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One of my ongoing endeavors is that of trying to establish a balance between travel for conferences, retreats, etc. and being at home so I can have more time to write. At the same time I consistently seek ways that I can be in touch with my readers and those seeking spiritual nourishment. I am happy to report that I now have a monthly e-newsletter. (It's free.) I decided to offer this as a source of regular communication and an avenue of connection. My intention is to have a short essay with something spiritually enriching in the newsletter, along with a brief bit of information on my current travels and publications. If you, or someone you know, would like to be on the mailing list to receive this newsletter, please contact me:
Joyce@joycerupp.com - Joyce
NEW ** Online Videos featuring Joyce Rupp** NEW
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From the author... |
Welcome! Thank you for taking time to visit my website. Whether you arrived here on purpose or accidentally, I’m glad you came. As I write this I am savoring the beautiful solitude and peaceful quiet of my home in the woods. This lovely spot continues to allow me the contemplative space I need in order to write with depth and quality. I find great joy in sharing this wee part of the planet with the birds, deer, woodchuck, tree toads, fireflies and other creatures who dwell in the woods.
I hope you’ll find what you are looking for as you browse through this website. Thanks to my gifted website creator and manager, Faye Williamsen, you can click on a variety of items at the top of this page and have access to my current speaking schedule, information on publications, and a variety of articles, poems, and videos online. If there’s other information you are seeking and do not find here, contact me at: Joyce@joycerupp.com
My latest publication, Fragments of Your Ancient Name:365 Glimpses of the Divine for Daily Meditation, is now in bookstores and available through Amazon. I’ve already received messages from readers telling me how they are using the book. Their notes bring me much joy. A married couple are reading one prayer a day at their breakfast table, then reflecting on its message and how they can live it. A woman told me how she took Fragments of Your Ancient Name to their school faculty meeting and used it for the opening prayer by passingthe book around the circle of teachers and having each one read the prayer that was on their birthday. Another woman wrote to tell me she reads one of the prayers each day and then writes her own reflection using that same title for the divine. Creative ventures abound.
The Institute of Compassionate Presence remains a central focus of my teaching and speaking. The Institutethrives in its third year at our Servite Center of Compassion in Omaha. This is an eight session program (once a month on the second Friday). The four day intensives for the ICP that I offer nationally also continue to grow. The ICP intensive combines the content and process of the eight-day-once-a-month ICP and offers it in a four day format. I absolutely love the remarkable growth and deepened awareness that takes place for participants in this program. I truly believe compassion is what our world most needs, not only in order to survive, but to live the deepest and best of our precious humanity.
My hope is to do what I can to strengthen and enhance the spirituality of those who come into my life, whether through writing or through gatherings where I am speaking and teaching. Thank you for any way that you can join me in this hope of mine. I greatly value your support and interest. Together we can be a loving presence in our world!
- Joyce |
Articles of Interest...
Book shares peace found on journey - Review by Shirley Ragsdale, Des Moines Register, July 15, 2006, of Walk in a Relaxed Manner
Sneak Preview - Read preview chapter of Joyce's new book Walk in a Relaxed Manner online at The Healing Garden Journal.
"Desperately Seeking Sophia," US Catholic Magazine, October 2002
"Open Some Doors this Advent," US Catholic Magazine, November 24, 2008.
"Five Spiritual Lessons of Loss," Family Perspectives Journal, Summer 2002
"Celtic Crossovers: May the Lent of the Irish Be With You," U.S. Catholic, March 2001
"The art of cultivating spiritual growth," The editors interview Joyce Rupp. US Catholic, April 2000. pp 26-31.
"Let the Land Teach Us" About Healing and Creativity. Joyce Rupp. Catholic Rural Life, Spring 2000, pp. 12-16. Catholic Rural Life is a publication of the National Catholic Rural Life Conference. http://www.ncrlc.com
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Book Awards Announced
Catholic Press Association:
Walk in a Relaxed Manner - placed first in the area of spirituality, softcover book.
The Circle of Life placed second in this same category!
Independent Book Publishers Association:
The Circle of Life received a second place award in the Religion category.
