So many of us have this sense that this is not what Christmas was meant to be. We juggle sacred and secular expectations, struggle with family and disappointments, with full schedules that can't quite overcome our doubts and loneliness.

Contemplating Advent offers a road map toward aligning our lived experience with the things our hearts promise us about this season. Comitting a few minutes each day to meditation, contemplation, and prayer can transform us from within.

There are over 30 different spiritual practices in these pages. They are arranged on traditional advent themes like joy, hope, and peace, and taken together they will not only lead to new possibilities for your experience of the holidays, they can also be the foundation for a new way of being in the world, the first steps in a daily practice which will carry you into the New Year and beyond. Science and traditional spiritual wisdom agree that a daily meditative practice can change so much. I hope you'll join us.