Everything Starts From Prayer Mother Teresa's Meditations on Spiritual Life for People of All Faiths Selected and Arranged by Anthony Stern, M.D. Foreword by Larry Dossey, M.D. At the Home for the Dying in Calcutta, Mother Teresa often cared for the residents as they approached the end. As she was ministering to one illness-ravaged man, a visitor overheard her whisper a few words to him. These few words embody some of Mother Teresa's most wonderful wisdom. This is what she said: "You say a prayer in your religion, and I will say a prayer as I know it. Together we will say this prayer and it will be something beautiful for God." These gentle words of solace and care provide us with a glimpse at a Mother Teresa we've often overlooked: Mother Teresa the universal teacher of prayer. The world has admired the Mother Teresa who devoted her life to caring for the poorest of the poor everywhere. But her close associates knew that all of Mother Teresa's outer activity of caring and action was the natural consequence of her devotion, the overflow of her deep inner life. They witnessed her reliance upon contemplative practice, and they recognized Mother Teresa not only as a devout Catholic, but also as a great ecumenical teacher of prayer.

Religion Paperback List price: $12.95 Sale Price: $11.00 ISBN 1-883991-25-0

Compiler Anthony Stern, M.D., a physician/psychiatrist who has special interest in prayer and healing, has selected and arranged Mother Teresa's inspirational prayer teachings into six distinct meditative stages on the spiritual life, integrating silence, love, faith, and service. Each section presents a building block to further our understanding of Mother Teresa's approach to the art of prayer. Taken as a whole, the book not only provides an inspirational introduction to prayer but also offers new insights into the teachings of this universally loved and revered spiritual teacher.

In Everything Starts from Prayer, Mother Teresa's profound wisdom is expressed through brief, deceptively simple thoughts:

Some call Him Ishwar, some call Him Allah, some simply God, but we have to acknowledge that it is He who made us for greater things: to love and be loved. What matters is that we love. We cannot love without prayer, and so whatever religion we are, we must pray together.

We cannot place ourselves directly in God's presence without imposing upon ourselves interior and exterior silence. That is why we must accustom ourselves to stillness of the soul, of the eyes, of the tongue.

Love is a fruit in season at all times and within the reach of every hand. Anyone may gather it and no limit is set. Everyone can reach this love through meditation, the spirit of prayer and sacrifice, by an intense inner life.

Holiness is not a luxury for the few; it is not just for some people. It is meant for you and for me, for all of us. It is a simple duty, because if we learn to love, we learn to be holy.

This unique collection of spiritual wisdom has received advance praise from spiritual leaders worldwide, including former President Jimmy Carter, Bernie Siegel, Marianne Williamson, Rabbi Arthur Green, Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, Swami Chetanananda, Tibetan Buddhist master Lama Surya Das, among others.

For readers--of any faith or none--who are interested in exploring universal themes of faith, hope, love and service to the world, Mother Teresa's Everything Starts from Prayer provides a wealth of profound inspiration.

Praise for Everything Starts from Prayer:

"Mother Teresa was on of the great spiritual servants of our era, whose simple wisdom expressed untold depths of devotion. In this treasury of her thoughts on prayer, she offers the world another blessing."

-- President Jimmy Carter, author of Living Faith

"Using this book on prayer, please remember that Mother Teresa always prayed with her actions, her life. Mind, speech, and body in perfect oneness, that is the solid ground of authentic meditation. The moment you start praying that way, peace, love, and transformation begin to take place, within yourself and around you. You do not have to wait for the result in the future Mother Teresa says: the fruit of prayer is faith, love, service, and peace. All of these take place in the present moment. Enjoy praying with her."

-- Thich Nhat Hanh, author of Living Buddha, Living Christ

"Mother Teresa's life was a living prayer. Her words remind us of her connection with God and how all of us can reach Him as she did."

-- Marianne Williamson, author of Illuminated Prayers

"Dr. Stern deserves to be congratulated for Everything Starts from Prayer, an inspiring book intended to foster the spiritual life of people of all faiths or none. We hope and pray that many readers will find it an invitation to pray."

-- Father Edward Le Joly, Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor

"Dr. Stern deserves to be congratulated for Everything Starts from Prayer, an inspiring book intended to foster the spiritual life of people of all faiths or none. We hope and pray that many readers will find it an invitation to pray."

-- Father Edward Le Joly, Mother Teresa's spiritual advisor

"This book's contents and its title say it all. Whatever you are looking for starts with prayer. Hopefully you will read and learn that true prayer is not about personal desires, needs, or religions. Mother Teresa is a role model for each of us. Pray we may become what she was, and heal the world by using prayer to lead us on the path to spirituality and God."

-- Bernie Siegel, M.D., author of Love, Medicine and Miracles

"With the publication of Everything Starts from Prayer, Mother Teresa continues to bless us from beyond the grave. These kernels of truths from the nun of Calcutta provide food for the soul. Her messages, though short on words, are deep in wisdom and spiritual insight, and hold meaning for people of all faiths."

-- Most Reverend Anthony M. Pilla, Bishop of Cleveland, President, National Conference of Catholic Bishops

"How do we start praying? Dr. Anthony Stern gives us a great gift. In this magnificent collection of Mother Teresa's words, we are shown how to cultivate our inner lives and bring forth the prayers that live within us."

-- Prof. Susannah Heschel, author of Abraham Geiger and the Jewish Jesus

"These beautiful prayer instructions transcend all boundaries of time and space. Here Mother Teresa is a universal figure reaching out from soul-to-soul to all those who pray or long to pray. May her words reach many and open hearts."

-- Rabbi Arthur Green, coeditor of Your Word is Fire: The Hasidic Masters on Contemplative Prayer

"A jewel of a book-Everything Starts from Prayer is a must for believers of all faiths and for seekers everywhere."

-- Maurice Friedman, author of The Wisdom of the Heart: Religion and Human Wholeness

"Dr. Stern's editorial hand is sure and judicious; the selection of material reveals the mystical realization behind Mother Teresa's powerful encomium to prayer in an all-inclusive sense. Thus, the passages are not only spiritually inspiring (as one would, of course, expect), but intellectually compelling as well. Well done."

-- Lou Nordstrom, American Zen Teacher, White Plum lineage

"Dr. Stern has very sensitively and carefully given us the essence of a truly spiritual person, and in the process helped make prayer in our own lives more rewarding."

-- Rabbi Jack Bemporad, Director, The Center for Interreligious Understanding

"With this simple, beautiful book, Dr. Stern has done a wonderful job making Mother Teresa's thoughts on man's relationship to God accessible to all."

-- Swami Chetananada, author of Choose to be Happy

"Somewhere, Mother Teresa must be smiling."

-- Larry Dossey, from the Foreword to Everything Starts from Prayer

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