Foreword ix Introduction xiii Part One What Is the Sacred Art of Conversation? 1 Chapter 1: Encountering the Sacred Within 5 Practice: Entering the Cave of Your Heart 10 Practice: Listening to the Conversation in Your Heart 11 Chapter 2: Encountering the Sacred in Each Other 13 Reflection: Souls Who Have Made Us Wiser 17 Practice: Tending One Another's Light— Holding, Beholding, and Being Held 18 Chapter 3: Encountering the Sacred Between Us 19 Reflection: Increasing Awareness of the Sacred Between Us 24 Part Two Gateways for Conversation 25 Chapter 4: Listening to Your Life 31 Reflection: Steppingstones on the Journey 40 Chapter 5: Noticing and Naming What Gives You Life 41 Reflection: Nurturing Awareness of What You Hold Sacred 49 Reflection: Looking at the World with the Eyes of a Poet 50 Chapter 6: Discerning a Heart-Centered Path 51 Reflection: Listening to Your Inner Guide 60 Reflection: The Thread You Follow 61 Part Three Practicing the Sacred Art of Conversation 63 Chapter 7: Practicing Attentive Presence: Listening Within Before Speaking Out 69 Practice: Three Deep Breaths 75 Practice: Centering on the Breath 76 Chapter 8: Practicing Receptive Presence: Welcoming All That We Encounter 77 Reflection: The Three Gates 85 Practice: The Welcoming Prayer 86 Chapter 9: Practicing Compassionate Presence: Going Within Before Venturing Out 89 Practice: Offering the Gift of Contemplative Questions 100 Practice: Sacred Holding 102 Practice: Compassionate Abiding 103 Conclusion 105 Appendices The Sacred Art of Conversation in Community: Creating Occassions for Contemplative Conversations 111 Appendix 1: Cultivating Contemplation and Compassion in Community through Journey Conversations 115 Appendix 2: Appreciatively Focused Conversations at Home and Work 127 Appendix 3: Conversation Catalysts 131 Notes 139 Suggestions for Further Reading 147 Acknowledgments 151 About the Journey Conversations Project 153 Credits 154