Thankfully, people who have gained spiritual insight share their discoveries. Oral and written transmissions of spiritual experience are among humanity's greatest treasures.

On this page, some of these currently available treasures, recommended by Lotus and Rose, are described.

The content of this page will be updated regularly.

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image. 

 

For the Bible Tells Me So
Film Documentary
Format DVD Released 2008
Producer:    First Run Features

 

This film, now available on DVD, tells the highly dramatic true stories of five Christian individuals who happen to be gay and the impact of their decisions to be open and honest with themselves and their families, and also with their extended families, their churches.

These stories include: Bishop Gene Robinson, the first openly gay bishop ordained in the Episcopal Church, Chrissy Gephardt, daughter of the former House Majority Leader, Richard Gephardt, Jake Reitan, a young Minnesota Lutheran and his family, Brenda Poteat, a young southern woman and her family, and Mary Lou Wallner who, as a worried Christian mother, followed the advice of a supposed Christian family counselor to reject her Lesbian daughter, and found her dead. These stories are all told with a depth of human interest that touches the heart and soul of the oppression of gay people and leaves one wondering.

The film also presents thought-provoking insights into the few biblical passages that are interpreted by some as condemnation of homosexual activity. Various theological points of view are presented, including insights by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Rabbi Brian Mayer, Reverend Dr. Laurence Keene, Reverend Irene Monroe, and Reverend Peter Gomes.

The most compelling aspect of the film is the touching, warm support provided by the love of the individuals involved in these families as they face, in many cases, very unloving and often hateful people who claim to represent the God who has been described as Love. It appears that the Christian world has a long path yet to tread to discover what love truly means.

This is an eye-opening, award-winning film that deserves a wide showing, now available on DVD.

For the Bible Tells Me So is currently only available in the NTSC format.

 

Back to the Truth: 5000 Years of Advaita
Author:        Dennis Waite
Publisher:     O Books

This is a BIG book (620 pages) of almost encyclopedic proportions. It provides information on many aspects of the ancient yet ever new path of Advaita -- non-dualism.

The author covers the more traditional approaches, such as those found in traditional Hinduism and Vedanta, as well as what is often described as "neo-Advaita", a more recent westernized way of understanding non-dualism that typically sheds the eastern cultural traditions.

The book is heavily peppered with relevant quotations from well-known and lesser known figures, both past and contemporary, eastern and western.

Chapters include the following topics:

• Discovering who we are not

• Action, karma and free will

• Meaning, purpose and happiness

• Knowledge and ignorance

• Spiritual paths and practices

• Who I really am

• The nature of reality

• The teaching method

Also included are appendices on such matters as transliteration of Sanskrit, an Advaita timeline, charts of teacher lineages (both ancient and modern), as well as an extensive appendix of valuable Internet resources and recommended reading.

The author presents the various viewpoints as objectively as the topic allows, and that in itself is saying a lot. A fascinating swim in the deep water.

 

Doubt: a History
Author:        Jennifer Michael Hecht
Publisher:     Harper

Although an historical account, this book has no resemblance to the stereotypically dry tomes labeled as "history". The author approaches the subject with wit and a refreshing warmth that brings the story of history's thoughtful doubters to life!

She begins the story in ancient Greece and traces the story of those who questioned authority down to the present day.

Living as we do in an age of fundamentalist resurgence, it behooves us to revisit the time-honored folk who have been unwilling to accept the easy answers of those who back up their opinions with quotations from so-called inspired texts or all-knowing teachers.

Can real truth stand up to serious questioning? If not, perhaps we would be better off with far less of it.

 

What's Wrong With Right Now Unless You Think About It?
and
Presence-Awareness
Author:        "Sailor" Bob Adamson
Publisher:     Non-Duality Press

These two books are composed of conversations, primarily in a question/answer format, between Bob Adamson and those attending his meetings.

Bob is an Australian who spent years of searching only to discover that what he sought was closer than his next breath.

Bob is one of those rare persons who can speak as simply and clearly as anyone can about the most profound topics.

"You are the timeless. Thought is time appearing on the timeless."

"You are being lived. You are that livingness itself."

These are relatively short books (each is less than 150 pages), and you are apt to read them several times.

 

From Queer to Eternity
Author:        Peter Sweasey
Publisher:     Diane Publishing Co.

Spirituality in the lives of queer people -- the term the author uses to group Lesbian, gay, and bisexual people -- is in general, more likely to be open and faith-filled but less likely to be faithful. He means this to their credit, in the sense that they are not bound completely by the strictures of a particular organized religious outlook.

The author describes the reasons for this, as well as its features, benefits and implications, not only for gay people but for all people. Perhaps gay people have discovered something extremely valuable in the spiritual adventure of living by virtue of their experiences -- discovered something that could benefit everyone.

After laying the foundation, the author expands in detail three main categories of queer spirituality: (1) outside any formalized framework; (2) within traditions that permit or encourage practitioners to retain a substantial amount of freedom and authority; (3) the more orthodox categories of religion where the individual is more likely to face conflict.

This book offers strong encouragement to anyone seeking within or outside the usual spiritual traditions. Standing outside, by choice or otherwise, offers unique viewpoints.

There's an article by Peter Sweasey on the Dew Drops page: Queer Spirit.
 

