"Every time, every culture has sought the spiritual dimensions of life in particular ways, in language and symbols and lifestyles it could embrace. Across the ages, countless men and women in East and West chose the path of monastic life, either in solitude or in community. One of them was Benedict of Nursia, the sixth-century founder of communal monasticism in the Western world. For Benedict, the spiritual life lay in simply living this life, our daily life, well. He turned the ordinary into an experience of the extraordinary, a union with the sacred in the here and now. His enduring legacy--Benedictine spirituality based on the Rule of Benedict--exists to this day, around the world. The Monastery of the Heart is Joan Chittister's powerful spiritual guide for all of us who are seeking a more purposeful life today, in a time of social upheavals and global transformations. It is written for seekers of any faith or none--individuals, couples, families, and small groups--who