Every soul, from time to time on its mysterious trek towards union with God, needs a human friend for encouragement on the way.” In Discovering the Art of Soul Friending, Carolyn Gratton invites us to say “yes” to the ability to share with another and to disclose something of oneself on each seeker’s journey towards union with God. Enriched by a lifetime of insights gained from educating groups around the world, she guides aspiring spiritual companions to: -a discernment of their own level of spiritual maturity; -sensitivity in the art of spiritual guidance and to a seeker’s desires, the soil from which their truest love can spring; -a commitment to prayer and the transformation of consciousness it makes possible; -rootedness in their own faith tradition and, throughout life, an openness to the expanded perceptions possible in our multicultural world. Carolyn completes each chapter with what she calls a “Book Providence” section—an annotated bibliography of resources that can expand the discernment skills and contextual awareness of potential soul friends.

"Most of us will have many friends throughout our lifetimes—friends of all shapes, sizes, and callings. Many of these are wonderful, meaningful friendships. Some are difficult. But some magic few of these are connections that have gone right to our soul. These five or seven or ten friendships have been powerful keys to determining who we have become and who we will become. . . . These are the people I call Soul Friends." As the Senior Scholar-in-Residence for over 25 years at the renowned Kripalu Center, Stephen Cope has spent decades investigating—and writing about—the integration of body, mind, and spirit and the rich complexity of our relationships with others, and with ourselves. Perhaps the central truth that arises from his work is this: human beings are universally wired for one thing—vital connection with one another.Soul Friends invites us on a compelling journey into the connectivity of the human psyche, the study of which has fascinated scholars, philosophers, and thinkers for centuries. Cope seamlessly blends science, scholarship, and storytelling, drawing on his own life as well as the histories of famous figures—from Eleanor Roosevelt to Charles Darwin to Queen Victoria—whose formative relationships shed light on the nature of friendship itself. In his exploration, he distills human connection into six distinct yet interconnected mechanisms: containment, twinship, adversity, mirroring, identification, and conscious partnership. Then he invites us to reflect on how these forms of connection appear in our own lives, helping us work toward a fuller understanding of "who we have become and who we will become."Without a doubt, the journey to our most fulfilled selves requires us to look within. But in order to truly thrive, we must make the most of who we are in relation to one another as well. Unsparingly honest, deeply wise, and irresistibly readable, Soul Friends gives us a map to find our way.

I had always been the invisible art student in high school. Passed by. Glossed over. Unnoticed. Now I was Aria Watson...that girl. After one bad decision, and being labeled a slut, I was no longer unseen. I was the whore. The ignoramus. The tramp. I would never be invisible again. Particularly to Levi Myers. He was the odd boy with the beautiful soul who accepted and understood the broken girl inside me. Falling in love wasn't the plan. But how could I resist his promises of hope? Of forgiveness? Of a future I had stopped dreaming of? We were shattered. We were scarred. We were something strange and beautiful. We were two lost souls holding on to the only thing that could keep us together. Each other.

2018 Christian Book Award® This Journey Is as Perennial as the Seasons GraceLaced is about more than pretty florals and fanciful brushwork—it's about flourishing. With carefully crafted intention, this beautiful volume of 32 seasonal devotions from artist and author Ruth Chou Simons encourages readers in any circumstance to become deeply rooted in God's faithful promises. GraceLaced extends a soul-stirring invitation to draw close to God while... resting in who He is rehearsing the truth He says about you responding in faith to those truths remembering His provision to sustain you, time and time again More than 800 individual pieces of art came together in the crafting of this book, including dozens of new, hand-painted Scripture vignettes that Ruth is known for. Who we are and who God is never changes, even though everything else rarely stays the same. Let this book point you to truth as you journey through the changing seasons of your heart.

A heart-wrenching but deeply funny and ultimately uplifting story of family, love, loyalty, and hope--a captivating look at the wonders and absurdities of human life . . . as only a dog could tell it

From the USA TODAY bestselling author of Sweet Thing and Nowhere But Here comes a love story about a Craigslist “missed connection” post that gives two people a second chance at love fifteen years after they were separated in New York City. To the Green-eyed Lovebird: We met fifteen years ago, almost to the day, when I moved my stuff into the NYU dorm room next to yours at Senior House. You called us fast friends. I like to think it was more. We lived on nothing but the excitement of finding ourselves through music (you were obsessed with Jeff Buckley), photography (I couldn’t stop taking pictures of you), hanging out in Washington Square Park, and all the weird things we did to make money. I learned more about myself that year than any other. Yet, somehow, it all fell apart. We lost touch the summer after graduation when I went to South America to work for National Geographic. When I came back, you were gone. A part of me still wonders if I pushed you too hard after the wedding… I didn’t see you again until a month ago. It was a Wednesday. You were rocking back on your heels, balancing on that thick yellow line that runs along the subway platform, waiting for the F train. I didn’t know it was you until it was too late, and then you were gone. Again. You said my name; I saw it on your lips. I tried to will the train to stop, just so I could say hello. After seeing you, all of the youthful feelings and memories came flooding back to me, and now I’ve spent the better part of a month wondering what your life is like. I might be totally out of my mind, but would you like to get a drink with me and catch up on the last decade and a half? M

"With a new introduction by the author"--Jacket.