 

Oneness: The Destination You Never Left
Author:        John Greven
Publisher:    Non-Duality Press

This short book has more direct pointing packed into less than a hundred pages than you'll find in most books that go on and on for a thousand or more.

What needs saying is said -- simply and directly.

The obvious, but often missed, is what you are.

"The One is the only reality and because you are -- you are That."
 

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Road to Heaven: Encounters with Chinese Hermits
Author:        Bill Porter
Publisher:    Mercury House

After the Chinese Communist Cultural Revolution, people wondered what happened to the ancient tradition of solitary spiritual questing in China. When China opened its doors to visitors, Bill Porter journeyed there in 1989 in search of men and women who might still be living the hermit life. This book is the story of his search and fascinating discoveries.

The adventure, the conversations, and some photographs along with background material about the Chinese hermit traditions, both Taoist and Buddhist, make fascinating reading for the armchair traveler, as well as providing insight into the human spirit.

Amongst White Clouds
Film on DVD
Director:     Edward A. Burger

Based of the experiences described by Bill Porter in Road to Heaven, described above, Edward Burger, an American, went to China and spent a year learning the language. He then went in search of the mountain recluses, and became a student of Ch'an Master Guang Kuan, one of the mountain hermits, in the Zhongnon Mountains. This is a rare visit to this remote area and the fascinating stories told by five monks and a nun living Amongst White Clouds.

This film has been selected for showing at seven film festivals and is associated with the International Buddhist Film Festival.

Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality
Author:        Brad Warner
Publisher:    Wisdom Publications

Here's a guy who makes no bones about being a punk rocker infatuated with Godzilla and, oh yeah, a Zen teacher. Well, I suppose we all have similar stories of various combinations of things that we define as who we are.

This was one book I could hardly put down once I opened it. The author has a disarming way of presenting some profound thoughts in plain wrappers, often using autobiographical details to illustrate.

There's an article by Brad Warner on the Dew Drops page: Zen is Boring.
There are also links to his Web site and related items there.

If you ever were a kid, and I'd be scared to admit I wasn't, and if you ever more or less grew up, and most of us have, more or less, and if you ever wondered about who you really might be under all the monster make-up, then I think Brad Warner's story will interest you, too.

Buddhism Plain & Simple
and
Buddhism Is Not What You Think
Author:        Steve Hagen
Publishers:    Broadway Books &
                    Harper

Written by an American Zen teacher (Dharma Field Mediation Center, Minneapolis), these books provide an excellent introduction to the practice of awareness, or what the author describes as, "seeing." This involves much more than light impinging on retinas, yet the immediacy of that is a place to begin.

Both of these books approach Buddhist thought without many of the inevitable cultural overlays and adornments. In this way, the author hopes to get to the heart of the Buddha's teaching, and these books provide a very helpful overview for both a newcomer and long-time practitioner.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image. 

 

Letting Go of God (CD)
Author:        Julia Sweeney
Publisher:     Indefatigable, Inc.

Many of us think that to be "spiritual" one must, first of all, believe in God -- at least some greater or higher power. But this is not necessarily so.

This CD is a recording of Julia Sweeney's seriously funny one-woman show detailing her experience going from God to "not-God".

One's daily path may change and seem totally different. But it is still the path.

 

The Heart Sutra
and
The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain
Author:        Red Pine (Bill Porter)
Publishers:    Shoemaker & Hoard &
                    Copper Canyon Press

The Heart Sutra is considered by many to be the core of the Buddha's message, memorized and chanted over centuries, and can be written on a single page of paper. This book includes background material and a detailed line-by-line commentary by an American scholar who lived many years in China and who has translated several ancient Chinese texts. This book does an excellent job of making the otherwise cryptic statements about emptiness and form more understandable for the modern reader, although "understandable" is probably a poor way of stating what happens when these words are considered.

Check out Red Pine's dance moves on the Dew Drops page: Dancing With the Dead

The Collected Songs of Cold Mountain consists of another Chinese translation and includes the Chinese text, as well. Han-Shan (Cold Mountain) became better known in the English-speaking world with the publication of Jack Kerouac's The Dharma Bums, which was dedicated to Han-Shan. Han-Shan was a Taoist/Buddhist hermit known for his friendship with two Kuoching Temple monks, Feng-kan (Big Stick) and Shih-te (Pickup). The book includes more than three hundred of Han-Shan's poems, said to have been originally written on the stone walls near his cave. Also included are four poems by Feng-kan, and nearly fifty by Shih-te. The threads of the natural world are woven through these lines.

 

As It Is: The Open Secret of Spiritual Awakening
and
Invitation to Awaken: Embracing Our Natural State of Presence
Author:        Tony Parsons
Publisher:    Inner Directions

What if "awakening" is not the result of following a list of prescribed practices over a long period of disciplined living? Would it shock you to hear that meditation and prayer contribute to the dream instead of aiding awakening?

We are in a mad rush to find the flower we are trampling over. There's nothing to find. It's already here right now.

Through a series of dialogues, Tony Parsons responds in the second book to a wide variety of questions asked at four gatherings.

