Everything Starts from Prayer: Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People of All Faiths (Hardcover)

by Mother Teresa (Author), Anthony Stern (Introduction), Larry Dossey (Foreword) "EVERYTHING STARTS FROM PRAYER..." (more)
Key Phrases: Opening Your Heart

Editorial Reviews

Review
"Mother Teresa was on of the great spiritual servants of our era, whose simple wisdom expressed untold depths of devotion. In this treasury of her thoughts on prayer, she offers the world another blessing." President Jimmy Carter, author of Living Faith

Using this book on prayer, please remember that Mother Teresa always prayed with her actions, her life. Mind, speech, and body in perfect oneness, that is the solid ground of authentic meditation. The moment you start praying that way, peace, love, and transformation begin to take place, within yourself and around you. You do not have to wait for the result in the future Mother Teresa says: the fruit of prayer is faith, love, service, and peace. All of these take place in the present moment. Enjoy praying with her. Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Living Buddha, Living Christ

"Mother Teresa's life was a living prayer. Her words remind us of her connection with God and how all of us can reach Him as she did." Marianne Williamson, author of Illuminated Prayers

"This book's contents and its title say it all. Whatever you are looking for starts with prayer. Hopefully you will read and learn that true prayer is not about personal desires, needs, or religions. Mother Teresa is a role model for each of us. Pray we may become what she was, and heal the world by using prayer to lead us on the path to spirituality and God." Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

With the publication of Everything Starts from Prayer, Mother Teresa continues to bless us from beyond the grave. These kernels of truths fro the nun of Calcutta provide food for the soul. Her messages, though short on words, are deep in wisdom and spiritual insight, and hold meaning for people of all faiths. Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland, President, National Conference of Catholic Bishops

"A jewel of a bookEverything Starts from Prayer is a must for believers of all faiths and for seekers everywhere." Maurice Friedman, author of The Wisdom of the Heart: Religion and Human Wholeness

Dr. Sterns editorial hand is sure and judicious; the selection of material reveals the mystical realization behind Mother Teresas powerful encomium to prayer in an all-inclusive sense. Thus, the passages are not only spiritually inspiring (as one would, of course, expect), but intellectually compelling as well. Well done. Lou Nordstrom, American Zen Teacher, White Plum lineage

Somewhere, Mother Teresa must be smiling. Larry Dossey, from the Foreword to Everything Starts from Prayer -- Publisher Comments

Product Description
Mother Teresa shares her profound insights on the power and the way of prayer. EVERYTHING STARTS FROM PRAYER is the first book of its kind, simultaneously offering Mother Teresas spiritual guidance and providing a step-by-step introduction to prayer. The book organizes Mother Teresas inspirational teachings into six distinct meditations on the spiritual life integrating prayer, love, faith, and service:

1. The Need to Pray / 2. Starting with Silence / 3. Like a Little Child

4. Opening Your Heart / 5. Ending with Silence / 6. The Fruit of Prayer Each meditation presents a building block to further understanding of Mother Teresas approach to the art of prayer. Everything Starts from Prayer is the only book that provides the reader both an inspirational introduction to prayer and new insights into the teachings of this universally loved spiritual teacher.

Selected and arranged by Dr. Anthony Stern, the book includes a Foreword by Dr. Larry Dossey, author of Healing Words: The Power of Prayer and the Practice of Medicine.

This unique collection of spiritual wisdom has been praises by spiritual leaders worldwide, including President Jimmy Carter, Bernie Siegel, Marianne Williamson, Rabbi Arthur Green, Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Swami Chetanananda, Tibetan Buddhist master Lama Surya Das, among others.

For readersof any faith or none--who are interested in exploring universal themes of faith, hope, love and service to the world, Mother Teresas EVERYTHING STARTS FROM PRAYER provides a wealth of profound inspiration.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 170 pages
• Publisher: White Cloud Press; 1st edition (October 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1883991250
• ISBN-13: 978-1883991258
• Product Dimensions: 8.1 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #645,979 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Teachings from the Master of Prayer, March 1, 1999

By A Customer

Prayer speaks from the heart and when done well, it can bypass our inherent prejudices and resistance. Mother Teresa knew this, and her inspirational words, just as her prayers, transcend any faith position and speak to everyone. Dr. Anthony Stern, in his inspiring book brings this great master of prayer to the average reader. Everything Starts from Prayer presents Mother Teresa's own words in an arrangement both accessible and thought provoking.

As I was reading the book I was struck by the scope and the depth of prayer that the book reveals through Mother Teresa's beautiful and powerful prose. I realized that besides being an incredibly charitable woman, who devoted her life to help the poor and the sick, she was a great master of praying, with inner knowledge and experience that surpass many other spiritual teachers. Dr. Stern arranged Mother Terasa's prayers in a way that illustrates the nature and the process of prayer and illuminates the many variations and subtleties of praying. Mother Teresa addressed many aspects of prayer, from child-like prayer to healing prayer and even to the resistance to prayer. It is particularly instructive to read the way she addressed the special pain and loneliness of modernity. Her insights into the problems of the ailing psyche from a spiritual point of view are most interesting. When talking about the narcissistic self, she tells us that there is no place for spirit where there is only self. Even God cannot put anything into what is already full. (page 54). Unlike some current spiritual ideas, which divorce spirituality from morality, Mother Teresa teaches us that spirituality and morality go hand in hand. It is easy to be proud and harsh and selfish--so easy. But we have been created for better things (page 12).

I recommend this book for anyone who takes prayer seriously, whether new to the practice or experienced. We can all learn a great deal from Mother Teresa and use her experience to further enrich our own prayer lives and learn about our (spiritual) selves. It is a book which should be read not just once, but used repeatedly as a companion to the praying person, a resource that one can refer to when looking for guidance and inspiration.

The bibliography at the end of the volume includes books on prayer from different religious perspectives and the resource list will be useful for those who are searching for in-depth experience of prayer in a monastic setting.

Mark R. Banschick, MD Adjunct Professor, Hebrew Union College

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Mother Teresa is always Great - Especially on Prayer, April 25, 2001

By	"scoobra" (Nashville, TN USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Everything Starts from Prayer: Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People (Paperback)

This book is filled with wonderful Mother Teresa thoughts on prayer. It also contains some beautiful prayers that can easily be incorporated in to daily prayer. The collection of thoughts is concise, on point and organized effectively. Mother Teresa never disappoints.

While this book is wonderful, it is not better than "No Greater Love" by Mother Teresa. "No Greater Love" remains my number one book of her wisdom.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A sweet book which gets to the heart of God and prayer, February 7, 1999

By A Customer

A sweet book which covers the subject of reaching God through prayer. It is stripped of the boundaries of formal religion and gets to the heart of the matter: How to make contact with God,How to pray, Why you should pray and the nature of prayer. Mother Teresa's words are simple but rich, clear and evocative. I will return to this book again and again for guidance. The book is simple but not simplistic. It raises the spirt and guides the soul.