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Using parables, koans, and personal experiences, Richard Rohr leads us beyond the techniques of prayer to a place where we can receive the gift of contemplation: the place where (if only for a moment) we see the world in God clearly, and know that everything belongs. Richard Rohr has written this book to help us pray better and see life differently. He teaches us that there are not two worlds - a sacred and a profane. There are two ways of seeing the same world. If we can let go of who we think we are, we can see who we really are. And when we do, we will see the sacred for ourselves. Rohr encourages us to take on a 'beginner's mind,' to unlearn old habits and learn to stand reality on its head. The benefit is the gift of contemplation: 'a way of living in awareness of the Presence, even enjoying the Presence. We trust, allow, and delight in it. We see how everything fits, and know that everything belongs.' --From the Publisher
Product Description
Open your eyes to God. Learn to see God more clearly with the help of this collection of parables, koans (puzzling stories used as an aid to meditation), and personal experiences. This is a revised and expanded edition with study guide, new material, and a gift-market layout.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 60 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this after reading some of Rohr's articles on the internet and reading the positive reviews of the book (more than 30 of them) at Amazon.com. The book sets out to discuss 'the gift of contemplative prayer' but really does a little less and far more.
'Less' because there is little here about how to get started on this sort of prayer, which has a great deal in common, in terms of the logic and practice of self-emptying, with the silent traditions within Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. Anyone looking for a 'how to' guide could do worse than Thomas Keating's 'Open Mind, Open Heart'.
'More', because Rohr succeeds in presenting a far more profound, challenging, compassionate, and brutally realistic Christianity than anything I have previously come across (as someone who was brought up in an intellectual Catholic atmosphere and now teaches in the general area of religious culture). If you can read beyond the occasionally distracting Americanisms and references to US culture, Rohr offers a comprehensive vision of Christianity rooted in Francis of Assisi (Rohr is a Franciscan) and in the contemplative tradition. He frequently offers biblical citations, leading me to read these passages in a radically different light (Rohr loves the word 'radical', by the way, and it does indeed seem appropriate to much of what he says).
This would be an interesting book to read alongside Matthieu Ricard's 'Happiness'. Ricard is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and his presentation of Buddhist psychological insights and virtue ethics chimes well with what Rohr is saying. Neither person is interested in making converts or in pressing the claims of their religion - the very notions of identity and 'groups', they would say, is part of the problem. But they do both offer sincere perspectives and very real practical suggestions and challenges for their readers.
'Less' because there is little here about how to get started on this sort of prayer, which has a great deal in common, in terms of the logic and practice of self-emptying, with the silent traditions within Islam, Buddhism, and other religions. Anyone looking for a 'how to' guide could do worse than Thomas Keating's 'Open Mind, Open Heart'.
'More', because Rohr succeeds in presenting a far more profound, challenging, compassionate, and brutally realistic Christianity than anything I have previously come across (as someone who was brought up in an intellectual Catholic atmosphere and now teaches in the general area of religious culture). If you can read beyond the occasionally distracting Americanisms and references to US culture, Rohr offers a comprehensive vision of Christianity rooted in Francis of Assisi (Rohr is a Franciscan) and in the contemplative tradition. He frequently offers biblical citations, leading me to read these passages in a radically different light (Rohr loves the word 'radical', by the way, and it does indeed seem appropriate to much of what he says).
This would be an interesting book to read alongside Matthieu Ricard's 'Happiness'. Ricard is a Tibetan Buddhist monk, and his presentation of Buddhist psychological insights and virtue ethics chimes well with what Rohr is saying. Neither person is interested in making converts or in pressing the claims of their religion - the very notions of identity and 'groups', they would say, is part of the problem. But they do both offer sincere perspectives and very real practical suggestions and challenges for their readers.
23 of 23 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Radical - yes! Revolutionary - yes! Inspiring - yes! Soothing - no!
Reminds me of Eckhart's title 'Everything is Divine'. Not disappointed. In fact Rohr's book stirred up what I am beginning to realise about Christianity - the religion of my youth but one that I neglected for a period. Now I come back to it with my eyes wide open to the fact that though Christianity is about love it is not sweet sentimental love but a revolutionary, radical way of being and acting in the world. It is about letting go of who we think we are and of finding out who we really are -a painful but necessary process.
