Surrendered-The Sacred Art: Shattering the Illusion of Control and Falling into Grace with Twelve-Step Spirituality

by Rami Shapiro

Overview

To live the surrendered life—a life no longer centered on control and hence no longer at odds with the ordinary suffering of everyday living. Rabbi Rami closely examines the first three steps of Twelve-Step recovery to help us cut through the denial, illusions, and falsehoods that bind us in our fight with addictions of all kinds. He draws upon his half-century engagement with Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, and Islam, as well as his own and other people’s struggles in Twelve-Step recovery, to guide us in our awakening to reality’s freedom and the path to living joyously and well.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594736438
Publisher:	Turner Publishing Company
Publication date:	07/23/2019
Series:	Art of Spiritual Living Series
Pages:	200
Sales rank:	540,060
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Rami Shapiro, a longtime member of Twelve Step recovery, a rabbi and Twelve Step spiritual director, is a frequent lecturer and attendee at Twelve Step retreats, seminars and meetings. An award-winning storyteller, poet and essayist, he is also author of Recovery—The Sacred Art: The Twelve Steps as Spiritual Practice; The Sacred Art of Lovingkindness: Preparing to Practice; Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent: Sacred Teachings—Annotated & Explained (both SkyLight Paths) and many other books.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Living Surrendered, a Preview xiii

Introduction xv

Part 1 We Admitted We Were Powerless Over Our Addiction-That Our Lives Had Become Unmanageable

Chapter 1 You Are the Problem 3

Chapter 2 I Gotta Be Me 9

Chapter 3 Stop Me'ing 16

Chapter 4 The Tao of You 25

Chapter 5 Being Powerless 34

Chapter 6 Yes, And 46

Chapter 7 Rock Bottom 52

Part 2 We Came to believe That a Power Greater Than Ourselves could Restore Our Sanity

Chapter 8 Came to Believe 61

Chapter 9 A Power Greater than Ourselves 67

Chapter 10 Glimpsing the Unglimpseable 73

Chapter 11 Purpose 78

Chapter 12 Beyond Happiness 83

Part 3 We Made the decision to Turn Our will and Our Lives Over to the Care of God as we Understood him

Chapter 13 God as We Understood God 93

Chapter 14 The Eternal Tao 104

Chapter 15 Your Will, Your Life 114

Chapter 16 Being Nobody 123

Chapter 17 God's Care, God's Grace 130

Chapter 18 Letting Go of Deciding 139

Chapter 19 Living Surrendered 144

Part 4 The Surrendered Life

Chapter 20 Serenity 151

Chapter 21 Freedom of Imperfection 155

Chapter 22 Inner Seeing 163

Chapter 23 Forgiveness 171

Chapter 24 Humility 184

Conclusion There Is Nothing You Can Do, and Only You Can Do It 192

Invitations 201

Monk Begging for Food 202

Just Sitting 203

Passage Meditation 204

Neti-Neti 205

Third-Step Prayer 206

Who Is This Aliveness I Am? 207

Enso 209

Acknowledgments 211

Notes 213

Suggestions for Further Reading 221

About the Author 223

Interviews

Rami Shapiro gives the distilled essence of his life as a human being, spiritual leader and writer. “I don’t want to be happy. I want to be real… living in sync with the moment and the ten thousand joys and… sorrows” of life. His upside-down Twelve Step recovering sounds like St. Benedict: “Gravity is your friend here. You start at Step One and tumble down to Twelve.”
—Kent Ira Groff, spiritual companion, founding mentor of Oasis Ministries, author of Honest to God Prayer, Writing Tides and other books.

Editorial Reviews

06/17/2019

Rabbi Shapiro reflects on the first three steps of 12-step programs in this complex, useful companion to his previous guide, Recovery—The Sacred Art. He centers the idea that all addictions arise from the desire to control; only by surrendering, and giving up the illusion of stability, he writes, can addicts engage the steps in a meaningful way. His first section questions the static self and urges an understanding of constant flux and process. He then unpacks conceptions of God as a controlling, easily described deity in favor of a power that cannot be understood by human reason. Shapiro pushes still deeper with his close reading of the third step, which explores the illusion of free will. Shapiro effectively draws examples from Jewish, Christian, Hindu, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions and ends with a section on virtues for “living surrendered,” including serenity, humility, and a fresh explanation of forgiveness. The heady nature of his arguments will require serious effort from readers, but the conversational tone and brevity make his advice approachable to anyone. This deep but sometimes disorienting guide will help some addicts reframe how spirituality relates to their recovery. (Aug.)

