Summary: <br> <br> If you're an artist or an entrepreneur and you are living off your art/business, you know what uncertainty is, and many times I am sure you hit the wall: will you quit? Or dust yourself off and go at it again? You know...shifting sands melting underneath your feet...Linda Ferguson had that experience.<br> How often have we asked ourselves, “Why can’t I be a better person, more loving, more forgiving, practicing my spirituality on a daily basis?.” And yet we can’t seem to be able to sustain these feelings for very long. Many have had the wake-up call but struggle to bring spiritual beliefs and practices into their daily live. Not able to spend a few years away from it all to sort things out in silence, most of us deal with the daily challenges of work, family, emotional pain, and our own imperfections, struggling to make a spiritual life around “real” life. Dr. Linda Ferguson understands the difficulties in trying to steer through the daily stresses and challenges and, in her new book Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand; she presents a guidebook to help you transform your life permanently.<br> Staying Grounded provides practical advice on living a spiritual life in the modern world with insightful stories and teachings that support making that transformation possible. Starting with the Foundation, the author defines a spiritual journey and how it can expand the soul. She discusses the daily practice of mindfulness and its importance in opening us up to our soul journey. When understood and practiced fully, spiritual love opens our hearts to a continuous stream of harmony and peace, helping us to overcome our fears. And, perhaps most importantly, understanding and accepting our darker side, or “embracing the shadow,” allows us to accept ourselves and to overcome the pain and grief that we have experienced in our lives. Through these practices we can affirm our Divine Essence.<br> The second section of the book is the Application— or as the author calls it—Joy to the World! This section offers ways to address, on a daily basis, the challenges of relationships, work, money, power, and sexuality, without losing your spiritual center. The ability to take all that you have learned and apply it to real life situations is both invaluable and transformational. The final chapter introduces us to a method developed by the author—Transformational Empowerment™, a six step process that is built on three fundamental practices—Faith, Commitment, and Gratitude. These steps allows the seeker to more effectively move past self-limiting beliefs and fears in order to live with Personal Mastery on a daily basis. Each chapter is followed by exercises that can be done immediately, allowing the reader insight into why they respond to situations in negative ways and how they can change their learned reactions.<br> Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand presents a variety of spiritual perspectives on the pursuit of the individual soul journey. Drawing on the traditions of Christianity, Buddhism, Sufism, Hinduism and other spiritual beliefs the book dwells on the common thread that runs through all, the power of the heart, and how to prepare it for a greater and deeper connection to our world. Love is within us to be given freely and without judgment and flows around us to connect with the Divine Essence. Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand is transforming, teaching how to stay on the spiritual path while navigating the physical world and the shifting sand of daily living.<br> Linda J. Ferguson, PhD, is the author of Path for Greatness: Work as Spiritual Service, and Staying Grounded in Shifting Sand, and numerous articles. She writes a weekly blog on spirituality and work reaching more than 5,000 readers. Dr. Ferguson has traveled nationally and internationally to conduct workshops and presentations.<br> She earned her MA in Social Psychology and Ph.D. in Management from Indiana University.<br>
