The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery
Digital Logos Edition
Overview
Embark on the Spiritual Journey of Knowing Your True Self
"Grant, Lord, that I may know myself that I may know thee." —Augustine
Much is said in Christian circles about knowing God. But what if there is also value in knowing yourself? Christians throughout the ages have agreed that there cannot be deep knowledge of God without deep knowledge of the self. Discerning your true self is inextricably related to discerning God’s purposes for you. Paradoxically, the more you become like Christ, the more you become authentically yourself.
In this exploration of Christian identity, psychologist and spiritual director David G. Benner illuminates the spirituality of self-discovery. He exposes the false selves that you may hide behind and calls you to discover the true self that emerges from your uniqueness in Christ. Freeing you from illusions about yourself, Benner shows that self-understanding leads to the fulfillment of your God-given destiny and vocation.
Through The Gift of Being Yourself, you can:
- Identify and let go of the false selves that hold you back.
- Discover your true self rooted in your identity in Christ.
- Understand God’s purpose for your life through deeper self-awareness.
- Embrace authenticity without needing to compare or strive to be someone you’re not.
This expanded edition, one of three books in The Spiritual Journey trilogy, includes a new epilogue and an experiential guide with questions for individual reflection or group discussion.
You don’t need to try to be someone you are not. Instead, as you uncover your true self, you’ll deepen your experience of God through discovering the gift of being yourself.
"In contrast to other books filled with drive-through pop psychology and sound-bite spirituality, Benner, a psychologist and spiritual director, offers an impressively deep and challenging introduction to Christian self-discovery..." – Publishers Weekly Starred Review, January 2004
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Foreword by M. Basil Pennington
Preface: Identity and Authenticity
1. Transformational Knowing of Self and God
2. Knowing God
3. First Steps Toward Knowing Yourself
4. Knowing Yourself as You Really Are
5. Unmasking Your False Self
6. Becoming Your True Self
Epilogue: Identity and the Spiritual Journey
Appendix: For Reflection and Discussion
A Six-Session Discussion Guide to The Gift of Being Yourself
A One-Session Discussion Guide to The Gift of Being Yourself
Notes
About the Author
Books by David G. Benner
"As he has done many times before, David Benner guides us to a place of wisdom and devotion with this beautiful book. With empathy and insight he demonstrates that the two great tasks of life—knowing God and knowing ourselves—converge into a single adventure as we are drawn into the arms of our loving God."
"Slowly we are unpacking the full implications of incarnation. David Benner does exactly the same in this excellent book, using good theology, psychology and spiritual practice to make the profound obvious. This is the work of all good teachers."
"David Benner’s The Gift of Being Yourself is the best treatment of the journey to becoming one’s true self that I have ever read. I began reading the book as a favor to David; I finished it in one four-hour sitting as a favor to me. Drawing from his wisdom as a psychotherapist and spiritual director, insights from Scripture, and his own self and God discoveries, David gently describes the great disparity between the false self that most of us have become and the self-in-Christ that we are intended to be. I have never been so challenged and warmly inspired to receive the gift of being my true self."
"As a teacher of spiritual directors, I require my students to read The Gift of Being Yourself first. Understanding the false self and receiving the true self is essential for knowing God and one’s truest desire, and it’s a prerequisite for discerning this story in the lives of others. This new edition encourages readers to stop and consider the implications for themselves through questions and through examples from Benner’s own life and the experiences of others. This calls for a careful consideration of Benner’s premise as a lived reality, and not just as theory or ideas. I will highly recommend this edition for students of spiritual direction and formation."
Product Details
- Title : The Gift of Being Yourself: The Sacred Call to Self-Discovery
- Authors:
- Benner, David G.
- Pennington, M. Basil
- Publisher: IVP Books
- Publication Date: 2015
- ISBN: 9780830899456
David G. Benner (PhD, York University) is an internationally known depth psychologist, transformational coach and author whose life passion has been helping people walk the human path in a deeply spiritual way and the spiritual path in a deeply human way. Some of his books include Presence and Encounter, Spirituality and the Awakening Self, Sacred Companions and Soulful Spirituality.
Pennington, O.C.S.O., is abbot of the Abbey of Blessed Mary of Saint Joseph and author of Centering Prayer.