50 Spiritual Classics captures the diversity of life journeys that span centuries, continents, spiritual traditions and secular beliefs. Author Tom Butler-Bowdon includes "A Course in Miracles" as one of his 50 spiritual classics. Butler-Bowdon's discussion of the Course provides a fascinating look at the overall spiritual context in which it plays such an important part.

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Product Description

Uplifting and inspiring, Tom Butler-Bowdon is back with this much-anticipated third volume in the Nicholas Brealey line of "50 Classics". 50 Spiritual Classics continues the tradition of highlighting—for the first time in one book—the most powerful life-changing ideas found in the very best spiritual works that have stood the test of time. From mega-bestsellers to 1st Century writings, stories of personal journeys to biographies of spiritual leaders through the ages, Butler-Bowdon places each work into its historical context and offers insightful commentary on how these classics can help spiritual seekers everywhere bring personal beliefs, values and practices squarely into the center of their every day lives.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #81691 in Books
• Published on: 2005-05-25
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 300 pages

Review
"A kaleidoscope of inspiration ...insightful commentaries on each classic and biographical information on the authors. A unique overview of Spirituality" -- Watkins Review, Summer 2005

From the Inside Flap
Tom Butler-Bowdon’s selections for 50 Spiritual Classics are bound to be controversial. From mega-bestsellers to 1st Century writings, stories of personal journeys to biographies of spiritual leaders through the ages, Butler-Bowdon places each work into its historical context and offers insightful commentary on how these classics can help spiritual seekers everywhere bring personal beliefs, values and practices squarely into the center of their every day lives.

50 Spiritual Classics captures the diversity of life journeys that span centuries, continents, spiritual traditions and secular beliefs: from the historical The Book of Chuang Tzu to modern insight from the Kabbalah, from St. Augustine’s Confessions to Eckhart Tolle’s recent The Power of Now, from Don Miguel Ruiz’s The Four Agreements to Rick Warren’s phenomenon The Purpose-Driven Life. The first and only bite-sized guide to the very best in spiritual writing, this one-of-a-kind collection includes personal diaries and compelling biographies of such diverse figures as Gandhi, Malcolm X, and Black Elk; Eastern philosophers and gurus including Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Chögyam Trungpa and Suzuki; and Western saints and mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi, Herman Hesse and Simone Weil.

In its commentaries of both the conventional classics as well as new writings destined to endure, 50 Spiritual Classics makes universal the human spiritual experience beyond time and space and will inspire spiritual seekers everywhere to begin their own adventure.

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Customer Reviews

I strongly believe the three books in the author's trilogy are really an intellectual treasure!
50 Self-Help Classics: 50 Inspirational Books to Transform Your Life, From Timeless Sages to Contemporary Gurus
50 Success Classics: Winning Wisdom for Life and Work from 50 Landmark Books
50 Spiritual Classics: Timeless Wisdom from 50 Great Books on Inner Discovery, Enlightenment and Purpose

In the first instance, I have bought these three books in one go because I have been fascinated by what the author had done: He has practised what is known as the highest level of reading. Mortimer Adler, in his classic book, 'How to Read a Book', written in the forties, had called it 'syntopical reading'. It's actually reading a number of books of the same genre, more or less simultaneously & then synthesising the key points.

Secondly, the author, who is a graduate of the London School of Economics, somehow impresses me with his ability to synthesise the big picture of each of the books that made up the entire collection. For apparently a left-brain thinker i.e. economist by training, this has been a very remarkable feat, as his synthesising endeavour has been essentially more of a right-brain activity. Well, I must compliment him for a job well done.

Before my final decision on buying the three books, I have been thrilled by the prospect of reading three books, which in turn will give me access to one hundred & fifty books.

For each book, the author has very artfully as well as skillfully selected fifty books to made up one collection. I may not agree with his selection, but I must admit that I can't default him at all.

Take the first book, '50 Self Help Classics', with timeless wisdom, as an example. Out of the fifty books he has selected, I have read only seventeen of them. I have those books in my personal library.

For the second book, '50 Success Classics', I have read & still own sixteen of the landmark books on winning wisdom selected by the author.

For the third & final book, '50 Spiritual Classics', covering timeless sages & contemporary gurus, I have read only & still own three of them, namely 'The Tao of Physics', 'The Way of the Peaceful Warrior' & 'Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance'.

