Agnes Hermans | Book Review of Inner Invitations by Lucy Tierney
Inner Invitations author Lucy Tierney (right) pictured with co-author, Kathryn Overall-Cass at the book launch in Brisbane, 2023
Book Review of Inner Invitations
BY AGNES HERMANS
“Pay attention to what you notice” was advice given to me in my first session with a spiritual director many years ago.
Subsequent sessions frequently included an enquiry along the lines of ‘what are you noticing’? and a follow-up exploration of my response. This invitation to ‘notice’ has remained with me as a key practice of inner awareness, as well as an enquiry integrated into my own spiritual companioning practice.
This simple invitation to notice is wonderfully extended and deepened by author Lucy Tierney in her book Inner Invitations (co-authored with Kathryn Overall-Cass) in which she describes ‘a spirituality system…. which draws on universal dynamics of spiritual growth’.
This spirituality system has formed a fundamental component of her practice as a spiritual director over many years and is essentially a practice of Self-encounter.
Based in present moment awareness, the author invites the reader to pause, attend to ‘you-in-your-skin’, to become aware of inner arisings, learn to recognize them and discern from them.
She identifies these interior movements as including ‘more-than-us energy’, ‘inner disturbance reactions’, ‘stretching-edge invitations’ and ‘pull down’ or ‘pull back’ energies, describing the felt sense of each, and offering examples that are easily relatable.
Over several chapters, (titled Pause, Become Aware, Notice, Recognize, Balance, Sort, Choose and Integrate), Tierney offers trustworthy guidance as she steps the reader through a range of examples, practices and exercises in a learn-and-then-try-for-yourself approach.
Brief summaries at the end of each chapter provide sound reasons for that step, as well as the benefits that accrue from applying it.
Tierney says attending to these inner invitations creates a dialogue between one’s conscious and unconscious domains and, if practiced regularly, will enable us to live with greater balance, harmony and inner openness.
While Tierney’s background includes being a vowed religious sister, in this book she is intentional in highlighting the universality of this practice of Self-encounter by unshackling it from religious language, therefore making the book accessible to a broad readership, including the growing numbers of people who describe themselves as spiritual but not religious.
This is a useful book for spiritual directors from established faith traditions who wish to ground their practice in an intimate, authentic and profound way. And for seekers, those of any faith or none, it offers a simple and trustworthy path to a life of greater freedom, openness and harmony.
I recommend this book to anyone intent on deepening their spiritual journey. To adapt the well-known quote by Paula D’arcy, this book describes an authentic spiritual path ‘that comes to me disguised as my own life.’
Agnes Hermans is a spiritual companion, supervisor, and a hospice spiritual care coordinator in Whangārei. She is one of the founding coordinators of the Contemplative Network Aotearoa New Zealand and is currently serving on the Spiritual Directors International (SDI) Board of Directors.
