Bøger af Margaret Silf

You must become the change you long for. Fine words, a great vision, but where to begin? We caterpillars know. From the moment we are conceived in our parents' mating dance, we already contain the cells that hold our future butterfly. We become, literally, the change we carry within us, as our hidden wings take shape. Let us tell you our story... Tumultuous changes are occurring in the world around us, and the structures and values by which we have charted our lives seem to be collapsing. Many of us are struggling to plot a spiritual path through this unfamiliar landscape and to believe in a positive future. Hidden Wings is a book offering hope and understanding. Using the example of a caterpillar entering the devastating, world-altering stage of the chrysalis, before emerging--transformed--as a butterfly, Margaret Silf helps us to see that these times of chaos could in fact be an opportunity for profound spiritual transformation.

Prayer is often perceived as a difficult, place-less exercise in which we close our eyes and seek God beyond our everyday experience in an invisible, ethereal realm. However, prayer does not always have to look this way. Prayer, too, can have its own sense of place--landscapes which we can inhabit, explore, and meet God in as tangibly as we might meet a fellow traveler. Alongside beautiful photographs, Margaret Silf explores nine landscapes of prayer, both classic and modern: the garden, the mountain, the seashore, the forest, the river, the urban jungle, the desert, the cave, and the night sky. All are fruitful areas for self-discovery, inviting us to connect with the mystery of God wherever our lives may take us.

The spiritual journey can feel like a climb up a beautiful mountain that we have admired from afar. It looks easy from a distance, but the closer we approach, the harder it appears, until we are on the rockface and struggling to find our way to the top.Our journey through Lent can be a similar experience. For six weeks from Ash Wednesday, through Holy Week to Easter Sunday, Lent is a season of spiritual quest - a challenge to ascend to higher things, to come closer to God. It is a journey of hope and faith that with every step we take, we can move closer to our best - our most fully human - selves. And for this, our soul's journey, we have a guide who calls himself the Way.Soul Journey is a day-by-day companion to help you find the Way, to be revitalised and to discover fresh horizons. Margaret Silf offers 40 daily meditations on passages from the Bible, and a reflection on the journey travelled so far for each Sunday. It has been written both for those who regularly undertake a Lenten study and for those for whom the season is not familiar. All are welcome on this journey - a journey not just for Lent, but for any time and season.

Sometimes, it can feel as though we are living in the worst of times--a world of chaos, uncertainty, and breakdown. But could this also be the best of times--a crucible of change in which a wiser and more spiritually mature future is being forged? The stars are most clearly visible in the deepest darkness. The butterfly emerges out of the worst meltdown of the chrysalis. In Born to Fly, Margaret Silf helps us to explore what it would mean for each of us to be such an emerging butterfly--to be an agent of spiritual transformation in our own lives and in the world around us. What kind of future do we desire for ourselves, for those who follow after us, and for the whole of creation? And, if the choices we make today are shaping that future, how might we learn to make those choices more wisely? The second part of the book takes us on a gentle journey in five stages through the process of transformation mapped out for us by the caterpillar as it changes from a pesky garden grub, taking what it wants without regard for the rest of creation, to a butterfly, giving life wherever it lands. Born to Fly is designed to be read for personal reflection and inspiration, or alongside fellow readers, with suggestions for further discussion. It is a companion book to Margaret Silf's Hidden Wings.

Written in gentle prose, full of compassion and insight, this book presents an investigation into the many facets of prayer. Providing focused, lucid, and practical approaches to prayer, "The Gift of Prayer" emphasizes the benefits of using prayer in everyday situations.

Are you bogged down in your spiritual journey? Does church seem to hinder more than it helps? Here is a welcoming and realistic guide for all who may be feeling spiritually jaded. Whatever your circumstances, "Companions of Christ" will show you how to embark on a journey of the heart, starting wherever you happen to be and no matter how unfit for the journey you may feel.In "Companions of Christ" popular British writer Margaret Silf unearths the gold mine of spiritual wisdom to be found in the legacy of Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits. Ignatian spirituality sets out an engagingly down-to-earth vision of connecting with God in everyday life. Neither a recipe for a privatized spiritual life nor an agenda imposed by someone else, the Ignatian vision is centered on companionship, which means literally to "share bread" with another. It latches onto God's presence in stories, in other people, in the created universe, and even in God's apparent absence.Perfect for those whose faith in God or patience with the church is flagging, "Companions of Christ" contains very practical teaching on great Ignatian themes -- imaginative scriptural meditation, spiritual discernment, and honest prayer. Incorporating helpful spiritual exercises throughout, Silf shows both tentative and seasoned believers how to keep faith despite the odds.

