Schroeder, formerly a Greek Orthodox priest, takes inspiration from “the great spiritual masters of the Egyptian desert” in this cheery formulation of a simple method for compassionate living. Schroeder sees life as a “dance of differentiation and attachment, autonomy and interdependence,” and views the building of a collaborative human community as “the great human task.” To accomplish this task, he provides six practices: compassionate seeing, heartfelt listening, intentional welcoming, joyful sharing, grateful receiving, and cooperative building. For each chapter, Schroeder explains a teaching, provides a story from his own life that demonstrates an early lack of understanding, presents a mantra to center oneself into the practice, and ends with an example of the practice working successfully. Although he doesn’t probe too deeply into the philosophical underpinnings of his steps, he does ruminate on the universality of his principles—particularly clear are the parallels between Christian prayer and Buddhist meditation as forms of heartfelt listening. Never veering into egotism, this gentle, grateful, and relatable book will serve any readers looking for practical steps toward spiritual fulfillment. (BookLife)