The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life by [Beverly Lanzetta]
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The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life Kindle Edition
by Beverly Lanzetta (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
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THE MONK WITHIN is written for the person seeking a deeper, contemplative orientation to daily life. Yearning for inner realization of divine wisdom, this “new monk” draws on four interlocking themes: embodied spirituality grounded in the sacred web of life; the mystical path of the feminine, inspired by women’s monastic communities; the archetype of the monk that is the deep truth of every person; and the interdependence of the world’s wisdom traditions, expressed through interfaith, interspiritual dialogue.
Print length
404 pages
Language
English
Sticky notes
On Kindle Scribe
Publication date
8 October 2018
File size
2887 KB
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"The Monk Within is a striking reminder that the truly spiritual life is essentially an inward journey toward a deeper and more penetrating sense of the sacred. Written by one of America's most impressive spiritual figures and writers, this book yields something meaningful for persons of virtually every faith tradition. Her rich tapestry of spiritual wisdom and reflections is really a blessing for these times, when we are witnessing an unprecedented crisis of the sacred. An insightful, inspiring, and moving book!"
--Lewis V. Baldwin, Professor Emeritus of Religious Studies, Vanderbilt University and author of Never to Leave Us Alone: The Prayer Life of Martin Luther King, Jr.
"Words fail to describe the profound impact of this beautiful book. Beverly Lanzetta's The Monk Within addresses the original essence of monkhood within each person that is longing for inner confirmation of transcendent wisdom. It offers wise guidance to all those who seek to retain the core of silence and solitude that rightly belongs to Mystery alone. Her encyclopedic knowledge of the monastic instinct, as it has been expressed across time and cultures, will encourage, challenge and educate all of today's new monks. There is nothing like it available today."
--Bernadette Flanagan, PBVM, Chair, Spirituality Institute for Research & Education and author ofEmbracing Solitude: Women and New Monasticism
"Beverly Lanzetta, employing a mystical, feminine mode of discernment, looks behind and beneath the inherited ascetical ideal to illuminate a deeper and more extensive longing for solitude and divine intimacy, an archetypal hunger at the heart of every spiritual quest. Her pursuit is a contemplative awakening that is transcendent yet deeply embodied, sacred yet not confined to any one religion. The end result is an impressive, inspiring synthesis, an indispensable resource for all who wish to explore the expanding horizons of contemporary spirituality. "
--Diarmuid O'Murchu MSC, specialist in Adult Faith Development and author of Religious Life in the 21st Century: The Prospect of Refounding
"This is a book I have been longing for! Beverly Lanzetta has delved deeply into the wisdom of Christianity and other faith traditions and shares here her study and experience of monasticism. But this book is not satisfied in rehearsing traditional monastic practice. It offers a profound synthesis of ancient sapiential theology with contemporary women's contemplative experience. Dualisms of celibacy and sexuality, solitude and relationship, contemplation and world engagement are beautifully broken down. Here is a spiritual vision for women and men who long for the divine and yet live in the world. Here is a "new monasticism" that will inspire a generation of seekers and lovers of God, humanity, and the world."
--Wendy Farley, Professor of Christian Spirituality, San Francisco Theological Seminary and author of Tragic Vision and Divine Compassion: A Contemporary Theodicy
--This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
Beverly Lanzetta is a theologian, spiritual teacher, and the author of many groundbreaking books on emerging global spirituality and new monasticism. Dedicated to a vision of theological openness and spiritual nonviolence, her work has won praise for its wisdom, eloquence, and mystical insight and is considered to be a major contribution to what theologian Ursula King called "a feminine mystical way for the 21st century". She is a much-sought-after guide and mentor for the new generation, including the "spiritual but not religious" and new monastics alike, as she brings with her forty years of experience as a guide to answering the universal call to contemplation. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B07J638N8J
Publisher : Blue Sapphire Books (8 October 2018)
Language : English
File size : 2887 KB
Simultaneous device usage : Unlimited
Text-to-Speech : Enabled
Screen Reader : Supported
Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
X-Ray : Not Enabled
Word Wise : Enabled
Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
Print length : 404 pages
Best Sellers Rank: 417,099 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
196,755 in Textbooks & Study Guides
386,451 in Kindle eBooks
Customer Reviews: 4.5 out of 5 stars 75 ratings
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Beverly Lanzetta
Beverly Lanzetta is a theologian, spiritual teacher, and the author of many groundbreaking books on emerging global spirituality and new monasticism, including The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life, Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology, Emerging Heart: Global Spirituality And the Sacred, and Nine Jewels of Night: One Soul's Journey into God. Dedicated to a vision of theological openness and spiritual nonviolence, her work has won praise for its wisdom, eloquence, and mystical insight and is considered to be a major contribution to what theologian Ursula King called “a feminine mystical way for the 21st century.” Beverly has taught theology at Villanova University, Prescott College, and Grinnell College and has started a number of religious and monastic initiatives, including the Desert Interfaith Church, Interfaith Theological Seminary, Hesychia School for Spiritual Directors, and The Community of a New Monastic Way. She is a much-sought-after mentor for the new generation, including the “spiritual but not religious” and new monastics alike, as she brings with her forty years of experience as a guide to answering the universal call to contemplation.
