Spiritwalk Books
Selections of the Month
May 1999
Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest
by Wayne Muller
- About Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest
- It has become our standard greeting: "I'm so busy." Now, in a book that can heal our
- harried lives, the author of the spiritual classic How, Then, Shall We Live? shows us how
- to create a special time of rest, delight, and renewal--a refuge for our souls.
- Our relentless emphasis on success and productivity has become a form of violence,
- Muller says. We have lost the necessary rhythm of life, the balance between effort
- and rest, doing and not doing. Constantly striving, we feel exhausted and deprived
- in the midst of great abundance, longing for time with friends and family, longing
- for a moment to ourselves.
- Millennia ago, the tradition of Sabbath created an oasis of sacred time within a life
- of unceasing labor. This consecrated time, Muller affirms, is available to all of us,
- regardless of our spiritual tradition. We need not even schedule an entire day each
- week. Sabbath time can be a sabbath afternoon, a sabbath hour, a sabbath walk.
- Sabbath time is time off the wheel, time when we take our hand from the plow
- and allow the essential goodness of creation to nourish our souls.
- With wonderful stories, poems, and suggestions for practice, Muller teaches us how
- we can use this time of sacred rest to refresh our bodies and minds, restore our
- creativity, and regain our birthright of inner happiness. In Sabbath, he has given
- us a revolutionary tool for cultivating those necessary human qualities that grow
- only with time: wisdom, courage, honesty, generosity, healing, and love.
- Synopsis
- Minister Muller's book brings the spirit of Sabbath alive for people of all faiths ~
- enabling them to reclaim peace, joy, and respite from their overworked,
- overcommitted lives.
About the Author, Wayne Muller
- Wayne Muller is an ordained minister and therapist and founder of Bread for the Journey,
- an innovative organization serving families in need. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School,
- he is Senior Scholar at the Fetzer Institute and a Fellow of the Institute of Noetic Sciences.
- He also runs the Institute for Engaged Spirituality and gives lectures and retreats
- nationwide. He is the author of Legacy of the Heart, a New York Times bestseller, and
- How, Then, Shall We Live? He lives with his family in northern California.
What People are saying about Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest,
by Wayne Muller
Reviews
It's sad that we need a book to remind us of the importance of scheduling time to rest and worship. But because we can work, shop, achieve, and otherwise stay busy every hour of every day of the week, we do. The statement, "I am so busy" has become a frighteningly common lament, according to author Wayne Muller. Our perpetual state of busyness represents a war on our natural rhythms that demand quiet and renewal in order to be emotionally, spiritually, and creatively fertile.
Honoring the Sabbath need not be a commitment to a specific day of the week, explains Muller. In fact, it can be a yearlong retreat or a morning walk--"anything that preserves a visceral experience of life-giving nourishment and rest."
Far more than an interesting concept, this is a good read. Each chapter is provocative and fluid, with topics such as "Fear of Rest," "Dormancy," and "The Way of Enough." At the end of his chapters, Muller offers stories, poems, or practices that speak to the themes of the Sabbath. --Gail Hudson
From the Back Cover
"This is a book that may save your life. In a culture where few question that
more is better, Sabbath offers a surprising direction for healing to anyone who has ever
glimpsed emptiness at the heart of a busy and productive life."
--Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D., author of Kitchen Table Wisdom
"This is a superb book--but more than superb, it is a necessary
one. Wayne Muller's message is one of the wisest treatments of stress I have ever come
across."
--Caroline Myss, Ph.D., author of Anatomy of the Spirit
"Wayne Muller's book is dangerous. You will read it, share it
with your family, and your longing for a weekly day of pampering your souls will become a
reality."
--Rabbi Zalman Schachter-Shalomi
"Wayne Muller's call to remember the Sabbath is not only rich,
wise and poetic, it may well be the only salvation for body and soul in a world gone crazy
with busyness and stress."
--Joan Borysenko, author of Minding the Body, Mending the Mind and A Woman's Book of Life
"Wayne Muller has a remarkable ability to weave together the
strands of different religious traditions to reveal how much they have in common."
--George W. Webber, President Emeritus, New York Theological Seminary
"Wayne Muller demonstrates with clarity and compassion that
when we are given the space, the tools, and the permission to say no to the
ever-increasing busyness that affects our lives, we find genuine rest and
reconnection."
--Sharon Salzberg, author of A Heart as Wide as the World
Other Books by Wayne Muller
- Wayne Muller, How, Then, Shall We Live: Four Simple Questions That Reveal the
- Beauty and Meaning of Our Lives
- Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest, April 1999
- Wayne Muller, How, Then, Shall We Live: Four Simple Questions That Reveal the Beauty
- and Meaning of Our Lives (Audio Cassette) October 1997
- Wayne Muller, The Spiritual Gifts of a Painful Childhood (Audio Cassette) October 1997
- Wayne Muller, Sabbath: Restoring the Sacred Rhythm of Rest (Audio Cassette) March 1999
- Wayne Muller, Touching the Divine: Teachings, Meditations and Contemplations to
- Awaken Your True Nature (Audio Cassette) March 1997
- Listen to Lux Viviens at Broadcast.com
- (Requires RealAudio)
- (You may want to fast forward through the introductory advert)
- (and the first 2 minutes of this selection)
Make Your Purchase at Amazon.com
Order Letters of the Scattered Brotherhood by Mary Strong
Order Lux Viviens (Living Light): The Music of Hildegard von Bingen
Check out our earlier recommendations
April 98 July 1998 August 98 February 99 March 99 April 99
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