Living Spirituality - Series 1 (ePub)

The study, cultivation and 'teaching' of spiritual formation in Australian Catholic schools, parishes and online environments has faced many challenges, not the least being that it has been neglected and 'gone missing' in many contexts and environments. Its formal Australian genesis continues to arise from its 'First Peoples' - the original Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inhabitants of Australia. Influences have also transpired from the multiple First Fleet religious traditions arriving in 1788 and further back through the golden seams of mysticism and spirituality that can be mined within Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Eastern, Celtic and other traditions.

Living Spirituality is unique in its capacity to propose a new approach to cultivating spiritual formation for teachers through a Quadrivial or 'Four Rivers' model of spirituality. The Quadrivial approach to spirituality is described as a 'metaapproach' or way of proceeding that privileges four 'movements', touchstones or markers of spirituality - Spiritual Traditions, Narratives, Disciplines and Virtues. Following its prefacing chapters, this text explores foundational topics in this Series 1 edition - an introduction to Christian spirituality, Ecological spirituality and conversion, Christian breathing meditation, the Jesus Prayer, the Jewish Jesus and, finally, Lectio Divina. Each chapter integrates significant insights and practices from seminal figures particularly across the Abrahamic traditions, as well as key disciplines such as resouling the Sabbath, and virtues such as humility and detachment. Three teacher-friendly icons point the reader to 'Teacher Tips', 'Did you know' ideas, and rich academic insights from 'Scholars Corner'.