Book Review: The Sacred Art of Slowing Down

More than once, I have told my husband something like: “My head knows that this current experience is not like that experience from years ago, but it can’t convince the rest of me.” At these times, my head has declared the situation safe and my status secure while my body and emotions have reacted with anxiety, stress, and a need to control. I respond with panic and a desire to fight (not literally), take flight, or freeze. My body and emotions work together, demanding a quick solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. My head throws up its figurative hands and says, “There is no reasoning with them!” Thankfully, this occurrence is rare.

But if you understand this (IYKYK), The Sacred Art of Slowing Down by A. C. Seiple can be a useful tool as you work to bring your thoughts, emotions, spirit, and physical reactions together. It is a tool that God can use to help you heal what’s broken, so that you can move forward in a healthy way.

As I read Seiple’s book, I especially appreciated her gift for making complicated concepts clear to readers who may not have studied therapeutic theories and techniques as extensively as she has. Her personal stories give her words credibility, and her on-target analogies also help the reader understand. Yet her footnotes and lists of resources can lead interested readers to sources for deeper study.

I also appreciated Seiple’s “Pause and Play” exercises intended to help readers slow down and pay attention to what’s going on inside of themselves. These made reading the book feel like working with a personal therapist who assigns practice exercises between sessions.

This year, I have been specifically praying the following verses for a few people I know, myself included: “May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he’ll do it!” –1 Thessalonians 5:23-24. From what I’ve read in Seiple’s book, I believe she also prays this prayer or something like it for her readers. This is the overarching message of her book. I encourage you to read The Sacred Art of Slowing Down.

 

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I did not receive compensation of any kind for writing this review. I borrowed the book from the library, read it, and reviewed it because I wanted to.