Publishers Weekly

Rami Shapiro’s Surrendered is a masterpiece. Which is to say that Rami’s book is Wisdom speaking through his lifetime of spiritual study and mastery. Surrendered will not only be an enduring and singular contribution to persons in Recovery — it will be a happy discovery for those who delight in seeing the world’s Wisdom traditions in spirited conversation.” — Gordon Peerman, author of Blessed Relief: What Christians Can Learn from Buddhists about Suffering.

“In an age when addiction, especially the addiction to the self, is so rampant, Rabbi Shapiro brings the wisdom of the ancients to bear in a most elegant and transformative way. As he says in his Preface, ‘It is an affirmation of freedom emerging from the realization that there is nowhere to go, no one to be, and nothing to change, a freedom that comes with a radical acceptance of and being surrendered to what is.’ This is the truth beyond person, time and space, no matter what culture, religion or ethnicity you are: there is no truth outside nor within the self, for you are the Truth.”– D. Genpo Merzel, Zen Master, author of Big mind/Big Heart

“This book moved me from curiosity to puzzled surprise, from surprise to resistance, and from resistance to dawning hope. I ended up with a big grin on my face, utterly surrendered. Delivers good news for anyone—addicted or not—who struggles to be free.” — Margaret D. McGee, author of Sacred Attention: A Spiritual Practice for Finding God in the Moment.

“Surrendered—the Sacred Art is a WebMD for the soul. It’s a guide for the perplexed that shouldn’t just be read. It should be consulted daily by those struggling to cope with “the embarrassment of just being you.” – Terry Taylor, author of A Spirituality for Brokenness: Discovering Your Deepest Self in Difficult Times

“What a breath of fresh air! My shoulders (and my blood pressure) eased as I read Rabbi Rami Shapiro’s healing words about letting go of control and living ‘surrendered.’ This book is a much-needed balm for our autobahn world and our fretful hearts.” -Rev. Susan Sparks, author, Laugh Your Way to Grace and Preaching Punchlines

“If you are addicted to self-help books, here—at long last—is a self-helpless book, in which Rabbi Rami exposes the illusion that any of us can manage our own surrender to the sacred. If you know his work, you know that you don't have to be a Twelve-stepper to benefit from his wisdom. We are all in recovery, and he is the perfect guide on our way to the freedom that has been ours all along. If you don't know his work, what are you waiting for? This book has your name on it.” -Barbara Brown Taylor, author of Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others

“A must-read courageous book for those ready and willing to plumb the mysterious depths of surrender. Rami Shapiro generously shares his journey of recovery and profound contemplative practice to assure us that surrender is not what we think it is. We cannot possibly do it, and we must. The book’s subtitle says it all and the book delivers: Shattering the illusion of control and falling into grace. Reading this book makes that grace palpable. Dive in. Find out.” –Ellen Grace O’Brian, author of The Jewel of Abundance: Finding Prosperity through the Ancient Wisdom of Yoga.

“Rami Shapiro speaks from his heart and from his lifelong study of philosophy, theology and spiritual practices in this brilliant tour de force of spiritual focus on the first three steps of Twelve-Step recovery. He incorporates diverse sources of wisdom - from Albert Einstein to Alan Watts to Rick Warren to the Dalai Lama to Anne Lamott to Marie Kondo and many more - as he explores the use of language and distinctions that provide a new framework for possibility. His stories will touch your heart and his wisdom will transform your thinking.” -Kay Lindahl, author of The Sacred Art of Listening

“Rami Shapiro gives the distilled essence of his life as a human being, spiritual leader and writer. ‘I don’t want to be happy. I want to be real… living in sync with the moment and the ten thousand joys and… sorrows’ of life. His upside-down Twelve Step recovering sounds like St. Francis: ‘Gravity is your friend here. You start at Step One and tumble down to Twelve.’
—Kent Ira Groff, spiritual companion, founding mentor of Oasis Ministries, author of Honest to God Prayer, Writing Tides and other books.

“Wholly original, Surrendered—The Sacred Art draws from Shapiro’s deep familiarity with Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Taoism, and Hinduism.” – Foreword Reviews

From the Publisher

Read More