Praying in the Dark

From the boundary between contemplation and action, Dan Snyder shares his wilderness journey into the depths of self and world. . . . In anguish, uncertainties, and joyful discoveries, he wrestles with God. Listening to the soul in clients, dreams, and Scripture, he redefines nonviolence as inner as well as outer activism. This book reveals how psychotherapy, theology, and prayer each can open us to divine mystery and love. --R. Melvin Keiser, Guilford College, emeritus Dan Snyder is a skilled guide to personal and collective integration, reconciliation, love, and joy. Drawing from an array of disciplines and from his experiences as a peace activist, therapist, educator, jazz lover, and Quaker Jesus follower, he shows us ways to 'become true' and whole. This book offers illumination, healing, and generative wisdom. It is a rich and good gift, worth reading, rereading, and pondering. --Guy Sayles, Gardner-Webb University School of Divinity Powerful, clear, poetic, and deeply relevant to our times, this book is distilled from a lifetime of faithful seeking. Beginning with a profound adolescent awareness of being fully loved by God, Dan invites us into the currents of this mystery fed by the tributaries of Quakerism, theology, nonviolence, biblical studies, philosophy, depth psychology, and jazz. In the multiple-sourced writing, he revives and rehabilitates the seriously endangered words in our day: God, prayer, truth, and Jesus. --Mahan Siler, author of Exile or Embrace Praying in the Dark is a must-read for all who understand that nonviolence is the only way forward for our world. Dan Snyder does a masterful job of joining contemplation to action, calling us to engage with our deepest selves in order to engage in life-giving ways with the needs of the world. A longtime explorer of the inner life, Dan is a trustworthy guide for anyone willing to plumb the depths of being human in quest of the beloved community. --Parker J. Palmer, author of Healing the Heart of Democracy