Böcker av Gunilla Norris

“Between God and the soul, there is no in-between,” said Julian of Norwich, a 14th-century mystic, and that idea frames the poems in this collection.Norris’ central idea is that mystery is the core of being. It is in us and around us. Given a chance, something deep inside will show up as longing, something that can’t be explained but needs expression. This is what she begins to call “soul singing.”A well-known writer and poet now in her eighties, Gunilla Norris offers this collection of short prayers, tender moments of awareness, even humming, that express her yearning for and experience of connecting with the Source of all. Norris’ expressions have a universal feel, and speak across a spectrum of traditions. Above all, Soul Songs shows how sometimes we simply can’t help but lift our hearts and sing for the soul’s sake.

"Gunilla Norris is now at the height of her powers as a poet. The poems in this new collection are sublime--one after another and another. Reading them, I can hardly catch my breath. The work is full of what I might call sorrowful joy. Ms. Norris observes life so closely and opens ordinary moments into what I can only call the divine realms. Truly, as much as any collection I've ever read, this group of poems makes me want to write poetry myself, and makes me want to see life as Ms. Norris sees it." -Stephen Cope, Scholar Emeritus, Kripalu Center for Yoga and HealthBest-selling author of The Great Work of Your Life, and Soul Friends

Deep down, our hearts always long to embody more awareness, kindness, and presence. Here is a little book of heart-full ways to grow. Over time a practice can become an intimate companion on the way, one that helps us to inhabit and express our essence and so to live authentic lives with joy and gusto.

To have the deep love of a friend is to have the shelter in which to embody more and more of the essence that we each are. In her book, Norris shows how in holding each other with trust and compassion, our shells fall away, and we emerge into the world as freer beings. Participating in a true friendship is profound and holy work. This book is a gift for the journey.

"Looking for a spiritual practice simple enough to fit a busy life, yet deep enough to help you grow? 'For ninety consecutive days,' writes Gunilla Norris, 'light a match with a purpose, a feeling or a desire in mind,' and if you miss a day, start the count again. That daily moment of persistent attentiveness to whatever is calling you from within will kindle new warmth, new light, new life. It's simple-but it's the simplicity on the other side of complexity. Illumined by the lifetime of wisdom Norris shares in yet another beautifully written book, Match describes a life-giving practice toward transformation." Parker J. Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy

"Timeless wisdom, poetic and true, to return to again and again as you journey on the path. Hints for the Heart is a beautiful invitation to enter the flow of our lives and discover the boundless mystery of who we really are."-Tara brach, author of Radical Acceptance"Living ordinary life with extraordinary love is the key to the contemplative journey. Norris takes the ordinary forgotten actions of each day and helps us celebrate them in a way that intensifies our awareness."-Father Carl J. Arico"If by acclamation a spiritual master of the quotidian could be announced surely the name Gunilla Norris would sound uncontested. No one illumines the mysteries of the moment as she does-the gifts of every-day grace, of familiar sacraments, of veiled divinities awaiting our discovery. Throughout her exceptionally rich and numerous corpus of offerings, she teaches us to witness and celebrate the blessed abundance spilling over from the smallest things."-Kathleen Noone Deignan, Director the Institute For Earth and Spirit At Iona University"Hints from the Heart is an invitation to discover God through the simple gifts of sense and self. Through the gifts of breath, touch, taste, sight, and smell she invites us to awaken to wonder and oneness-and in the process to become love, the only real hope for our hurting world."-The Rev. Matthew Wright

In Simple Ways acclaimed spiritual writer and teacher Gunilla Norris has distilled a lifetime of seeking and reflecting into a beautifully worded, lucid, and practical primer for prayer, meditation, and mindful living.

'People often contact me because they have lost some kind of meaning thread in their lives. Without a sense of meaning our lives lose their lustre. We endure our days rather than embrace the living of them.'