Handbook for the Spirit
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Book Summary Information
Editor: Richard CarlsonEditor: Benjamin Shield
Foreword: Marianne Williamson
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2008-01-28
ISBN: 1577316134
Number of pages: 224
Publisher: New World Library
Book Reviews of Handbook for the Spirit
Book Review: A Gathering of "Old Friends" Opening New Windows in Our Search for God
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
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