A Rule of Life for Beginners

Benedictine spirituality for your daily life Wil Derkse

How to apply Benedictine inspiration to daily life A refreshing book for everyone who want to reenergize New edition of a book that has already sold 75,000 copies

Benedict explicitly called his rule of life a ‘rule for beginners’. Both novice and abbot remain beginners their entire lives. A Rule of Life for Beginners translates this Benedictine life into forms of living and working together outside the walls of a monastery, in your family, at work and in any organisation.

The supple Benedictine spirituality is ideally suited for this. It’s simple and downto-earth. It matches well with a saying from the Zen tradition: ‘Before enlightenment: chopping wood and drawing water; after enlightenment: chopping wood and drawing water’. So Benedictine spirituality doesn’t aim for completely new insights or spectacular experiences. It’s about doing the same thing differently.

This way, A Rule of Life for Beginners can be a source of life momentum, life orientation and life style.

As an associated member of the Benedictine St. Willibrord’s Abbey Wil Derkse familiarized himself with this source of spiritual vitality. He used it to shape his daily life and to work as a manager for 30 years, including as a chemistry professor at Eindhoven University of Technology, Radboud University and Open University.

75,000 copies sold

140 x 210 mm | 128 pages | 35,000 words paperback | French and English rights sold

Benedictine Helmsmanship

all rights available