The quotes in this book are the harvest of more than half a century spent studying and working at the boundary of spirituality and psychotherapy.

We cannot heal deeply unless we find some spiritual basis for our lives. These quotes have helped me form the bridge between trauma and psychotherapy on one side and spiritual healing and a sense of meaning on the other.

I think poetry, novels, and quotations are a much more effective language for communicating about spiritual depth, healing, the connection between trauma and spirituality, & what it means to be human. These styles are so much more evocative and thought-provoking than the rational, linear type of academic language that's been used for so long to talk about these subjects.

The quotes and stories in this book have each been, at one time or another, deeply meaningful to me, provided comfort, and supported my healing from deep trauma. Often I've kept one of these stories or quotes in my mind for a week or more, and sometimes even months, or years. Over time they become a small nucleus around which a whole set of ideas and concepts can form. They provide a symbolic way for me to think of, and to recall whole complexes of thoughts.