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Looking Inward, Living Outward: The Spiritual Practice of Social Transformation
In a world of so much hurt, how can we create communities of care and healing?
While many contemporary Christians focus on a spirituality of the afterlife and individual salvation, Jesus calls us to create communities that enact justice and bring peace here on earth as it is in heaven. In his revelatory new book Looking Inward, Living Outward, popular spiritual leader Daniel Wolpert calls us back to a life of prayer and twelve specific spiritual practices that re-orient our gaze outward in acts of social transformation.
Drawing from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, one of the most radical speeches in human history, this encouraging and practical guide connects acts of contemplation with action, providing biblically based and spiritually grounded practices for living into the beloved community today. Discover how spiritual practices can change the way you interact with the world and inspire lasting change.
Key
Learn practical spiritual practices to live a life molded by a deep spiritual connection.Explore the nature of the spiritual life and how it can become a guiding force in our daily lives.Understand the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for living in community and society.Discover the importance of communities of practice in reorienting our actions and promoting compassion in a world filled with challenges.
While many contemporary Christians focus on a spirituality of the afterlife and individual salvation, Jesus calls us to create communities that enact justice and bring peace here on earth as it is in heaven. In his revelatory new book Looking Inward, Living Outward, popular spiritual leader Daniel Wolpert calls us back to a life of prayer and twelve specific spiritual practices that re-orient our gaze outward in acts of social transformation.
Drawing from Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, one of the most radical speeches in human history, this encouraging and practical guide connects acts of contemplation with action, providing biblically based and spiritually grounded practices for living into the beloved community today. Discover how spiritual practices can change the way you interact with the world and inspire lasting change.
Key
Learn practical spiritual practices to live a life molded by a deep spiritual connection.Explore the nature of the spiritual life and how it can become a guiding force in our daily lives.Understand the teachings of Jesus and the Sermon on the Mount as a blueprint for living in community and society.Discover the importance of communities of practice in reorienting our actions and promoting compassion in a world filled with challenges.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 1, 2024
14 people are currently reading
35 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
August 4, 2024
I sit in silent reflection as I just closed the back cover of this book. There is so much in these pages that resonates with me, to soak in, to live out. This book is an easy read, yet challenging. Just as the spiritual practices mentioned are simple, yet not easy, as the author admits readily in several places throughout the book.
Wolpert takes us into spiritual practices that lead to social transformation by looking at what Jesus said rather than what we have attempted to say that Jesus said over the years. By not listening deeply to God incarnate, we have perpetuated social injustice, a view of a heavenly only kingdom and other things that aren’t in the teachings of Jesus.
If the reader is willing to read this book with an open mind, there is much to see and learn. How do we start to attend to God’s presence? How can we listen in prayer rather than speak unnecessary words? How can we live in the here and now, in this kin-dom on earth, as we are called to do in the Lord’s Prayer?
These are some of the questions swirling around as I finish the book.
Format of the book: at the beginning of each chapter is a scriptural passage that relates to the practice in that chapter. The twelve practices are: willful attention, boundary creation, fearless humility, self-awareness, powerful presence, compassionate relationship, serving God, radical trust, letting go, discernment, loving your enemy, and prayer.
For me, this is a book that deserves at least a 2nd read, and likely a 3rd one. It will take time for the concepts, nuggets of truth, and practices to seep into my thinking and action. It’s a book that I would recommend using as a group study or a book club, as a way to discuss it with others.
If I were to include only one quote from the book, I think it would be this one: “One of the main reasons people find spiritual practices challenging is that it is hard and painful to encounter our own judgmentalism.” (67) I encourage anyone who desires to grow, to take the challenge of this book to look inward and to live outward. It will not be an easy process, but it will be transformational, if you allow it to be.
Wolpert takes us into spiritual practices that lead to social transformation by looking at what Jesus said rather than what we have attempted to say that Jesus said over the years. By not listening deeply to God incarnate, we have perpetuated social injustice, a view of a heavenly only kingdom and other things that aren’t in the teachings of Jesus.
If the reader is willing to read this book with an open mind, there is much to see and learn. How do we start to attend to God’s presence? How can we listen in prayer rather than speak unnecessary words? How can we live in the here and now, in this kin-dom on earth, as we are called to do in the Lord’s Prayer?
These are some of the questions swirling around as I finish the book.
Format of the book: at the beginning of each chapter is a scriptural passage that relates to the practice in that chapter. The twelve practices are: willful attention, boundary creation, fearless humility, self-awareness, powerful presence, compassionate relationship, serving God, radical trust, letting go, discernment, loving your enemy, and prayer.
For me, this is a book that deserves at least a 2nd read, and likely a 3rd one. It will take time for the concepts, nuggets of truth, and practices to seep into my thinking and action. It’s a book that I would recommend using as a group study or a book club, as a way to discuss it with others.
If I were to include only one quote from the book, I think it would be this one: “One of the main reasons people find spiritual practices challenging is that it is hard and painful to encounter our own judgmentalism.” (67) I encourage anyone who desires to grow, to take the challenge of this book to look inward and to live outward. It will not be an easy process, but it will be transformational, if you allow it to be.
September 19, 2024
Want a more modern look on religion? This is the book for you!! So inviting with practical tips on becoming the best version of yourself.
November 16, 2024
A book for our times….excellent and uplifting.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews