Customer Reviews

The Deeper Journey: The Spirituality of Discovering Your True Self

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Deeper Journey may not be a fast read, at least for me it wasn't because I paused to reflect on some pretty significant concepts. The author provides ample support to help you understand that we are to become transparent and vulnerable in our relationships and learn how to trust the genuine article. While the book takes you into deep self reflection on motives and openess, it also is not overwhelming or heavy handed. I think that Dr. Muholland has struck an even tone and will help a person to walk the talk and grow in their personal faith.

This book is definitely a challenging, intense journey into discovering ones true self....a lesson in living from the heart Jesus gave you. It is not an easy ride to a half-way point or a substation of the Grand Central of true self. If you put your heart into it it will reward your efforts abundantly. There are no half-measures in this book. It leaves no stone unturned and is full of "ah-hah" revelations backed up by scripture aw well as modern day experiences I can relate to. I would not recommend this book to a person beginning a spiritual journey into their true self. I feel this book needs to be studied and shared rather than simply read.

The Deeper Journey

By: M. Robert Mulholland Jr. (Ph.D., Harvard)

Article written by: rm Kocak (***for a more in-depth preview of the book, visit my biblioblog, [...])

"The world will not believe in Christ because of our sound theology, our correct creed, our well-defined dogma, our rigorous religiosity. The world will believe when it sees Christlikeness manifested in our life. The world will know that God has sent Christ not simply because we pronounce it to be so, but when they see Christlikeness lived out in their midst in our lives in the world."

- The Deeper Journey, pg. 16.

With tears in my eyes, I emotionally navigated my way through Dr. Mulholland's book, The Deeper Journey. I had flashbacks as I read through the book of sitting in Dr. Mulholland's office (I was a former student of his), hearing him praying over me and explaining a lot of the concepts laid out in this book. The Deeper Journey is Mulholland's second book on spiritual formation. In his first book on spiritual formation, Invitation to a Journey, Mulholland laid out a general roadmap, but in The Deeper Journey he articulates the contours, definitions, and realities of that roadmap. Reading this book was very timely for me in my personal journey of wholeness in Christ as I have been searching for a job upon graduation from seminary. The book is also the first book read from my 2011 booklist.

The book is shaped by the movement that Mulholland suggests in spiritual formation: from the false self (our self-referenced mode of being) and religious false self into lives hid in Christ (a Christ-centered mode of being).

Mulholland's book is not just for the closet mystic, but is written to be applied by all those in the body of Christ desiring to grow into maturity. Mulholland speaks plainly in his writing: exegeting (interpreting) Scripture (Mulholland is a N.T. Professor), quoting Christian mystics (his favorites include Thomas Merton and Thomas Kelly), and giving examples from his own life.

THE BIG IDEA

"When God enters into our false self, it is the sacrament of God's presence, another image of the cross. God comes into the core of our self-referenced being. God comes to bring light into our darkness, cleansing into our sin, life into our deadness, healing into our brokeness, liberation into our bondage; to nurture us there into wholeness in the very image of God. But to open that door is to acknowledge our false self and to allow God to come in, knowing that when the love of God encounters the false self, it is always a cruciform encounter for God and for us."

- The Deeper Journey, pg. 80.

The offering of ourselves to the cruciform love of Christ transforms our entire being into one that is Christ and others-referenced. I remember sitting in a chair as Dr. Mulholland explained this concept to me for the first time. I was questioning why I remained so selfish, prideful, and full of sin despite having Christ at the core of my being. His explanation is that precisely because Christ is at the core of my being that the false ways of being that I had reflexively developed in my life each need to be encountered with God's presence. These false patterns and ways should not avoided or ignored like the traditions that see personal holiness in forensic terms, but these false patterns in us should be encountered, transformed, and replaced. This concept put simply is sanctification.

LITTLE IDEA #1

"For those of us on an intentional spiritual journey, our awareness of the deadly and debilitating nature of the religious false self is essential. Rigorous religious practices, devoted discipleship, sacrificial service, deeper devotional activities may do nothing more than turn a nominally religious false self into a fanatically religious false self."

- The Deeper Journey, pg. 48.

