Valerie Brown

This is a very helpful pamphlet for Friends, new and old, seeking guidance on what to do in the silent meeting for worship, or in their own hours of retreat. Brown explores the Quaker spiritual practices of centering down and waiting upon the Spirit. She explores the similarities and differences between Quaker worship and mindfulness meditation, and finds that mindfulness meditation can help us develop our capacity for the stillness and attentive listening to open to the Light Within, of show more Quaker worship.
Brown also explains centering prayer and contemplative prayer, which sound very like classic Quaker silent worship. She includes many enlightening quotes from Quakers, Christians, Buddhists, and Muslims.
This pamphlet may require some careful reading and rereading to sort out the various strands, but it is informative and interesting. It will be helpful and encouraging to anyone seeking to deepen their experience of Quaker meeting or prayer. show less

Valerie Brown guides readers towards renewal of mind, heart, and spirit by encouraging them to take time away from the busyness of their lives through retreat. Drawing on her experience as a retreatant and retreat leader, she introduces readers to opportunities for personal restoration within a variety of focused retreats. She wonders how Friends' experience of expectant waiting influences the retreat process and how retreats influence expectant waiting. She encourages the "big questions". show more What has meaning and purpose in my life? What am I avoiding? What brings me most alive? She offers specific practices for treatments to cultivate in everyday life. show less

"Daily we are asked to move toward bravery, to stretch in the direction of goodness, kindness, forgiveness, patience, and vulnerability. Yet life's tender fragility, fear, anxiety, and our own practiced self-sabotage can derail us from growing and thriving, leaving us fractured and afraid.

Ordained Buddhist teacher and Quaker Valerie Brown invites us into the heart of compassion, insight, and courage. Filled with Quaker wisdom, mindfulness meditation practices, and portraits of real people show more living out simple yet life-affirming bravery, Hope Leans Forward is a guidebook for all of us who are on journeys of self-transformation, self-discovery, and spiritual discernment. Centering small, everyday acts of bravery with diverse stories from marginalized communities, Brown's unique perspective as a Black Buddhist Dharma teacher in the Plum Village tradition and her extensive leadership experience shepherd us in navigating life's essential questions to discover true aliveness and meaning.

Written through a period of profound personal loss and in the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Brown's spiritual insight and life- and spirit-tested wisdom offers a new source for anyone seeking hope, and seeking to alleviate suffering within ourselves and our communities." Provided by publisher show less

Brown (DMin, I believe) leads the reader through spiritual retreats as she fashions them. What should the novice expect? Why should one participate in a retreat? Why can't one simply carve out this space at home alone (well, it turns out one can)?

Speaking from a personal point of view, Brown seems to fully understand both the questions a retreatant might bring to the group, but also how to gently hold the group as they grown into relationship. She also makes suggestions for taking the new show more "you" with you as you reenter your life in the world.

I rated it 4* instead of 5* since I was able to put it aside for over two years. show less