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3.46 AVERAGE
3.46 AVERAGE
A sometimes funny look at the author's journey to find his "God". A self admitted smart-a$& - the author seemed to be trying too hard to be funny and at times that felt awkward. The last chapter on his time with Kabbalah was the best and I wish he had tackled the other religions with the same heartfelt energy. He is a good writer and I enjoy his other work but this fell a little short for me.
Man Seeks God is a more personal book than The Geography of Bliss; Weiner doesn't just set out to explore world religions, but takes himself on a spiritual journey in response to a health scare and bout of depression. You would think that his personal stake in finding God would lend urgency to the work, but I occasionally found myself bored. Weiner can't decide whether this is a memoir or investigative journalism; whether he's supposed to be cracking jokes or seriously pursuing his spiritual path. Weiner is a funny guy, but many of his jokes seem ill-placed, a kind of defense mechanism to deflect any real engagement with religious experience. I have to wonder if his depression colored his experience here, as he often seems detached or flippant. But he also includes moments of genuine wisdom and insight, particularly in the final chapter on Judaism and Kabbalah.
Not as good as his previous book unfortunately. Haven't actually finished reading it yet...I think he is currently exploring the Franciscans...but I will probably come back to it from time to time. Seems to be the type of book you can read for a bit, set down for a period of time, and then return to when you feel the inspiration.
The subtitle of this book, My Flirtations With the Divine, is very apt, for Weiner doesn't immerse himself into any of the eight faiths he writes about here so much as he tentatively dips a toe into them. This might disappoint some readers, but it works for me because it means less god-watching and more people-watching. The people-watching here is generally top-notch, as Weiner, ever the reporter, explores what makes the various spiritual seekers and religious devotees he meets tick. The most shocking thing about most of these folks is how normal they are, how mundane the spiritual path can be.
I can't say that reading this book has made me, a devout skeptic, yearn to be more religious or follow the paths illuminated by any of the faiths represented here, but I can say it's had some effect on the way I think about religion, made me perhaps a little more tolerant and less judgmental of those who practice it in whatever form they find appealing. Weiner is fond of quoting William James, who wrote that "truth is what works." For the people profiled here, the various faiths, even the most seemingly ridiculous (try the Raelians on for size) work, grounding them, and often making them better, happier, more productive people, so to each his own, even the Wiccans, by far the most absurd group represented here. But who am I to judge, especially when belief is secondary and experience so personal?
I can't say that reading this book has made me, a devout skeptic, yearn to be more religious or follow the paths illuminated by any of the faiths represented here, but I can say it's had some effect on the way I think about religion, made me perhaps a little more tolerant and less judgmental of those who practice it in whatever form they find appealing. Weiner is fond of quoting William James, who wrote that "truth is what works." For the people profiled here, the various faiths, even the most seemingly ridiculous (try the Raelians on for size) work, grounding them, and often making them better, happier, more productive people, so to each his own, even the Wiccans, by far the most absurd group represented here. But who am I to judge, especially when belief is secondary and experience so personal?
I liked to read about the journey, but I have to admit that how the author took this journey annoyed the heck out of me...
It is obvious that Eric Weiner likes to travel. In this book, he writes about his experiences visiting half a dozen diverse spiritual journeys, some into far-way places. I enjoyed this book from beginning to end. And it is no coincidence, as I was very satisfied by two other travel-happy books by Eric Weiner: [b:The Geography of Bliss: One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World|1918305|The Geography of Bliss One Grump's Search for the Happiest Places in the World|Eric Weiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1347304179s/1918305.jpg|3344773] and [b:The Geography of Genius: A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley|25111093|The Geography of Genius A Search for the World's Most Creative Places from Ancient Athens to Silicon Valley|Eric Weiner|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1451843149s/25111093.jpg|44804798].
While culturally Jewish, Weiner does not feel the pull of any religion. So, after being prodded by a nurse during a terrifying visit to a hospital to ask himself "Have you found your God yet?", he goes off in search of a compatible religion. The first place he visits is an inner-city organization of Franciscan friars. They take a vow of abject poverty. Yet they have humor in their lives, and fun. They play pranks on each other. After all, one of them says, Can't God be Fun?
In a discussion about prayer, Weiner comes up with this great quotation by the Scientific American author, Martin Gardner:
Weiner makes an interesting observation contrasting Western and Eastern religions. While Western religions focus on belief, Eastern religions focus on experience. Weiner visits Sufi's in California and Whilrling Dervishes in Kathmandu. He also visits a group of Wiccans, who he describes as wacky, rebellious, and often kind.
Weiner visits Safed to learn about the Kabbalah, a branch of Jewish mysticism. The word Kabbalah means "to receive", but this receiving is hard work. Kabbalah has much in common with Buddhism; both are methods as much as theologies. Buddhism is a method for squelching desire and calming oneself, while Kabbalah is a method for receiving God's light. Both believe in nonduality. But, Kabbalah does not attempt to extinguish the ego. The aim of Kabbalah is not to check out of the physical world, but to transform it, to sanctify even the crudest of physical acts. And, unlike Buddhism, Judaism does not believe that desire is the root of all suffering; some desire can be good.
Weiner tries meditation. He asks if a meditation mantra have to be something specific? He tries meditating for 30 minutes, repeating to himself "Yabba-dabba-doo". It goes well. "Nobody calls the meditation police."
