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_kaylee_m_'s review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
The parts that were good, were really really good. The rest was kinda woo-woo. And the good and the woo were really mixed together.
"The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels would be a great companion to this book. "The Gnostic Gospels" talks about how and why Christian churches got their structure. This book talks about how the structure of western religions does not do a good job of helping people reach higher spiritual understanding. This book doesn't really lay out any clear solutions for the problem though.
I appreciated his thoughts about learning to be more comfortable with paradox, and his framing of "repentance" as "changing your mind". I'm still thinking about his definition of suffering as "when you are not in control."
I think Rohr would probably call this:
https://www.the-exponent.com/guest-post-projects/
a mystical experience.
Quotes I would have highlighted if it was my own book:
"Protocols, procedures, policies, consistency, hiring and firing, communion and excommunication--all become quite necessary, it seems. At this level, we all become invested in what Wallace Stevens called "a blessed rage for order," even though our founder, Jesus, seemed quite comfortable with the constant disorder of his world...A large percentage of religious people become and remain quite rigid thinkers because their religion taught them that to be faithful, obedient, and stalwart in the ways of God, they had to create order." P.36
"In recent centuries, the Christian churches were on the wrong sides of the most human reformations and revolutions, until *after* these reformations succeeded." p. 111
"Faith is a word that points to *an initial opening* of the heart space or the mind space from our side" p. 116
"Jesus...is the very template of total paradox. Human yet divine, heavenly yet earthly, physical yet spiritual, possessing a male body yet a female soul, killed yet alive, powerless yet powerful, victim yet victor, failure yet redeemer, marginalized yet central, singular yet everyone, incarnate yet cosmic, nailed yet liberated, resolving the great philosophical problem of the one and the many." p. 147
"The irony is that, today, religious people are often much more invested in either-or thinking than most scientists, who now know better." p. 152
The parts that were good, were really really good. The rest was kinda woo-woo. And the good and the woo were really mixed together.
"The Gnostic Gospels" by Elaine Pagels would be a great companion to this book. "The Gnostic Gospels" talks about how and why Christian churches got their structure. This book talks about how the structure of western religions does not do a good job of helping people reach higher spiritual understanding. This book doesn't really lay out any clear solutions for the problem though.
I appreciated his thoughts about learning to be more comfortable with paradox, and his framing of "repentance" as "changing your mind". I'm still thinking about his definition of suffering as "when you are not in control."
I think Rohr would probably call this:
https://www.the-exponent.com/guest-post-projects/
a mystical experience.
Quotes I would have highlighted if it was my own book:
"Protocols, procedures, policies, consistency, hiring and firing, communion and excommunication--all become quite necessary, it seems. At this level, we all become invested in what Wallace Stevens called "a blessed rage for order," even though our founder, Jesus, seemed quite comfortable with the constant disorder of his world...A large percentage of religious people become and remain quite rigid thinkers because their religion taught them that to be faithful, obedient, and stalwart in the ways of God, they had to create order." P.36
"In recent centuries, the Christian churches were on the wrong sides of the most human reformations and revolutions, until *after* these reformations succeeded." p. 111
"Faith is a word that points to *an initial opening* of the heart space or the mind space from our side" p. 116
"Jesus...is the very template of total paradox. Human yet divine, heavenly yet earthly, physical yet spiritual, possessing a male body yet a female soul, killed yet alive, powerless yet powerful, victim yet victor, failure yet redeemer, marginalized yet central, singular yet everyone, incarnate yet cosmic, nailed yet liberated, resolving the great philosophical problem of the one and the many." p. 147
"The irony is that, today, religious people are often much more invested in either-or thinking than most scientists, who now know better." p. 152
kdsmithstanley's review against another edition
4.0
Enlightening read and practice at just the right time for me on this spiritual journey. I loved every bit of this book and look forward to talking with others about it so that Together we may do a deeper dive. There is to much great information to take in. One pass through, without conversation, dialogue and discussion is not sufficient to grasp it all. Honestly, it will likely take a lifetime. Outstanding.
danuvino's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent book! The best one out there that you can find on non-duality.
laudie_23's review against another edition
"If you want others to be loving, choose to love first. If you want a reconciled outer world, reconcile your own inner world. If you are working for peace out there, create it inside as well. If you notice other people's irritability, let go of your own. If you wish to find some outer stillness, find it within yourself. If you are working for justice, treat yourself justly, too. If you find yourself resenting the faults of others, stop resenting your own. If the world seems desperate, let go of your own despair. If you want a just world, start being just in small ways yourself. If your situation feels hopeless, honor the one spot of hope inside you. If you want to find God, then honor God within you, and you will always see God beyond you. For it is only God in you who knows where and how to look for God."
suzie_em's review against another edition
4.0
Though I don't agree with everything in the book, it was worth the read. Definitely makes you think about the way you view circumstances, people, yourself.
read_all_nite's review against another edition
3.0
Here we go again. I liked parts of this book, but, once again, I found the quality of arguments uneven,and pointedly male (for example, his definition of suffering is "lack of control"). He makes some assumptions about fundamentalists (and I'm not sure if he's talking about "fundamentalists" or lumping all evangelicals in with fundamentalists) that I found to be facile--like, all fundamentalists are dualistic thinkers with nary a mystic bone in their bodies. Clearly, he's never been to a camp meeting. He even says some stupid stuff, like, we didn't have a word for nondualistic thinking until--I don't remember; some extremely recent time--which is baloney, because there have always been words for that--like unity or wholeness, for instance. So his thinking is a bit sloppy at times. He attributes Flatland to Ken Wilbur, but it's written by Edwin Abbott. And he often makes rather arbitrary definitions of things, which is a rather annoying habit. Nonetheless, I did like a lot of what he had to say about how to take a more mystical approach to life in the 21st Century. It is a huge topic, and he did pretty well to take it on in this short, but densely packed volume.
scifi_geek's review against another edition
5.0
Excellent! This is one that I'll read again and again (hopefully). I had a copy from the library and after reading purchased a copy for my shelves as I know it's worthy of multiple re-reads. Rohr turns things on their heads - in a really good way. If you're new to the mystics or consider yourself a fundamentalist, you'll want to either approach this with a very open heart and mind or maybe start with something else. I can see how there will/is push back, but Rohr's explanations broaden the field of who belongs, who's worthy, and is based in love.
cactussambal's review against another edition
4.0
Richard Rohr has a great way of communicating a mindset more than giving information. A lot of wisdom about how growing spiritually means tolerating ambiguity, not judging, and learning to see outside of oneself. The Western world really needs this perspective coming from Christians. He connects wisdom from other faith traditions while at the same time staying true to his Catholic Franciscan roots.