Clayton combines speculative fiction with Catholic theology in this reflective self-helper. Through 35 guided meditations, readers are encouraged to imagine themselves on a quest led by Ignatian principles. The author, who believes that stories reflect divine truths, proposes spiritual practices for worldbuilding, including trusting your imagination, being specific, seeing the world as grace-filled, and embracing wonder and awe. The first meditation conjures a wizard as readers are \u201cinvited to step beyond [their] status quo.\u201d Subsequent meditations contemplate the support of a proverbial walking stick and the companions who journey with us. In a section on spiritual guides, Clayton explains the Ignatian tradition of \u201cdiscerning the spirits,\u201d asking if our choices bring us closer to God or serve the \u201cenemy of our human nature.\u201d Fairies teach us that \u201cthe universe is greater than we can possibly imagine,\u201d and that God is omnipresent. Pixies represent malignant forces that can tempt us off the path, while the centaur stands in for the willingness to embrace curiosity, creativity, and the unknown. Anger is imagined as \u201cwinged terrors\u201d that \u201cswoop down unexpectedly into our lives\u201d but ultimately need to be welcomed and accepted. The final meditation focuses on becoming a mage, or \u201cteaching hero\u201d for others. Clayton effectively combines personal anecdotes, fictional narratives, and Bible stories in this unique book. Vignettes featuring the author and his daughters are touching and exemplify the book\u2019s teachings (rebuilding a fairy garden is an act of \u201csacramental imagination\u201d; meeting a \u201cunicorn\u201d at the Renaissance Faire is an invitation to reinterpret the \u201chard facts of our lives\u201d). The settings are vividly described, like woods where \u201cwater bugs drift atop the water\u2019s surface. Leaves drift down and come to rest on plant roots and dirt.\u201d \u201cTools for sharing,\u201d including reflection questions, retreat suggestions, and family activities, provide actionable opportunities to engage with the material. However, readers unfamiliar with fantasy may find the niche references (such as those to an orc) difficult to connect with.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Clayton combines speculative fiction with Catholic theology in this reflective self-helper. Through 35 guided meditations, readers are encouraged to imagine themselves on a quest led by Ignatian principles. The author, who believes that stories reflect divine truths, proposes spiritual practices for worldbuilding, including trusting your imagination, being specific, seeing the world as grace-filled, and embracing […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":7517,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7516","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7516"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7516"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7516\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7517"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7516"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7516"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bookloves.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7516"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}