Hi everyone! I’m excited to share with you about my upcoming book, Sacred Balance: How Ancient Practices Can Restore Modern Minds. I’m working with the wonderful people at Chalice Press and we expect to have this book in your hands in the spring of 2025!
The inspiration for this book began in January 2020, just before we started hearing the word “coronavirus” on the news. I led an adult education group at Pennington Presbyterian Church focused on spirituality and mental health. I introduced a few prayer practices from the Christian tradition that offer benefits for mental and emotional well-being. In addition to the small group that met in person, a number of people requested the information by email. Those emails sparked the idea for a larger writing project, and Sacred Balance was born!
As you probably know, the years since 2020 emphasized the importance of mental health—not just for those with a specific diagnosis, but for everyone trying to make sense of the stress and isolation of the pandemic. Through all that I continued my work as a chaplain at an inpatient psychiatric facility, helping patients engage their spirituality to build hope and resilience. I also kept coming back to those spiritual practice emails. I expanded them with background on the historical roots of each practice, and I found current research on the mental health benefits they can offer. I’ve added a few additional practices as well. I look forward to sharing all these insights with you!
I’m grateful for all your support and excitement about this project! I’ll keep posting regular updates with reflections about mental health and spirituality. You can sign up on my homepage to get these updates by email!