“I AM ABSOLUTELY IN LOVE WITH ‘Sometimes Enough Is Enough’. Marsha Sinetar is such an inspiration to me. Her work breathes life into every ‘ordinary’ moment in such a powerful way.”
– Carolyn Craft, Director of WISDOM Radio
“… This slim volume expands on only a few simple principles-including cultivating solitude and inner-directedness, spending time in natural surroundings, and focusing on prayer and meditation – supplemented with exercises for practicing them. [Sinetar’s] declaration that ‘enough is enough’ refers to the many experiences that she believes one must abandon in order to pursue the contemplative life … Learning to say yes and no clearly, she argues, marks spiritual maturity and provides the elusive comfort that everyone craves. That comfort, she stresses in this concise and worthy manual, is found when ‘our enjoyments affirm destiny’s call’ and ‘our material goals…support our spiritual aims.'”
– Publishers Weekly, June 19, 2000
Excerpts from Sometimes Enough is Enough
“…Whether we’re the parents of two-year-olds or Wall Street bankers or short-order cooks at Denny’s, when it comes to the fulfillment of spiritual dreams, state of mind matters more than change of circumstance. Most books that begin with the “mind over matter” refrain from discussing positive thinking. But in this book contemplative thought and its benefits are the keys.
The contemplative mode of being is reflective and attentive. It is a state of mind that considers eternal things, [yet] without dreaminess. You recognize that the Spirit undergirds all things, at all times, and your bliss comes from dwelling on that idea and, progressively, living in light.
Put simply, state of mind — not materiality — creates your states of harmony, assurance, and comfort. Put simplest, with but a few adjustments you can bloom spiritually, right where you’re planted.
I’ve grubbed around in my bank of experience for some ideas I want to share. I’ve dug about in memory and in my research files for anecdotes about ordinary people – many neighbors, some friends, some strangers I’ve met on planes – who are flourishing spiritually. A few go to church. Others are unchurched. A rare handful are cloistered, but the great majority are not. I call the latter ‘casual contemplatives.’ They are — we are — informally, progressively reflective. We share a way of looking at situations and an active life that is contributive by virtue of a daily renewal of spiritual awareness. Paraphrasing William Blake, that renewal happens as our Immortal Eyes ‘gaze deeply inward, into the World of Thought.’
Since 1973, my own life has included increasingly contemplative elements: prayer, meditation, the reading and mulling over Scripture. I love solitude and stillness.
Time spent agreeably in nature is precious. I even contemplate as I cook.
Well into adulthood… I revived an old dream with childhood roots. That dream is humankind’s aggregate musing about transcendence. It is generic and it is global. The secret heart of people everywhere, of all ages and backgrounds, beats with collective yearning for love, peace, inner affluence – true wealth. Perhaps you’ve tucked away a spiritual vision of that sort in your own heart. Perhaps you’ve discounted it as ‘just a fairy tale.’ If you wonder how to realize your light of intelligence, read on. It is possible to flourish spiritually in a material world.”