Download or read book Sadness Depression and the Dark Night of the Soul written by Glòria Durà-Vilà and published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. This book was released on 2017-01-19 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Revealing a tension between the medical model of depression and the very different language of theology, this book explores how religious people and communities understand severe sadness, their coping mechanisms and their help-seeking behaviours. Drawing from her study of practicing Catholics, contemplative monks and nuns, priests and laypeople studying theology, the author describes how symptoms that might otherwise be described as pathological and meet diagnostic criteria for a depressive disorder are considered by some religious individuals to be normal and valued experiences. She explains how sadness fits into the 'Dark Night of the Soul' narrative - an active transformation of emotional distress into an essential ingredient for self-reflection and spiritual growth - and how sadness with a recognised cause is seen to 'make sense', whereas sadness without a cause may be seen to warrant psychiatric consultation. The author also discusses the role of the clergy in cases of sadness and depression and their collaboration with medical professionals. This is an insightful read for anyone with an interest in theology or mental health, including clergy, psychiatrists and psychologists.
Download or read book Dark Nights of the Soul written by Thomas Moore and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-06-16 with total page 356 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening. How you think about this rhythm of moods makes all the difference. Our lives are filled with emotional tunnels: the loss of a loved one or end of a relationship, aging and illness, career disappointments or just an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with life. Society tends to view these “dark nights” in clinical terms as obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible. But Moore shows how honoring these periods of fragility as periods of incubation and positive opportunities to delve the soul’s deepest needs can provide healing and a new understanding of life’s meaning. Dark Nights of the Soul presents these metaphoric dark nights not as the enemy, but as times of transition, occasions to restore yourself, and transforming rites of passage, revealing an uplifting and inspiring new outlook on such topics as: • The healing power of melancholy • The sexual dark night and the mysteries of matrimony • Finding solace during illness and in aging • Anxiety, anger, and temporary Insanities • Linking creativity, spirituality, and emotional struggles • Finding meaning and beauty in the darkness
Download or read book The Dark Night of the Soul written by Gerald G. May and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2009-03-31 with total page 226 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Now in paperback: a distinguished psychiatrist, spiritual counsellor and bestselling author shows how the dark sides of the spiritual life are a vital ingredient in deep, authentic, healthy spirituality. Gerald G. May, MD, one of the great spiritual teachers and writers of our time, argues that the dark 'shadow' side of the true spiritual life has been trivialised and neglected to our serious detriment. Superficial and naively upbeat spirituality does not heal and enrich the soul. Nor does the other tendency to relegate deep spiritual growth to only mystics and saints. Only the honest, sometimes difficult encounters with what Christian spirituality has called and described in helpful detail as 'the dark night of the soul' can lead to true spiritual wholeness. May emphasises that the dark night is not necessarily a time of suffering and near despair, but a time of deep transition, a search for new orientation when things are clouded and full of mystery. The dark gives depth, dimension and fullness to the spiritual life.
Download or read book The Catholic Guide to Depression written by Aaron Kheriaty and published by Sophia Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-10-25 with total page 288 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Countless Christians — including scores of saints — have suffered profound, pervasive sorrow that modern psychiatrists call “depression.” Then, as now, great faith and even fervent spiritual practices have generally failed to ease this wearying desolation of soul. In these pages, Catholic psychiatrist Aaron Kheriaty reviews the effective ways that have recently been devised to deal with this grave and sometimes deadly affliction — ways that are not only consistent with the teachings of the Church, but even rooted in many of those teachings. Extensive clinical experience treating patients with depression has shown Dr. Kheriaty that the confessional can't cure neuroses, nor can the couch forgive sin. Healing comes only when we integrate the legitimate discoveries of modern psychology and pharmacology with spiritual direction and the Sacraments, giving particular attention to the wisdom of the Church Fathers and the saints. Here, with the expert help of Dr. Kheriaty, you'll learn how to distinguish depression from similarlooking but fundamentally different mental states such as guilt, sloth, the darkness of sin, and the sublime desolation called “dark night of the soul” that is, in fact, a privileged spiritual trial sent to good souls as a special gift from God. You'll come to know how to identify the various types of depression and come to understand the interplay of their often manifold causes, biological, psychological, behavioral, cultural, and, yes, moral. Then you'll learn about exciting breakthroughs in pharmacological and other medical treatments, the benefits and limitations of psychotherapy, the critical place that spiritual direction must have in your healing, and the vital role that hope — Christian hope — can play in driving out depression.
