Must Reads

Here are a few of my favorite books by people I deeply respect. This collection has helped shape my practice in spiritual direction and as a life coach. The insight and wisdom here will help you form a deep and lasting relationship with the Divine. I hope you enjoy it!

Into The Silent Land

Sitting in stillness, the practice of meditation, and the cultivation of awareness are commonly thought to be the preserves of Hindus and Buddhists. Martin Laird shows that the Christian tradition of contemplation has its own refined teachings on using a prayer word to focus the mind, working with the breath to cultivate stillness, and the practice of inner vigilance or awareness. But this book is not a mere historical survey of these teachings. In Into the Silent Land, we see the ancient wisdom of both the Christian East and West brought sharply to bear on the modern-day longing for radical openness to God in the depths of the heart.

The Way To Love

The final flowering of Anthony de Mello's thought, and in it he grapples with the ultimate question of love. In thirty-one meditations, he implores his readers with his usual pithiness to break through illusion, the great obstacle to love. "Love springs from awareness," de Mello insists, saying that it is only when we see others as they are that we can begin to really love. But not only must we seek to see others with clarity, we must examine ourselves without misconception. The task, however, is not easy. "The most painful act," de Mello says, "is the act of seeing. But in that act of seeing that love is born." Anthony De Mello was the director of the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counseling in Poona, India, and authored several books. The Way To Love is his last.

I Love everything about Rob! Here is an amazon link to his books… read ‘em all!

Rob Bell is the author of ten books, including the New York Times Bestsellers What We Talk About When We Talk About God, The Zimzum of Love, Love Wins, and What Is the Bible? His podcast, called the RobCast, was named by iTunes Best of 2015. He’s been profiled in the New Yorker, toured with Oprah, and in 2011 Time Magazine named him one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. He has a regular show at Largo, the legendary comedy and music club in Los Angeles, where he lives with his wife Kristen and their three kids.

God longs for us to deeply believe and know that He loves us and accepts us as we are. He calls for us to remove our mask and establish an honest and deep relationship with Him. When we are our true selves, we can finally claim our identity as His own.

The Wisdom Jesus

If you put aside what you think you know about Jesus and approach the Gospels as though for the first time, something remarkable happens: Jesus emerges as a teacher of the transformation of consciousness. Cynthia Bourgeault is a masterful guide to Jesus's vision and to the traditional contemplative practices you can use to experience the heart of his teachings for yourself.

The Universal Christ

Richard is a spiritual rockstar! His work is prolific, humble, and wise… read it all! here is an amazon link to his work. If you’re looking for a starting point, The Universal Christ is it!

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From one of the world’s most influential spiritual thinkers, Richard Rohr. A long-awaited book exploring what it means that Jesus was called “Christ,” and how this forgotten truth can restore hope and meaning to our lives.

Dark Night of the Soul is the title of a poem written by 16th-century Spanish poet and Roman Catholic mystic Saint John of the Cross, and of a treatise he wrote later, commenting on the poem.

This is the second edition of Volume One of The Collected Works of St. Teresa of Avila, the first woman doctor of the church. The translators have taken full advantage of all that recent scholarship has contributed to a better understanding of Teresa and her writings. This volume includes her first major work, The Book of Her Life, and two of her shorter works, the Spiritual Testimonies, and the Soliloquies. Clear and contemporary, this rendering captures Teresa's spirit while remaining faithful to her thoughts. Includes general and biblical index.

The Seven Storey Mountain tells of the growing restlessness of a brilliant and passionate young man, who at the age of twenty-six, takes vows in one of the most demanding Catholic orders—the Trappist monks. At the Abbey of Gethsemani, "the four walls of my new freedom," Thomas Merton struggles to withdraw from the world, but only after he has fully immersed himself in it. At the abbey, he wrote this extraordinary testament, a unique spiritual autobiography that has been recognized as one of the most influential religious works of our time. Translated into more than twenty languages, it has touched millions of lives.

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Christ of the Celts

"I explore the Celtic image of Christ as the Memory of what we have forgotten. He remembers the dance of the universe and the harmony that is deep within all things. He is the Memory also of who we are."
--from the Prelude

"Diagnosing the human soul with a longing for peace in the face of fear and fragmentation nurtured by global political forces and fundamentalisms, John Phillip Newell offers the ancient traditions of Celtic Christianity as a way forward in healing humankind and the earth."
--Publishers Weekly

From Ram Dass, one of America’s most beloved spiritual figures and bestselling author of Be Here Now and Be Love Now, comes this timeless classic about the experience of being and the risks and rewards of our spiritual path. Originally published in 1976, Grist for the Mill offers a deep spiritual journey of self-discovery and a universal understanding of what it means to "be" and to grow as human beings.

Scholars date the anonymous authorship of The Cloud of Unknowing to 1375, during the height of European monasticism. We have now, as they had then, a deep longing to connect with our Creator. The Cloud of Unknowing documents techniques used by the medieval monastic community where prayer and meditation were essential elements in growing in faith and in the knowledge of God. Written as an instructive book for young men joining the monastic order, the work is instructive, but not somber. The work embraces the reader with a humorous, yet tender, call to grow closer to God through meditation and prayer.

A chance encounter with a reproduction of Rembrandt's The Return of the Prodigal Son catapulted Henri Nouwen on a long spiritual adventure. Here he shares the deeply personal and resonant meditation that led him to discover the place within where God has chosen to dwell.

WORK WITH J.R.

Are you interested in a life coach or spiritual direction?

Here’s how to get started.

Step 1. Schedule a complimentary, no-obligation consult. Do that HERE.

Step 2. Watch your email for questions from me. Before we hop on the phone, I’d like to know a bit about you and what you’d like to get out of spiritual direction with me.

Step 3. Hit “reply” to that email and answer the questions.

Step 4. At the scheduled time of your consult, we’ll talk! We’ll use the opportunity to make sure we’re the perfect fit.

Step 5. Then we’ll get started! If you decide to work with me, I’ll tell you the exact steps for getting started. If you decide not to work with me or if we aren’t a perfect fit, I’m happy to share other resources to help you get what you need.

Have questions? You can call me… 619.964.0337