Essential Spirituality

Roger Walsh

Description

"Essential Spirituality beautifully articulates the benefits of spiritual living in the material world."-Dan Millman, author, Everyday Enlightenment and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior

"Deceptively simple. Its power is rooted not only in Dr. Walsh's formidable intellectual capacity to deal effectively with a vast body of religious literature but in his own deep spiritual practices in a multitude of disciplines over many years. An important contribution."-Ram Dass, author, Be Here Now

"An absolute masterpiece . . . Essential Spirituality is helpful to both the unseasoned and seasoned seeker. The writing is deep, simple, and clear yet at the same time poetic and musical. A must read."-GERALD G. JAMPOLSKY, M.D. author, Love Is Letting Go of Fear

"Energetic, engaged, and occasionally electrifying. . . . The field of spiritual books has been looking for its own Lewis Thomas or Carl Sagan, and I believe Roger Walsh may be that one."-KEN WILBER, author, One Taste and A Brief History of Everything

Based on over twenty years of research and spiritual practice, this is a groundbreaking and life-changing book. In his decades of study, Dr. Roger Walsh has discovered that each of the great spiritual traditions has both a common goal and seven common practices to reach that goal: recognizing the sacred and divine that exist both within and around us. Filled with stories, exercises, meditations, myths, prayers, and practical advice, Essential Spirituality shows how you can integrate these seven principles into one truly rewarding way of life in which kindness, love, joy, peace, vision, wisdom, and generosity become an ever-growing part of everything you do.

Sujets

• vision
• Comparative Religion
• Philosophie et théologie
• Espiritual
• Roger Walsh
• Spiritual
• Spirituality
• Religion

Informations

• Publié par: Turner Publishing Company
• Date de parution: 01 septembre 2000
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781620459409
• Langue: English

Extrait

Praise for Essential Spirituality
Roger Walsh writes as he lives-combining clear mind and open heart to produce works of lasting value. Essential Spirituality beautifully articulates the benefits of spiritual living in the material world.
-Dan Millman, author of Everyday Enlightenment and The Way of the Peaceful Warrior
Energetic, engaged, and occasionally electrifying. The field of spiritual books has been desperately looking for its own Lewis Thomas or Carl Sagan, and I believe Roger Walsh may be that one. Roger is thoroughly grounded in actual spiritual practices, without which any writing on spiritual topics remains anemic and untrustworthy.
-Ken Wilber, author of The Marriage of Sense and Soul and A Brief History of Everything
Deceptively simple. Its power is rooted not only in Dr. Walsh s formidable intellectual capacity to effectively deal with a vast body of religious literature but in his own deep spiritual practices in a multitude of disciplines over many years. An important contribution.
-Ram Dass, author of Be Here Now
A harmonious presentation sung sweetly in the various voices of sacred traditions of the single central truth of freedom and happiness that is the shared heart of them all.
-Sylvia Boorstein, author of It s Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness
An absolute masterpiece Essential Spirituality is helpful to both the unseasoned and seasoned seeker. The writing is deep, simple and clear yet at the same time poetic and musical. A must read.
-Gerald G. Jampolsky, M.D., author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear
Walsh has opened what we would traditionally call grace to empirical replication, a way to domesticate peak experience. Following his exercises you will see your own tradition in a new and glorious light and connect more deeply with its treasures of the spirit.
-Rabbi Zalman Schacter, author of From Age-ing to Sage-ing
Groundbreaking Essential Spirituality is the first book that identifies and brings together the shared practices found in the world s religions.
-Angeles Arrien, Ph.D., author of The Four-Fold Way
An engaging, inspiring synthesis of the core insights of humanity s spiritual traditions. Essential Spirituality is a book to live with and work with, filled with simple though powerful exercises that invite people to discover for themselves the truths about which Roger Walsh writes so beautifully and lovingly.
-Duane Elgin, author of Voluntary Simplicity
A truly groundbreaking and seminal work an invaluable guidebook for modern spiritual seekers.
-Stan Grof, M.D., author of Beyond the Brain
Essential Spirituality is as significant as Aldous Huxley s The Perennial Philosophy and could be one of the most important books of our times. It deals with profound spiritual issues in a very clear and down-to-earth way and provides practical exercises that are simple, straightforward, and effective.
-Peter Russell, author of The Global Brain Awakens
A wonderful and practical overview for anyone wanting to begin a spiritual journey.
-Philip Moffitt, former editor, Esquire
A wise and highly respectable book.
-Gail Hudson, amazon.com
A good choice in the general spirituality category . The Dalai Lama provides an elegant foreword.
- Publishers Weekly
I could not imagine a better person to write this book . The clarity, depth, and importance of it is very great indeed. Essential Spirituality is a complete introduction to the spiritual path-and an essential refresher for those of us who think we already know something about it.
-Charles T. Tart, Inquiring Mind
An important book a rich offering of perennial wisdom and spiritual direction . The breadth and depth of Roger s spiritual practice imbues his writing with a powerful sense of authenticity.
- Pathways magazine
Extraordinary . Walsh gives an invaluable compilation of stories, myths, exercises, practices, and meditations that carefully but effectively invite the reader into a direct experience a guided tour, if you will, of your own soul . It gives you both an amazingly accurate summary of the world s great wisdom traditions and a superb outline of spiritual practices that alone disclose that wisdom in a class by itself.
- Institute of Noetic Sciences Review
E SSENTIAL S PIRITUALITY

THE 7 CENTRAL PRACTICES TO AWAKEN HEART AND MIND
R OGER W ALSH , M.D., P H .D.