For a glimpse into Tony's thought, check out:

The Open Secret

Read an interview with Tony:

Nobody Can Become What They Already Are

For a by-stander's point of view, read these interesting remarks from "Guru Ratings":

Satsang Report: Tony Parsons

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image. 

Bare-Bones Meditation: Waking Up from the Story of My Life
Author:        Joan Tollifson
Publisher:    Bell Tower

This is the story of a woman with lots of stuff to deal with -- born with only one hand, discovering that she's a Lesbian, becoming alcoholic and drug addicted. Eventually, she finds Zen and then realizes it fits like a tight shoe. It was then that she opted for a "bare-bones" approach. This witty, insightful book is a narrative of that discovery.

The author tells her messy but inspiring story right from the heart, openly, honestly. The circumstances of one's life -- regardless of what they are -- set off the alarm clock that awakens.

It isn't necessary to belong to any formal spiritual tradition to wake up. You just have to open your eyes.

Click here to visit Joan Tollifson's Web site.

An essay by Joan Tollifson appears on the Dew Drops page.

 

Awake in the Heartland: The Ecstasy of What Is
Author:        Joan Tollifson
Publisher:    Trafford

This book describes the continuing discoveries begun in Bare-Bones Meditation (above).

If you are chasing enlightenment like some night phantom, hoping and even expecting to "find it" or "experience it" sometime when you are "worthy" or have "practiced more" or find the right teacher or join the true movement, then perhaps the author's experience will shed a little light on your poor unenlightened self.

Click on the links below to read excerpts from Awake in the Heartland.

What is a Teacher?

The Zone

Trembling Before G-d
Film Documentary
Format:        DVD

This documentary movingly portrays the struggle Orthodox Jewish and Hasidic gay men and Lesbians face in order to continue to practice their faith while, at the same time, being true to themselves, honest with God and their loved ones.

The central issues confronted in this film are not unique to traditional Judaism. Consider, for example, the storm of protest generated by the consecration of an openly gay bishop in the Episcopal Church. Most conservative or traditional religious traditions marginalize gay and Lesbian members to some degree, urging everything from electro-convulsive therapy to eating certain herbs and foods, and always stressing self-denial and the charade and heartache of pretending to be straight.

Some find a balance that's acceptable to them and continue to honor and practice their faith. Others, expelled from their families and congregations and shunned by friends, give up altogether. This film tells the story of several men and women caught in this spiritual dilemma. 

Note: the DVD version consists of 2 discs and includes a considerable amount of additional material not contained on the VHS version.

A synopsis of the film is available by clicking here.

 

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The Zen Teachings of Huang Po
Translator:    John Blofeld
Publisher:     Grove Press

Huang Po, also known as Hsi Yun , lived in China in the 9th century (CE). He is regarded as one of the greatest exponents of the sudden enlightenment school of Ch'an (Zen) Buddhism. He instructs by paradox, anecdote, and dialogue.

Here is one paragraph from this classic:

If an ordinary man, when he is about to die, could only see the five elements of consciousness as void; the four physical elements as not constituting an "I"; the real Mind as formless and neither coming nor going; his nature as something neither commencing at his birth nor perishing at his death, but as whole and motionless in its very depths; his Mind and environmental objects as one -- if he could really accomplish this, he would receive Enlightenment in a flash. He would no longer be entangled by the Triple World; he would be a World-Transcender. He would be without even the faintest tendency towards rebirth. If he should behold the glorious sight of all the Buddhas coming to welcome him, surrounded by every kind of gorgeous manifestation, he would feel no desire to approach them. If he should behold all sorts of horrific forms surrounding him, he would experience no terror. He would just be himself, oblivious of conceptual thought and one with the Absolute. He would have attained the state of unconditioned being. This, then, is the fundamental principle.

 

Inner Christianity: A Guide to the Esoteric Tradition
Author:        Richard Smoley
Publisher:    Shambhala

Have you ever wondered whether there could possibly be more to Christianity than what's portrayed on cable church channels or even in the local church you attend, or attended? There are a lot of us who gave up on anything remotely Christian because we were either bored out of our skulls or had our intellect insulted so frequently we couldn't take it any more. Beyond that, however, there also seemed to be little or no reality to what passed for spirituality. Empty rituals and formal informality just didn't cut it any longer.

Nevertheless, we still have that dim hope, like a tiny flickering inner flame that won't be put out, that there's more to the Christian message than meets the eye. Something beyond all the trappings and arguments; something deeper; something genuine.

This book effectively informs us that there have always been, and continue to be, those who discovered that deep, genuine, inner core of Christianity. The author not only presents the history of these teachings -- teachings not often taught in most churches -- but offers practical encouragement for the reader to verify them by personal experience.

To read an interview with the author, Richard Smoley, click here.

 

Hidden Wisdom
Authors:       Richard Smoley
Publisher:    Quest Books

Those of us brought up in churches, mosques and synagogues often have the impression that mystical teachings are found only in Eastern temples. We have never been exposed to the rich esoteric practices of our own heritage. 

This book is like a traveler's guidebook to the Western inner traditions. There is an introductory chapter about Jung. This is followed by excellent descriptive chapters regarding:

• Gnosticism
• Esoteric Christianity
• The Kabbalah
• Magick
• Witchcraft and neopaganism
• Shamans
• Alchemy and hermeticism
• Gurdjieff's Fourth Way
• Sufism
• The secret brotherhoods

At the end of each chapter are suggested additional readings.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image. 

