Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth - Softcover

Wicks, Robert J.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1893732126 ISBN 13: 9781893732124

Publisher: Sorin Books, 2000

Synopsis

Too often we long for a spiritual life, but dismiss it as impossible in a hectic world that hardly allows time to eat and sleep, much less to nourish and replenish our souls. But Robert J. Wicks says we all have the path to spirituality within us, if only we would follow it.

Everyday Simplicity helps us better recognize the everyday gestures of God and discover an inner peace and joy we can share with others. Wicks describes a spiritual life readily accessible to everyone. It requires opening our eyes, appreciating our lives as they are now, and developing a true sense of ourselves in the image and likeness of God. Wicks provides a clear explanation of how to develop this deeply-anchored inner life through his "little rule of prayer"--a set of practices that helps us broaden and deepen our spirituality.

Through this process we develop a better understanding of ourselves beyond the labels of the superficial world. And we become less needy and more open to people in an honest, rather than a manipulative manner. We develop a sense of freedom from the alienation and anxiety that so often clouds our awareness of a spiritual presence in our lives. It takes patience and effort to achieve a truly satisfying spiritual life. Everyday Simplicity offers a months worth of reflections, questions, suggestions and prayers to guide us on the journey.

It begins with recognizing the spiritual element in every moment and being open to new knowledge and experiences. Everyday Simplicity does not offer a simple path to enlightenment, nor does it promise a quick fix to external burdens accumulated over time. It simply shares one way to understand God--and by extension, ourselves--through daily, prayerful reflection that helps keep the apparently complex problems of our lives in proper perspective.

About this title

From the Back Cover

A solid spiritual life is within everyone's reach . . .

it's not that complicated.

Getting a life of any kind is hard enough in a world that has us going around in circles -- from the stresses of our workplace to the demands of home and back again tomorrow.

Getting a spiritual life can seem like a luxury to be put off to another, quieter time.

Robert Wicks, however, believes that the search for a spiritual life begins not in some exotic, unreachable place, but right where we are -- in the midst of all the craziness.

It starts within our busy, stressed-out human hearts, not in some other "more spiritual" place.

The more we are able, therefore, to be our true selves, the more successful we will be in developing a spirituality that will be real and satisfying.

Here's solid, common sense advice on how to get a spiritual life -- no matter how busy your day.

About the Author

Robert Wicks helps the helpers. People such as physicians, teachers, psychologists and ministers, who give until they may not be able to help themselves. Wicks assists them "in integrating the psychological and the spiritual so people can extend their emotional flames to others without burning out in the process."

Specializing in the secondary stress disorder commonly called burnout, Wicks strives to open exhausted givers to the miracle of receiving. He accomplishes this by marrying sound psychology and basic spiritual truths that, in turn, sets the stage for profound personal transformation.

Besides ministering around the globe--from the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated to the United States from Rwanda to conducting workshops in Cambodia for members of the international community assigned to help the Khmer people rebuild their nation--Wicks has written more than 30 books, including Touching the Holy:Ordinariness, Self-Esteem, and Friendship; After 50:Spiritually Embracing Your Own Wisdom Years; and Sharing Wisdom. He is the editor of the Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers, and serves as a professor and chairperson of the graduate programs in pastoral counseling at Loyola College, Baltimore.

Wicks, a Queens, New York native, received a masters in clinical psychology in 1973 from St. Johns University and a doctorate in psychology from Philadelphias Hahnemann Medical College in 1977. In 1996, Pope John Paul II awarded Wicks a papal medal for his service to the Catholic Church.

Wicks and his wife Michaele have a grown daughter. They live in suburban Baltimore.

Edition details

• Publisher: Sorin Books
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1893732126
• ISBN 13: 9781893732124
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 208