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Author Brian McLaren Unveils Spiritual Practices for the “Not Religious” in ‘Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in Twelve Simple Words’

Author Brian McLaren Unveils Spiritual Practices for the “Not Religious” in ‘Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in Twelve Simple Words’













Cover: Naked Spirituality by Brian McLaren


San Francisco, CA (Vocus/PRWEB) March 15, 2011

More than 20 percent of Americans define themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” a growing segment that Christian churches are finding tough to attract or keep. Author and speaker Brian McLaren suggests in his new book that a transparent encounter with God is what most spiritual people are seeking – and that this encounter is too often missing from organized religion. McLaren has penned Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words (HarperOne, March 15, 2011) to outline a dozen durable, doable spiritual practices that can lead to a truly spiritual life – and even to true religion.

McLaren, heralded in 2005 as one of TIME Magazine’s top 25 evangelicals, writes: “This is a book about getting naked—not physically, but spiritually. It’s about stripping away the symbols and status of public religion—the Sunday-dress version people often call ‘organized religion.’ We are after a lost treasure as old as the story of the Garden of Eden: the possibility of being naked and not ashamed, naked before God and naked before one another, too, where we have no need to cover up, to protect, to posture, to dress to impress, just the freedom to be who we are, what we are, as we are. I hope this book will help you strip away distractions and discover that precious hidden treasure underneath.”

Naked Spirituality offers twelve words, or practices, to anchor the reader in God and free him or her to do the holistic work the gospel calls for – to pray as well as save the planet; to worship as well as lift up the poor and needy. McLaren shares practical wisdom for living a truly spiritual life as he presents a dozen exercises for beginning and sustaining a meaningful relationship with God. Rooted in four seasons, these practices are represented by simple words which are easy to remember but rich in transformative power:

    Season One is Simplicity: This spring-like season of spiritual awakening is built on the framework of three words representing three spiritual practices – Here, Thanks, O!
    Season Two is Complexity: Like summer, this is a season of spiritual strengthening and it is marked by three concepts: Sorry, Help, Please
    Season Three is Perplexity: This autumn-like season is one of spiritual surviving, with three practices guided by these emotive words: When?, No!, and Why?
    Season Four is Harmony: As with winter, this is a season of deepening, practiced with three spiritual. concepts: Behold, Yes, and […]

McLaren invites readers to leave behind negative experiences of religion so they can become truly spiritual people and reclaim the promise of religion. He writes: “Religion, by its etymology, is about connecting us together again. In this light true religion and naked spirituality are two names for the same thing: seeking vital connection. So if religion is experienced as promoting selfishness rather than otherliness, as prioritizing one’s own personal salvation and religiosity over the well-being of others, then religion becomes anti—religious. Maybe if we name this kind of unspiritual phenomenon “de-ligion” instead of “religion,” we can save the latter word for the traditions that enhance and support naked spirituality.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Brian McLaren is an author, speaker, pastor, and networker among innovative Christian leaders, thinkers, and activists. His groundbreaking books include A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, The Secret Message of Jesus, and Everything Must Change. Named by Time magazine as one of America’s top twenty-five evangelicals, McLaren has appeared on “Nightline” and “Larry King Live,” and has been covered by The Washington Post and the New York Times. His website is BrianMcLaren.net.

Naked Spirituality: A Life with God in 12 Simple Words

By Brian D. McLaren

HarperOne, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers

March 15, 2011| $ 25.99 | Hardcover | 9780061854019

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Posted on March 22, 2011 by , Reply

The United States Constitution in Simple English Now Available

The United States Constitution in Simple English Now Available












We the People


Saddle Brook, New Jersey (Vocus/PRWEB) January 01, 2011

The new Republican majority in the United States House of Representatives has promised to read the entire U.S. Constitution on January 6th, as a prelude to its getting to work on new legislation.

And what about the rest of Americans?

If citizens are going to hold elected leaders to the letter of the Constitution, they need to know what it says. Unfortunately, the Constitution was written with long, long sentences, many subordinate clauses, and seldom-heard legal terms. And most sources are in fine print.

Many citizens have long ago forgotten their 10th grade American civics class and the analysis of the Constitution. Or they may have slept through it at the time as one of the most dense and therefore, boring of topics. Or perhaps they never had such a course.

Twelve percent of the population of the United States is foreign born. This is another important segment of Americans who have no clear understanding of what the Constitution is. They’ve come here for the benefits of the Constitution, and studied enough to pass a citizenship test. But limited English kept them from getting a full view of the Constitution.

Elizabeth Claire’s purpose in providing the Constitution in Simple English is to give all Americans a fresh starting point in reading the Constitution. It is written on a reading level suitable for eighth-grade students and for new speakers of English at a high-intermediate level. The Constitution in simple English does not in anyway “dumb down” the original document, which stands directly next to it. Claire’s version contains a brief historical introduction and summary. Reading the Constitution “in translation” will help Americans appreciate the remarkable foundation of the U.S. government. This is a necessary first step in fulfilling civic duties.

