Acorn faith columnist now available in hardcover

Dennis Merritt Jones

"The Art of Being: 101 Ways to Practice Purpose in Your Life," written by Acorn columnist Dennis Merritt Jones, goes on sale Thursday, April 17. The hardcover book, published by Tarcher/Penguin, will be available online and in bookstores for $22.95.

In it, Jones, founder of the OneSpirit Center for Conscious Living in Simi Valley, offers stepby-step guidance designed to help readers awaken to their spiritual nature. He maintains that spiritual experiences can happen anywhere in our day-to-day life and are not simply reserved for churches and other sanctuaries.

A minister, teacher, personal coach and lecturer, Jones has been involved in the human potential movement for more than 25 years.

"The Art of Being" comprises 101 brief essays addressing a variety of topics, including harmonious relationships, forgiveness and gratitude.

Each essay focuses on a single way to be attentive to one's spiritual nature. They include quotations, tales, stories from the author's life and metaphors for the spirituality of everyday acts.

The essays can be studied in any order, and each one ends with a "Mindfulness Practice," where the reader can use a few simple exercises to experience the principle put forth in that essay.

Jones, the spiritual director of Simi's OneSpirit Center (www.onespirit.org), is also the author of "How to Speak Religious Science." He has been an Acorn columnist since 2007.

Visit him on the web at www.dennismerrittjones.com.