Top reviews
Paul Nelson
5.0 out of 5 stars In the cave of the heart
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 24 January 2019
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Beverly Lanzetta writes: "I need to express the depth of my feeling for Divine Mystery...I wish to reveal the intensity of my passion for the mysterious energy that loves me without motive or design." This book is a gift for all who, like her, feel the tidal pull of divine love at the heart of everything. It can be difficult indeed to understand or express such feelings in the materialistic, post-religious environment in which most of us live. The author is from a Catholic Christian background, and writes with sympathy and understanding about traditional monasticism in both Christianity and Buddhism. But she "transcends and includes", to use Ken Wilber's phrase. The archetype of the "Monk" is treated here as a symbol of a way of living which orients one towards the "cave of the heart", whatever outward circumstances might be. Lanzetta provides heartfelt chapters on unknowing, on embodiment, on the "deep self", on sexuality, and on the spiritual journeys of such luminaries as Teresa and Gandhi. As a man, I found the chapter about the "mystical path of the feminine" especially arresting, drawing attention as it does to the overwhelmingly patriarchal template through which spiritual perceptions have traditionally been expressed. I think what I liked most about the book, along with its interspiritual openness and generosity, is its rootedness in "actuality". I felt I was in the presence of a human being who had "been there." I was sorry to put it down. Highly recommended.
14 people found this helpful
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gavin mercer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good
Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on 3 March 2020
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This is a good book but somehow it's just not for me.
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Margie
5.0 out of 5 stars a book to embrace
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 14 November 2018
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The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life by Beverly Lanzetta is a book I hold close to my heart. Reading it calls me to a place of silence, reverence and awe. It is a prayer to the world, born of deep commitment to the Mystery within us and which infuses all of Life. It is beautifully written, clear, concise yet detailed. The path of contemplation into which Lanzetta guides us, is grounded in a radically inclusive theology, a commitment to our sacred embodiment, the recognition of the profundity of the various religious traditions and the archetype of the monk, the place in all of us where we long for Truth and Love, within or outside religion. Every page holds wisdom. I have often opened it and read a few paragraphs and reflected on them during the day. This is a book for people, whether in a religious tradition or not, who seek to go deeper into a sacred way of life.
24 people found this helpful
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Corinne Martin
5.0 out of 5 stars A generous and groundbreaking invitation to the contemplative life
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 8 November 2018
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The Monk Within is a deep, generous, thorough invitation to the interior life. Drawing from mystical traditions and embracing the contemporary world with all its challenges, this book maps out the journey into contemplation, and includes such themes as the sacredness of our home planet, the necessary inclusion of the divine feminine, the gift of embodiment, and the monastic personality. Lanzetta articulates what we can barely grope for, and desperately need, in these times that both approach and assault the Holy. A ground-breaking and necessary book.
24 people found this helpful
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Nancy Gedney
5.0 out of 5 stars A potent gift for those who seek solace in solitude and silence
Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 24 November 2018
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Beverly Lanzetta’s book, The Monk Within is a potent gift for those of us who seek solace in solitude and silence. Many of us have suppressed our contemplative nature because it has been misunderstood or criticized by those around us, or because we lacked the language to express its depth and beauty. The Monk Within is a heart call to seek and live the quiet within, “an aspiration that was never sated by the multitude of things the world offered.” It guides us through the challenges of this busy, jarring, often intolerant world, while validating our inner experiences of wholeness and sacredness that hover just beyond the veil of noise and activity.
Beverly Lanzetta has issued an open challenge to us to “advance into the mystery of our own solitude,” where we discover “an organic constellation of wisdom” that is indelibly, irrevocably imprinted into our souls. She describes the spiritual quest as a fundamental orientation common to each of us. And, she bridges the gap between heart and mind, valuing both as necessary instruments of awakening us to our gentle, whole, loving natures.
The Monk Within helps us embrace our call to contemplation, and en-courages us (gives us heart and strength) to acknowledge that part of us that is pushed, pulled, shoved, teased, along a path toward “radical openness” – That Which flows in and out of us, everything –“direct and unmediated contact with the holy.”
“If you have the courage to advance into the mystery of your own solitude,” this book is for you!
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