"How we see determines what we see, and Mary Rees will help you to see much better." Fr. Richard Rohr, O.F.M.
"Mary...takes hard concepts like consciousness and mind and makes them accessible." Rodney Smith, Insight Meditation Teacher
"This...is a book to be done, using the practice, not just to be read, grasping the concepts. As we do so we let direct contact with life be our primary teacher - Sr. Mary Dennison, rc, EdD
"The readers will connect with it based on their own experience and practice, reflecting the principle that all things of a higher nature come when one is ready to receive them." - Mary Hendricks, MS, RYT
"Being Prayer...offers practical skills through which anyone might step into the infinite possibility of who they are as a human being, from whatever background they come."Sally Taylor
From the Author:
A primary theme in Being Prayer-Transforming Consciousness® is that nothing is as substantial as it seems. We fuel a dynamic spiritual unfolding when we reach a realization of the insubstantiality of what we believe to be true, when we see that both our doubts and certainties need to be challenged.
Understanding insubstantialtiy does not mean that things do not exist at all. Instead it invites us to a looser perception, an awareness that we are each conditioned by our life experiences. This conditioning contributes to our uniqueness but also limits our view and colors all of our perceptions. We can learn to widen our perceptions and open to what is most real, to vitality, energy, enthusiasm, and joy.
Being Prayer is intended as a companion to be revisited again and again, to be read and practiced slowly digesting it in small bites at a time. With each reading different teachings will stand out based on life circumstances and developing understanding.
Mary Rees, author
Foreword:
Both the Buddha and Jesus Christ offered the teachings that they did in order to help people change themselves for the better. In this small book Mary Rees brings together, in particular, a number of essential Buddhist-based practices which can help to effect such positive changes, yet which are cast in a language and form that also renders them highly useable by those of a Christian faith — indeed, of any religious faith at all.
—AJAHN AMARO pp xvi
About the author:
Mary Rees has been teaching since 1970 and since writing Being Prayer focused more deeply on embodied awareness and relational practice. In 2019 she wrote a dissertation that expands the practices and insights of this first book into application for professional endeavors, especially research groups. Mary's work remains grounded in spiritual practice, twenty years working as a Specialist in Learning Disabilities, and over 30 years teaching and consulting in contemplative awareness. Mary holds a Master of Science degree in Specific Learning Disabilities from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a PhD in Psychology and Interdisciplinary Inquiry from Saybrook University in northern California. A commonality of Mary's combined trainings and experiences is a focus on expanding consciousness through meditation, prayer, and development of metacognitive capacities. All involve learning how to learn and tapping into available resources and intelligence which are often masked by reliance on language and concepts.
About the team that brought this book to press:
Primary team members who came together to create Being Prayer include editors Mary Sieber and Roger Leslie and graphic designer Kristin Kearns. Con Rees did some crucial early pruning of the writing.
"As this book was being printed in April 2006, Mary Sieber entered a critical health situation and passed away June 19. Though every part of the team was essential in this production, Mary is the primary reason for the excellent overall quality. Without her skill, insight, and belief in the project it may never have come to press."
About the Publisher, Nutshell Publications:
Large topics in brief, Small topics in depth. The goal of Nutshell Publications is offering valuable and significant content in small and beautiful packages. Nutshell does not solicit manuscripts. Its intention is offering writings that get directly to the heart of significant themes - especially those that are valuable in enriching contemplative life and improving the quality of life for all living beings.
Table of Contents and Appendices:
Contents
Introduction
Coming Home Through Our Senses
Knowing the Mind
Freeing the Mind
Shaping the Mind
Birthing Embodied Being
Appendix
Prayers of Intention
Satipatthana Sutta Summary and Bibliography
Recommended Reading by Category
Alphabetical Bibliography
Now Available, Practice Books Series:
Media Kit: (in process)
About the Author see:
Images:
Book Information:
ISBN-13: 978-0-9760036-7-0, ISBN-10: 0-9760036-7-8
Library of Congress Control Number: 2006901542
Paperback, $18.95, 5" x 7", 152 pages
Publisher: Nutshell Publications, Houston, TX
Distributed to the trade through:
Amazon.com
Also purchase at BeingPrayer.com/beigprayer.html
Contact Information:
For review copies of Being Prayer-Transforming Consciousness®:
-
Mary Rees, PhD
Houston, TX 77025
E-mail: reesmary at gmail dot com
www.beingprayer.com
Award-Winning Finalist!
National Indie Excellence 2007 Book Awards - Spirituality
Being Prayer - Transforming Consciousness®:
Good News of Buddhist Practice