Clarification is the lifelong joy of the "eternal novice," learning more and more every day, yet always a beginner. Its four rhythms (Study, Identification, Dialogue, and Examen/Reflection) offer different modes of deepening one's understanding of one's own path and the paths chosen by others.
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Having moved from several degrees of Fundamental Christianity (legacy) through various Eastern teachings and then landing on New Thought, I consider myself a very eclectic "eternal novice" since I continue to read, study, explore various aspects of theology, spirituality, tradition, etc. I approach this study/topic the way I study and practice both the martial arts and American Sign Language by remaining open, flexible, adaptive...
Started with reading/study a few Eastern teachings, also Thoreau, science to start in early life moving on later to being a student of "New"Thought, Taichi (as meditative practice), still often remembering to be in beginner's mind. I really appreciated the visual representation showing the Rim, Spokes,...
Everyone is on the Circle, simply in different areas of study (or non-study, staying where they believe serves them best at the Present). That was the quiet "aha" today, simple yet effective. Instead of myself being back on "the Rim", referring to other's comment if I have an emotional response to political changes, I'm probably the same place I was yesterday, just needing to do more examining of what my present emotions are about. Thank you
I have tried writing as a means of clarification, which has stimulated dialog with others over the years. But my 2 books on spirituality and psychological type (Four Spiritualities & Archetype of the Spirit) have clarified the complexity of dialogue among religions and patiently attempting to understand from whence they speak. It also begins a process of being able to both appreciate and critique religions from a more within position. We can feel ourselves of and not just about them.
I was wondering what were your top 10 favorite spiritual books.
Science of Mind textbook, Tao te Ching, Book of Five Rings, Illusions and Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, Gay is a Gift by Rev. Salvatore Sapienza, Think and Grow Rich, Man's Search for Meaning, The Dharma of Star Wars, The Zen of Oz
Tao te Ching, Analects of Confucius, Secret of the Golden Flower (Cleary trans.), Dhammapada, Proverbs & Ecclesiastes, Loren Eiseley's Immense Journey, R. Tagore's Gitanjali, Jung's Memories Dreams Reflections, Emerson's Essays especially Self-Reliance & the Poet, Thoreau's Walden. (My book Our Origin Story has a 100 page tour of world's scriptures, also a book of poems for worship, Sunday Meditions, or for spiritual growth, Archetype of the Spirit.)
Thanks for the question, Terry. I had to think about it for a few days. Here are my choices at this moment. Another day, another list might materialize.
Autobiography of a Yoga, by Paramahansa Yogananda, the book that opened my eyes to the spirituality of the East; a life-changer for me
I and Thou, a classic of Western spirituality, Martin Buber’s unforgettable exploration of intimate, compassionate relationship with the other and with the divine
Without Buddha I Couldn’t Be a Christian, theologian Paul Knitter’s stirring account of his own faith-crisis, and how Buddhist insights led him to a more person-centered Christianity
The Mystic Heart, Wayne Teasdale’s wonderful presentation of the masterful concept of interspirituality
Christians and Religious Pluralism, Alan Race’s now-essential introduction of three modes of interaction between religions: Exclusivism, Inclusivism, and Pluralism
The Tao of Physics, Fritjof Capra’s groundbreaking glimpse of some of the parallels between modern physics and eastern philosophy; one of the inspirations for my doctoral dissertation, “The Eye of the Triangle,” on parallels between the Buddhist philosophy of interdependence and the new physics
Vimalakirti Sutra, the historic Buddhist text of the householder Bodhisattva, who surpasses monks and sages in wisdom and compassion; a beloved spiritual text in Eastern Buddhism; see the translation by Robert Thurman, Uma’s dad
Gandhyvyuha Sutra, a classic Sanskrit work, which forms the 39th chapter of the massive Avatamsaka Sutra—the greatest Buddhist exposition of interdependence—was one of the key texts of my own graduate study; a wonderful account of the spiritual journey of the seeker Sudhana and what he learns from over 50 Bodhisattvas—“enlightening beings.”
The Book of Rumi, the Islamic scholar and Sufi master’s stories of the spiritual dimensions of everyday life; Rumi happens to be the best selling poet in the U.S.
I Ching, especially in the Bollingen translation, with its amazing foreword by Carl Jung, this revered compendium of centuries of Chinese spiritual wisdom is so much more than the “book of divination” that it is usually taken to be.