The Art of Spiritual Living – serie

RECOVERY - THE SACRED ART explores and employs the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous used in thousands of recovery groups throughout the world from a deeply spiritual perspective that draws upon the insights and practices of Christianity, Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism and Islam. In this fresh approach to spiritual and personal growth, the Twelve Steps are uniquely revised to speak to everyone seeking a freer and more God-centred life. This special rendering makes them relevant to those suffering from specific addictions 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, shares anecdotes from many people working the Steps in a variety of settings, and offers supplementary practices from different religious traditions to help the reader move more deeply into the universal spirituality of the Twelve-Step system. Drawing on both Eastern and Western approaches to living a spiritually centred life, this is a hope-filled guidebook for all of us who want to deepen our capacity to live free from the addiction to both self and selfishness.

This book introduces haiku as a simple and effective way of tapping into the sacred moments that permeate everyday living. Starting with examples and practices that lead to writing a first haiku and then on to an overview of haiku conventions, the author invites us on a path to respond to the holiness that lives and breathes in the world around us. By capturing and writing down images of what makes us aware of holiness - particular moments of deep feeling, moments that make us feel alive and whole - writing haiku becomes a way of relating to the sacred through the "now" of this moment, just as is.Lively examples and simple guided exercises - such as haiku as prayer, haiku inspired by sacred texts and haiku that reflects religious seasons or holidays - offer a unique spiritual practice for a variety of audiences:·Spiritual seekers of any faith who may not have written haiku (or any form of verse) before but are open to exploring wordplay as a new path of spiritual practice·People curious about haiku writing who are looking for a simple and meaningful way to begin·Writers experienced in haiku writing who are looking for new approaches·Groups, teachers and religious leaders who are seeking new and effective methods for group experience and sharing (the book includes suggestions and practices for group use)·Prose writers or visual artists who want to explore spiritual imagery they can integrate into their creative work