IN HER book Wisdom Calls, Warwick aims to encourage readers to integrate the intuitions from our body and emotions with our intellect and rational mind. The space where they overlap she calls the wise mind. Warwick illustrates this from her own experience and experiences of guests at Holy Rood House, North Yorkshire, where she lives and works. Also, each chapter ends with “creative ideas” to take up the theme of the chapter.

The main chapters of the book are that Wisdom calls through the body, through process, through community, through darkness, through the earth, and Wisdom as a way of transformation. Appendices give more information on Holy Rood House, a range of “Ways of opening to Wisdom”, and on dreams.

As someone who has needed to make the connection between body, mind, and emotions, I found much that was encouraging and a good reminder. Readers who already want to make that integration may find that Warwick’s main sources, which are spiritual and poetic, resonate with them. On the other hand, as there are minimal connections to the scientific or to traditional religion, someone unconvinced has nowhere obvious to start.

Warwick clearly leads workshops and is sensitive to the needs of people attending them. I am not sure that the open language of a workshop works well for a general readership without the safety of a workshop context and personal follow-up. The language is so inclusive that I found myself wondering sometimes what was actually meant and, for the creative ideas, where exactly to start.

More worryingly, Warwick rightly says that this search for integration is often prompted by illness, grief, trauma, or darkness. Although she advocates community support, where will people not at Holy Rood House and not in a supportive church community find such a thing? The mainstream Christian sources that Warwick cites, such as St Ignatius, St Francis, and Julian of Norwich, would all answer that the heart of everything is the loving Christ — the depth of love most clearly seen in Christ’s Passion — but the book does not offer this option. I feel anxious that some readers will find themselves opening up to more than they can deal with alone.

Dr Anne Spalding is a member of the Third Order of the Society of St Francis, and lives in Suffolk.

Wisdom Calls: Transformative ways for insightful living
Helen Warwick
Sacristy Press £14.99
(978-1-78959-313-6)
Church Times Bookshop £13.49