We live in a turbulent time. Storms are everywhere, of every size and shape. And like every generation before us, we must learn the art of surviving them, so we can help each other endure.

In order to stand firm against life’s unavoidable storms, we need to know our true self, deepening our roots and solidifying our connection to all Spirit and all life. Then we, like a firmly rooted tree, can endure the force of trials and heartbreak.

A profoundly timely resource, Surviving Storms describes the heart’s process of renewal and connection with insight and accuracy. Though we must each map the territories of our souls for ourselves, this spiritually practical book is an indispensable guide, bringing us to common passages and paths and urging us forward on the journey. Once the rubble clears, we, like those before us, are inevitably called to build the world one more time, admitting that we need each other.

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In The Book of Soul, Mark Nepo, the bestselling author of The Book of Awakening, offers a powerful guide to inhabiting an authentic and wholehearted life. After we are physically born, we must be spiritually born a second time, a process that takes place through the labor of a lifetime as we develop into more fully realized beings. The Book of Soul delves into the spiritual alchemy of that transformation in all its mystery, difficulty, and inevitability.

The book is divided into four sections that mark the passages we all face: enduring our Walk in the World, until we discover Our True Inheritance, which allows us to live in the open by Widening Our Circle, as we Help Each Other Stay Awake. The Book ofSoul is a piercing guide, replete with beautiful truths and startling insight, that leads us deeply into the process of transformation.

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“Meaningful art, enduring art―and the transformative process it awakens ― keeps us alive,” writes Mark Nepo. With Drinking from the River of Light, this bestselling poet and philosopher will lead you on a journey to discover just how art and authentic expression can bring our deepest truths to bear in the world.

In this collection of interconnected essays and poetry ― covering subjects ranging from the importance of staying in conversation with other forms of life to a consideration of how innovators such as Matisse, Rodin, and Beethoven saw the world ― Nepo presents a lyrical ode to the creative urge that stirs in each of us. Whether it’s the search for a metaphor to reveal life’s beauty or the brushstroke that will thoroughly capture the moment, Drinking from the River of Light examines what it means to go “. . . beyond the boundaries of art, where the viewer and participant are one.”

Here you will discover:

• The importance of openly embracing the full scope of your emotions
• The need for raw honesty and self-exploration in education
• Why a new perspective always waits only a “quarter turn” away
• The importance of staying in constant conversation with other creative voices
• The crucial difference between giving and getting attention
• Concrete guidelines for respectful peer review
• What it means to channel the sound of your innermost being ― and the universe

In Nepo’s words, “This book is meant to be experienced and journeyed with.” Including dozens of journaling prompts and personal exercises meant to enliven the reader’s creative instincts, Drinking from the River of Light traces the search for our most essential selves and the importance of the life of expression to bear witness to the sorrow, depth, and joy of life.

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Inspired by his own journal writing across 15 years, this book shares with us some of Mark’s most personal work. Many passages arise from accounts of his own life events ― moments of “sinking and being lifted” ― and the insights they yielded. Through these passages, we’re encouraged to navigate our own currents of sea and sky, and to discover something fundamental yet elusive: How, simply, to be here.

Mark muses about Unraveling Our Fear, Beyond What Goes Wrong, The Gift of Deepening, The Practice of Relationship, What Holds Us Up, Right-Sizing Our Pain, The Reach of Kindness, Burning Off What’s Unnecessary, How We Make Our Way and many more.

For those interested in either beginning or expanding their own journaling explorations, this reader also provides a guide to the practice of daily writing, with 100 compelling questions to get us started. “Joy is the sea that holds all,” writes Mark, “the Unity of Being where feelings don’t separate, but surface like waves to remind us we are alive.”

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