 

Working on God
Author:        Winifred Gallagher
Publisher:    Modern Library

Here's a book that will appeal to you if you feel as though most of what passes for spirituality is indeed passé, but you still are annoyed enough by a persistent suspicion that maybe, just maybe, your own spiritual life is valid even though it may not be very well defined.

That's how the author felt. So she decided it wouldn't hurt to explore. She persisted in her search and ended up finding ways to encourage her own particular outlook -- what she knew to be genuine -- in what would normally be considered disparate directions: a Zen community, a large urban cathedral, a Jewish synagogue, and New Age teachings.

Not that she jumped in or joined. She found ways to incorporate what was useful and meaningful into what she realized was her own unique spirituality. This is pretty much the idea encouraged by Lotus and Rose, in case you didn't already realize.

 

Shoes Outside the Door
Author:        Michael Downing
Publisher:    Counterpoint

Subtitled, "Desire, Devotion, and Excess at the San Francisco Zen Center," this is the story of how a spiritual movement can become mired in the meshes of a controlling personality -- how people on a quest for enlightenment fall into more dismal realms. The story is instructive for all of us, particularly those seeking spiritual guidance from an organized religious body led by a powerful personality.

This is by no means an unusual story. It has been repeated across the centuries in one form or another in every religious tradition. It reminds us to beware of gullibility at the hands of less scrupulous individuals -- to be guarded in giving our trust to another human being, particularly in settings where such trust is traditional and expected. Many people spend years recovering from bad choices connected with noble paths.

Read, and take note.

 

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Ambivalent Zen: One Man's Adventures on the Dharma Path
Author:        Lawrence Shainberg
Publisher:    Vintage Books

The author was introduced to Zen as a result of his father's almost obsessive fascination with things spiritual. Alan Watts was a guest in their home. His father took him along on a trip to  hear Krishnamurti. If archery and Zen had something in common, then Zen could help him shoot a better basketball or play a better game of tennis, too, but he was disappointed.

The experiences of the author with the men who function as his teachers, people with issues of their own, are presented with sharp, and sometimes humorous, insight. He also learns a great deal from an assortment of friends and fellow spiritual enthusiasts encountered along the way.

It's refreshing to read a book with such honesty.

 

Think on These Things
Author:        Jiddu Krishnamurti
Publisher:    HarperPerennial

Krishnamurti was the messianic figure announced as the "world teacher" in the 1920s who renounced his supposed status as a guru and eventually espoused the idea that there was no one outside ourselves truly capable of bringing us to full awareness. It's really a "do-it-yourself" (or perhaps an "undo-it-yourself") project.

This book is one of many compiled by his listeners over the years. It consists of brief comments followed by questions from listeners and Krishnamurti's often profound responses.

When the interior movement of any soul toward happiness, God, and truth is blocked in any manner by authority, tradition, or fear then decay follows.

"When you are really learning you are learning throughout your life and there is no one special teacher to learn from. Then everything teaches you -- a dead leaf, a bird in flight, a smell, a tear, the rich and the poor, those who are crying, the smile of a woman, the haughtiness of a man. You learn from everything, therefore there is no guide, no philosopher, no guru. Life itself is your teacher, and you are in a state of constant learning." -- Krishnamurti

 

This Side of Nirvana: Memoirs of a Spiritually Challenged Buddhist
Author:        Sara Jenkins
Publisher:    Fair Winds Press

Often, books about spiritual paths are full of confusing jargon, particularly if there is a large cultural difference from one's own background.

This book is an excellent look into the way one American woman found meaning and growth along the Buddhist path by connecting with another American woman, a teacher at Southern Dharma Center in North Carolina. In day-to-day life, the otherwise cryptic message of Buddhism took meaning as it was incarnated in the teacher's life and words.

Every person's spiritual development is full of interest and pointers for one's own growth. This story is one of those helpful encounters.

 

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The Mystic Heart
Author:        Wayne Teasdale
Publisher:    New World Library

The subtitle of this book, Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions, basically describes the heart and soul of Lotus and Rose. The author contends that the mystics of the world are leading the way toward what he calls "interspirituality" -- the sharing of ultimate experiences across traditions, the spirituality of the new millennium.

Check out the Temple of Understanding for an example of "interspirituality."
Bede Griffiths was one man who exemplified this idea.

The author doesn't propose to simply create some sort of muddled stew, but rather an attempt to make the variety of ways that folks around the world look into spiritual realms available to everyone, while maintaining a healthy respect for all.

• Finding what unites us

• The practical nature of the mystical way

• The mysticism of the natural world

• Global mysticism

This is the refreshing approach which this Web site seeks to encourage.

 

Doing Nothing -- Coming to the End of the Spiritual Search
Author:        Steven Harrison
Publisher:    Jeremy P. Tarcher/Putnam

What would happen if I stopped this frantic spiritual search? Has running from one book, teacher, or method to another left you wondering, what is this really all about? Having tried virtually everything, perhaps it's time to do nothing!

This author states, "This guru game is like the enlightenment game, we play it because we do not want to face our emptiness."