Weiner's writing is humorous throughout, and he never tries to take himself too seriously. Toward the end of the book, he has a few cogent remarks:
While culturally Jewish, Weiner does not feel the pull of any religion. So, after being prodded by a nurse during a terrifying visit to a hospital to ask himself "Have you found your God yet?", he goes off in search of a compatible religion. The first place he visits is an inner-city organization of Franciscan friars. They take a vow of abject poverty. Yet they have humor in their lives, and fun. They play pranks on each other. After all, one of them says, Can't God be Fun?
In a discussion about prayer, Weiner comes up with this great quotation by the Scientific American author, Martin Gardner:
If you like to meditate, then meditate about God. Thank God for something. Or ask for forgiveness about something. Or ask for something, remembering God knows better than you whether you should have it or not.I really enjoyed reading about Weiner's visits to the Raelian "synagogue". Note that the Raelian religion has absolutely nothing in common with Judaism; they just like the word "synagogue" to name their place of worship. Raelians believe that a benevolent alien race called Elohim created humans 25,000 years ago. They believe in science, not in a bunch of "mumbo jumbo". They mock other UFO groups, and suggest that "they are a bit unhinged." Raelians are in a death hug with Catholics. Their movement is a mirror image of the Catholic Church. "The Raelian movement provides followers with a sense of community of belonging, of human grace. Its beliefs are almost irrelevant." But, because enjoying life is a basic tenet of the Raelian movement, orgies play an interesting part in their activities.
Weiner makes an interesting observation contrasting Western and Eastern religions. While Western religions focus on belief, Eastern religions focus on experience. Weiner visits Sufi's in California and Whilrling Dervishes in Kathmandu. He also visits a group of Wiccans, who he describes as wacky, rebellious, and often kind.
Weiner visits Safed to learn about the Kabbalah, a branch of Jewish mysticism. The word Kabbalah means "to receive", but this receiving is hard work. Kabbalah has much in common with Buddhism; both are methods as much as theologies. Buddhism is a method for squelching desire and calming oneself, while Kabbalah is a method for receiving God's light. Both believe in nonduality. But, Kabbalah does not attempt to extinguish the ego. The aim of Kabbalah is not to check out of the physical world, but to transform it, to sanctify even the crudest of physical acts. And, unlike Buddhism, Judaism does not believe that desire is the root of all suffering; some desire can be good.
Weiner tries meditation. He asks if a meditation mantra have to be something specific? He tries meditating for 30 minutes, repeating to himself "Yabba-dabba-doo". It goes well. "Nobody calls the meditation police."
Weiner's writing is humorous throughout, and he never tries to take himself too seriously. Toward the end of the book, he has a few cogent remarks:
God is to religion as food is to a menu. A menu and religion are filled with options. To say you know God because you are religious is like saying you have dined well because you read the menu.And finally, "Good religion is not about what you believe. It is about what you experience."
I had a hard time reading Man Seeks God because I had so many unanswered questions. What did Weiner's wife and daughter think about his long absences? Did his experiences with religion change his life at home? Why couldn't he experience these religions without the travel? I think the book would benefit from brief interludes of life at home between each new religion and new destination. Presumably he returned for unnamed amounts of time between trips. Did he take time to digest these religions before setting off again? What impact did each religion have on him? The book felt rushed and hectic to me, and, in the end, Weiner doesn't appear to have gotten much from the experiment.
Journalist Eric Weiner, a self-described Jewish "Confusionist" - one who has "absolulety no idea what" his "religious views are.", and is "not even sure if" he "has any, but is open to the unexpected and believes- no, hopes - there is more to life than meets the eye."
He travels the world and explores 6 different religious groups and shared his experiences with each one. He explores Sufism, Buddhism, Fransicsans, Raelism, Taoism, Wicca, Shamanism, and finally, Kabbalah.
He shares his experiences and thoughts about each group. I was struck by the similarities in the beliefs of many of them. I did not realize that Sufism, a branch of Islam, believes that God is love. I am impressed by the actions of the Fransiscans and I would like to learn Tai Chi, a Taoist type of exercise and meditation. Raelism, Shamanism, and Wicca all sound very far out and bizarre, but to each his own, I suppose. It seems that Eric felt most comfortable and got the most out of his Kabbalistic and Buddhist experiences. In the end, he decided to do what most of us do - either consciously or subconsciously - accept and use the parts of religion that appeal and make the most sense to him, and not worry about the rest.
He travels the world and explores 6 different religious groups and shared his experiences with each one. He explores Sufism, Buddhism, Fransicsans, Raelism, Taoism, Wicca, Shamanism, and finally, Kabbalah.
He shares his experiences and thoughts about each group. I was struck by the similarities in the beliefs of many of them. I did not realize that Sufism, a branch of Islam, believes that God is love. I am impressed by the actions of the Fransiscans and I would like to learn Tai Chi, a Taoist type of exercise and meditation. Raelism, Shamanism, and Wicca all sound very far out and bizarre, but to each his own, I suppose. It seems that Eric felt most comfortable and got the most out of his Kabbalistic and Buddhist experiences. In the end, he decided to do what most of us do - either consciously or subconsciously - accept and use the parts of religion that appeal and make the most sense to him, and not worry about the rest.
Normally I am a huge fan of the self-as-guinea-pig genre of books, but I have to say that I was grossly disappointed with this one. It had its moments of profundity, but it wasn't humorous as I'd have hoped, nor did Weiner do such a great job of making me feel the urgency of his search. Only twice did he briefly touch upon his own personal history-history which I felt would have bred vulnerability and thusly further engaged me in his search. I felt like he was only 7/8ths invested into making me as the reader invested, and it was mildly insipid.
Eh. I laughed a lot and some parts resonated but overall not too impressed.