Download or read book Invitation to Love 20th Anniversary Edition written by Thomas Keating and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2012-06-21 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Thomas Keating was a Cistercian monk who founded the worldwide 'Contemplative Outreach', teaching people the art of meditation. Invitation to Love provides a road map for the journey that begins when Centering Prayer is seriously undertaken. Pointing to some of the recognizable landmarks on this journey, as well as to its ultimate destination, Father Keating addresses common questions regarding contemplative practice: How will it affect my life? Where does it lead us spiritually? What obstacles will I encounter along the way? How does it work? Following on from Open Mind, Open Heart, this book establishes a dialogue between the insights of contemporary psychology and the classic Christian spiritual masters, providing a solid conceptual background for the practice of Centering Prayer. This is a practical book, articulating the stages of the process of spiritual growth, and outlining how we might develop a deeper relationship with God and move from contemplation to action.
Download or read book The Paradoxes of Mourning written by Alan D. Wolfelt and published by Companion Press. This book was released on 2015-07-01 with total page 130 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When it comes to healing after the death of someone loved, our culture has it all wrong. We're told to be strong when what we really need is to be vulnerable. We're told to think positive when what we really need is to wallow in the pain. And we're told to seek closure when what we really need is to welcome our natural and necessary grief. Dr. Wolfelt's new book seeks to dispel these misconceptions that we hold on to so tightly and help people everywhere mourn well so they can live fuller lives. The Paradoxes of Mourning discusses three truths that grieving people used to know and respect but in the last century, seem to have forgotten: 1. You must make friends with the darkness before you can enter the light. 2. You must go backward before you can go forward. 3. You must say hello before you can say goodbye. In the tradition of the Four Agreements and the Seven Habits, this compassionate and inspiring guidebook by North America's most beloved grief counselor gives you the three keys that unlock the door to hope and healing.
Download or read book Living Awareness written by Prashanth Hirematada and published by . This book was released on 2018-04-22 with total page 329 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: About the bookLiving Awareness, Meditation and Practice (LAMP) is a book about the practice of meditation and more importantly the practice of awareness not only during sitting meditation, but also during your day-to-day living. The awareness is like a spark that may be ignited in your sitting practice, the book takes the practitioner beyond the sitting practice to carry the flame throughout their daily life and help recognize the life as is.The book instructs a basic meditation technique, but the reader may or may not follow the technique as described. The practice of awareness compliments any spiritual practices and all aspects of one's life. It helps readers to merge the spiritual and material worlds, help realize they never were two different to begin with.LAMP emphasizes on the practice rather than attempting to explain ideas, concepts, theories, beliefs or dogmas. The book does not introduce any complicated ideas or terminology, remaining secular, neutral and transcending.About the AuthorPrashanth hails from Bengaluru (Bangalore), has lived a decade in and around San Francisco, later moved to Shanghai for another decade and now lives in his home town in India. Prashanth is a regular contributor on Quora and is one of the top writers on the subjects of spirituality, meditation, Buddhism, Advaita, Zen, Enlightenment to name a few.The author is not a guru, mystic, guide, teacher or a master, but simply a practitioner. He is simply another drop in the ocean, another person on the bus of life, pointing and sharing the life scenes along the way.
