The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

Find hope and renewal in life's natural cycle of ordinary losses and new beginnings.

"When we intentionally enter into our everyday walk through small losses, the terrain of larger losses, the valley of the shadow of death, is not totally unknown. It is not completely unfamiliar, alien, terrifying, for we have walked some of this way before with our lesser losses. We can journey through this valley of loss, for journey through it we must. And we can emerge markedly changed, but alive, on the other side."
—from the Prologue

Going beyond loss as a problem to be resolved, a grief to be worked through, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton, a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman, reframes loss from the perspective that our everyday losses help us learn what we need to handle the major losses. Weaving in spiritual and classical themes, personal and scriptural story, Dr. Copeland-Payton shows us that by becoming aware of what our lesser losses have to teach us, the larger losses of our lives become less terrifying. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice and questions for reflection to help you:

  • Mine the hidden depths of painful losses of things and places
  • Traverse the devastating loss of relationships and the heart-wrenching death of people we love.
  • Overcome the steep, dark slopes of loss of beliefs and faith.
  • Venture past our fear of the losses of aging and our own death.

"1101662475"
The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

Find hope and renewal in life's natural cycle of ordinary losses and new beginnings.

"When we intentionally enter into our everyday walk through small losses, the terrain of larger losses, the valley of the shadow of death, is not totally unknown. It is not completely unfamiliar, alien, terrifying, for we have walked some of this way before with our lesser losses. We can journey through this valley of loss, for journey through it we must. And we can emerge markedly changed, but alive, on the other side."
—from the Prologue

Going beyond loss as a problem to be resolved, a grief to be worked through, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton, a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman, reframes loss from the perspective that our everyday losses help us learn what we need to handle the major losses. Weaving in spiritual and classical themes, personal and scriptural story, Dr. Copeland-Payton shows us that by becoming aware of what our lesser losses have to teach us, the larger losses of our lives become less terrifying. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice and questions for reflection to help you:

  • Mine the hidden depths of painful losses of things and places
  • Traverse the devastating loss of relationships and the heart-wrenching death of people we love.
  • Overcome the steep, dark slopes of loss of beliefs and faith.
  • Venture past our fear of the losses of aging and our own death.

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The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

by Nancy Copeland-Payton
The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss

by Nancy Copeland-Payton

eBook

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Overview

Find hope and renewal in life's natural cycle of ordinary losses and new beginnings.

"When we intentionally enter into our everyday walk through small losses, the terrain of larger losses, the valley of the shadow of death, is not totally unknown. It is not completely unfamiliar, alien, terrifying, for we have walked some of this way before with our lesser losses. We can journey through this valley of loss, for journey through it we must. And we can emerge markedly changed, but alive, on the other side."
—from the Prologue

Going beyond loss as a problem to be resolved, a grief to be worked through, Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton, a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman, reframes loss from the perspective that our everyday losses help us learn what we need to handle the major losses. Weaving in spiritual and classical themes, personal and scriptural story, Dr. Copeland-Payton shows us that by becoming aware of what our lesser losses have to teach us, the larger losses of our lives become less terrifying. Each chapter includes a spiritual practice and questions for reflection to help you:

  • Mine the hidden depths of painful losses of things and places
  • Traverse the devastating loss of relationships and the heart-wrenching death of people we love.
  • Overcome the steep, dark slopes of loss of beliefs and faith.
  • Venture past our fear of the losses of aging and our own death.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781594733451
Publisher: Turner Publishing Company
Publication date: 07/11/2011
Sold by: Barnes & Noble
Format: eBook
Pages: 192
File size: 2 MB

About the Author

Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton is a spiritual director and ordained clergywoman in the Presbyterian Church (USA). She is author of The Losses of Our Lives: The Sacred Gifts of Renewal in Everyday Loss. A pastor, hospital chaplain and physician who practiced medicine for twenty years, she now leads retreats at church centers, monasteries and with church groups to help people explore their experiences of loss.
Dr. Nancy Copeland-Payton is available to speak on the following topics:

  • Sacred Gifts and Difficult Losses in Life
  • Listening for God's Voice – The Art of Discernment
  • The Prayer of Silence
  • Living Advent Each Day
  • Nurturing the Monk Inside – Living Monastically in the Everyday

Click here to contact the author.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix
Prologue xi

1 The Human Tapestry 1
Spiritual Practice: Breath Prayer 10
Exploring Deeper 11

2 Birth Pangs and Passages 15
Spiritual Practice: Walking Meditation 29
Exploring Deeper 30

3 Awakening: Patterns of Gift and Loss 35
Spiritual Practice: Examen 47
Exploring Deeper 48

4 Things and Places 51
Spiritual Practice: Sand Mandala 64
Exploring Deeper 65

5 The Ebb and Flow of Relationships 69
Spiritual Practice: Labyrinth 86
Exploring Deeper 87

6 Relationships That Unravel and Tear Apart 89
Spiritual Practice: Accompaniment 108
Exploring Deeper 109

7 When Foundations Shake and Crumble 113
Spiritual Practice: Lectio Divina 129
Exploring Deeper 130

8 The Passing of Time: Our Final Loss … and Gift 133
Spiritual Practice: Guided Meditation 146
Exploring Deeper 148

Epilogue 151
Notes 153
Suggestions for Further Reading 155

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