A Terrific Book, Part 2

     Last week I was lauding Carl McColman's book, 108 Mystics: The Essential Guide to Seers, Saints and Sages.  One of the things I liked best about the book is that McColman introduced each mystic in one to three pages, and then provided sources for further study.  His bibliography is packed!  What a wonderful resource!

     I found that, in reading, some of the mystics were well known to me.  But I met a few that were unknown or even overlooked by history.  It made my heart warm, knowing that some of these mystics, working quietly and often alone, described their experiences for a future that they could never imagine would appreciate them.  What a testament to faith and courage.

(courtesy of Jose Antonio Alba of pixabay.com)

A Terrific Book

     I recently finished a leisurely read through Carl McColman's wonderful book, 108 Mystics: The Essential Guide to Seers, Saints and Sages.  It's a wonderful resource for those interested, like me, in the inner core of religious experience.  By that, I mean the mystical experience.

     McColman is a lay Cistercian, as well as a contemplative writer, speaker, and retreat leader.  He writes with sensitivity and clarity, a rare gift given the difficulty of putting such experiences into words.

     He focuses on mystics from the Christian tradition (oh, that he would write on mystics from other traditions as well!) and divides them into nine categories of twelve mystics each:

• Visionaries
• Confessors
• Lovers
• Poets
• Saints
• Heretics
• Wisdom Keepers
• Soul Friends
• Unitives

     Of course, many of the mystics could fit into more than one category, but he did a wonderful job of explaining how the core of their writings or teachings pertained to that category.  A terrific book.

Happy Valentine's Day!

For all Twin Souls --

Lovers and Beloveds -- 

May this day be a celebration

of deep, unitive love.

(photo courtesy of pixabay.com)

A Lovely Little Book, Part 2

     Last week I was sharing how much I enjoyed reading through the book, Wisdom: Moments of Mindfulness from Indian Spiritual Leaders (Mini) by Danielle and Olivier Follmi.  I found many of the quotes, some of which are centuries old, to be profoundly relevant to today.  The pages were further enhanced by Olivier's fabulous photographs from many parts of India.

     May I share two more quotes, which I think pertain to today's push for change?  They come from Mahatma Gandhi.  We need to become students again of Gandhi's ideology which aims for social change through non-violent (non-resistant) means.  His words still ring true in today's climate:

When restraint and courtesy are added to strength, the latter becomes irresistible.

and:

The noblest moral law is that we should unremittingly work for the good of mankind.

     True then, true now.  

 

A Lovely Little Book

     I recently finished reading through a beautiful little book entitled Wisdom: Moments of Mindfulness from Indian Spiritual Leaders (Mini).  It is put together by the couple, Danielle and Olivier Follmi.  He is a fabulous photographer, and she gathered some pithy quotes from the Indian spiritual tradition.  Together, they produced a book that can be enjoyed again and again.

     Last month I featured a couple of quotes from this book.  Here is one more:

A profound understanding of religions allows the destruction of the barriers that separate them.  (Mahatma Gandhi, 1869-1948)

     I highly recommend this book.