Download or read book The Holiness of God written by R.C. Sproul and published by NavPress. This book was released on 2023-09-05 with total page 239 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Central to God’s character is the quality of holiness. Yet, even so, most people are hard-pressed to define what God’s holiness precisely is. Many preachers today avoid the topic altogether because people today don’t quite know what to do with words like “awe” or “fear.” R. C. Sproul, in this classic work, puts the holiness of God in its proper and central place in the Christian life. He paints an awe-inspiring vision of God that encourages Christian to become holy just as God is holy. Once you encounter the holiness of God, your life will never be the same.
Download or read book Spiritual Depression written by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and published by Zondervan. This book was released on 2016-01-12 with total page 301 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Spiritual Depression is one of the great classics of the modern Church and tackles the big question: If Christianity is such "good news" why are its followers often unhappy? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones was possibly the greatest Christian preacher and teacher of the twentieth century. A medical doctor by training, Spiritual Depression draws together his professional understanding of the mind with a profound understanding of Christian teaching and the Bible. Spiritual Depression diagnoses the causes of the ill feeling that many Christians experience. It prescribes the practical care that is needed to lift people's spirits and bring them freedom, power and joy. Spiritual health is possible and this book explains how everyone can grasp it for themselves.
Download or read book When Life Goes Dark written by Richard Winter and published by InterVarsity Press. This book was released on 2012-04-25 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Psychiatrist and theologian Richard Winter explores the complex issues surrounding depression. He sorts through scientific research, dispels common misunderstandings and looks at how biblical characters experienced despair. Here is help for all those who find themselves, loved ones or those they counsel vulnerable to depression.
Download or read book On the Edge of Darkness written by Kathy Cronkite and published by Delta. This book was released on 1995-07-01 with total page 374 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I was ashamed. It was a confession of weakness. For years, depression meant the crazy house. As I look back at it, [my shame] just seems damned foolishness, which is one reason I talk about it now." --Mike Wallace "Toward the end I couldn't get up. I just physically couldn't." --Kitty Dukakis They have made the impossible climb into the spotlight and attained their brightest dreams. But for Mike Wallace, Kitty Dukakis, William Styron, Joan Rivers, and countless other people struggling against the debilitating effects of depression, life's most challenging battle is waged not in the public eye, but in the darkest recesses of the mind. In her brilliant new work, Kathy Cronkite gives voice to dozens of celebrated professionals who have endured--and conquered--the hopelessness of chronic depression. Most of all, this courageous book brings a ray of hope to the 24 million Americans who live in the shadows of this misunderstood disease, yet bravely seek a path toward the light. You will learn: What to do when the sadness won't go away. Why women are most vulnerable to unipolar disorder. How substance abuse can mask the symptoms of depression. The latest therapeutic options for children who are affected by their own--or a parent's--illness. Which effective new treatments can lift the burden of depression--for up to 90 percent of people who suffer from it!
Download or read book The Tao of Fully Feeling written by Pete Walker and published by Createspace Independent Publishing Platform. This book was released on 2015 with total page 273 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is a handbook for increasing your emotional intelligence. Moreover, if you are a survivor of a dysfunctional family, it is a guide for repairing the damage done to your emotional nature in childhood. The Tao of Fully Feeling focuses primarily on the emotional healing level of trauma recovery. It is a safe handbook for grieving losses of childhood. Whether or not you are a childhood trauma survivor, this book is a guide to emotional health. The degree of our mental health is often reflected in the degree to which we love and respect ourselves and others in a myriad of different feeling states. Real self-esteem and real intimacy with others depends on the ability to lovingly be there for oneself and others, whether one's feeling experience is pleasant or unpleasant.