For those books I have read previously, totaling thirty-six of them (probably stretching over three decades of my life), & upon revisiting them again in the trilogy, which actually took me one whole weekend to complete, starting on Friday evening & finishing on Sunday night, I must say that the seemingly marathon reading experience has been very refreshing & uplifting. It has also given me the opportunity to check & verify whether the author has captured the key ideas or essence of those books. I don't think I can find fault with the author in this respect.

Not only that, in the first book, I am very impressed that the author has cut through the bewildering array of choices to bring the essential ideas, insights, and techniques from the `literature of possibilities'. In works that span the world's religions, cultures, philosophies, & centuries, he summarizes each work's key ideas & finally makes clear how these legendary classics can educate, affirm, & motivate anyone searching for the inspiration to make a meaningful life change.

In the second book, the author is back with his wide-ranging collection of enduring works from pioneering thinkers, philosophers, & powerful leaders, like Napoleon Hill, Stephen Covey, Kenneth Blanchard, Baltasar Gracian & Christopher Maurer; from the inspirational rags to riches stories of such entrepreneurs, like Andrew Carnegie, Warren Buffet & Sam Walton to the leadership lessons of Sir Ernest Shackleton, Eleanor Roosevelt, Abraham Lincoln & Nelson Mandela, just to name a few.

In the third book, I believe the author has captured the very best in spiritual writing: They include personal diaries & compelling biographies of such diverse figures as Gandhi, Malcolm X, & Black Elk & Eastern philosophers & gurus including Krishnamurti, Yogananda, Chögyam Trungpa & Suzuki; & Western saints & mystics such as St. Francis of Assisi, Herman Hesse & Simone Weil. For each book in this volume, the author offers insightful commentary on how these classics can help spiritual seekers everywhere bring personal beliefs, values & practices squarely into the center of their every day lives.

Reading the three foregoing books has been quite a breeze because the meaning of each work is initially captured 'in a nut shell' at the onset, coupled with a representative quote as well as cross-referencing to similar work. In each work, appropriate sectional headings in bold print make it really easy for the reader to follow the author's train of thoughts over some six pages. There is also a short biographical sketch of the author of the respective work.

I must admit that the third book in the trilogy has been the most challenging for me to read as I normally do not go for such stuff. To put it bluntly, it's not my cup of tea. On the other hand, the curiosity streak in me has been too overwhelming, since I relish the thought that I could read fifty spiritual classics in just one book!

Overall, & for all those books I have not yet read at all (some of which I have not even heard of), I really enjoyed digesting the author's bite-sized summaries (in actuality, they are only the main ideas, context & impact of each title, to give a taste of the literature, so to speak) in the three collections or volumes, even though some of the titles are relatively esoteric for me. The entire reading journey has been enlightening, inspirational & yet humbling in some areas. Best of all, there are useful tools & practical techniques to take away from each collection!

For the first & last book in the trilogy, namely, '50 Self Help Classics' & '50 Spirtual Classics', the author has respectively provide a list of additional 50 books. The titles are certainly enticing! Well, all I can say is this: I wish the author will repeat his syntopical reading exercise covering these books & add two more volumes, that will make a quintulogy, for all the readers out there, including me!

As usual, all my three books are now scribbled with my own hand-written marginal annotations as well as my fancy colour marker symbols. Additionally, there are also colourful sticky notes in between selected pages. My next personal assignment is to transfer all these notations into mindmaps with Mindmanager Pro.

To end my review, I have one last humble comment to make. Out of the one hundred & fifty bite-sized summaries, I still don't quite get it from 'The Bhagavad-Gita' as outlined in the author's '50 Self Help Classics'. I have not read this work before although I have heard about it. [J Y Pillay, former Chairman of Singapore Airlines, who is credited for building the airline to what it is today, A Great Way to Fly, has vouched for this ancient Hindu scripture as an inspiration for his leadership success during an interview.] However, in the same vein, I found that I could relate quickly to Deepak Chopra's 'The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success' but simply not this one! I may have to explore other avenue.

In site of the above minor short-coming, I strongly believe that the three books in the author's trilogy are really an intellectual treasure!

Tom Butler-Bowden's 'Classics' Trilogy: The third offering
Butler-Bowdon's '50 Self-help Classics' (2003) and '50 Success classics' (2004) have been acclaimed as erudite commentaries in personal development literature. His third volume in this Trilogy- '50 Spiritual Classics' is a compelling read that establishes Butler-Bowdon firmly in the unique niche' that he has carved for himself with his previous two works in the field of personal development literature.

