APRIL YAMASAKI. Sacred Pauses: Spiritual Practices for Personal Renewal. Harrisonburg, VA: Herald Press, 2013. Pp. 189. $16.99 (U.S.).
In Sacred Pauses, April Yamasaki provides a basic overview of spiritual contemplative practices. Her intention is not to be “comprehensive, but to provide an introduction, give opportunity for practical exploration, and kindle a desire for more” (p. 15). She encourages the reader to try out new ways to relate to God in the midst of busy schedules full of multitasking. She promises that in cultivating sacred pauses throughout life, we will discover renewal and deeper encounters with God.
This is a simple book that provides a nice introduction to the novice in the contemplative practice of prayer. Yamasaki is obviously well read and quotes from a diversity of sources, both ancient and contemporary. She offers an array of personal experience to illustrate her points and uses Scripture frequently to emphasize the validity of the practice she is suggesting. The book cheers its readers on to do something more than think about spiritual growth and prayer, and has the feel of a workbook or training manual. Yamasaki want us to be “deliberately attentive to God” (p. 21) and, even more, to believe this attentiveness is possible and rewarding for all of us regardless of the demands of our family or career/ministry responsibilities. She gives an abundant list of practical ways to do this in ordinary life.
Her list of practices includes long-celebrated exercises from the Daily Examen of Ignatius and lectio divina, to the use of the Jesus Prayer. She traverses sources from all parts of the Christian tradition, borrowing from Catholic sources and many Protestant sources as well. She explores the pragmatic use of retreats, journaling, fasting, prayer walks, and silence. But she also suggests “making music” (p. 111) in a chapter that urges us to embrace the practices of the Psalms writers. For readers who come from Brethren in Christ traditions, Yamasaki will seem quite Anabaptist in her promotion of “confessing” (p. 147) and “living simply” (p. 165) as entry points into personal renewal. She also urges “having fun” (p. 129) as a means of expressing the fruit of the Spirit and quotes John Calvin, reminding readers that it is never “forbidden to laugh, or to be full” (p. 129), for support of the exercise of having fun as a form of spiritual replenishment. So her book offers not only traditional applications, but some inventive experiments in making life a sacred adventure as well.
As I mention above, I found this book simple in many respects. I believe that was the author’s goal, although I would not recommend the text for readers who are already familiar with the rich Christian tradition of contemplative prayer and meditation. Yamasaki focuses on an audience that may not know of this long and valuable history and aims to introduce them to its everyday practice in the midst of our culture’s current trend toward busy lifestyles that have few points of pause for reflection. She aptly titled the book “Sacred Pauses”: it is not a book designed for those who regularly practice personal retreats and spiritual direction or for those who have already incorporated spiritual disciplines into their lives. It is more of a primer for the person who is overwhelmed by a hectic schedule yet desires to renew a personal relationship with God through the exploration of ancient practices of attending to God’s presence in the midst of all life, a person who may not be ready to take an extended silent retreat but who might pause in the middle of work and family life to encounter God’s sacred, abiding presence waiting to meet them.