Anne Kertz Kernion - Spiritual Practices for the Brain: Caring for Mind, Body, and Soul

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2020 Anne Kertz Kernion

All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations are from New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright 1989, 1993 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Cover art credit: Illustration by Anne Kertz Kernion. Design by Cheryl Martin.

Interior art credits: Illustrations by Anne Kertz Kernion

eBook ISBN: 978-0-8294-5044-6

Based on the print edition: 978-0-8294-5043-9

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020941382

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In gratitude to my parents,

Joanne and Red Kertz,

for providing me with a happy childhood,

filled with adventure and opportunities.

Ar scth a chile a mhaireann na daoine.

Irish Proverb

How can we live a more intentionally simple yet abundant life? What difference can we make in our own little corner of the world? How can we raise our children to be kinder, happier, more empathetic, and more peaceful? How can we be at peace despite the trials we undoubtedly will suffer?

These universal questions lie at the heart of humanity, regardless of our level of education, our background, or our faith. They are questions that bind us together in our relationships and our search for God. Anne Kertz Kernions lovely book reminds me of the Irish proverb Ar scth a chile a mhaireann na daoine, which literally translates as People live in each others shadows. We are protected from the sun by one another and rely on others for shelter, goodness, and kindness. Like one plant in a vast garden, each of us has a place in this complex world. What we do affects the whole.

The year 2020 will be written into the history books as a time of unbridled change. The story of this time continues to unfold, full of questions and uncertainty. While not specifically written to address the radical developments of this year, Annes prophetic work is littered with insights that define the era of change we are living through and will bear witness to. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the way we live, where we pray, how we grieve, and how we celebrate have all changed. Schools, colleges, and universities sent their students home to be educated there; businesses closed and adapted; public worship was postponed; and we as a people found other ways to shop, pray, live, grieve, celebrate, and grow our communities. This was a time of flux and seeming instability but also a time to slow down, to spend more time inside our homes than in our cars, and to experience more time for introspection and contemplation. For some this time brought rest and healing; for others it brought sadness and anxiety. For all of us it ushered in a season of change.

Annes words stand at the intersection of a time in history when change rules the roost but offers timeless and new ways of looking at ourselves, our faith, and the wider world. In this delightful book, I encountered new ways of approaching spirituality, neuroscience, and the natural world in a seamless and thoughtful way. Anne is a master at weaving a tapestry of complex thought that comes together in a simple and accessible quilt of ideas stitched together with care.

If you are searching for a place to enter the conversation on spirituality or are a veteran seeking to lean on new insights from the world of science and research, Spiritual Practices for the Brain is a book you will savor. You will find that it stands the test of time as it threads the needle on practices old and new that can nourish and energize our faith lives.

Today we are learning anew the power of empathy, the value of vulnerability, and the effects of cultivating emotional intelligence. Anne brings together themes of kindness, empathy, gratitude, and vulnerability-based leadership and does so through Scripture, the lives of the saints, and the extraordinary witness of holy people striving for a more just and thoughtful worlda more truly Christian world. Navigating new ways of being always brings growth, and Spiritual Practices for the Brain certainly provides fertile ground to wrestle with the challenge of being a Christian in a post-Christian world. Is this is a book for Catholics? Yes. The Catholic Church has never shied away from difficult but necessary conversations. As a tradition, it has encouraged innovation, questioning, and curiosity, particularly in relation to the arts, science, the written word, and the natural world. Some of the greatest advances the world has ever known have come from inquiring, faithful minds, and Anne has certainly joined the ranks of such inquisitive thinkers.

Is this a book that all Christians can appreciate? Undoubtedly. But it also offers tremendous wisdom for people of all faiths, little faith, and even those who claim to have no faith at all. This is a book I would share with my Lutheran neighbor and my atheist and agnostic friends. With so many of us striving for wholeness and wellness today, this book is a gem and offers a compelling reason for those who have dismissed religion and spirituality to take a second look. Happiness, healthiness, and holiness are linked together, proposes Anne, and she leads the reader on a quest to discover, uncover, and rediscover practices that nourish, strengthen, and uplift.

It is rare for me to read a book in one sitting as a busy mom of three young children, but I found that I could not put this book down. I discovered it to be a comfort but also a challenge, and that is what our Catholic faith invites us to do: to reexamine our old ways of being and shed those ways in light of the call of the Gospel. Since I have read this book, I have dipped in and out of its wellspring many times as I worked through a problem, sought insights, or looked for inspiration.

Not only does Anne link ancient truths with new information and emerging insights, she does so in a way that is practical, accessible, and real. Like a cup of tea or coffee on a damp dreary day, her words delight and invite the reader to consider life afresh. Settle down and settle in for a read that will bring challenge, growth, and renewal for you and all those with whom you share this lovely work.

Beannachtai (Blessings),

Julianne Stanz

Centuries ago, in a world very different from yours and mine, St. John of the Cross (15421591) recommended that we carve out a day every week, or an hour a day, or a moment each hour, and abide in the loving silence of the Friend. Feel the frenetic concerns of life fall away.

Frenetic concerns: now thats a phrase totally relatable to the present time! Perhaps St. Johns world was not so different after all.

Another piece of wise advice comes from St. Francis de Sales: Never be in a hurry; do everything quietly and in a calm spirit. Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if the whole world seems upset. Half an hours meditation each day is essential, except when you are busy. Then a full hour is needed. He also said this about meditation: If the heart wanders or is distracted, bring it back to the point quite gently... and even if you did nothing during the whole hour but bring your heart back.... though it went away every time, your hour would be very well employed.