Unlocking Epiphany Moments

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This book offers a series of brief reflections on the inner life, drawing on my own experiences as a means of illustration. Not meant as mere autobiography, these reflections point beyond personal narrative to universal wisdom. The book can serve as a journaling tool or as a "manual for spiritual direction." The main theme is that it is not enough to allow God a place in one's life; on the contrary, God must be both at the center and circumference of self.  

"Those who read this book will be provoked to gather, reverence and share their own stories of grace." Louis J. Cameli, University of St. Mary of the Lake 

"Her wisdom, enhanced by many years as a spiritual director, shines through. The reader will feel the sure and gentle touch of her guiding hand." 

Ewert Cousins, Fordham University 

New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1996 

ISBN 0-8091-36236.  Out of print.                                

This sequel to Image Guidance: A Tool for Spiritual Direction includes health care possibilities and various case studies; these demonstrate the use of Image Guidance in post-accident rehabilitation, in stress-related illnesses, in serious conditions such as diabetes and cancer, in addictions and in minor ailments with a psycho-spiritual basis. Image Guidance can help clients understand the roots of their illness, addiction or disability;  live in harmony with themselves and their current state of health; relieve stress and  find inner peace.  

"Vanek's case material provides an excellent embodiment of the image guidance process and helps the reader to appreciate the very real gift she brings to this endeavour." Joan E. Bowers, Department of Nursing, DePaul University

"Elizabeth-Anne Vanek is an intuitive healer with an uncanny ability to help her clients express and transform their physical problems through imagery. Extending Jung's technique of active imagination, a type of inner dialogue with spontaneous images, she illustrates how to evoke this healing fantasy in individuals with physiological conditions." 

August J. Cwik, Jung Institute, Evanston 

New Jersey: Paulist Press, 1994

ISBN 0-8091-3508-6 

Presently out of print. 

Through a series of case studies, I demonstrate how to dialogue with the active imagination so as to use imagery as an intuitive map that will help guide lives and chart the course of  spiritual direction. The book provides a step-by- step account of how to work with the spontaneous image, how to extract wisdom from dreams and how to recognize the symbolic significance of mythical themes. Ideally used within a counseling context, Image Guidance helps us address our problems with greater perception and sensitivity. We learn how to look at past and present experiences, imagine future experiences and create options for ourselves that we might otherwise have not seen.  

"For those who are attracted by their imaginations to the way of symbols, 

Elizabeth-Anne Vanek's book offers a privileged access to those symbols that emerge from the depths of the psyche and with grace and guidance can lead the spiritual pilgrim toward the goal of the journey." 

Ewert Cousins, Fordham University 

New Jersey: Paulist Press

1992 ISBN:0-8091-3321-0; $16

Available  from the author. 

This collection of poems is grounded in  archetypal imagery. While some of the themes are distinctly Christian and while others are shaped by the Hebrew scriptures, still others draw on the world of myth, providing a new twist to stories of creation, fall and redemption. Many of the poems are mystical in orientation and focus on the relationship between Lover and Beloved, especially on the desire for union and the intense emotions that such yearning entails; a few are set in the landscape of childhood or else explore the territory of pain. Without exception, the poems present a world that is at once recognizable yet surreal, tangible yet elusive, unique yet universal, immediate yet dream-like.

"The reader who follows Vanek's guidance through scenes of everyday life, through the drama of Biblical narratives, and through the forest of primordial archetypal symbols, will be delighted aesthetically and enriched spiritually." 

Ewert Cousins, Fordham University 

Indiana: Wyndham Hall, 1989

ISBN-55605-126-3 $10.00. 

Available from the author.

This collection of poetry brings together the best selections from Frost and Fire (Canton, Ohio: Life Enrichment Publishers, 1985) and Extraordinary Time  (Life Enrichment Publishers, 1988). Both books, which represent my earliest published work, are out of print; however, I do have multiple copies available of this volume. The poems trace much of my own spiritual journey. 

"The most effective prophets are poets. They lead us to truth and goodness through the beautiful. Elizabeth-Anne Vanek is such a prophet. Her poetry helps us to hear the biblical stories anew, to see their settings and to enter into the very flesh and spirit of those who move about seeking God. She helps us to pray biblical prayers, to hear biblical stories as our own stories, and to delight in biblical wisdom as though it were all our own discovery." 

Eugene LaVerdiere, SSS, Emmanuel  

"I am again impressed with the delicate touch of beauty and the intense movement of contemplation in your work. I thank you for sharing this gift with us." 

Carroll Stuhlmueller, C.P., Catholic Theological Union 

"These poems are like favorite melodies transposed into a minor key, haunting the reader with the intimate revelations of the actors, their sudden recognition of the overwhelming presence of God; This book is a very powerful acclamation that sign seeking is universal, and that waiting for what is possible, sometimes in frustration, is worthwhile." 

Linda McCallum Krause, Currents in Theology and Mission 

Available only from the author. $5.00