Our souls strive toward union with the Divine. In our lives, we gravitate toward the inner peace that is the fruit of such union, and the power and prayer of living authentically.” Elizabeth De Sa describes her own quest for a life of spiritual authenticity and inner peace in an essay that probes deeply into the lessons learned and the rewards reaped in such a search. In meditation practice she peels back the layers of pain arising from unhealed wounds and false expectations of herself, obstacles that stand in the way of full acceptance of self, others, and the Divine and finds her way forward into deeper understanding of the nature of inner peace, renewed intentions for her life, and a fresh appreciation for the testimonies of Friends. Discussion questions included. (Pendle Hill Website)

The author describes her own quest for a life of spiritual authenticity and inner peace in an essay that probes deeply into the lessons learned and the rewards reaped in the search for union with the Divine. In meditation practice she peels back the layers of pain arising from unhealed wounds and false expectations of herself, obstacles that stand in the way of full acceptance of self, others, and the Divine.

"Our souls strive toward union with the Divine. In our lives, we gravitate toward the inner peace that is the fruit of such union and the power and prayer of living authentically.” The author describes her quest for a life of spiritual authenticity and inner peace in an essay that probes deeply into the lessons learned and the rewards reaped in such a search. She peels back the layers of pain arising from unhealed wounds and false expectations of herself, obstacles that stand in the way of full acceptance of self, others, and the Divine, and finds her way forward into a deeper understanding of the nature of inner peace, renewed intentions for her life, and a fresh appreciation for the testimonies of Friends.

De Sa explains how her Vipassana Buddhist mindfulness practice works to support and advance her Quaker-type experience of the Spirit, holy guidance, and living out the testimonies as Spirit-led. She uses her mindfulness practice to become aware of pain, feelings, and woundedness, and opens to compassion to heal it. She finds it also opens her to experience Godde.
This is a very interesting explanation of what seems to be comparable experience to much of that experienced and expressed in traditional Quaker terms. The similarities seem clear, and it would be interesting to hear various Friends' responses about the similarities and differences they perceive. ( )

I disagree with the review by kaulsu. I'm wondering how much pain this individual has experienced in life, certainly different from the author, who is, in no way, at a pity party. I picked up this PHP to take along on a trip. Little did I know that it was just what I needed. I thought her name of Godde as a gender neutral term for the paradox and mystery of spiritual experience was clever and I appreciated it. I was suffering from a painful family relationship that I cannot do much about except search for that inner peace that De Sa so helpfully writes about when she explains her and others experiences. ( )