What's "emptiness" anyway?

Check out the author's Web site, DOING NOTHING, and be sure to click on "Talks/Archives."

 

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Sacred Journey
Now and Then
Telling Secrets
The Eyes of the Heart

 

 

 

 

Author:        Frederick Buechner
Publisher:    Harper

Frederick Buechner is the acclaimed author of thirty novels and inspirational works, including several memoirs.

The books featured here are a series of his memoirs whose primary focus is the honest disclosure of pivotal events in one person's life. You'll wonder, laugh and cry with the author because you'll find similarities in your own experience. As memoirs go, these are gems of the rarest kind.

Here is a quotation from Telling Secrets that applies to them all --

"I have called this book Telling Secrets because I have come to believe that by and large the human family all has the same secrets, which are both very telling and very important to tell. They are telling in the sense that they tell what is perhaps the central paradox of our condition -- that what we hunger for perhaps more than anything else is to be known in our full humanness, and yet that is often just what we also fear more than anything else. It is important to tell at least from time to time the secret of who we truly and fully are -- even if we tell it only to ourselves -- because otherwise we run the risk of losing track of who we truly and fully are and little by little come to accept instead the highly edited version which we put forth in hope that the world will find it more acceptable than the real thing. It is important to tell our secrets too because it makes it easier that way to see where we have been in our lives and where we are going. It also makes it easier for other people to tell us a secret or two of their own, and exchanges like that have a lot to do with what being a family is all about and what being human is all about. Finally, I suspect that it is by entering that deep place inside us where our secrets are kept that we come perhaps closer than we do anywhere else to the One who, whether we realize it or not, is of all our secrets the most telling and the most precious we have to tell."

 

Path of the Kabbalah
Author:        David Sheinkin
Publisher:    Paragon House

The Kabbalah is one of the best known yet least understood aspects of Jewish mystical thought. Yet the Kabbalah can provide insight into the mysteries of life for people of different spiritual heritages. This book provides an excellent, understandable approach to a very complex and deep realm.

The author, who was a student of Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan, uses appropriate and helpful analogies to give us a look into the glorious realm of reality beyond normal sight and hearing. This is a book not only for Jews but all people interested in spiritual growth and understanding.  While it is helpful to approach this study with an appreciation for the Bible and at least a basic biblical knowledge, the author does not assume the reader has extensive background in either the Bible or Jewish thought.

The general topics are:

• The Mystical Bible

• In the Beginning

• Sacred Metaphysics

• The Creation Process

• Eden and the Human Condition

• The Way of the Mystic

After describing the path of the Kabbalah, the author includes several meditative exercises.  A glossary also defines various Hebrew terms.

 

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Insight Meditation: A Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate
Authors:        Sharon Salzberg & Joseph Goldstein
Publisher:    Sounds True

Two Buddhist meditation teachers collaborated to produce this meditation course which includes a spiral-bound manual/workbook, plus a set of printed study cards to aid in remembering core concepts, as well as two CDs containing guided meditations.

These meditative lessons include such topics as --

• the meaning of "mindfulness" -- being non-judgmentally aware of what's going on as it unfolds

• dealing with obstructions to progress arising from desire and aversion, restlessness and doubt

• the myth of self and the limits of perception

• the function of suffering

• unconditional "lovingkindness"

There are nine lessons in a workbook format.  Each lesson contains exercises to bring the teachings home and to demonstrate their validity, including a guided meditation supported by the CDs that are included.

The manual, study cards, and CDs are provided in a handy boxed format.

   

In Search of Grace: An Outsider's Journey Across America's Landscape of Faith
Author:        Kristin Hahn
Publisher:    William Morrow

The spiritual landscape of the United States is as varied as its physical terrain. The author of this book hop scotches across the country visiting individuals of many spiritual shades. She presents the patchwork quilt of American faith with sensitivity and honesty without patronizing any way of seeing.

Here you'll find portraits of Native Americans and Mormons; Unitarians and Christian Scientists; Muslims and Buddhists, Amish folk and Spiritualists; Jews and Yogis; Catholic monks and nuns, as well as Protestant preachers. The enticing aspect of this book is the feeling of personal involvement with an effort to understand and interpret sympathetically, yet at the same time enough detachment to avoid gullibility.

The author opens the doors of hearts to expose the core of meaning that many different Americans have found along many different paths.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

On Having No Head
and
Face to No-Face
and
Look for Yourself
Author:        Douglas E. Harding
Publisher:    Inner Directions

The author helps us toward "headlessness" -- experiencing for oneself what mystics try to describe as the Self that's no-self. Confused? This book uses some practical experiments to help you figure out who you point to when you point your finger at your face.

The first book, On Having No Head, is an introduction to the "headless way". The author suggests that we need to get on with the job of not losing touch with our Absence. Seeing into Nothingness is the beginning of the spiritual walk.

 The second book, Face to No-Face, written in a conversational question and answer style, addresses the likely situation that you may still have questions similar to those others have asked.

