Conversation - the Sacred Art

Diane M. Millis, PhD, is a leadership consultant, educator, spiritual director and author of Conversation—The Sacred Art: Practicing Presence in an Age of Distraction and Deepening Engagement: Essential Wisdom for Listening and Leading with Purpose, Meaning and Joy. She brings over twenty-five years of teaching experience in the fields of spirituality, communication studies, family studies and human development. As a leadership consultant, she coaches leaders in corporate, education, health care, ministry, non-profit and philanthropic settings. She is the founder of the Journey Conversations Project, an educational initiative devoted to developing deep listening and increasing self-awareness, mutual understanding and candor in communities. To learn more about her work, visit www.dianemillis.com.Rev. Tilden Edwards, PhD, is founder and senior fellow of the ecumenical Shalem Institute for Spiritual Formation and author of eight books on spiritual life.

• Foreword ixIntroduction xiiiPart OneWhat Is the Sacred Art of Conversation? 1Chapter 1: Encountering the Sacred Within 5Practice: Entering the Cave of Your Heart 10Practice: Listening to the Conversation in Your Heart 11Chapter 2: Encountering the Sacred in Each Other 13Reflection: Souls Who Have Made Us Wiser 17Practice: Tending One Another's Light— Holding, Beholding, and Being Held 18Chapter 3: Encountering the Sacred Between Us 19Reflection: Increasing Awareness of the Sacred Between Us 24Part TwoGateways for Conversation 25Chapter 4: Listening to Your Life 31Reflection: Steppingstones on the Journey 40Chapter 5: Noticing and Naming What Gives You Life 41Reflection: Nurturing Awareness of What You Hold Sacred 49Reflection: Looking at the World with the Eyes of a Poet 50Chapter 6: Discerning a Heart-Centered Path 51Reflection: Listening to Your Inner Guide 60Reflection: The Thread You Follow 61Part ThreePracticing the Sacred Art of Conversation 63Chapter 7: Practicing Attentive Presence: Listening Within Before Speaking Out 69Practice: Three Deep Breaths 75Practice: Centering on the Breath 76Chapter 8: Practicing Receptive Presence: Welcoming All That We Encounter 77Reflection: The Three Gates 85Practice: The Welcoming Prayer 86Chapter 9: Practicing Compassionate Presence: Going Within Before Venturing Out 89Practice: Offering the Gift ofContemplative Questions 100Practice: Sacred Holding 102Practice: Compassionate Abiding 103Conclusion 105AppendicesThe Sacred Art of Conversation in Community: Creating Occassions for Contemplative Conversations 111Appendix 1: Cultivating Contemplation and Compassion in Community through Journey Conversations 115Appendix 2: Appreciatively Focused Conversations at Home and Work 127Appendix 3: Conversation Catalysts 131Notes 139Suggestions for Further Reading 147Acknowledgments 151About the Journey Conversations Project 153Credits 154

Millis (founder, Journey Conversations Project) has tackled an unusual topic in spirituality: conversation. We think of conversation as an element in democratic governing or an ornament in society, but Millis makes a good case for using conversation to approach the sacred in the self and others; she shows how to enlarge the element of the sacred in dialog, with examples from many traditions. VERDICT An interesting and truly multifaith approach to a topic of broad application (we all talk!); good for reading groups and retreats, as well as individuals. Library Journal 8/1/2013, Vol 138: 13, p. 81.