Rev. ed. of: Thoughts matter: the practice of spiritual life. c1998.

Rev. ed. of: Tools matter for practicing the spiritual life.

Picking up on the monastic tradition of creating a "rule of life" that allows for regular space for the practice of spiritual disciplines, Ruth Haley Barton tak

Funk turns to the wisdom of the desert fathers for the means of removing obstacles to spiritual growth, which include thoughts of food, sex, possessions, anger,

Introduces the method developed by John Cassian, a fourth-century monk, for concentrating the mind and controlling extraneous thought during meditation