Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul: 30 Stories of Interspiritual Discovery in the Community of Faiths Paperback – 1 June 2004
by Brother Wayne Teasdale (Editor), Martha Howard MD (Editor), & 1 more
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Contributors from many faiths, ages and backgrounds tell how they learned to integrate the spirit into their daily lives and the remarkable transformations that followed.
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In Aquil Charlton's essay, "Sacred Story," she says, "Hearing the beliefs of others helps tune our ears to the sound of God being evoked in our presence. We can listen to the plights of others for familiar stepping stones and stumbling blocks that remind us of our own path." Isn't this the very gift we bring to bear in spiritual direction? We tune our ears and our hearts to the sound of God being evoked through the directee's sharing. This book, consisting of thirty individual stories, was gathered over the past four years by Teasdale, a Catholic lay monk, and Howard, a medical doctor and practicing Buddhist. As members of the Council for a Parliament of the world Religions' Spiritual Life Circle, they sought "to come to terrns with the value and effectiveness of spirituality across religions and cultures" and "to inquire into what works in all forms of the spiritual life to open minds, expand hearts, and transform lives into radiant examples of compassion, kindness and love-in-action."
This collection, written by people whose lives often reflect openness to more than one tradition (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jew) is effective and engaging. While some may find this a "mixed bag" in spiritual sophistication, that is what I found most captivating. This is a valuable resource for our culture, with so many seeking personal growth in spirituality. In a short space, readers can enjoy a range of spiritual experiences that challenge, inspire, and awe.
Russill Paul's essay helps us move into a greater understanding of interspirituality, a "both-and" experience in the spiritual realm. Paul offers a well-developed commentary on interspirituality, understood as the next wave of consciousness. He presents qualitative distinctions important for understanding interspirituality-its benefits and challenges. He observes, "the fear of interspirituality, which is the fear of globalizarion, is reflective of the most basic fear we all have: Will any semblance of our own lives and impressions remain when we merge with the Divine at death?" He continues, "Through an emerging global awareness, the Divine is showing us that our identity is not lost but merges with all things."
These stories invite us in-tolisten, to reflect, to make connections-and spiritual directors will find numerous uses for them. I can note five. For personal reflection to encounter a wide variety of stories reflecting various religious paths leading to a transformative, often mystical, experience of awakening to new insights, new commitments, new realities. For understanding diverse generations, especially generations different from the director's own. For encountering religious traditions and blends, which will stretch many directors focused in one tradition within their practice. For directees, as stories for spiritual reading. For spiritual growth groups, to invite members to share their own stories.
What I found myself wanting as I read the book was a biographical note for each seeker. Having connected with them at a spiritual level, I wanted to know more. That being said, I recommend this text as a valuable compendium, fostering the hope that our current generation welcomes a resurgence of the mystical tradition in its many manifestations. This is the hope we base our ministry of direction upon, and the Hope we serve.
About the Author
Wayne Teasdale was a lay monk and best-selling author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions; Bede Griffiths: An Introduction to His Interspiritual Thought and A Monk in the World. As a member of the Bede Griffiths International Trust, Teasdale was an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Columbia College, and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Wayne Teasdale was coeditor of Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul: 30 Stories of Interspiritual Discovery.
Martha Howard, MD, is a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, which she has practiced since 1982. She is medical director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, and author of the Power of Suggestion CD series. A practicing Buddhist, she is active in the interfaith and peace movements, and is a producing partner of a documentary film in development, Journey to Peace.
Joan Borysenko, PhD, is a respected scientist, gifted therapist and unabashed mystic. Trained at Harvard Medical School, she was an instructor in medicine until 1988. Currently the president of Mind/Body Health Sciences, Inc., she is an internationally known speaker and consultant in women's health and spirituality, integrative medicine and the mind/body connection. She is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestsellers Minding the Body, Mending the Mind; A Woman's Book of Life; 7 Paths to God; The Power of the Mind to Heal and Inner Peace for Busy People.
Product details
Publisher : Skylight Paths Publishing; 1st edition (1 June 2004)
Language : English
Paperback : 224 pages
ISBN-10 : 1681629828
ISBN-13 : 978-1681629827
Dimensions : 15.24 x 1.22 x 22.86 cmCustomer Reviews:
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B. Marold
3.0 out of 5 stars A lightweight book. Informative, with no agenda to push.Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 19 December 2011
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Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul, edited by Brother Wayne Teasdale and Martha Howard.
This gives me the rare opportunity to offer a review which may reply to the comments offered by one of my classmates, who happened to have this book as a text in a class we shared.
Very briefly, the title and subtitle tell the story. It has thumbnail spiritual biographies of thirty individuals with several different starting points, primarily from Christianity (especially Protestant), Judaism, and Islam, who are dissatisfied with their spiritual traditions, or lack of spiritual tradition, in which they have grown up. None of the subjects have formal training (No Thomas Mertons here) and almost all depend on the guidance which good fortune may have brought their way. The result is what many of us have seen in our friends. The first place people go when they are dissatisfied or disillusioned is outside their own faith. (The book does not discuss those whose endpoint is non-spiritual agnosticism or athiesm).
There is a certain sense of serendipity in the choice of studies. By that I mean there seems to be virtually no plan to how the stories were selected. Of course, we do not see what stories went into their shredder, but there is no perceptible intention to single out a certain point of origin, destination, or method of making the journey. And, if you are writing in contemporary America, you are more likely to find Protestants who feel the need for spiritual renewal than Catholics, Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, or whatever. And, if you turn from Protestantism, your first choice is not likely to be either Catholicism or Judaism. It is likely to be either Islam, because that is a common choice, or Buddhism, which is the religious inclination best known for its spirituality. It is also a not uncommon phenomenon for those who begin life in a Biblical literalist community to become disenchanted. One famous example is Bart Ehrman, who is one of the leading Biblical scholars, and who is now an agnostic, because of difficulties in resoling scripture with the world.
This is because a fundamentalist belief requires a far more sophisticalted understanding of the Bible than the average Protestant or Catholic has. While one of Luther's main tenants was study of the Bible, most Lutherans skate by on the 20 minutes they get in the sermon each week, if they are lucky. One of the strengths of Judaism is that it fosters deep bibical study among its members.
Because the approach of this book is so ecumenical, it is probably of little value to the average reader, unless you happen to have a career interest in pastoral counciling. It's purpose is to uncritically present as wide a range of journeys of spiritual discovery as one is likely to encounter at the local library or laundramat. Thus, it had some value as a text on that subject.
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Y. Gowell
3.0 out of 5 stars Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul: 30 Stories of Interspiritual DiscoveryReviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on 19 August 2011
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The stories are mini-autobiographies, showing how people came to faith in a variety of faiths. I enjoyed the book - but it required some deep thinking about new ideas.
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