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Radical Transformation: The Four-Gospel Journey of Heart and Mind (2020)


Radical Transformation

Coming Soon

In this fresh lens, each gospel account is more than a telling of Jesus' life and words.

Each is the story of a practice in response to a core life question:
Matthew: How do we face change?
Mark: How do we move through suffering?
John: How do we receive joy?
Luke: How do we mature in service?

The four traditional gospels are more than the sum of their parts.

In the sequence of early Christianity’s Sunday reading cycle, the four become the great map of a universal journey - one of love, growth and transformation.


Paperback & Kindle: Heart and Mind: The Four-Gospel Journey for Radical Transformation (2019) Amazon US

Paperback Kindle

Hard Cover: Radical Transformation: The Four-Gospel Journey of Heart and Mind (2020) Coming Soon from Shaia-Sophia House



  • “In 'Heart and Mind' Dr. Shaia gives us back our central sacred text – the four gospels – not as conflicted and faulty historical records, but as a vibrant, luminous path of transformation. He reveals The Four-Gospel Journey as a living guide, re-centering human life on wisdom, compassion, and service, rooted in a mystical relationship with Christ. And the potential for this living guide is already becoming manifest, as individuals, groups and entire communities are using it all over the world... and the word is spreading.”Marc Andrus
    Episcopal Bishop, Diocese of California
    “This book enriches prayer. Every word is delicious.”Mpho Tutu
    Author, Director of the Desmond and Leah Tutu Legacy Foundation
  • “This is a stunning book. You won't read the gospels the same way ever again. You won't think about your life the same way again. Anthropology, psychology, the heroes journey, the Bible: fear, struggle, hope, bravery, anticipation, euphoria, return – it's all here in this masterful work, by one of my favorite teachers-guides-gurus-leader-village elder – Alexander Shaia.”Rob Bell
    NYT bestselling author of “What We Talk About, When We Talk About God”, “Love Wins” and “What Is The Bible?”
  • “Alexander Shaia has uncovered an archetypal pattern embedded in the four gospels which embraces all we know to date about human development and the psychological processes involved in spiritual transformation. What C. G. Jung called individuation. He skillfully weaves together many strands from inter-related disciplines, including history, tradition, liturgy, scriptural exegesis and analytical psychology. His resulting synthesis, Quadratos and the way it embraces the psycho-spiritual interface, will resonate with seekers young and old, longing to embrace the message of Jesus the Christ in a way which addresses the realities of living in the 21st century.
    It is one of the most important books I have read in a long while. One which will give renewed hope to many people suffering under the apparent 'irrelevance' of institutional Christianity. It is timely and essential reading for all those seeking to rediscover the 'Heart and Mind' of Jesus the Christ – 'beauty ever ancient, ever new.'”Joy Ryan-Bloore
    Jungian Analyst, Christchurch, Aotearoa, NZ

Heart and Mind Community - The Guides

The Four-Gospel Journey is the pattern of the living, "here and now" Christ, a dynamic reality within every cell of the Cosmos and across all time.

To experience this universal journey with another or a small community - see the Heart and Mind Community: Six-in-One Guide. You may also register to participate in an online Heart and Mind Community.

The six guides follow the book. There is one guide for each of the four gospel paths, as well as one to help us prepare for the journey, and another on the eight essential and continuing practices of Quadratos. The guides are a text for the convener.

“We just completed Guide 1, and are overwhelmed at how much this journey is meaning to us and how already, it is transforming the way we think and feel about everything. We are a group of six. And we all feel we are leaving behind the certainty of old structures and are excited for what transformation will look like for us, both as individuals and as a small community. The closing prayer of Guide 1 is particularly powerful. To have those words spoken over each of us - spirit speaking to spirit - about the power of what Jesus THE Christ has the potential to mean for me, for us, and for all of life.”Julian and Jennie

Heart and Mind Community Guides

Six-in-One Community Guide


Resources


Forward to
Heart and Mind

By Marc Andrus: Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of California, USA.

Download

Quadratos
Schema

A guide to the four questions, paths, landscapes, seasons, time of day, compass directions and animal icons of The Four-Gospel Journey in the Northern and Southern Hemisphere.

Northern   Southern

Lectionary
Background

A history of the origins and development of the Three-Year Sunday reading cycle including links to full lectionary listings and readings for both Roman Catholic and mainline Protestant churches.

Download

Chronology of
Gospel Composition

A timeline of the origins of the four gospels.

Download

Chronology of Lectionary Composition

A timeline of the development of the Sunday gospel reading cycle.

Download

Meditation on
The Prologue

From The Gospel of John.

Download

Sandplay in
Spiritual Direction

Beyond Insight or Centering

Download



Book Reviews

The Washington Post
A review of The Hidden Power of the Gospels written by Jane Lampman.

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Stories of the Journey
Michael Fitzsimons talks with author Alexander Shaia about how the Great Story is more about the Jesus in us than the Jesus of history.

Read Review

Spirituality & Practice
The Hidden Power of the Gospels is named one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2010.

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Tikkun Magazine
A review of The Hidden Power of the Gospels in "Tikkun Recommends".

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Lauren B. Davis Blog
On her blog, View from the Library Window, author Lauren B. Davis offers a review of The Hidden Power of the Gospels.

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Read the Spirit
Interview with Alexander Shaia on Unlocking 'Hidden Power of Gospels'.

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