Karen Horneffer-Ginter - Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit

Praise forFull Cup, Thirsty Spirit

Book titles are sometimes misleading. Not this one. The book itself is a full cup of life-giving water for thirsty spirits everywhere. Karen Horneffer-Ginter writes wonderfully well about the vexations and vicissitudes of everyday life. A grounded and gifted storyteller with a winsome sense of humor, she teaches a simple spiritual alchemy that can turn daily dross into priceless gold. I love this book so much I read it in one sitting and have already started practicing its alchemy. So read it and use it! Youll be very glad you did.

Parker J. Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy, The Courage to Teach, and Let Your Life Speak

Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit is an inspirational and practical guide that helps us track very closely our relationship to joy. Seldom do you find a book that provides comfort, solace, and healing in one place. The total impact is one of simultaneous upliftment and deep nourishment.

Angeles Arrien, author of Living in Gratitude, The Second Half of Life, and The Four-Fold Way

Karen lives fully and passionately in this world. No monk or nun, she lives in the same world that assaults us with relentless demands. Because, like us, she knows this world all too well, we find we can trust her. So when she tenderly offers a gentle insight, points us toward a glimpse of subtle grace, or reveals an unexpected fragrance of wonder in the midst of our familiar parade of daily discouragements, we already belong to her. We see, just as she does, the astonishing surprises that shine their light just barely beneath the surface of our overwhelmed existence. Put away your lists and piles, and allow the beauty of your unopened life quietly to take your breath away. You can do this, Karen reassures us, again, and again.

Wayne Muller, author of A Life of Being, Having, and Doing Enough; Sabbath; How Then, Shall We Live?; Learning to Pray; and Legacy of the Heart

I wish Id had Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit with me through the course of my serious grown-up life. In the pause I took to read it, I gained more time and a happier heart.

Amy Weintraub, author of Yoga for Depression and Yoga Skills for Therapists

Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit combines advice, story, and practice for those ready to consider changing their pace of life and attaching to an inner self. These are increasingly needed skills in the techno-plugged in world, and Karen shows readers the way to another way. Enjoyread slowly.

Christina Baldwin, author of The Seven Whispers: Spiritual Practice for Times Like These and Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives Through the Power and Practice of Story

Full Cup, Thirsty Spiritis like sharing a table with a dear and wise friend. Karens stories leave you smiling in recognition and open to her gentle suggestions for more self-awareness. Flavored with Eastern wisdom and Western practicality, this book offers more than one kind of tea. Refreshing and restorative.

Karen Maezen Miller, author of Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life and Momma Zen With wonderful wit and wisdom, Karen not only provides strategies to help us slow down but also shows us how to explore and engage the parts of us that are afraid to let the hamster wheel stop spinning. Living more in the present is rewarding, but most of us wont get there without gentle, practical guidance. This book can get you there.

Richard C. Schwartz, author of You Are the One Youve Been Waiting For and Internal Family Systems Therapy

Full Cup, Thirsty Spirit contains a wealth of practical advice and compelling examples, many drawn from her own life and gently conveyed. I recommend it to all who have enough time to read a good book and especially to those without enough time!

Christopher Peterson, author of A Primer in Positive Psychology and co-author of Character Strengths and Virtues

In a world where many of us are driven to live at an unsustainable pace, filling our cups to overbrimming, Karen Horneffer-Ginter shows us a slower, saner way, and importantly, how we can begin to embody it. Heartfelt, humane, honest and practical, this book is infused with wisdom, grounded in everyday experience.

Ed Halliwell co-author of The Mindful Manifesto: How Doing Less and Noticing More Can Help Us Thrive in a Stressed-Out World

Copyright 2012 by Karen Horneffer-Ginter

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Julie Davison Interior design: Nick C. Welch Interior illustrations: Nick C. Welch

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Precautions have been taken to protect and disguise any confidential, personally identifiable information concerning clients discussed in this book.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012948360

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-4019-3993-9
Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3994-6

15 14 13 12 4 3 2 1
1st edition, December 2012

Printed in the United States of America

To my beloved Paul, Nathan, and Kenzie
for filling my cup and nourishing my soul in
ways beyond my imagination.

The rush and pressure of modern life are a form, perhaps the most common form, of its innate violence.

THOMAS MERTON

I had never heard the word yurt before, but within minutes I realized it was exactly what Id been looking for. At the time, I was at lunch listening to my friend describe his new project. Im building a yurt on some wooded property by a lake.

A what? I asked, in a voice muffled by my sandwich.

A yurt, a Mongolian yurt. Its like a tent or a teepee, but bigger and more deluxe. Im hoping to build it and move in before winter.

Youre kidding? I asked, my eyes squinting in disbelief.

No, no, Im serious. I got approval from the township, but I was told to describe it as a membrane-covered dwelling with a dome at the top. I guess people freak out a little at the thought of a teepee.