David G. Benner PhD - Soulful Spirituality: Becoming Fully Alive and Deeply Human

2011 by David G. Benner

Published by Brazos Press

a division of Baker Publishing Group

P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287

www.brazospress.com

Published in association with Creative Trust Literary Group

5141 Virginia Way, Suite 320, Brentwood, TN 37027

www.creativetrust.com

Ebook edition created 2011

Ebook corrections 7.25.2013

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recordingwithout the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

ISBN 978-1-4412-1436-2

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.

The books epigraph, Wenn es nur einmal... /If only for once... , is from Rilkes Book of Hours: Love Poems to God by Rainer Maria Rilke, translated by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy, copyright 1996 by Anita Barrows and Joanna Macy. Used by permission of Riverhead Books, an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, READERS EDITION, copyright 1966, 1967, and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

Scripture quotations labeled NASB are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. www.lockman.org

Scripture quotations labeled ASV are from the American Standard Version of the Bible.

Soulful Spirituality is a feast of encouraging wisdom that nourishes soul and spirit. In inviting language, images, and narratives, David Benner describes a way of living that is integrating and inspiringa hearty blend of psychology, theology, and spirituality for all of us who seek to mature and thrive.

Susan S. Phillips , executive director and professor of sociology and Christianity, New College Berkeley; author, Candlelight: Illuminating the Art of Spiritual Direction

Anything David Benner writes is worth reading, and this is no exception. Read and be fed with real food!

Richard Rohr, OFM , Center for Action and Contemplation,
Albuquerque, New Mexico

Soulful Spirituality embodies the inseparable invitations of the spiritual and human journeys. Dr. Benners writing is grounded in long years of research and practice at the intersections of human development, psychotherapy, and spiritual direction alongside his own desire to persist in becoming all that God intends. Soulful Spirituality stirs the readers longing for connectedness, fulfillment, aliveness, and wholeness that is uniquely possible through intentional cooperation with God. It invites readers to embrace life as it is and to be open to God in the midst of ordinary/extraordinary reality.

Jeannette A. Bakke , author, Holy Invitations: Exploring Spiritual Direction

Soulful Spirituality needs to be read, dialogued with, and then used to overhaul our weak and anemic engagement with the real world. In a culture full of escape-this-world spiritualities on the one hand and narcissistic spiritualities on the other, David Benner says, absolutely not! and then loudly and powerfully links our spirituality to the exciting lifelong task of becoming more fully and deeply human. Davids identification of things like toxic spirituality will provide welcome hope to the growing number of people in religious recovery who are on the spiritual and human journey but are simply worn out with the narrow approaches so common today. He has a deep commitment to us as embodied beings and as such helps us attend to an embodied spirituality. He gets at tough concepts like desire, longing, and restlessness, and few have dealt with the issue of ego, its role, and its limits as well as he does in this book. If you are ready to dig in, ready to really change and experience transformation, then by all means get this book. And then buy nine more copies to pass out to friends for a dialogue group!

Ron Martoia , author, speaker, and founder of velocityculture.com and ttTribe.com

To

Sean and Heather,

who were with me in inner dialogue

as I wrote this book

In memory of

Ruth Penny,

19552008,

a dear friend from Auckland, New Zealand,

whose soulful way of living life

helped all who knew her

be more deeply human

and fully alive

[Epigraph not included because of rights restrictions.]