 

The third book, Look for Yourself, subtitled "The Science and Art of Self-Realization," is a collection of essays dealing with a wide variety of topics all generally related to the "headless way." Some of the topics include:

• Self-inquiry: Some Questions Answered

• The Near End: the Science of Liberation and the Liberation of Science

• The Nature of the Physical World

• How to Surrender

• A Jesus for Our Time

• ...and others

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

Between God and Man
and
God in Search of Man
and
The Sabbath
Author:        Abraham Joshua Heschel
Publisher:    Farrar, Straus and Giroux

These three books are by a man with deep spiritual insight.

Abraham Heschel was, without doubt, one of the greatest spiritual leaders of the 20th century. In addition, his ability to express spiritual experience in understandable prose is unmatched.

Each of these books radiates.

Between God and Man is considered one of the spiritual classics and certainly one of the best books on the spiritual life written in the past hundred years. It is divided into five main parts, each containing multiple chapters covering the topic:

• Ways to His Presence

• The God of the Prophets

• Man and His Needs

• Religious Observance

• The Meaning of This Hour

Consider the opening paragraph of God in Search of Man:

"It is customary to blame secular science and anti-religious philosophy for the eclipse of religion in modern society. It would be more honest to blame religion for its own defeats. Religion declined not because it was refuted, but because it became irrelevant, dull, oppressive, insipid. When faith is completely replaced by creed, worship by discipline, love by habit; when the crisis of today is ignored because of the splendor of the past; when faith becomes an heirloom rather than a living fountain; when religion speaks only in the name of authority rather than with the voice of compassion -- its message becomes meaningless." (p. 3)

  God in Search of Man is divided into three major sections:

• God

• Revelation

• Response

Instead of people seeking God, God seeks people. "Seek my face," God calls.

The Sabbath reflects on God's creation of a Palace in Time. The Sabbaths are our cathedrals. Holy spaces are known to many but not many, these days, enjoy Holy Time.

"Something happens to a man on the Sabbath day." (p. 87)

 

The Wonder of Presence and the Way of Meditative Inquiry
Author:        Toni Packer
Publisher:    Shambhala Publications

The author's path led her from Nazi Germany through years of Zen study and contact with Krishnamurti. In the process, she discovered the presence of what is. She shares the experience in this book of remembrance. She suggests that there really are no "stages" along the way of life -- no things to look for or expect, not even any teachers or tried and true methods.

What happens when a person stops, looks and listens? For example, what constitutes the weather? Well, you might say, weather is the clouds, the sun, the rain, the wind...things like that. So, weather itself is simply a construct of the mind. The author suggests that perhaps the same may be true of "me."

Springwater Center is a retreat center in upstate New York influenced and inspired by Toni Packer's vision.

The book is divided into four major sections:

• What is Meditative Inquiry?

• Me and You and the World

• Relationship

• Conditioning and Wholeness

These general categories are subdivided into chapters dealing with a wide variety of matters seen from Toni Packer's unique point of view.

 

The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi: A Visual Journey
Editor:        Matthew Greenblatt
Publisher:    Inner Directions Publishing

Ramana Maharshi was the Indian saint whose simple example and constant message of self-inquiry -- Who am I? -- inspires millions around the world.

This book is a presentation of many of Ramana Maharshi's most stimulating thoughts superimposed on page after page of photographs of the simple saint.

This is a book to be read through regularly as a constant reminder of who you are until you reach the point of no longer needing to be reminded.

Two quotations will give you some idea of what to expect --

"You speak as if you are here, and the Self is somewhere else and you had to go and reach it...but in fact the Self is here and now, and you are always It. It is like being here and asking people the way to the ashram, then complaining that each one shows a different path and asking which to follow."

"The ultimate truth is so simple; it is nothing more than being in one's natural, original state. Because people want something elaborate and mysterious, so many religions have come into existence. Only those who are mature can understand the matter in its naked simplicity. It is a great wonder that to teach such a simple truth a number of religions should be necessary, and so many disputes should go on between them as to which is the God-ordained teaching. What a pity! Just be the Self, that is all."

 

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment
Author:        Eckhart Tolle
Publisher:    New World Library

The mind camouflages You, or what the author refers to as Being. The spiritual quest involves getting beneath the husk, so to speak, to the living Kernel. This book leads the reader to make that discovery.

The author presents ways to make this astounding discovery through ten chapters of questions and answers:

• You Are Not Your Mind
• Consciousness: The Way Out of Pain
• Moving Deeply into the Now
• Mind Strategies for Avoiding the Now
• The State of Presence
• The Inner Body
• Portals into the Unmanifested
• Enlightened Relationships
• Beyond Happiness and Unhappiness There is Peace
• The Meaning of Surrender

This book is not an appeal for any organized religion. Rather, it pursues the narrow path discovered by the sages of many faiths and presents it clearly for readers of today.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

Bones of the Master: A Journey to Secret Mongolia
Author:        George Crane
Publisher:    Bantam Books

A young Chan Buddhist monk flees China following an arduous journey from Inner Mongolia across mainland China. Years later, as an elder, he ends up living in a self-built cabin in the woodsy Catskills of New York State near a poet neighbor who becomes his close friend. The neighbor, who is the author of this book, tells the intriguing story and joins the monk on a return to Mongolia to honor the memory of his deceased master.

