Caroline Oakes is a writer and spiritual director whose essays have been published at On Being, The Huffington Post, and her bimonthly "Mind & Spirit" column in The Bucks County Herald, an award-winning regional newspaper. A student of everyday spirituality, wisdom teachings, and the human spirit, she has a master's degree in ascetical theology from the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church and participated in Thomas Keating's Contemplative Ministry Project. She is trained in teaching contemplative practice and mindfulness meditation by Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and by Mindful Schools, Inc. She lives in Annapolis, Maryland.
Description
Introduction Part 1: Awakening the Heart 1. We Are Human, We Are Divine 2. It's Not "Repent," It's Metanoia 3. The Jesus Formula: The Centering Pause Practice Part 2: Awakening the Mind 4. Wired for Transformation: Our Brain and Our Mind 5. Flipping Your Lid: A Close-Up Look 6. Contemplative Neuroscience: The Confessions of a Closet Meditator 7. The Spiritual and the Secular: It's About Connection Part 3: Awakening in the Wisdom Tradition 8. Jesus the Rabbi: First-Century Jewish Spirituality 9. Time Alone With God: Jesus Practicing the Centering Pause 10. Contemplation-In-Action: Jesus Practicing Off The Mat 11. Between Fight and Flight: The Third Way of Jesus 12. Ancient Teachers: The Desert Mothers and Fathers Part 4: Awakening Our Innermost Self 13. Just Being, In Quiet, With God 14. Reading With God: When Scripture Shimmers 15. The New Lectio: "Noticing" and The Seven Second Pause 16. The Centering Pause: Nourishing the Roots of Our Essence 17. Centering Prayer: Divine THerapy for the Human Condition 18. The Sacramental Centering Pause: Finding Our Way Home Appendix 1: The Tree of Contemplative Practices Appendix 2: Synoptic Gospel Passages of Jesus at Prayer Appendix 3: Recommended Reading Appendix 4: Discussion Guide