This delightful little book performs two functions. Firstly for those who seek a tool box with which to find a Quiet Mind this book does what it says on the cover.
Secondly, if the Church will listen, Eva is pointing the way to a simple, relevant and spiritual Christianity which could be a major contribution to its salvation.
To read it is to relax. To use it is to find a Quiet Mind. 

In A Quiet Mind, Eva McIntyre clearly demonstrates a commitment to humanity. I get the sense from reading A Quiet Mind that she slowly came to a realization that her comination of experience and research made a highly useful toolkit that was reliably and consistently providing her with valuable assistance and that i was wealth that she really wanted to share.

She shares the usefulness of experiences and/or research in varied religions, spirituality, yoga/meditation, theatre, and importantly ahsred human experience. At a certain point in the book I said to myself, 'Wow, she really, really, really listens to people. That is what makes this so valuable and that is also what shows how much she has already given to so many even before writing a book."

For any person (or even institution) who is interested in gaining greater self-sufficiency for him or herself on a daily basis, this book offers valuable insight into ways to think about and respond to the vagaries of life. I will even say that I consider it to be a reference book, in that I am sure that I will read it more than once looking for one or more tools.

If we’re honest, most of us recognize that we regularly tell ourselves negative things about ourselves. While we each have versions of this negative “self-talk,” in some way we each say things to ourselves like, “You’re not good enough. You don’t fit in. You’re not good looking. You just can’t do anything right.”

An important principle in cognitive therapies is that changing these negative ways of thinking is the foundation of mental health. That’s often done by the use of affirmations or deliberate positive self-talk. It’s good psychology. 

Going beyond the realm of good psychology, Eva McIntyre, in her new book, A Quiet Mind: Uniting Body, Mind and Emotions in Christian Spirituality, approaches the challenges posed by negative self talk. The negative things we say to ourselves limit us from living out our true dignity and worth. Using a variety of resources from the Christian spiritual tradition, McIntyre addresses not only the negative messages we give ourselves but looks deeper at how fear and anxiety prevent us from being the people we were created to be. While the topics McIntyre addresses are not new, she masterfully utilizes resources in the Christian tradition to address topics of fear, anxiety, and worry. Practical exercises enable the reader to learn to incorporate this spiritually grounded approach to healthy living.

Recognizing the integration of the whole person, McIntyre is not content to limit her comments to abstract thoughts and spiritual practice. Later chapters of A Quiet Mind explore how negativity is stored in the body and needs to be addressed in the psychical dimension of self as well as in the mind. In this, McIntyre roots the process of quieting the mind in a uniquely Christian, incarnational manner.

While McIntyre draws on the spiritual wisdom of the Christian tradition, she also critiques the many ways Christianity has been used to instill guilt and shame in people. McIntyre is not shy in confronting the harm done to people who were taught to only believe in their own sinfulness and to view their bodies and minds as corrupt. Drawing particularly on Celtic Christianity, McIntyre offers a fresh understanding of the self-worth of the individual.

McIntryre’s brief 71-page book is accessible and easy to read. This simple text will be of great benefit for individuals interested in practical help in the integration of mind, body, and spirit. Her expertise as a storyteller, actor and Anglican priest come together to offer a fresh perspective on issues that are challenging for most people, no matter their religious perspective. While Buddhist psychology provides a forum to apply mindfulness meditation to bring wholeness of mind and spirit, McIntyre’s Christian perspective provides an avenue to whole person integration by nurturing a quiet mind.

Having read a preview copy of McIntyre’s book, The Quiet Mind, I am delighted to be able to recommend it to my friends as an excellent resource that integrates sound psychology and Christian spirituality to support healthy living. 

"A friend of mine has read it & very much thumbs up!! It may prove a classic recommend for the spiritual journey". 

'Love the book!'

Its not just theory, its lived experience - also it wasnt written in a hurry - it took over 5 years. Who doesnt need at times to stop, breathe, focus? Who doesnt have demon fears to face in life? Who doesnt need some hope and suggested ways through when stuck or facing some kind of problem or uncertainty? To learn to be centred in this moment rather than going back to the past or looking into an unknown future,this is what the book helps us to do. Above all we are encouraged to reconnect with our bodies, to value them the body is the home of your soul on earth. It also helps to make Christ/faith more real physically: God is the ground beneath my feet, the air I breathe, the sky above me...in physical creativity I mirror Gods creativity. In repetitive physical labour I echo the hearbeat of the creator and know that I am alive.

In the end its not so much us needing to find new methods or techniques - the peace is already within us and simply needs to be allowed to be. This book helps this to happen in very practical ways. It is, of course, as Eva reminds us, a journey beginning always in the present moment, but encompassing eternity. I end with her words: May you find peace in moments that spill out into your life; love that heals your wounds, friends for the journey and a quiet mind.

This is a powerful book, because it is the fruit of lived experience. It is a necessary book because many people struggle with their minds in isolation, believing ( as Eva did) that no one else feels the same. It is an important book because, with the authority of priesthood, Eva gives implicit permission for others to recount their stories and thereby be healed in the telling.

Eva McIntyre uses her own journeying and the ways she has found helpful to encourage and support others who seek to live full, human, gifted and joyful lives. Her powers of evoking memory, place and emotion make this a powerful and life-giving book. I will certainly use it with people I journey with."

I identified immediately with Evas description of the punishing thoughts in my head. So many of us are driven inexorabley by the urge to do more, faster, faster! The authors gentle wisdom stills these whips in our head and brings us mindfully to a sense of meaning and purpose, but with calm and peace. I will read it again and again, as an aid to reflective presence and activity with calm. Thank you, Eva.  

Eva draws out the way in which some Christian teaching has interacted with societal pressures to drive down the self esteem of certain people, (particularly women), leading to a crippling sense of unworthiness and shame. She wants to reclaim the basic goodness of the body and the creation from a dualist focus on the spirit as the only important aspect of ‘us’. She emphasizes the need to love our-selves if we are to love others, as Jesus taught.

The author draws on her own experience in fighting low self esteem and negative patterns of thought and behaviour, suggesting cognitive behaviour therapy techniques, (without explicitly naming them as such), physical actions, prayer and creative writing. Together with resources from the Church of England, and the Church in Wales, the author frequently uses examples from the Celtic tradition of Christianity. The importance of meditation and contemplation is highlighted, particularly in ‘thin places’ where there is less of a barrier between the mundane and the spiritual world.

Above all we are given an honest account of the author’s emotional and spiritual pain, and the way she has learned to cope with this; this emotional honesty can only help to bring healing to others who feel the same isolation.

The final chapter contains an engaging modern retelling of a gospel story. A wealthy woman wants to say thank you to the life coach who has really helped her develop self esteem. She brings expensive perfume and pours it over the teacher’s feet at a meal. The others present are hostile, but he thanks her, reaffirms her gift and sends her on her way “…Now you go and live your life, love yourself and be free.”

This short but deep book will help those who are Christians or open to using Christian resources, who need to learn to accept themselves, their bodies and personalities as they are; the first step to recovery, transformation and healing for so many of our patients.

Revd. Dr Alison J Gray,

Consultant Psychiatrist.

Used properly this can be a very liberating book, freeing us from self-doubt and the restrictions of cold dogmatism.  It is a book to encourage us to use our own feelings and not be bound by what we feel we ought to say - that is to help us be our self.