The story told here will cause you to laugh aloud and leave you sitting on the edge of your seat in almost the same breath. George Crane tells the adventurous, romatic story of Tsung Tsai in a way that will keep you turning pages as if you were reading a mystery full of tantalizing twists and turns. Yet, at the same time, this story contains profound spiritual truth, but told in the most readable, and enjoyable, way.

 

Ann the Word
Author:        Richard Francis
Publisher:    Arcade Publishing

This is the fascinating story of Ann Lee, the intrepid messianic figure of early American history, and leader of the unusual group known as the Shakers, or the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Indeed, the Shakers believed that Christ appeared among them in Ann Lee.

You can find out more about Shaker ideas by clicking here.

This book tells the story of Mother Ann, as she was known among Shakers, from the earliest known records of her life in England to her departure for America and her remarkable influence over thousands of people.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

In the Vision of God (Volumes I and II)
Author:        Swami Ramdas
Publisher:    Blue Dove Press

Here is the story of a man who trusted God for every detail of his life, written by the man himself. Ramdas accepted each "circumstance" in his life as a direct gift from a loving God.

A Hindu with the heart of St. Francis of Assisi, Swami Ramdas chronicles the adventures of his life, wandering from place to place in India, trusting in providence with remarkable results. At times funny, while at others touchingly tender, Swami Ramdas's true voice is heard in every line with no pretension -- just simple trust. 

 

Lao Tzu : Tao Te Ching : A Book About the Way and the Power of the Way
Author:        Lao Tzu
Translation: Ursula K. Le Guin with collaboration of J. P. Seaton

This is a new edition of a timeless classic thought to be over 2,500 years old..

 Ursula Le Guin, author of many fantasies that have become classics in their own right, relates the story of how she became involved with the Tao Te Ching in the introduction to this book.  It seems her father possessed an 1898 copy, bound in yellow cloth and stamped with blue and red Chinese designs and characters. The physical qualities of the volume, which at first attracted her, gave way to the spirit conveyed by the words.

She states: "It is the most lovable of all the great religious texts, funny, keen, kind, modest, indestructibly outrageous,  and inexhaustibly refreshing. Of all the deep springs, this is the purest water. To me, it is also the deepest spring."

 

Wisdom's Children: A Christian Esoteric Tradition
Author:        Arthur Versluis
Publisher:    State University of New York Press

Beyond the various controversies that divided Reformation era Christians, there were those who sought personal knowledge and the experience of divine encounter and contact with heavenly realms. This is one of the best books for gaining background and understanding of the mystical, and often unknown, side of early Protestant spiritual life.

The author tells the story of the "theosophers" who arose in the 1600s, soon after the Protestant Reformation. He tells the story of Jacob Böhme and continues with other less well known, such as Johann Gichtel, John Pordage, Jane Leade, and Johannes Kelpius. Although their personalities were often as different as night and day, they each found experiential verification of profound truth and then attempted to tell others about it.

The book begins with historical background, followed by foundational teachings. It is far from a dry tome! These men and women were afire with their heavenly experience! These were Christians whose greatest longing was to know, and then to share their spiritual discoveries.

 

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Finding Your Religion
Author:        Scotty McLennan
Publisher:    Harper

Many of us grew up in a faith that has lost all meaning for us as adults. As a result, we abandoned all religious associations, feeling as though we outgrew the need. Yet, an empty feeling remains that we don't know quite how to fill.

This book offers suggestions for the person in such a situation without pressing any particular viewpoint, which is a welcome relief for a genuine seeker. There are helpful introductions to various spiritual paths: Judaism, Buddhism, Bahá'í, Hinduism, Islam, various Christian traditions, and Unitarian-Universalism.

The presentation is particularly helpful in the sense that it's not simply a chapter-by-chapter rehearsal of each separate path, but rather by looking at various aspects of spiritual life from these differing viewpoints. As a result, chapters are presented on topics: Thinking, Experiencing, Walking, Joining, Crossing, Sitting, Suffering, and Rejoicing with consideration for how each path approaches these aspects of life.

 

The Heart of Sufism
Author:        Hazrat Inayat Khan
Publisher:    Shambhala

This book is a collection of the essential writings of a modern interpreter of Sufism. Sufi thought surrounds and interpenetrates Islam. Some think it preceded it. Hazrat Inayat Khan was an Indian-born mystic and musician who brought Sufi thought to the western world.  This compilation of some of Khan's teachings is a ruby treasure.

Read a selection from this book entitled, The God Ideal, in which the author compares two different, yet complementary, ways of thinking about God.

Click on this link to read a selection from The Heart of Sufism
 The publishers have given Lotus and Rose permission to quote a chapter from the book. 

There is a illuminated sense about this book. One quickly realizes that the author knows.  There is no sense of urgency, but rather quiet waiting and expectancy. There is acknowledgement that the One Who Is may be found via many paths, unique yet reflecting the same light, like the multiple facets of a single gem.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

Stealing Jesus: How Fundamentalism Betrays Christianity
Author:        Bruce Bawer
Publisher:    Three Rivers Press

Over the past hundred years, there has been a noisy resurgence of legalistic religion among followers of many of the world faiths, including Christianity. The author of this book exposes the fundamentalist movement in the Christian faith by presenting the story of this development and the people who gave it life and those who continue to nurture it.