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Devotional
Booklets
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About Joyce Rupp...
Joyce Rupp is well known for her work as a writer, a spiritual "midwife," and retreat and conference speaker. She has led retreats throughout North America, as well as in Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Joyce has a B.A. in English, a M.R.E. in Religious Education, and a M.A. in Transpersonal Psychology. She is a member of the Servites (Servants of Mary) community and a volunteer for Hospice. She currently resides in Des Moines, Iowa. A list of Joyce's works can be found in the left column of this page. Click on the book title to find out more information about that title.
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Spiritual Zest
February 2012
What creatures of habit we are. On a Tuesday morning not long ago I went to our women’s prayer group that meets at 7:00 a.m. in a local church. This is a large building and the walking route from the underground parking lot to the lovely Inspiration Lounge takes about five minutes. On this particular morning I opened the entrance door from the parking lot that leads to the first set of stairs. Alas, when I reached the point where the bottom of the stairs would be, the double doors were closed. I stood there for a moment, blinked at the solid mass in front of me, and was temporarily disoriented. I could actually feel in my body the suddenness of not being able to progress easily through the anticipated opening. My mind quickly met this confusion with the question: “I am in the usual location, right?” I tugged on the doors and, sure enough, they opened to allow access up the stairs. I turned the corner at the top of those stairs and reached the second stairway. Again, I was brought to a halt with that set of double doors also shut. I proceeded to tug them open and went up the second flight. Thus I continued my way through at least six more closed doors (that were always open in the past) before I reached my destination.
I thought about that walk all day, how a simple thing like a closed door instead of an open one could disorient me so rapidly. I was amazed at I how I reacted to my usual pattern of behavior when it was interrupted by something as ordinary as a door blocking my way. Then I thought about how incidences in my life operate in a similar manner. Life moves along smoothly for a while. I enter the hours or days without much thought as to how I am living. It’s just the usual thing. Then, boing!, someone or something interferes with the usual or expected pattern and there I am face to face with a closed door.
I think this is true for all of us. Anything that interrupts our regular pattern of life can be like those closed doors I met Tuesday morning. Any disturbing or unexpected event can turn our world upside down,- a negative comment about ourselves, an additional deadline at work, a street closure crippling our hurried journey to a meeting, the discovery of a child’s misbehavior at school, - and we are suddenly disoriented, struggling to maintain our inner equilibrium.
How we respond to these unforeseen or sudden changes makes all the difference in whether we carry peace or discord within us. Our response also weighs significantly on whether or not we want to keep on growing. Openness to the unexpected and the unwanted is necessary if we are to continue forward on our journey of personal transformation. If we turn around from the closed doors in our life, or if we stand before them in a helpless state, refusing to move onward, we will stagnate and not discover more of our truest self.
When I met the closed doors that morning I remembered something I had written in Open the Door:
“…our deeper self awaits our entrance. The divine presence within this realm continually urges us inward. There is much to be discovered when we bravely wend our way there. Each opening of the door makes it worth the effort. We may not believe this initially, but with time we see and accept gratefully the wisdom our journey contains.
…I invite you to stand before the door of your heart and open it. Remember Revelations 3:21. The Holy One stands at the door you are to open. Do not be afraid. Love in the fullest form accompanies you. Take a deep breath. Unlock the door. Reach slowly for the handle and swing wide the door of your heart.” |
© Joyce Rupp
Check out previous Spiritual Zest Articles.
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Reviews...
"The Dance of Oneness," A review of The Cosmic Dance by Loretta Peters, EarthLight, Summer 2002.
"A Nurturing God," A review by Sally Cunneen of Prayers to Sophia and The Star in My Heart. The American Catholic, March 2000, pp. 7, 19. http://www.vfr.com/tac
Reviews by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat,Values and Visions Review Service
Open the Door
Walk in a Relaxed Manner
Out of the Ordinary: Prayers, Poems, and Reflections for Every Season
The Star in My Heart: Experiencing Sophia, Inner Wisdom
Reviewed by Sharon Flesher Prayers to Sophia: A Companion to "A Star in My Heart"
Reviewed by Austin Repath Walk in a Relaxed Manner |
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