Claire, who has a master’s degree in Teaching English as a second language, and 40 years of experience, is the author of 26 texts and teacher resource books in her field, and is the founder and publisher of Easy English NEWS, a monthly newspaper for English language learners.

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Posted on February 7, 2011 by , Reply

Buddhism beliefs simple technique for the freedom of troubling thoughts

Beliefs of Buddhism is the spiritual philosophy to understand his individual life of man, the absolute life, consciousness and subtle problem of human suffering and human suffering that can be controlled based on meditation and conscious experience. It helps understand the metaphysics of the human mind, its thoughts and desires.

Buddhism was founded around 500 BC and is based on the teachings of Buddha, an awakened India. During the period of Ashoka, emperor of India, Buddhism was dominant in northern India and also the center of the education world. It has spread throughout India and became the dominant religion in the world. Today, less than 1% of India’s population is Buddhist. Buddhism has more followers in many countries . Approximately 6% of the world’s population is estimated to have faith in Buddhism. Many Hindus in India, who worship God in various forms, always adore basis of Buddhism. India continues to bear the symbol of Askoka Chakra and the Emperor Asoka of India has been a fervent follower of Buddhism ..
 

 Beliefs of Buddhism does not believe in God, that the perception of God in Hinduism, the God of the Christians, the God of the Jews, the God of Muslims, etc.? Beliefs of Buddhism do not accept or reject or make comments on a creator God absolute. Therefore, Buddhism does not believe in the concept of a Creator God, but have faith in the personal practice of ethics followed by other religions and spiritual wisdom. It carries all not by faith but by meditation in pure consciousness. Buddhism believes that the greatest source of wisdom and energy is consciousness and the subtle nature with which all in the physical world is in eternal life and freshness.
  
Buddhist beliefs have faith in ethics given in the Four Noble Truths by Buddha to analyze the problem of human suffering, diagnosing the causes of human suffering and prescribe a method to resolve human suffering.

Beliefs of Buddhism are the silence to find not any god or worship any god or pray to God for any spiritual or mitigate their sufferings. Beliefs of Buddhism are the religion that is simply concerned with the human condition: birth, sickness, old age, death and alleviate mental suffering during the physical existence. Beliefs of Buddhism accept the psychological suffering in human life and provide solutions to alleviate their suffering without the participation of any perception of the existence of God.

Beliefs Buddhists believe in God? Many follower of Buddhism believe in God or do not believe in God, but all take the path of Buddhist philosophy to alleviate their sufferings and practice meditation and consciousness to understand the spiritual life of ease.
     
But if there are no gods how did the universe come here. Beliefs of Buddhism are not the philosophy of God or no God and how to get there and the changing world and to treat other types of life in the universe. Many religions are more concerned about this situation and the perception of an infinite God or no God. Beliefs of Buddhism made its followers free of controversy and people like all confessions and give the causes and practical solutions for their suffering through meditation and following its simple rules of morality.

Like many other religions, Buddhism believes in miracles, but believes it is the subtle nature of meaning that normal humans can not understand. Everything is in the nature of cause and effect and the fundamental nature of the subtle elements in the physical world is eternal. Buddhism Philosophy Meditation, improving the quality of mental life is similar to the philosophy of Patanjali Yoga, which is still practiced by many sages of the Himalayas and Hindu in India, to reach the spiritual life in peace. Although the Buddha was originally in India, many Hindus accept him as one of their high sage, but few of his ardent followers. Any way, the Dalai Lama of Buddhism has chosen his stay in my India, and is most respected by all Hindus in India.

Different perceptions of God under various faiths and pray to God as perceived by the belief are the technique to enter the consciousness that is the door to our understanding of metaphysics, mind and inner beyond this we call God. Various denominations also suggest the purification of mind by adopting a morality.   Buddhist art is entering the consciousness is not based on faith, but based on the wisdom and conscious experience and meditation.

 For me, someone who follows the moral character of a faith or no faith, and learned the art of removing the sense of thought invoking consciousness through meditation or any other faith, the way forward is the one and beyond the expression of a human language through which we communicate and quote different philosophy of God or no God or or Patanjali Yoga or meditation of Buddhism.

Author GS Virk has published books on spirituality, Yoga, Meditation, Gita , Sikhism, God , Spiritual Sculptures and phones. All are fully accessible online at Spiritual Book Numbers, and are for beginners.
  Site http://www.human-rights-online.org/ searches rights information resources in online world to comply with human rights. This link is to benefit from its services.
  GS Virk Heavenly Gardens

Posted on October 16, 2010 by , Reply