RELAAAAAAAAAX. Scott Daniels outlines his spiritual meditation practice in a new book, The Rest That Works.

The Center is a destination here in Eau Claire. Out on Highway 12, tucked in above Otter Creek and the woods surrounding it, this stone cottage is home to healing arts practices and other guided spiritual journeys. Being in The Center’s practice room, to look upon the tall trees and the cascading slope down to the creek, will move you to breathe more deeply and to find an inner stillness you may not have known you harbored.

The Center is the bricks and mortar of the vision shared by Scott and Anita Daniels – to facilitate people in finding their path, exploring their beliefs, and cultivating a lifestyle of creative living.

For twenty years, Scott has been a United Methodist minister. After The Center was created in 2013, he put pen to paper for those seeking to move into a spiritual and mindful lifestyle. The resulting guide, the rest that works: Living a Life of Loving Mindfulness, is an in-depth look at how you can find daily moments of rest to cultivate faith and energize your life.

This book is coupled with A Little Primer, a small prayer-book-sized accompaniment filled with brief stories, quotes, and tools to drop into your day.

Lastly, there is the Workbook & Companion to A Little Primer, which includes questions and exercises to further cultivate your awareness and trust in God. These materials can be used for self-study or in attendance at Scott’s upcoming five-week series in January. Regarding the workshop, Scott says, “It’s great to support one another in claiming our wonderful birthright – namely our desire and ability to live lives centered in love.”

As an example of how this can work for the participant, Scott suggests reading the Primer for “prayer naps”. During small pockets of time in your day, before you set out in the car or while in a waiting room, use these times to breathe, pray, and relax into the flow of your day. “The key is to relax and trust the wonderful, creative spirit at work in our being alive,” Scott amply explains.

Daniels has begun practicing what he calls “open-ended prayer,” a practice of trust and settling in with all that is at work within our lives.

“As we do so regularly over time, we become more able to settle in and move with the graceful patterns that give life – through our bodies, in relationships with others, and in a thousand other ways.” He draws on the experience of many religions and traditions, a very inviting and unlimited way to practice. “It is not uniquely Christian, though it draws on many of the teachings of Jesus. It also draws on Buddhist thought and mindfulness practices. It’s a way and a truth, rather than a religion.”

He hopes that the rest that works is able to reach a wide expanse of those seeking spiritual guidance. “I hope that it speaks to anyone who wants a closer love relationship with the creative spirit behind, and within, all of life.”

The books can be purchased through: www.therestthatworks.com, Amazon, and The Local Store.