Exercising Your Soul: Fifteen Minutes a Day to a Spiritual Life

by Gary Jansen Narrated by Gary Jansen

Overview

How many people devote as much time to their prayer lives and relationships with God as they give to the care of their minds and bodies? What would happen if you gave just fifteen minutes of your day to God? Would your life change? You bet it would. EXERCISING YOUR SOUL is a spiritual fitness program, a guide to firming up your faith that offers practical techniques to recharge and enhance your relationships with yourself, with others, and most importantly, with God. Drawing from spiritual practices from Christian traditions that have transformed the lives of millions throughout the centuries, the prayers and exercises in this audio book are powerful ways of experiencing God in your day-to-day life. With a style that is personal and engaging, author Gary Jansen brings to life each of the practices he suggests as he shares his own growth through the disciplines. With beautifully told modern-day parables and stories, EXERCISING YOUR SOUL makes complicated concepts simple and exquisite. it is the antithesis of a self-help book, Jansen explains; it is rather a “God- help book,” one that places God at the center of all things and will change your life forever.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly

In this conversational guide to historic and contemporary Christian meditative exercises, Doubleday religion editor Jansen persuasively argues that the incorporation of spiritual practices into one's daily routine is not only desirable but achievable without extraordinary effort. The book is divided into five sections, one offering the rationale for trying to connect with God, and four that walk the reader through exercises devoted to prayer, encountering God, engaging the parables, and meditating on the Stations of the Cross (this section includes both traditional and contemporary versions). Chapters build on each other: for example, the parable exercises incorporate previously introduced prayers. Jansen's relaxed, second-person narrative voice amuses and inspires trust; when discussing Christ as the intersection between humanity and all creation he begins, "I hate to do this to you, but I would like to talk briefly about math." Small vignettes and stories reflective of the author's own spiritual journey appear throughout; some, including the two that open and close the book, "White Rabbits" and "Coda," have a magical realism tone, adding a playful element to this well-done spiritual workbook, which both individuals and groups may find enlightening and useful. (Aug.)

New York Times bestselling author of The Rhythm of Matthew Kelly

"Exercising Your Soul is brilliant! Whether you are a beginning or a vetran of the spiritual life I think you will find Gary Jansen's approach immensibly practical."

Mike Aquilina

"I love this book. Gary Jansen has an endearing, attention-deficit quality that lets him deliver big lessons not only painlessly, but humorously. He goes deep, and takes us readers deep, without even a whiff of pious unction. For Jansen, a tattooed foot on the subway is the start of a mystical flight. By the end of the story, we know that these everyday distractions should be graces for us as well."

author of Beyond Blue Therese Borchard

"Gary Jansen has accomplished what no other spiritual author before him has: explained the Spiritual Exercises of Ignatius of Loyola in language I understand! He educates, entertains, and inspires with his charming stories and simple prose."

author of Hard as Nails and Win it All Justin Fatica

"Gary Jansen's powerful book will send you into a spiritual awakening. Start reading Exercising Your Soul and you will truly desire to love others in a new way. He not only writes a beautiful work, but more importantly, he lives the message."

Fr. Joseph F. Girzone

"This book will be fun to read and will lead readers into what will be for many, a new and exciting adventure."

James Martin

"Prayer is not just for the saints, but for you. Gary Jansen's beautiful book is filled with simple, how-to advice on jump-starting your relationship with God. Using insights from the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola, Jansen offers straight-forward advice on how to begin, or deepen, your relationship with the One who loved us into being."

Paul Coutinho

"This is one of the rare books where the author captures the authentic goal of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, namely, Dive Union and the interconnectedness of all life. In a simple and collective style, Gary Jansen makes it easier to experience God who is present in every creature."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940171388034
Publisher:	Ascent Audio
Publication date:	09/13/2010
Edition description:	Unabridged

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