By breaking free from our misperceptions about what it means to be an adult, we can reshape our world and become harbingers of grace. "In our desire to grow up, mature, become adults, we become enamored with who we are supposed to be. When we have finally 'grown up' we realize much of who we really are has been left behind or buried under various masks and roles we play. But the knowledge of who we truly are never leaves us. To reclaim our selfhood, we must grow up again and consciously embrace all that it means to be childlike." —from Chapter 12, "It Takes a Long Time to Become Young" By restoring the childlike ways of humility, trust, awe, wonder, playfulness and more, we can recover a fuller picture of what it means to be human. This unique spiritual resource explores what Jesus may have meant when he said, "Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." It addresses our modern misperceptions regarding the nature of maturity and the common coping mechanisms—distrust, guardedness, insecurity, judgmental thinking—we acquire, and feel we require, in adulthood. Along with the wisdom of ancient and modern spiritual luminaries, this book provides over twenty-five spiritual practices to help us cultivate the childlike ways of attention, self-awareness, joy and resilience in our inner lives as well as in our relationships with others.

There has been much interest given in therapeutic circles to healing the inner child but little on the meaning and development of childlike qualities in adulthood. Yet, as Jesus said, "Unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

This unique spiritual resource explores what Jesus may have meant by these words of counsel, showing that by restoring the childlike ways of humility, trust, awe, wonder, playfulness and more, we can recover a fuller picture of what it means to be human. It addresses our modern misperceptions regarding the nature of maturity and the common coping mechanisms distrust, guardedness, insecurity, judgmental thinking we acquire, and feel we require, in adulthood. It makes clear distinctions between what is childlike and childish. Along with the wisdom of ancient and modern spiritual luminaries, this book provides spiritual practices to help readers cultivate the childlike ways of attention, self-awareness, joy and resilience in their inner lives as well as in their relationships with others.

Aimed at individual spiritual seekers as well as personal growth group settings, this book will help readers reclaim childlike qualities by resetting their perspective, orientation and vision for what it means to be in God's grace, the kingdom of heaven, in the here and now."