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“This remarkably candid and accessible account describes how being a Zen Roshi and devout Christian is as natural as breathing…. Ellen Birx explains the seamless spiritual experience of bi-religious belonging in illuminating breadth – a lifetime’s harvest of wisdom.” Rev. Dr. Monica Maher, Sensei
“Ellen Birx has done it all. She is a grandmother, a university professor, a devout Christian and a Zen Master. In Embracing the Inconceivable, Ellen weaves these disparate elements in her life into one lived reality that is remarkable for its clarity, wisdom and beauty.” Robert Kennedy, SJ, Roshi, Author of Zen Spirit, Christian Spirit
“Ellen Birx opens doors to the mysteries of our hearts and invites us in. She is a gentle and wise guide to something as ancient as our dreams and as immediate as this very next breath. I cannot recommend this book highly enough. She shows us the heart of Zen and the heart of Christianity and how they are not two. She shows us the way beyond self and other. This book fully introduces us to a Zen Christianity as something that can heal the world’s wounds. It’s that important. Wonderful. Wonderful.” James Ishmael Ford, Roshi, Author of Introduction to Zen Koans & If You’re Lucky, Your Heart Will Break
“The author a nurse, grandmother, and Zen Master all in one, takes us by the hand on a journey through terrain that is now Christian, now Buddhist, and as we read on, come to recognize that we are being led on our way home.” Ruben L.F. Habito, Roshi, Guiding Teacher, Maria Kannon Zen Center, Author of Be Still and Know: Zen and the Bible
Selfless Love
Selfless Love shows how meditation can help us realize that we don’t love—we are love.
Drawing equally from Zen parables, her experience as a mental health therapist, and the Gospels, Ellen Birx shows us that through meditation we can recognize that our true selves are not selves at all—that all beings are united in unbounded, infinite awareness and love, beyond words. Read on.
Waking Up Together
Waking Up Together is written for those who want to journey to new depths of intimacy, both spiritually and in their love relationship.
The book shows how a committed, long-term relationship can enhance spiritual development and how relationships can be transformed by spiritual practice.
Written by two Zen teachers married for thirty-seven years, it shows that relationships and all that arise from them can be a help – not a hindrance! – as we seek greater freedom and joy. It is possible to wake up together! Read on.
Find Waking Up Together on Amazon.
Healing Zen
Here is an elegant and practical book on Zen and the art of caring for oneself and others.
In Healing Zen, nursing professor and Zen teacher Ellen Birx takes us on a deeply humane journey through the natural process of healing and transformation.
Drawing on her years of experience, Birx explores how the insights of Zen and the practice of awareness and mediation can help restore energy, build endurance, and suffuse our lives with compassion and joy. Read on.
New River Zen 