This book re-enlivens an age-old tradition of prayer as an expression of radical reliance on God, or non-compromising surrender to Life as it is. This approach expands the possibilities of prayer, elevating it beyond ordinary pleas for help, comfort, security and prosperity. The book invites a renewal of the inner life, by increasing one's desire to burn away superficial, safe notions of God, holiness, satisfaction and peace. Topics include: the prayer of transformation; building a life of prayer; lessons in prayer from people who prayed 'dangerously', and the use of prayer-writing as a means of igniting the inner life.
Regina Sara Ryan, born in New York City in 1945, is currently at home in northern Arizona. A former Catholic nun, Regina has studied contemplation and mysticism from many traditions for over forty years. After leaving the convent in the early 1970s, Regina explored the lives of the great women of Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Sufism. Since meeting her own spiritual mentor, the Western Baul master Lee Lozowick in 1984, Regina has continued to follow what she calls a path of "unashamed devotion" in which she works to bring her life of contemplation into action. Since 1980, besides writing and freelance editing, she has worked in retreat settings and currently conducts several popular workshops in the U.S. and Europe. These include: "Training Attention for Prayer," "Meetings with Remarkable Women," about the feminine nature of the Divinity and "Writing Your Way Home," about journal-writing as a means of spiritual enrichment and personal transformation. Married for 38 years, Regina lives in Paulden, Arizona with her husband Jerome Pramuk and her two grandchildren.
Regina is the co-author of the classic Wellness Workbook (Ten Speed Press, 1981, 1988, 2004) and Simply Well, Choices for Healthy Life (2001) with John W. Travis, M.D., and the author of No Child In My Life (Stillpoint Publishers, 1993); Everywoman's Book of Common Wisdom (Hohm Press, 1995); The Woman Awake: Feminine Wisdom for Spiritual Life (1998), After Surgery, Illness, or Trauma: 10 Practical Steps to Renewed Energy and Health (1999), Igniting the Inner Life (2010), and Praying Dangerously: Radical Reliance on God (2001 and 2011). An extensive biography of a South Indian saint entitled Only God: A Biography of Yogi Ramsuratkumar was released in 2004. Some of her recent writing projects focus around issues of children's health, including, Breastfeeding: Your Priceless Gift to Your Baby and Yourself (2006) and We Like to Move: Exercise is Fun (2007). Selections of her work have been featured in contemporary anthologies of spiritual writing by women, including Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Wisdom Through the Ages, by Mary-Ford Grabowsky (HarperCollins, 2003), and excerpted in Unity Magazine.
