Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #108342 in Books
• Published on: 2008-01-28
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 224 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9781577316138
• Condition: USED - VERY GOOD
• Notes:
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Amazon.com Review
"To me, the key to spiritual growth and God-consciousness is understanding that we're not in this world to look for a new belief system," writes Reverend Michael Beckwith, a contributor to this outstanding selection of essays on personal relationships with the divine. "Instead, we are looking for ways to awaken to our real self." Beckwith's wisdom speaks to the core purpose of this superbly edited book. Diverse poetic and inspirational voices, such as Rabbi Harold Kushner, Mother Teresa, Hugh Prather, Brooke Medicine Eagle, and the Dalai Lama create a surprisingly harmonious message--one that sings the praises of finding and worshipping a God in one's self and one's life.

Review
-This collection of essays has something for nearly every reader.- - Booklist -Highly recommended.- - Library Journal -Perhaps only once in a lifetime does a book come along with such profound spiritual insights.- - Leading Edge Review

Review

Customer Reviews

Out of the Abyss
This book was the key I had been looking for in reaching a mid-40's spiritual plateau. It is a book of answers and methods. From things as simple as focussing on the thoughts "In" and "Out" while breathing during meditation to the conflict between egoism and spiritualism. It is the kind of book one will keep on hand in times of crises to read over again. The format of brief 4-5 page essays is perfect for those with short attention spans.

A True Gift of Spirit
Handbook for the Spirit is a treasure that could be your resource for daily inspiration. It encourages us to realize the divine within and then discover the spiritual in every living encounter. In this beautiful and diverse collection, some of the world's visionaries such as Mother Theresa, Rev. Michael Beckwith, Shakti Gawain and Wayne Dyer intimately share their personal relationship with God and how it magnificently interplays with their lives. You will also enjoy the heartening Preface by Gerald Jampolsky and the inspiring Foreword by Marianne Williamson. This insightful book is a true gift of Spirit.
~ Katie Davis, Awake Joy: The Essence of Enlightenment

A Gathering of "Old Friends" Opening New Windows in Our Search for God
Joseph Campbell said it well - and says it again in this new collection: "An intense experience of mystery is what one has to regard as the ultimate religious experience."

If that's where you are in your own spiritual journey - then this book is for you.

"Handbook for the Spirit" is a Who's Who of "old friends" in the spiritual field - too many names to list here. But the co-editors Dr. Richard Carlson and Dr. Benjamin Shield are old hands at sharing insights into the healing and happiness that can surprise us in our spiritual journeys. They've collected here some new, and some old, thoughts specifically about a person's relationship to the divine - to God or to other higher realms of spiritual truth.

What I love about this particular collection is that, while it does share some speculative approaches to spirituality, the community of voices here also is rooted in traditional faiths as well.

So, for example, we've got a great piece here by Sue Bender, author of the memoir, "Plain and Simple," about life among the Amish. Writing with her characteristic clarity, she gives us an 8-page reflection on what she's learned from the Amish -- and from her experience of writing about the Amish.

Rabbi Harold Kushner appears in this collection, too. For so many readers, his voice is like an old friend returning to share a few thoughts. As in most of these inspirational pieces, there's nothing here that's stunningly new to longtime readers. But it's like coming to a family reunion in which Kushner leans back and reminds us of various things, including the importance of Martin Buber's teachings.

And, every now and then, there's a flash of awareness, for example: I enjoyed finding, toward the end of Kushner's chapter, this little gem: "When people ask me, `Where is God?' I tell them I would rather rephrase the question to, `When is God?'" Now, truth be told, I've heard this great question from a number of rabbis through the years. It's a brilliant reframing of our windows toward God. Nevertheless, as I finished Kushner's chapter, seeing the question afresh in that context - was like a little ray of light.

That's how the very best "readers" in this genre are supposed to work. A huge "Bravo!" to Shield and Carlson and the whole circle of old friends who assembled this wonderful little gift.