Download or read book The Spiritual Awakening Process written by Mateo Sol and published by Luna & Sol Pty Ltd. This book was released on 2019-10-19 with total page 122 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Magical, paradigm-shifting, terrifying, and awe-inspiring, the spiritual awakening process is at the core of every human’s quest for freedom, love, and happiness. In this groundbreaking book, spiritual counselors Luna and Sol detail the many stages, paths, and pitfalls connected with this sacred evolutionary process. By reconnecting with your Soul, you will discover how to experience the joy, liberation, and peace that you have been searching for all along. In these pages, you will discover: 1. What is happening to you 2. Why you’re experiencing a spiritual awakening 3. The many spiritual awakening symptoms and stages 4. The three inner worlds of the spiritual journey 5. What to do when your awakening becomes a spiritual emergency 6. Signs you’re experiencing Soul loss 7. How to retrieve and integrate any fragmented pieces of your psyche through self-love, inner child work, and shadow work 8. What spiritual “traps” you need to be mindful of 9. How to communicate with your Soul Through the inner work practices of Inner Child Work, Self-Love, and Shadow Work, this book gives you the tools to initiate your own deep psychological healing. By removing the blocks and walls that surround your Soul, you will be able to access deep levels of joy, creativity, energy, courage, peace, fulfillment, freedom, and love. The Spiritual Awakening Process is a psychospiritual manual that is composed of various articles that we have published on lonerwolf.com in the past. We have also added extra content to help illuminate your path and guide you through this sacred time of life.
Download or read book Learning to Walk in the Dark written by Barbara Brown Taylor and published by Canterbury Press. This book was released on 2014-06-30 with total page 160 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In this long awaited follow-up to the best-selling An Altar in the World, Barbara Brown Taylor explores ‘the treasures of darkness’ that the Bible speaks about. What can we learn about the ways of God when we cannot see the way ahead, are lost, alone, frightened, not in control or when the world around us seems to have descended into darkness?
Download or read book Darkness Visible written by William Styron and published by Open Road Media. This book was released on 2010-05-04 with total page 64 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The New York Times–bestselling memoir of crippling depression and the struggle for recovery by the Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Sophie’s Choice. In the summer of 1985, William Styron became numbed by disaffection, apathy, and despair, unable to speak or walk while caught in the grip of advanced depression. His struggle with the disease culminated in a wave of obsession that nearly drove him to suicide, leading him to seek hospitalization before the dark tide engulfed him. Darkness Visible tells the story of Styron’s recovery, laying bare the harrowing realities of clinical depression and chronicling his triumph over the disease that had claimed so many great writers before him. His final words are a call for hope to all who suffer from mental illness that it is possible to emerge from even the deepest abyss of despair and “once again behold the stars.” This ebook features a new illustrated biography of William Styron, including original letters, rare photos, and never-before-seen documents from the Styron family and the Duke University Archives.
Download or read book Dark Nights of the Soul written by Thomas Moore and published by Penguin. This book was released on 2005-06-16 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Every human life is made up of the light and the dark, the happy and the sad, the vital and the deadening. How you think about this rhythm of moods makes all the difference. Our lives are filled with emotional tunnels: the loss of a loved one or end of a relationship, aging and illness, career disappointments or just an ongoing sense of dissatisfaction with life. Society tends to view these “dark nights” in clinical terms as obstacles to be overcome as quickly as possible. But Moore shows how honoring these periods of fragility as periods of incubation and positive opportunities to delve the soul’s deepest needs can provide healing and a new understanding of life’s meaning. Dark Nights of the Soul presents these metaphoric dark nights not as the enemy, but as times of transition, occasions to restore yourself, and transforming rites of passage, revealing an uplifting and inspiring new outlook on such topics as: • The healing power of melancholy • The sexual dark night and the mysteries of matrimony • Finding solace during illness and in aging • Anxiety, anger, and temporary Insanities • Linking creativity, spirituality, and emotional struggles • Finding meaning and beauty in the darkness
Download or read book Psalmist s Cry DVD Book written by William Marcellus McPheeters Professor of Old Testament Emeritus Walter Brueggemann and published by House Studio. This book was released on 2010-12 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "In Psalmist's Cry, Walter Brueggemann explores Psalms as scripts for lament-guides for how to express feelings honestly, in ways normally not permitted or expected within the Christian community. In this 5-week study, discover the fullness of God when we allow our lives to become about him healing us and not about us controlling or managing our way through life."--Book cover.
