Handbook for the Spirit

Handbook for the Spirit

Handbook for the Spirit
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Book Summary Information

Editor: Richard Carlson
Editor: 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.

Summary of Handbook for the Spirit

In Handbook for the Spirit, an extraordinary group of thinkers and teachers, including Andrew Harvey, Sue Bender, Rev. Michael Beckwith, Barbara De Angelis, and Marianne Williamson, celebrate their personal experiences of the divine. Previously published as For the Love of God, the book features the Dalai Lama on the central importance of kindness; Sue Bender on the small miracles of everyday life; Brooke Medicine Eagle on the Great Spirit; and Joseph Goldstein on the Dharma. Included are Rabbi Harold Kushner on how God appears in relationships, Brother David Steindl-Rast on perceiving the divine through the senses, and 19 other contributors. Each author shares what it is like to have a personal relationship with a higher spirit, how this relationship developed, and how it manifests in his or her life, relationships, and career. Most significantly, the authors offer insight into how readers can enhance their connections with a higher source. Handbook for the Spirit offers both hope and purpose in a world deeply in need of both.

"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.

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