John Wiley Sons, Inc.
New York Chichester Weinheim Brisbane Singapore Toronto
Copyright 1999 by Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. All rights reserved
Published by John Wiley Sons, Inc.
Published simultaneously in Canada
No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, [phone], fax [phone]. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158-0012, [phone], fax [phone], email: [e-mail].
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:
Walsh, Roger N.
Essential spirituality : the 7 central practices to awaken
heart and mind / Roger Walsh.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-471-39216-2 (paper)
1. Spiritual life. 2. Self-realization-Religious aspects.
3. Psychology and religion. I. Title.
BL624.W335 1999
291.4 4-dc21 99-14640
Printed in the United States of America
15 14 13 12
This book is dedicated

to
Judith Skutch Whitson, Rob Lehman, and Wink Franklin
who have given so much inspiration and support to so many people,
to
my teachers, who learned the seven practices and then shared them with the world,
and to
the well-being and awakening of all
C ONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1 Unveiling the Sacred
2. Discovering the Seven Practices
3. Using This Book
4. Spiritual Practices: What Do They Do and How Do They Do It?
T HE S EVEN P RACTICES
Practice 1/ Transform Your Motivation: Reduce Craving and Find Your Soul s Desire
5. The Secret of Happiness
6. Exercises to Reduce Craving
7. Find Your Soul s Desire: Redirect Motivation
8. Exercises to Redirect Desires
9. The Higher Reaches of Desire
Practice 2/ Cultivate Emotional Wisdom: Heal Your Heart and Learn to Love
10. The Gift of Love
11. The Challenge of Difficult Emotions
12. Exercises to Reduce Fear and Anger
13. Cultivate Love and Gratitude
14. The Higher Reaches of Love
Practice 3/ Live Ethically: Feel Good by Doing Good
15. The Value of Virtue
16. What Is an Ethical Life?
17. Exercises in Ethical Living
18. The Higher Reaches of Ethical Living
Practice 4/ Concentrate and Calm Your Mind
19. Your Meandering Mind
20. Develop a Peaceful Mind
21. The Higher Reaches of Concentration and Calm
Practice 5/Awaken Your Spiritual Vision: See Clearly and Recognize the Sacred in All Things
22. The Healing Power of Awareness
23. Exercises in Awareness
24. Seeing the Sacred in All Things
25. Exercises in Sacred Seeing
26. The Higher Reaches of Vision
Practice 6/ Cultivate Spiritual Intelligence: Develop Wisdom and Understand Life
27. What Is Wisdom?
28. Awakening Wisdom
29. Exercises in Wisdom
30. The Higher Reaches of Wisdom
Practice 7/ Express Spirit in Action: Embrace Generosity and the Joy of Service
31. The Spirit of Service
32. Develop a Generous Heart
33. Exercises in Generosity and Service
34. The Higher Reaches of Generosity
35. Enjoy Your Self: Awakened Heart, Awakened Mind
Source Notes
Further Reading
Bibliography
Index
F OREWORD
In our increasingly materialistic world, we are driven by a seemingly insatiable desire for power and possessions. Yet in this vain striving, we wander ever further from inner peace and mental happiness. Despite our pleasant material surroundings, many people today experience dissatisfaction, fear, anxiety, and a sense of insecurity. There seems to be something lacking within our hearts. What we seem to be missing is a proper sense of human spirituality.
As human beings, our requirements cannot be fulfilled by material means alone. We need material facilities for physical comfort, but these alone cannot provide mental comfort. Under such circumstances, religious traditions are very relevant. If religion were not of much value in our day-to-day life, I believe we would be quite right to abandon it. But I continue to believe that religion actually provides us with tremendous benefit.
Each religion has its own philosophy, and there are similarities as well as vast differences among the various traditions. What is important is that which is suitable for each particular person. All our different religions have a special role to play in the awakening of compassion. They all realize the importance of compassion and have the potential to increase and enhance compassion and harmony. It is on the basis of this common potential that they can all understand each other and work together.
At the same time, I believe that qualities such as compassion and forgiveness are fundamental human qualities and are thus of great importance even without a religious belief. I believe religion strengthens and increases our natural positive qualities. The population of this planet is more than five billion, of which