Soulwork of Clay : 9781683363019 : 13 Nov 2008 : Let go of your pretensions?squeeze, shape, knead & play your way to spiritual growth. "I am being formed by the clay. I am reconnecting with the earth, and with the other basic elements, too?air, water, fire?and life itself. Every gesture leaves its trail in the clay. Every fingerprint, a message. My breath fills the cavity. My touch curves the wall of a bowl. And inwardly, I am being formed by the outward practice. I am learning to trust the process, to lean into the possibilities rather than striving for some predetermined goal. I am being hollowed out, stretched and constricted, trimmed and sometimes reworked entirely." ?from the Prologue Drawing from her first-hand experience of working with clay, Marjory Zoet Bankson takes you through the seven-step process of making clay into a pot, drawing parallels at each stage to the process of spiritual growth: Grounding?Connecting with our core elementsKneading?Awakening to the inner real