{"product_id":"seasons-of-grace-9780471208327","title":"Seasons of Grace","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003ePraise for Seasons of Grace\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e In this beautifully written book, Alan Jones and John O''Neil deliver a timely antidote to the stressed-out, spiritually barren lives that too many of us accept as the price of success. This is a book that may both comfort and challenge you to change your life and the world for the better.\u003cbr\u003e -Dean Ornish, M.D., author of Dr. Dean Ornish''s Program for Reversing Heart Disease and Love \u0026amp; Survival\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e I love this book. It is packed with inspirational stories from the lives of the authors and their friends that illustrate how feelings of gratitude for even the smallest gifts and kindnesses and joys help us to live each day to the full. Reading Seasons of Grace will help you to cope with the hard times, to find the silver linings. It is a splendid, joyous, and enriching recipe for life.\u003cbr\u003e -Jane Goodall, author of Reason for Hope and The Ten Trusts\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Most people are grateful because they''re happy; wise people are happy bec\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGratitude, Cicero observed, is more than just a virtue; it is the parent of all the other virtues.  In \u003cb\u003eSeasons of Grace: The Life-giving Practice of Gratitude\u003c\/b\u003e, Alan Jones and John O’Neil explore the spiritual practice of gratitude, which can be expressed in acts as simple as writing a thank-you note, cleaning the house or meditating in the garden.  Although the authors do not draw explicitly on Naikan Buddhism, their approach is astoundingly similar to Naikan, which emphasizes gratitude as the key to compassionate living.  The book is beautifully organized into sections around the four seasons: spring is a time to appreciate the gift of a renewed creation; summer a season of frolicking in nature and enjoying some rest; autumn a contemplative period of introspection; and winter an interval of gathering with loved ones.  Each chapter closes with “gratitude practices,” offering concrete ideas of ways to cultivate and express gratitude.  (\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e, January 27, 2003)  \u003cp\u003e\"What do you say?\"\u003cbr\u003e \"Thank you.\"\u003cbr\u003e Maybe it's because we're always reminding our children to say it, or because our parents kept reminding us to say it, but we rarely stop and think about those two little words we use all the time.\u003cbr\u003e Thank you.\u003cbr\u003e Don't just say it. Feel it. Try this. Close your eyes. Sit up straight. Take deep breath. As you exhale think . . . thank you.\u003cbr\u003e Do it again, please.\u003cbr\u003e Thank you.\u003cbr\u003e Who were you thanking? God? The Universe? Yourself? No one in particular? It doesn't really matter. It feels good no matter who you're thanking -- especially when it's for nothing, or everything.\u003cbr\u003e \"Gratitude is not only the greatest of virtues, but the parent of all the others.\"\u003cbr\u003e Cicero said that and so do the Rev. Alan Jones, the dean of Grace Cathedral, and John O'Neil, the president of the Center for Leadership Renewel, in a simple and wise new book called \"Seasons of Grace -- The Life-Giving Practice of Gratitude\". (\u003ci\u003eSF Chronicle\u003c\/i\u003e, January 26, 2003)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTable of Contents\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAcknowledgments.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Introduction: Gratitude and \"Going Live\".\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e PART I: SPRING;\u003cbr\u003e OPENING TO WONDER.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 1. The Unexpected Gift.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 2. Singing Creation.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 3. Meeting Nature in the Flesh.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 4. Celebrating Our Genes.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 5. Cleaning House.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e PART II: SUMMER;\u003cbr\u003e THE FLOWERING OF THANKS.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 6. Cultivating Gardens of Gratitude.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 7. Thanking Our Dragons.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 8. Playing Live.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 9. Living in the Realm of the Senses.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 10. Sweet Rest.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e PART III: AUTUMN;\u003cbr\u003e THE GRATEFUL SELF.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 11. Going for Authentic Life.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 12. Your Sustaining Narrative.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 13. Feeding Your Mind.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 14. Journeys of the Soul.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 15. Entering the Spirit.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e PART IV: WINTER;\u003cbr\u003e LIVING INTO GRATITUDE.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 16. The Host and the Guest.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 17. Grateful Connections.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 18. Repairing the World.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e 19. Mortal Gratitude.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Bibliography and Recommended Reading.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003e Index.","brand":"John Wiley \u0026 Sons Inc","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49402527220055,"sku":"9780471208327","price":18.69,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/seasons-of-grace-9780471208327","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}