Most often, followers of this path assert strong claims to being the only true Christians and dismiss all others as heretics and turncoats with strong denunciations and condemnation. Perhaps their assertions shouldn't be so easily accepted.

Is the Jesus of the Gospels the same Jesus of the fundamentalists? This author doesn't think so. Find out why by reading this book.

 

Yoga and the Quest for the True Self    
Author:        Stephen Cope
Publisher:    Bantam

This unusual book is not a yoga manual. Instead, the author tells the tale of his experience with yoga. It is unusual because of its refreshingly stark honesty. In the process of story-telling, Stephen Cope exposes the heart of yoga, as well as the techniques. He exposes the dark side of spiritual experience, from personal experience, as well as the clear light. This book is a fascinating read, more like a novel than non-fiction.

The book is divided into five parts:

• The Discovery of the Royal Secret
• The Self in Exile
• Encounters With the Mother and the Seer
• The Spontaneous Wisdom of the Body
• The Royal Road Home

Also included is a wonderful Appendix, "Yoga Metaphysics With A Light Touch," in which the author summarizes the major streams of yogic thought.

Stephen Cope, the author, is Scholar-in-Residence at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

Gods of Love and Ecstasy: The Traditions of Shiva and Dionysus
Author:        Alain Danielou
Publisher:    Inner Traditions

Originally published as Shiva and Dionysus, this book by the French Orientalist and musicologist, Alain Danielou,  examines two ancient spiritual paths -- one Eastern and one Western -- and finds great similarities and relevance for today.

In our modern world where nature is thought of as the enemy to be controlled, the insights of the most ancient spiritual traditions have much to teach us.

The author draws a sharp contrast between "religions of the city" and "religions of nature." The religions of the city emphasize morality and ritual, while those of the countryside are nature-centered and ecstatic. Sexuality and spirituality intertwine. The moralist deals with sexuality by attempting to deny its expression. The naturalist uses aspects of sexuality to invigorate spirituality.

Danielou finds wisdom for today in these two ancient nature religions -- Shivaism (or Shaivism) from India, and Dionysism from the Mediterranean Minoan civilization.

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

After the Ecstasy, the Laundry
Author:        Jack Kornfield
Publisher:    Bantam

The books deals with the practical, everyday aspects of the spiritual life -- the laundry. The concern is getting from point A to point B, not all the way to Z.

Jack Kornfield definitely has point Z in mind, and he presents the steps toward that goal. But he also acknowledges each step between here and there as valid and important, and very often quite mundane.

The book is divided into four major parts:

• Preparation for Ecstasy
• The Gates of Awakening
• No Enlightened Retirement
• Awakening in the Laundry

 

Choosing Simplicity
Author:        Linda Breen Pierce
Publisher:    Gallagher Press

The Industrial Revolution triggered an interesting response. People discover that getting the "better job" and "living the good life" still leave empty places in one's life. Acquiring more isn't the answer. One of life's detours is the obsession with material gain. This fascination, when unbalanced, is at the root of great evil, from global warming to war.

Within the past few years, Henry David Thoreau's call to "Simplify, simplify, simplify," has been heard by more and more people. A "simple living" network exists and several excellent books are available. The goal is regaining balance in one's life, not denial or rejecting the comforts of modern life. Voluntary simplicity often brings spiritual insight with it, although, granted, it is for those who are living above the poverty line.

Over a three-year period, the author studied the experiences of more than 200 individuals, chronicling their discoveries as they simplified their lives. This book is the result of that study. It tells the fascinating stories of real people, all of them different, yet all looking for meaning in their cluttered lives. Their practical methods for shedding those burdens are described.

 

 

To order a copy of any of the items listed on this page, click on the cover image.

 

The Secret Teachings of All Ages
Author:        Manly P. Hall
Publisher:    Philosophical Research Library

This work is truly encyclopedic. Originally published in 1928, it continues as one of the best reference works detailing the history and practices of the hermetic, or secret, brotherhoods, particularly those of the West.

Teachings of ancient Egyptians, Pythagoreans, Gnostics, and Knights Templar are found persisting in such groups as Freemasons, Rosicrucians, Qabbalists, and various mystical Christian societies.

This book is profusely illustrated, including many original art works by J. Augustus Knapp.

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The items reviewed above are available by clicking on the book cover icon through amazon.com.

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Book-sharing Idea!

Do you have books you've read and found truly helpful in your spiritual quest that you'd like to pass along to someone else?

If so, there's a helpful free tool for book-sharing on the Internet. It's called BookCrossing, a Web site dedicated to the proposition that a book is meant to live after being read.  to bring pleasure and help to others rather than just sit on shelves unread.

Everything is clearly explained at the site. The idea is that you register the book at BookCrossing. Then, you print out a note that you paste inside the book. Next, you leave the book in some conspicuous place as a free gift to the finder. The note you paste inside the book tells the finder that they may freely take the book. It also provides instructions to the finder to register their find at BookCrossing as an interesting follow-up on the life of the book you've shared.

There is no charge for this service. The site is located at www.bookcrossing.com. Check it out!

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-- Astrological Services --

You can get a free chart, and there are a variety of astrological reports to select at very reasonable cost.

Just click on the "Chart Services" image above, or this link.

These reports are amazingly revealing and may give you insight into yourself or a loved one.

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