Wisdom for life's journey from around the world

Wisdom stories with a spiritual message have a special place on many people's bookshelves, providing Christian insight into the various issues that we face day by day. This new collection of stories from master storyteller, Margaret Silf, will provide a rich source of illumination to those who turn to it, whether that is for personal use and enjoyment, or for church or school use. Accessible and popular, these stories speak straight to the heart.

Decisions, decisions - we have to make hundreds of them every day! And, as the range of choices we make increases, so too does the accompanying stress... This handy book seeks to make the process more fruitful, more focused and less stressful. It uses a few simple tools that combine the wisdom of ancient spiritual traditions with the common sense of the 21st century and looks at questions such as: how do we decide what choices to focus on?; how do we learn to be true to ourselves?; how do we implement our choices?; can we change course if we get things wrong? Through offering suggestions - not rules - and short, accessible chunks of text, Margaret Silf encourages us to trust our own hearts and minds.

Popular author Margaret Silf explores questions that people ask about prayer

Companions of Christ is a warm, welcoming and realistic guide from an immensely popular author for all who may feel spiritually jaded. With the help of practical spiritual exercises, Margaret Silf shows us how to embark on a journey of the heart and to keep faith despite the odds.

Based on the caterpillar-chrysalis-butterfly metaphor of Hidden Wings, this book offers spiritual insights and wisdom from the likes of Teilhard de Chardin to help us explore what it means to be an agent of spiritual change in our own life and that of the world around us.

Written as a direct response to fears raised by division in post-Brexit Britain and since the election of Donald Trump in the USA, Hidden Wings is a superb book of spiritual transformation and hope for the future, by Margaret Silf, the bestselling author of Landmarks and At Sea with God.

The world waits - sometimes holding its breath in fear of what tomorrow may bring, sometimes in a haze of busyness, or boredom, in which we hardly know what we are waiting for. Yet we still wait in hopefulness. The birth of a baby invariably stirs deep wells of hope in the human heart. Perhaps in this generation, things will get better. Perhaps this child will make a difference. As we approach the Christmas season we prepare to celebrate the coming to earth of someone who really does make a difference. At this season the ΓÇÿwindowsΓÇÖ of our human experience can change from rows of faceless panes, perhaps grimy with dirt, into lighted windows that open up new possibilities and coax us into a place where rejoicing might be possible. The journey mapped out in this book is an invitation to look into some of these lighted windows, and discover a few reflections of what we wait for, and long forΓÇöreflections of GodΓÇÖs guidance, his call to trust him and live by his wisdom. Each window seeks to bring familiar scripture into focus with everyday living, encouraging us to enter right into the place where God is coming to birth, and to make the experience of Bethlehem our own. And finally, the windows become doors, through which we are sent back to a waiting world to share our personal experience of God-with-us.

A beautifully written, evocative exploration of the Celtic concept of 'sacred space'

A guide to a variety of retreats on offer, including Ignatian, Myers Briggs and Enneagram. The book covers the purpose of retreats, who can benefit from them, the difference between group and individual retreats and between directed and undirected retreats.

A positive and life-enhancing pathway through the chaos of change.

Finding the spiritual on the streets of the city.

The author offers a course in prayer that is ideal for either groups or individuals. She looks at techniques, ways of focusing, problems and steps for moving on. She begins from where people actually find themselves and uses examples and connections from everyday human experience.

Landmarks help us to find ourselves when we think we are lost. When we don't know where to begin, they give us a starting point. When we think we know where we are, they give us the confidence to keep going. And if we think we have arrived, they remind us that there is always something more, somewhere beyond ... This is a book of Landmarks for the heart's journey. Written out of the author's own prayer and lived experience, and inspired by her practical explorations of the insights of St Ignatius Loyola, it opens up questions which concern us all:- How can we recognise God's ceaseless action in our lives and begin to discern his will?- What does 'fallenness' mean for us today?- How can we live true to ourselves and make decisions in freedom?- How do we penetrate our deepest desires and become free of the lesser attachments that obstruct them?Big questions - but as Margaret Silf shows, there are clues to be discovered in every moment and situation: at home, at work, in the garden, in the market, in the bath!Landmarks will help us discover and deepen our individual journeys. Written for both groups and individuals, it is illustrated with drawings and diagrams, and contains exercises and suggestions for prayer and reflection. Be warned, however. Landmarks are not for armchair pilgrims. They are for People of the Way.