Earth Angels: Engaging the Sacred in Everyday Things

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By the time you finish this book, the term “inanimate object” will no longer have a place in your vocabulary, for Shaun McNiff will awaken you to the wondrous energies streaming out of familiar things and bringing a sense of magic into everyday life. Join the author as he discovers the autonomous spirits of a silver Mercedes convertible, a mysterious cigarette burn on the dining room table, and the scary shadow of a tree outside a child’s room. Contemplate with him the bleakness of a hotel conference room and the crucifix that hung over his childhood bed. Let him lead you on a field trip to the “unholy lands” of the shopping mall and faculty meeting, to the familiar spirits of his seaside New England homes, to the realm of dream, reverie, and memory, as he demonstrates how to connect with the life-giving energies of images and things, places and people. These are the earth angels—spirits of everyday life that call for the return of our lost soul to the world. Unlike the images of winged beings that now pervade popular culture, the earth angels also include the soul’s unattractive messengers, whose mission may require offense, pain, or fear as a preparation for change and renewal. Does a Styrofoam cup have soul? McNiff says yes, for the most debased things show us that the presence of the divine depends upon the quality of attention that we bring to our experiences.

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