Reading the `50 Spiritual Classics' is an enlightening and often humbling experience. Whether it be The Discourses of Epictetus (Enchiridion), or Pirsig's 'Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence', the author displays a masterful ease which is commendable. Halfway through a chapter, one is often seized upon by an unstoppable urge to tear out, get hold of the title being commented upon by the author and read every page of it. And then one decides to exert self-control and continue with Bowden's own book as it is just too difficult to put down.

A brief glance at some of the authors reviewed bears testament to the breadth covered by this 320-page book: St. Augustine, Malcolm X, Chuang Tzu, Gandhi, Kahlil Gibran, Carlos Casteneda and Fritjof Capra! Somerset Maugham's `The Razor's edge' and Huxley's `The Doors of perception' are included. The authors and works in focus are dissected in a fairly non-judgemental fashion. Tom Butler-Bowdon succeeds in bringing out the essential messages and themes of the spiritual classics reviewed without sounding reverential.

This is not a jingoistic account of spiritualism or PD literature; This is not a collection of pontifications from a zealous convert; this is not a book of lists........'50 Spiritual Classics' is a candid and insightful exposition into the subject; it seeks to review the books and to a lesser extent the people who wrote them in the wider sense implied by the work `spirituality'.

But then why do we not see The Bible or Bhagavad Gita in the list, one may wonder. Simply because they have been commented upon in his previous works. Upon reflection, it becomes clear that this third offering is linked in spirit with the themes dealt with in '50 Self-Help Classics' and '50 Success Classics'. As Tom Butler-Bowdon notes with delightful insight in his Introduction, "The paradox of personal development is that, taken to its logical end, it takes us beyond the self. Meaning is found outside the perimeter of our small concerns."

Where does that leave us mortals? We could exert our wider choice and get hold of the Butler-Bowdon trilogy and make them part of that particular bookshelf which you reserve for special tomes. Those volumes that you reach out for to delve into in moments of introspection, or even pure indulgence.

the perfect guide for exploring beyond the mudane...
I'm reading a lot of self-help or success literature by people like Anthony Robbins and Zig Ziglar at the moment. They touch on the spiritual aspect of our lives, but mainly their emphasis is on the here and now. I've found that approach useful, but on the days when I feel able tackle the greater questions I turn to books like 50 Spiritual Classics.

This book follows the format of Butler-Bowden's previous 50 Self Help Classics and 50 Success Classics. In a clear and concise style he examines 50 texts ranging from ancient to modern, taking in many different forms of spiritual experience. The short chapters allow the reader to learn a lot with just a little effort. I don't have as much time as I'd like to read, but I can usually find ten minutes to absorb a chapter. His languange is intelligent and incise, but never dull or worthy. He has a dry sense of humour that makes reading his work a delight.

It's not just how Butler-Bowden summarizes the books that makes 50 Spiritual Classics special. What he does is arrange the information to help the reader digest the sometimes complex ideas easily. You can read this book from start to finish, or if you find a particular stream of spiritual thinking more to your taste, follow that path by referring to the In A Similar Vein section. Butler-Bowden also gives a one-sentence In A Nutshell summary of each book. Perhaps even more importantly he organises the classics into different categories, such as great spiritual lives, practical spirituality, opening the doors of perception and divine relationship and life purpose.

50 Spiritual Classics is by its very nature less practical than Butler-Bowden's previous books. There is still much to inspire here, though spiritual revelation seems much more personal in nature and difficult to reproduce.

There are various books that 50 Spiritual Classics has inspired me to investigate more fully. I had never considered Toltec wisdom as an avenue for exploration before, but now Butler-Bowden has introduced Miguel Ruiz's The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom. What I find interesting is the similarities between Ruiz's ideas and those of Anthony Robbins. These are two figures that you might not immediately think have much in common. But it seems as if they have come to similar conclusions by different routes. According to Butler-Bowden, Ruiz and Robbins agree that how we use words and how we communicate with ourselves and others, determines the person we are and the world we live in. To find out if the similarities are more than superficial I shall have to do some further reading.

I recommend this book to everyone who wishes to learn more about inner discovery, enlightenment and purpose, whether they consider themselves spiritual or not.