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Full Description
By breaking free from our misperceptions about what it means to be an adult, we can reshape our world and become harbingers of grace.
"In our desire to grow up, mature, become adults, we become enamored with who we are supposed to be. When we have finally 'grown up' we realize much of who we really are has been left behind or buried under various masks and roles we play. But the knowledge of who we truly are never leaves us. To reclaim our selfhood, we must grow up again and consciously embrace all that it means to be childlike."
—from Chapter 12, "It Takes a Long Time to Become Young"
By restoring the childlike ways of humility, trust, awe, wonder, playfulness and more, we can recover a fuller picture of what it means to be human. This unique spiritual resource explores what Jesus may have meant when he said, "Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." It addresses our modern misperceptions regarding the nature of maturity and the common coping mechanisms—distrust, guardedness, insecurity, judgmental thinking—we acquire, and feel we require, in adulthood.
Along with the wisdom of ancient and modern spiritual luminaries, this book provides over twenty-five spiritual practices to help us cultivate the childlike ways of attention, self-awareness, joy and resilience in our inner lives as well as in our relationships with others.
Contents
Introduction ix
1. Cowabunga! 1
Resting in Wholehearted Trust
A Heart Checkup 9
An Exercise in Trust 10
2. Humble Me 11
Finding Your True Self in Authentic Humility
I Am ... 20
Who Are You? 21
A Long, Loving Look at the Real 22
3. A Burning Bush in Every Backyard 23
Restoring Your Capacity for Awe and Wonder
Simply Notice 29
Specifically Notice 29
Things in Themselves 30
Walking Meditation 30
4. The Eyes of Innocence 31
Seeing as God Sees
A Pair of Glasses 39
A Conversation with Your True Self 40
5. The Truth of a Tantrum 41
Discerning the Gifts in Desire and Emotion
Throw a Fit 51
What Do You Want Me to Do for You? 51
6. Change the Way You Think 53
Reclaiming Beginner's Mind
(Old Dogs Thrive on New Tricks!)
A Fist and an Open Hand 63
Meditation 64
Draw What You Feel 64
7. Let It Be and Let It Go 67
Practicing Forgiveness as a Choice and a Gift
What Am I Holding on To? 79
The Log in Our Own Eye 79
8. Fully Embodied, Fully Inspirited 81
Recognizing and Reading Your Body as a Source of Wisdom
Praying with Postures 88
Body Scan 89
9. Laughter and a Sense of Humor 91
Grace's Daily Dietary Requirement
Think of Something Funny 98
Laughing at Yourself 99
10. Recess! 101
Playing Your Way to Life and Purpose
Go Out and Play! 106
Turn Everything into a Game 107
Contents vii
11. Inside Out, Outside In 109
Living an Undivided Life
Return to Childhood 115
Act Like You're a Kid Again 115
Möbius Strip Meditation 116
12. It Takes a Long Time to Become Young 117
Transforming a Life, Cultivating a Soul
Not Moses, Me 122
A Party of One 123
Notes 125
Suggestions for Further Reading 131
