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Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth
 
 
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Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth [Paperback]

Robert J. Wicks (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)

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Book Description

January 1, 2000
Too often we long for a spiritual life, but dismiss it as impossible in a hectic world that hardly allows time to eat and sleep, much less to nourish and replenish our souls. But Robert J. Wicks says we all have the path to spirituality within us, if only we would follow it.

Everyday Simplicity helps us better recognize the everyday gestures of God and discover an inner peace and joy we can share with others. Wicks describes a spiritual life readily accessible to everyone. It requires opening our eyes, appreciating our lives as they are now, and developing a true sense of ourselves in the image and likeness of God. Wicks provides a clear explanation of how to develop this deeply-anchored inner life through his "little rule of prayer"--a set of practices that helps us broaden and deepen our spirituality.

Through this process we develop a better understanding of ourselves beyond the labels of the superficial world. And we become less needy and more open to people in an honest, rather than a manipulative manner. We develop a sense of freedom from the alienation and anxiety that so often clouds our awareness of a spiritual presence in our lives. It takes patience and effort to achieve a truly satisfying spiritual life. Everyday Simplicity offers a months worth of reflections, questions, suggestions and prayers to guide us on the journey.

It begins with recognizing the spiritual element in every moment and being open to new knowledge and experiences. Everyday Simplicity does not offer a simple path to enlightenment, nor does it promise a quick fix to external burdens accumulated over time. It simply shares one way to understand God--and by extension, ourselves--through daily, prayerful reflection that helps keep the apparently complex problems of our lives in proper perspective.


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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

A solid spiritual life is within everyone's reach. . . it's not that complicated.

Getting a life of any kind is hard enough in a world that has us going around in circles-from the stresses of our workplace to the demands of home and back again tomorrow.

Getting a spiritual life can seem like a luxury to be put off to another quieter time.

Robert Wicks, however, believes that the search for a spiritual life begins not in some exotic, unreachable place but right where we are-in the midst of all the craziness.

It starts within our busy, stressed-out human hearts, not in some other "more spiritual" place.

The more we are able, therefore, to be our true selves, the more successful we will be in developing a spirituality that will be real and satisfying.

Here's solid, common sense advice on how to get a spiritual life-no matter how busy your day.

About the Author

Robert Wicks helps the helpers. People such as physicians, teachers, psychologists and ministers, who give until they may not be able to help themselves. Wicks assists them "in integrating the psychological and the spiritual so people can extend their emotional flames to others without burning out in the process."

Specializing in the secondary stress disorder commonly called burnout, Wicks strives to open exhausted givers to the miracle of receiving. He accomplishes this by marrying sound psychology and basic spiritual truths that, in turn, sets the stage for profound personal transformation.

Besides ministering around the globe--from the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated to the United States from Rwanda to conducting workshops in Cambodia for members of the international community assigned to help the Khmer people rebuild their nation--Wicks has written more than 30 books, including Touching the Holy:Ordinariness, Self-Esteem, and Friendship; After 50:Spiritually Embracing Your Own Wisdom Years; and Sharing Wisdom. He is the editor of the Handbook of Spirituality for Ministers, and serves as a professor and chairperson of the graduate programs in pastoral counseling at Loyola College, Baltimore.

Wicks, a Queens, New York native, received a masters in clinical psychology in 1973 from St. Johns University and a doctorate in psychology from Philadelphias Hahnemann Medical College in 1977. In 1996, Pope John Paul II awarded Wicks a papal medal for his service to the Catholic Church.

Wicks and his wife Michaele have a grown daughter. They live in suburban Baltimore.


Product Details

  • Paperback: 207 pages
  • Publisher: Sorin Books (January 1, 2000)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1893732126
  • ISBN-13: 978-1893732124
  • Product Dimensions: 6.9 x 5 x 0.5 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #553,889 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author


Dr. Robert Wicks received his doctorate in psychology from Hahnemann Medical College in Philadelphia. Presently, he is a professor at Loyola University Maryland. In 1994, he was responsible for the psychological debriefing of relief workers evacuated from Rwanda during their bloody civil war. In 2006, he delivered a presentation on self-care at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland and Walter Reed Army Hospital to health care professionals responsible for Iraqi war veterans with multiple amputations and severe head injuries. Dr. Wicks is author of numerous books including The Resilient Clinician (OUP, 2008), Overcoming Secondary Stress in Medical and Nursing Practice (OUP, 2006), and the acclaimed best seller, Riding the Dragon: 10 Lessons for Inner Strength in Challenging Times (Sorin Books, 2003). He lives with his wife Michaele in Ellicott City, Maryland.

 

Customer Reviews

5 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (5 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Everday Simplicity, March 14, 2000
By 
T. Zakraysek (Euclid, OH United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth (Paperback)
This 203-page book is a gem! I found it to be easy to read and yet power-packed with thought-provoking ways to help one's spirituality to grow. I believe this book could be of benefit to every Christian who seeks to grow closer to God. Its tenets help guide both the novice and the master of prayer and it clearly spells out practical ways of bringing the spiritual into daily life. It is delightful, practical, and inspiring with easy steps to enhance our spirituality. Dr. Wicks wrote a superb book that is non-threatening to the beginner of prayer and of the search for God and growth in spiritual life, and yet it is still challenging to those who have been journeying for some time and who simply need to get back to the basics.

The book helps nourish a spiritual attitude by focusing on such topics as faithfulness, openness, simplicity, gratefulness, and remembering. Dr. Wicks encourages the reader to develop in one's own life a "little rule" to follow for the practice of prayer and talks about silence, talking with God, appreciating scripture, sharing faith with others, and sacred reading.

This book should not be passed up by anyone who wants to get closer to God.

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26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Simple and Profound, April 22, 2000
By 
John T. Farrell (Brooklyn, New York) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth (Paperback)
Wicks bases the theme of his excellent book on the Sanskrit word "visvas." "Visvas" is similar in meaning to the English word "faith." One translation is "to breath easily, have trust, be free from fear." In order to achieve "visvas," Wicks suggests a threefold regimen: nourish a spiritual attitude, design a rule of prayer, and learn how to share ourselves with others in a compassionate way.

There were several features of this little book I liked a lot. Wicks uses passages from an interesting range of spiritual masters upon which to reflect. These include people like Abraham Joshua Heschel and Henri Nouwen, two favorites of mine, and Mark Twain, an unexpected delight. Wicks also summarizes his main points as "Spiritual Tenets" at the end of each chapter. I found that very helpful.

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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide for Spiritual Growth, January 5, 2007
This review is from: Everyday Simplicity: A Practical Guide to Spiritual Growth (Paperback)
This little book is packed with daily reflections and meditations that are useful to anyone. It makes a very special gift to anyone regardless of their religious beliefs. The reflections are short and meaniful on a variety of topics that truly reflect everyday life. It is the little book tht can be used over and over. It can be opened to any reflection depending upon the reader's need or interest at that particular time.

It fits perfectly into a pocket or purse and becomes a favorite to all who own and read it. It is a favorite gift of mine to give or mail to someone.
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Inside This Book (learn more)
First Sentence:
In reflecting on our search for a meaningful spiritual life, we need to appreciate the attitude underlying it. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
little rule, spiritual attitude, prayer life
Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Spiritual Tenet, Thomas Merton, Spirit of God, Desmond Tutu
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Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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