Synopses & Reviews
Stop spinning your spiritual hamster wheel.
Start living in the limitless love of God.
Many of us go through life thinking and acting as though we can somehow, in some way, earn God’s love and favor. If only we do this, or that, or both, or more, God just might offer us at least a small bit of Divine approval or acceptance. Eventually realizing the impossibility of “getting right” with God through our own efforts, and tired of futilely going ’round and ’round in spiritual circles, we may even be inclined to permanently turn away from the Divine.
In Just as You Are, Paul Coutinho, SJ, helps us move forward in the confidence that God already loves us and simply asks that we embrace this amazing love and live in it on a daily basis. A native of India, Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show us how to open our lives—now and always—to the infinite, unfathomable love of God. Filled with thought-provoking stories, inspiring anecdotes, and memorable metaphors, Just as You Are makes clear that experiencing the joy and freedom of the Divine journey is the only “work” we need to do.
Stop spinning your spiritual hamster wheel.
Start living in the limitless love of God.
Many of us go through life thinking and acting as though we can somehow, in some way, earn God’s love and favor. If only we do this, or that, or both, or more, God just might offer us at least a small bit of Divine approval or acceptance. Eventually realizing the impossibility of “getting right” with God through our own efforts, and tired of futilely going ’round and ’round in spiritual circles, we may even be inclined to permanently turn away from the Divine.
In Just as You Are, Paul Coutinho, SJ, helps us move forward in the confidence that God already loves us and simply asks that we embrace this amazing love and live in it on a daily basis. A native of India, Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show us how to open our lives—now and always—to the infinite, unfathomable love of God. Filled with thought-provoking stories, inspiring anecdotes, and memorable metaphors, Just as You Are makes clear that experiencing the joy and freedom of the Divine journey is the only “work” we need to do.
Synopsis
In Just As You Are, Paul Coutinho, SJ, helps us move forward in the knowlege that God does love us at all times and simply asks us to embrace that amazing love and live in it on a daily basis. A native of India, Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show us how we can move forward in the unfathomable love of God already present in our lives. Just as You Are makes clear that all roads start with God's love rather than lead to God's love.
Synopsis
Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show how to move forward in the unfathomable love of God already present. He makes clear that all roads start with God's love rather than lead to God's love.
Synopsis
In Just as You Are, Paul Coutinho, SJ, helps us move forward in the confidence that God's love is unconditional, and that God simply asks us to embrace that unconditional love and live in it on a daily basis. A native of India, Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show us how to stop spinning our spiritual hamster wheel—futilely acting as though we can somehow earn God's love and favor—and instead move forward in the unfathomable love of God already present in our lives.
Synopsis
In today’s world, we have been conditioned to believe that nothing is without conditions: there are limits to how much we are willing to do for others; there are limits to what we are willing to forgive; there are limits to our love even for those closest to us. Given this mindset, it should come as no surprise that so many of us struggle with the idea that God loves us unconditionally. Voices of fear, guilt, anxiety, and unworthiness lead us to the belief that surely there must be times when God withholds his love from us. Thoughts such as this can actually cause us to turn away permanently from the Divine.
In Just as You Are, Paul Coutinho, SJ, helps us move forward in the knowledge that God does love us at all times and simply asks us to embrace that amazing love and live in it on a daily basis. A native of India, Fr. Coutinho combines Eastern sensibilities with Ignatian principles and practices to show us how we can stop spinning our spiritual hamster wheel—futilely acting as though we can somehow earn God’s favor and love—and instead move forward in the unfathomable love of God already present in our lives. Just as You Are—filled with great storytelling, inspiring anecdotes, and memorable metaphors—makes clear that all roads start with God’s love rather than lead to God’s love. On the road, we simply need to experience the joy and freedom of the journey.
Synopsis
Being in love with the Divine is God’s gift that is always available to anyone who is looking for it.
We have all had a taste of Divine love and our spirits hunger for more. But then other voices muffle the unconditional gift of Divine love—voices that speak of fear, guilt, anxiety, and unworthiness.
Falling in love with God begins with an infatuation that penetrates those negative voices, and we respond to this either by being more and more attracted to the Divine or we are repulsed by the experience. We come closer or we fight to get away. In either case our focus is the Divine energy that is drawing us to itself.
The Divine seducer never gives up but continues to draw us in many different ways to a deeper union and communion with the Ultimate. But when all is said and done, the falling in love will be up to you.
So if you really have the will to experience life as one who is in love with the Divine, it will happen. If you want it, you’ll find it. In fact, love will find you.
About the Author
Fr. Paul Coutinho, SJ is an internationally recognized Ignatian scholar, author, and speaker who brings an Eastern flavor to Western spirituality. A native of India, he frequently leads retreats, gives spiritual direction, and trains people to lead the Spiritual Exercises. He is the author of How Big Is Your God? and Just as You Are.He holds master’s degrees in both clinical psychology and religious studies, and he has a doctorate in historical theology from Saint Louis University, where he specialized in Ignatian spirituality and is now a visiting theology professor.Coutinho currently creates and runs programs in Ignatian identity and mission for Saint Louis University’s Mission and Ministry office, he is the editor of Ignis—the South Asian Ignatian spirituality journal—and also shares his gifts as the director of Ignatian Spirituality Programs for South Asia. He resides in St. Louis and divides his time between India and the United States.
Table of Contents
Contents
Introduction: A Note to the Reader ix
Part 1: Seduced by God
1. God—an Experience 3
2. Involution and Evolution 8
3. Are You in Love—or Is It an Infatuation? 11
4. Stories of Being Seduced by God 16
Jeremiah, the Brokenhearted Prophet
Adam and Eve, the First Seduction
Abraham, the Settled One Uprooted
Moses, the Curious One
Mary, the Blessed One Who Believed
5. You Need a Burning Desire 30
6. A Sincere Decision Is Better Than the Right Decision 34
7. Obstacles to Love: Sin 40
8. Through Our Root Sin to Our Root Grace 45
9. Another Obstacle to Love: Attachment 49
10. Two Misunderstood Spiritual Tools 52
11. What’s Your Focus—Your Rock or Your Garden? 56
12. Pain Is a Fact of Life, Misery Is a State of Mind 63
13. Reinforcing a Divine Experience to Nurture It 68
Part 2: Romancing God
14. The Desert Experience 77
15. Are You Finding God in Life—or Are You Encountering God in Your Life? 82
16. Prayer: The Language of Divine Romance 87
What Happens When God Finds You
Deepening the Divine Romance
17. Three Paradigms of Prayer 93
The First Paradigm: From Talking to Silence
The Second Paradigm: Stages of a Love Relationship
The Third Paradigm: Mind, Heart, and Consciousness
18. Finding Your Identity, Encountering God 107
19. Getting Better and Better, Doing the Same Thing 110
20. No Law above the Law of Love 115
21. Love, and Do What You Want 120
22. Loving God, a Way of Life 123
Part 3: Being in Love with God
23. Being in Love with the Divine 129
24. Letting Go 134
25. Make Gratitude Your Personal Attitude 138
26. When You’re in Love, You Need Not Know the Purpose of Your Life 142
27. The Goal of Life Is Not to Be a Good Person 145
28. How Do You Know When You Have Fallen in Love with God? 149
29. Lost in the Being and Essence of the Divine 153
Conclusion: The Infinite Possibilities rom Being in Love with the Divine 156
About the Author 161