Spiritual Discernment Books

Living into the Answers: A Workbook for Personal Spiritual Discernment by Valerie K Isenhower and Judith A Todd, UpperRoom Books, Nashville, TN, 2008.

This workbook is a clear guide for personal discernment based on the authors’ experience in an ecumenical ministry in spiritual discernment. The book is purposefully set out with information, activities and reflective questions with spaces to respond. This is not a static workbook – the authors discuss “flow” and “movements” in the journey of discernment. Suitable to be worked through individually or in groups, this book has wide applications across ecumenical traditions. The authors are based in the USA in Western Protestant Christian tradition. Suitable for those new to spiritual discernment and those revisiting.

The Soul’s Slow Ripening: 12 Celtic Practices for Seeking the Sacred by Christine Valters Paintner, Sorin Books, Notre Dame, IN, 2018.

Those who appreciate Celtic and/or monastic spiritual practices will find much in this book. While the author, Christine Valters Paintner is Catholic and clearly writes from that perspective, many of the practices she describes are appropriate across different traditions. Split into 12 sections, the book has several discernment practices. The reader, and thus the one who is “seeking the sacred” is encouraged to slow down, to deepen and ripen, through story, movement, dreams, silence and scripture. If you are someone who welcomes a creative approach, this could be a useful resource for you.