Tim Desmond writes about his wife's terminal illness, and his revelation about the way in which his deep love for his wife was manifesting as anxiety, and because of it he was missing their shared moments of beauty.
Category: Book Excerpts
Being With Dying – Kerry Egan
In her years working as a hospice chaplain, spiritual caregiver and author Kerry Egan has rarely found that dying patients want to discuss God or religion. Instead, chaplaincy work for her leans on the quality of the presence she can offer her patients and the compassion and empathy with which she can hold space for them and their stories.
Running After Loves – Ray Bradbury on Fostering Hunger in Writing
'How long has it been since you wrote a story where your real love or your real hatred somehow got onto the paper?' Finding the truth of our authentic passions is the key to forming the foundations of a writing practice, according to science fiction author Ray Bradbury.
The Dexterous Butcher – Zhuangzi
Zhuangzi's story of the dexterous Cook Ding who teaches a lord a profound life lesson through the workings of his knife.
What Are We Calling “I”?
We often identify ourselves with the events that have happened to us and the things we have done, rather than the subjective center of experience itself. In an echo of the Buddhist teaching of the absence of a permanent self, Harris asserts that when the absence of this self is found, then 'the feeling of being a self disappears.'
The Sacred is the Everyday – Joan Chittister
Benedictine nun Joan Chittister sees spirituality not as something contained in sacred places or practices, but as something deeply integrated into our daily lives.
Not One Nor Multiple: Deleuze and Guattari’s Rhizome
A Thousand Plateaus is a remarkable book of philosophy that was the result of an alliance between philosophers Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari.
Simone Weil – The Infinite in an Instant
Simone Weil lauds 'unmixed attention', which she likens to prayer, and reflects on the quality of attention, expressed as 'patience, effort and method' to 'understand with our whole self the truths which are evident.'
The One Motive Power in the Universe
In this extract from an essay about bhakti and devotional love written in the late 19th century, Swami Vivekananda - the 19th century spiritual reformist and teacher of Vedanta who was instrumental in popularizing Hinduism and yoga in the west - makes the difference between empty religious ritual and the burning desire for union with God, which is as real as any hunger or thirst.
Solace, Courage and Asking the Beautiful Question
According to David Whyte, solace is the art of asking the beautiful and often difficult question of ourselves, something that also requires courage.