Do you ever wonder how people can claim to be a Christian, but live lives lacking in christ-likeness? Do you ever wonder why some people love to pray in front of people at church, point out flaws in others, and love to talk about theology, but appear to have little love for God or people in their daily lives? This is what happens when the false self (self-referenced mode of being) becomes religious. It's not that the religious false-self doesn't believe in God, but it is a God they can control, reason with, and protect. The religious false self presumes, "Because we are religious, that everything is fine in our relationship with God (47)." The tendency of the religious false-self is to be so busy at being "in the world for God" that they forget to "be in God for the world."

LITTLE IDEA #2

"Detachment is the discipline of removing our roots from the soils and offering those roots to God. Such detachment is difficult and painful. Detachment is the ongoing process of disconnecting our false self from all our life-support systems (or, in reality, its death-support systems.). Our false-self will resist such detachment with unbelievable power. We will even become fanatically religious as along as we don't have to lose our self."

- The Deeper Journey, pg. 111.

Detachment was always a spiritual practice that was cloaked in confusion for me. It always appeared, as the name suggests, a separation from the pain, hardship, and trials of this world. It sounded almost gnostic (rejection of the material world for the spiritual). Mulholland articulates detachment differently, clearly stating that it is a separation from false identities and agendas that have come to shape our identity in a false way. Detachment is a re-appropriation of our wrongly invested love.

THE TAKE HOME

Don't let the title of this book deter you from reading it. "The Deeper Journey" is not a path only for religious professionals (few of which would ever see the need for such a journey), the educated elites, or the spiritual mystics. This journey is one we all need to take if we want to grow into the fullness of Christ. Mulholland's book is a tool, resource, and road map that offers language, navigation, and encouragement on that journey.

This book was an eye opener into myself and my responses to the world around me. Truly, the author has significant insight into what keeps us from a more intimate relationship with the One who loves us the most! It has revolutionised my patterns for life and challenged me at such intense levels that I am different, I see different, I relate to life different. I am encouraged!

Very good book on the Christian walk and allow God to create our identity - college level vocabulary.

This is a great book. At times it can get a bit repetitious, but over all it is very powerful.

A wonderful sequel to Introduction to the Journey. M. Robert Mulholland is never a disappointment. Gives me much to think about and pray about.

Excellent book! it deals with the Fact of "being to do" instead of "doing to be" in other words the true self is the new man in Christ Jesus . If your identity is not from Jesus Christ thats the False you. Christ is to be formed in you, the false you is trying to work your way to be Christ like but the true self is being Christ like and the life of Christ Jesus flows from who you really are ,a word of God spoken into the earth, a son of God, heir of God and Joint heir with Jesus.

The book may be helpful for those interested in learning about general Christian themes and spiritual growth. There are certainly some thought-provoking statements in this book. However, it was a frustrating read because I found it to be careless at times and gimmicky. Here's why:

I was searching for the author's definition of the "false self" (fs) that this entire book is predicated upon. At times, the fs is works-based righteousness (pg 23). At other times, fs is the remnant of sinful tendencies in the redeemed (pg 95). Still at other times, the fs seems to point to original sin (pg 88). Theologians have spent centuries parsing out these different concepts, but in 162 pages this author has made these theological distinctions murkier than ever. Having no clear definition or boundaries, the pervasive influence of the "fs" seems to be responsible for everything bad in our selves and our churches.

I was also disappointed by the way he used scripture at times. For example, his use of Romans 8:28 on pg. 70 is misleading. Equating "good" with "immersed in blessing," he misses the point that the "good" Paul refers to is becoming more like Christ (see Rom 8:29). He also reads his own concepts into the biblical text instead of letting the text speak for its self - see pg. 87, the sentence beginning "Paul expresses" clearly and accurately identifies the biblical message, but the following sentence that begins "Our false self" is nowhere in the biblical text - it is an insertion of his own term and concept, yet it is treated as if Paul wrote it himself.

There are definitely redeeming qualities about the book and like I said it could be helpful to some. I know there were certainly insights that helped me. It just overall doesn't meet my expectations.

I was very pleased with the condition of the book and for future if I need another item that is available through this seller I would order without second thought.