Rohr speaks of the weeping, the cleansing that we need to do as we come to be more present with Divine Love. It is not for the faint-hearted. It is about TRUE love which often means taking up the cross and observing our own stream of consciousness which contains both the good and the shadow self. It is about understanding our own human nature. That can be a painful yet necessary process. Rohr invites us to persist and deepen our faith through contemplation. (There are no practical exercises on contemplation in this book. Those can be found in Fr Thomas Keating's book: 'Open mind, Open heart').
Rohr quotes from the teachings of Julian of Norwich and Teresa of Avila amongst others. Jesus's message is for everyone not just those who go to church on Sunday. Rohr mentions Simone Weil, Etty Hillsum, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela as people who do not formally belong to the church but seem to have truly lived the mystery of the suffering and joy of God. Living by God's choice and Grace is a transformative process and that is radical and at the same time neither soothing nor comfortable yet it brings with it sincere and profound faith in the good and bad of human history and moulds us into the instrument of the divine. We see the profound wound we carry and it is in that wound that the answer lies. 'God sees the wounds, and sees them not as scars but as honors ..' Julian of Norwich ('Revelations of Divine Love').
Everything in life belongs - this book is asking us to open our eyes to reality. This message is excellent and I pray more people stumble across and hear this profound but simple message. Amen.
Reminds me of Eckhart's title 'Everything is Divine'. Not disappointed. In fact Rohr's book stirred up what I am beginning to realise about Christianity - the religion of my youth but one that I neglected for a period. Now I come back to it with my eyes wide open to the fact that though Christianity is about love it is not sweet sentimental love but a revolutionary, radical way of being and acting in the world. It is about letting go of who we think we are and of finding out who we really are -a painful but necessary process.
Rohr speaks of the weeping, the cleansing that we need to do as we come to be more present with Divine Love. It is not for the faint-hearted. It is about TRUE love which often means taking up the cross and observing our own stream of consciousness which contains both the good and the shadow self. It is about understanding our own human nature. That can be a painful yet necessary process. Rohr invites us to persist and deepen our faith through contemplation. (There are no practical exercises on contemplation in this book. Those can be found in Fr Thomas Keating's book: 'Open mind, Open heart').
Rohr quotes from the teachings of Julian of Norwich and Teresa of Avila amongst others. Jesus's message is for everyone not just those who go to church on Sunday. Rohr mentions Simone Weil, Etty Hillsum, Gandhi and Nelson Mandela as people who do not formally belong to the church but seem to have truly lived the mystery of the suffering and joy of God. Living by God's choice and Grace is a transformative process and that is radical and at the same time neither soothing nor comfortable yet it brings with it sincere and profound faith in the good and bad of human history and moulds us into the instrument of the divine. We see the profound wound we carry and it is in that wound that the answer lies. 'God sees the wounds, and sees them not as scars but as honors ..' Julian of Norwich ('Revelations of Divine Love').
Everything in life belongs - this book is asking us to open our eyes to reality. This message is excellent and I pray more people stumble across and hear this profound but simple message. Amen.
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a book for life - read it as many times as you like over the years and you will always find something new, something relevant.
Encouraging, uplifting but without syrup. Honest and realistic without cynicism. Written with integrity and intelligence.
Encouraging, uplifting but without syrup. Honest and realistic without cynicism. Written with integrity and intelligence.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
For open minds
This book takes you back to the foundations of Christianity - it's true spirituality, upon which everything else is overlaid. Read more
Published 11 days ago by Anne Power
Everyone should read this of all religions or none.
A breath of fresh air in a confusing world. Richard Rohr seems to find a way to express a spiritual understanding of the meaning and purpose of life that is neither over simplistic... Read more
Published 7 months ago by ann yilma
The most important book I have ever read
This is one book I always have with me. Literally life-changing. Buy it before you get any older.
Published on 29 Mar 2010 by Mario Sidoli
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