Description
Book SynopsisIn his sequel to the best-selling Into the Silent Land, Laird guides the reader more deeply into the sanctuary of Christian meditation. He focuses here on negotiating key moments of difficulty on the contemplative path, showing how the struggles we resist become vehicles of the healing silence we seek.
Trade Reviewfilled with sympathy, grace, and encouragement for those who have taken up the practice of contemplative prayer but are experiencing its inevitable challenges of boredom, distractions and racing thoughts... Laird's writing is refreshingly concise, occasionally amusing and vividly memorable. Both beginning and longtime contemplatives will discover treasures in this little gem of a book. * Tod Freisen, Christian Century *
Books that talk about "contemplation" often seem to have been written on Jupiter. This one is a sterling exception. "Books are largely written in solitude," Martin Laird writes, "and like all fruitful solitude, it is essentially ecclesial, grounded in community." That gives you a sense of Laird: a man alert to paradox and mystery, yet in no way isolated from the everyday. * Wilson's Bookmarks, Christianity Today *
If you have read Into the Silent Land, you will enjoy this sequel; if you haven't, read it now. * Nicholas Alan, Franciscan *
Table of ContentsIntroduction ONE Standing at the Gate of the Heart: On the Practice of Contemplation TWO Our Collection of Videos THREE The Open Porches of the Mind: On Silence and Noise FOUR A Sunlit Absence: The Light of Awareness FIVE Sifted by Boredom SIX Creative Disintegration: Depression, Panic, and Awareness SEVEN Sharp Trials in the Intellect EIGHT "It Don't Work for Me": Prayer of Petition and other Practical Problems Notes
