Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul

Wayne Teasdale was a lay monk and best-selling author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions; Bede Griffiths: An Introduction to His Interspiritual Thought and A Monk in the World. As a member of the Bede Griffiths International Trust, Teasdale was an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Columbia College, and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Wayne Teasdale was coeditor of Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul: 30 Stories of Interspiritual Discovery.Martha Howard, MD, is a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, which she has practiced since 1982. She is medical director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, and author of the Power of Suggestion CD series. A practicing Buddhist, she is active in the interfaith and peace movements, and is a producing partner of a documentary film in development, Journey to Peace.Joan Borysenko, PhD, is a respected scientist, gifted therapist and unabashed mystic. Trained at Harvard Medical School, she was an instructor in medicine until 1988. Currently the president of Mind/Body Health Sciences, Inc., she is an internationally known speaker and consultant in women's health and spirituality, integrative medicine and the mind/body connection. She is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestsellers Minding the Body, Mending the Mind; A Woman's Book of Life; 7 Paths to God; The Power of the Mind to Heal and Inner Peace for Busy People.

In Aquil Charlton's essay, "Sacred Story," she says, "Hearing the beliefs of others helps tune our ears to the sound of God being evoked in our presence. We can listen to the plights of others for familiar stepping stones and stumbling blocks that remind us of our own path." Isn't this the very gift we bring to bear in spiritual direction? We tune our ears and our hearts to the sound of God being evoked through the directee's sharing. This book, consisting of thirty individual stories, was gathered over the past four years by Teasdale, a Catholic lay monk, and Howard, a medical doctor and practicing Buddhist. As members of the Council for a Parliament of the world Religions' Spiritual Life Circle, they sought "to come to terrns with the value and effectiveness of spirituality across religions and cultures" and "to inquire into what works in all forms of the spiritual life to open minds, expand hearts, and transform lives into radiant examples of compassion, kindness and love-in-action."This collection, written by people whose lives often reflect openness to more than one tradition (Christian, Buddhist, Hindu, Muslim, Jew) is effective and engaging. While some may find this a "mixed bag" in spiritual sophistication, that is what I found most captivating. This is a valuable resource for our culture, with so many seeking personal growth in spirituality. In a short space, readers can enjoy a range of spiritual experiences that challenge, inspire, and awe.Russill Paul's essay helps us move into a greater understanding of interspirituality, a "both-and" experience in the spiritual realm. Paul offers a well-developed commentary on interspirituality, understood as the next wave of consciousness. He presents qualitative distinctions important for understanding interspirituality-its benefits and challenges. He observes, "the fear of interspirituality, which is the fear of globalizarion, is reflective of the most basic fear we all have: Will any semblance of our own lives and impressions remain when we merge with the Divine at death?" He continues, "Through an emerging global awareness, the Divine is showing us that our identity is not lost but merges with all things."These stories invite us in—tolisten, to reflect, to make connections—and spiritual directors will find numerous uses for them. I can note five. For personal reflection to encounter a wide variety of stories reflecting various religious paths leading to a transformative, often mystical, experience of awakening to new insights, new commitments, new realities. For understanding diverse generations, especially generations different from the director's own. For encountering religious traditions and blends, which will stretch many directors focused in one tradition within their practice. For directees, as stories for spiritual reading. For spiritual growth groups, to invite members to share their own stories.What I found myself wanting as I read the book was a biographical note for each seeker. Having connected with them at a spiritual level, I wanted to know more. That being said, I recommend this text as a valuable compendium, fostering the hope that our current generation welcomes a resurgence of the mystical tradition in its many manifestations. This is the hope we base our ministry of direction upon, and the Hope we serve.

• ForewordJoan Borysenko, PhD ixIntroductionBrother Wayne Teasdale and Martha Howard, MD xiiiThe Golden Rule: An Evolutionary Future xviiLook Inside, Look Outside: Concentric Circles of Interfaith ActionAbra Pollack 1Know Love, Know LifeShirley Baas 6Down from the MountainApril Kunze 7A Muslim at the Catholic WorkerEboo Patel 12To Be a MenschHarold Kasimow 18Finding Harmony in the Spiritual JourneyJeff Genung 22The GiftJuliet Beriou 28One Small Step Can Change Your LifeDesmond Papi Oganne 33Fulfilling the Heart's Deepest LongingLama Palden Drolma 35AwakeningSpencer Perdriau 41The Search for NarrativeMariah Neuroth 52The Fly BoxDan Johnson 57How the AIDS Pandemic Changed My LifeMa Jaya Sati Bhagavati 62Religious Diversity on the Spiritual PathAnnapurna Astley 66Sacred StoryAquil Charlton 72Vision of the FutureSwami Shraddhananda (Maureen Dolan) 77Ethical Speech as Spiritual PracticeMirka Knaster 86In Search of MyselfRomuald Jakub Weksler-Waszkinel 89I DoRajal Regan 98Spiritual SearchRory McEntee 103Interspirituality: The Next Wave of ConsciousnessRussill Paul 110WitnessA. Frell Levy 118Living Christ, Living GuruBill Hayashi 122My Path Back to Judaism Was Paved in Breakbeats: The Return of a Jewish B-BoyKevin Coval/Melek Yonin 132From Mourning to LightLeslie Gabriel Mezei 139Sustaining a Commitment to the Common GoodJim Keen 150Watching the PreviewsBrian Sturgulewski 157The Yellow CarnationIda-Regina Lucas Oliver 160The Secret of the Six Perfections and the Four Immeasurable MindsMartha Howard, MD 164A Christian Contemplative in an Interspiritual WorldBrother Wayne Teasdale 173ConclusionToward a Unified Humanity: From the Age of Materialism to the Age of Integral SpiritualityBrother Wayne Teasdale and Martha Howard, MD 180Acknowledgments 187Appendix:Blank pages to be used as a workbook for the reader's own comments and stories 189