The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss - Hardcover

Copeland-Payton, Dr. Nancy

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9 ratings by Goodreads

9781594732713: The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 159473271X ISBN 13: 9781594732713

Publisher: SkyLight Paths, 2009

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Find hope and renewal in life's natural cycle of ordinary losses and new beginnings.

"When we intentionally enter into our everyday walk through small losses, the terrain of larger losses, the valley of the shadow of death, is not totally unknown. It is not completely unfamiliar, alien, terrifying, for we have walked some of this way before with our lesser losses. We can journey through this valley of loss, for journey through it we must. And we can emerge markedly changed, but alive, on the other side."
―from the Prologue

Going beyond loss as a problem to be resolved, a grief to be worked through, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton, a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman, reframes loss from the perspective that our everyday losses help us learn what we need to handle the major losses. Weaving in spiritual and classical themes, personal and scriptural story, Dr. Copeland-Payton shows us that by becoming aware of what our lesser losses have to teach us, the larger losses of our lives become less terrifying. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice and questions for reflection to help you:

Mine the hidden depths of painful losses of things and places
Traverse the devastating loss of relationships and the heart-wrenching death of people we love.
Overcome the steep, dark slopes of loss of beliefs and faith.
Venture past our fear of the losses of aging and our own death.

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From the Inside Flap:

Awaken to Life's Rhythm of Gift and Loss
Based on her experience as a physician, hospital chaplain, and pastor, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton invites us to awaken to the losses of our lives--big and small--and embrace the wisdom each has to teach us about the deep mystery of God and the nature of living.
Written for those experiencing loss and those accompanying them, this poignant and practical book shows us how to be attentive to the rhythm of gift and loss. It encourages us to venture deeper into our losses through practical exercises drawn from the world's major faith traditions. Exercises include:
Breath Prayer--to ground us in the wonder of life
Walking Meditation--to awaken us to the moment
Examen--to mine our day for patterns of gifts and losses
Sand Mandala--to remind us of the transitory nature of all material things
Labyrinth--to walk the journey through gift and loss in our lives
Accompaniment--to help us name and grieve our losses, and let them go when the time is right
Lectio Divina--to show us how to listen with our hearts
Guided Meditation--to lead us to interact with scripture in a deep, personal way
"An extraordinarily wise, practical guide ... on how to develop a deep spirituality grounded in the matrix between the wounds of everyday life from birth to death and the longing for God as the sacred ground discovered in the everyday gifts of life."
--Dr. Tyron Inbody, professor emeritus of theology, United Theological Seminary, Dayton, Ohio; author, The Transforming God: An Interpretation of Suffering and Evil

About the Author:

Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton is a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is author of The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss. A pastor, hospital chaplain and physician who practiced medicine for twenty years, she now leads retreats at church centers, monasteries and with church groups to help people explore their experiences of loss.

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