Customer Reviews

The Human Condition: Contemplation and Transformation (Wit Lectures-Harvard Divinity School)

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I have always believed that it is a hallmark of pure genius and an unmistakable sign of total comprehension of a subject matter, when an author or lecturer succeeds in both concisely discussing yet completely explaining his subject matter in a manner that laymen can readily grasp and understand. And this is precisely what the author, Thomas Keating, has succeeded in accomplishing in his gem of a treatise on the human condition.

The book (brief as it is) is a tribute to the mystical genius that is Fr. Keating and a testimony to how profoundly he understands the human condition in the light of the spiritual journey. No aspiring student of contemporary mysticism or the spiritual life should take the journey or proceed further along the way without this masterpiece of a handbook.

I have been on the mystical path for many years now, and I have encountered many "spiritual teachers" largely through their writings. Only an exceptional few who have captured the mystical vision so clearly and purely have actually had a significant impact on my spiritual life whether as mentors, friends or companions on the path. Fr. Keating is one of them.

In this book, he shares his dynamic and penetrating insights into the human condition as only spiritual giants are capable of doing. He makes it crystal clear how and why contemplation (as meditation is understood in the western Christian traditions) is "divine therapy" for the malignancy of mankind known as "the human condition". His book should be hailed as a major landmark or a cornerstone in establishing the spirituality of the coming millenium.

Thanks to his many years of prayer, Thomas Keating has managed to say what is almost unsayable: what happens in contemplative prayer. What's more, he has managed to describe the spiritual transformation that occurs in surprisingly few words. The special strength of Fr. Keating's discussion is its marriage of mysticism and psychology. His knowledge of both fields is sophisticated; his writing is highly accessible; what he has to say is true, true, true. He has said much of what's in this book elsewhere (mostly in INVITATION TO LOVE), but here he distills his message so well that you may find yourself saying, "Yes!" with each word you read. If you practice centering prayer, or if you meditate, READ THIS BOOK.

Thomas Keating addresses, in words that anyone can understand, exactly what we are dealing with as we start on the contemplative path. As a neophyte, I found this book to be one of the most descriptive, illumniating, and encouraging I've read so far.

I had never considered a correlation between psychyology and spirituality. As I proceeded through the text it became crystal clear that there most definitely is one, and that without a doubt, God is the answer to "the human condition."

Here are two lectures delivered by the author at Harvard in 1997 (The foreword by Pagels is as long as this review). The first lecture's theme is '_where_ are you?', whereas the second lecture's is '_who_ are you?' Keating sees these two questions as accurately dividing the contemplative life, specifically the Christian contemplative life. His writing reminds me of Anthony DeMello.

He defines the 'where' question by beginning with the garden story as a revelation of where _we_ are. "At every moment of our lives, God is asking 'Where are you? Why are you hiding?' All the questions that are fundamental to human happiness arise when we ask ourselves this excruciating question: _Where_ am I? Where am I in relation to God, to myself, and to others? These are the basic questions of human life."

Then he goes on further, "happiness is intimacy with God, the experience of Gods' loving presence. Without that experience, nothing else quite works; with it, almost anything works."

"This is the human condition - to be without the true source of happiness, which is the experience of the presence of God, and to have lost the key to happiness, which is the contemplative dimension to life, the path to the increasing assimilation and enjoyment of God's presence." I think that summarizes in Keating's own words what he set out to accomplish in this book.

From a spiritual perspective, Keating's ideas of 'the divine therapy', our poor emotional programs for happiness, and the false self are quite good, and his descriptions are excellent. My experience with the Divine Hours confirms a good amount of what he says. With the exception of a stray comment here or there that seem to be unwarranted imports from eastern thinking at odds with Hebraic thought, much of this is solid. But the theological framework that he's housed them in is shaky at best and needs to be rethought, in my humble and transitory opinion. For a fairly good, simple correction to that problem, read 'Mysteries of Faith' by Mark McIntosh. I think both 'liberal' and 'conservative' will appreciate that work, as well as the main thrust of this one.

I ran across this book by accident. I had heard of Father Keating. He was the "Father of Centering Prayer." I never thought very much of that, from comments I heard; so, I never had any interest in its founder. For my money, give me Saint John of the Cross, Saint Teresa of Avila and other mystics. They "have been to the mountain and have seen the other side!"

Basically, after the Introduction, there are less than 40 pages to read. I thought I would rip through this, support all my former conclusions and be done with him. I was not only surprised, but humbled to read Father Keating's little book. He is a "kindred spirit" of the "mystics." He is a "kindred spirit" of mine and everyone I have introduced to this book. After "dozens" of referrals, I have had no one tell me this was not a powerful help to them. Right from the beginning, I found myself savoring his words, and realizing that they had to be meditated on and "unpacked." It took me two months to finish this, trying to digest every morsel I could find in it. People who had the same prejudice as me, stand corrected as I do.

This man has one goal in mind: to lead us to "the heights," to get us to pray. He wants our prayer to blossom. He is not hung up on his own ideas. He offers Centering Prayer to those who have no practices of prayer. For those who do, he does not want to be disruptive. He tells us "Centering Prayer and other practices that lead us to Christian contemplation move us toward interior freedom. We open ourselves to God and allow ourselves to rest in a silent place beyond thinking...." This interior freedom, he says, is "the gift of God as we let go of our attachments and aversions, our `shoulds'...." He is motivating us to desire Christian Contemplation, the same goal that Saint John of the Cross and Saint Teresa of Avila have for us. He admits, "Centering Prayer is not an end in itself." Neither is meditation or any other method proposed by the mystics. The goal is always union with God--living in the Divine Presence. These are only means to lead us to Divine Contemplation. Like the other mystics, he says, this happens, "when God decides we are ready, [then] he invites us to a new level of self-knowledge." We simply have to prepare ourselves for this.

Here we find what Jesus describes in the gospel, "rest for our souls!" We have all heard that we all must go through some sort of "purification." What Father Keating describes here is no less than this. He says that true happiness can only come from this, "letting go of the obstacles" that so many others propose prevent union with God. He is introducing us to what he calls "Divine Therapy." This is where he says the "emotional weeds of a lifetime" are loosened-up! Our defenses and false programs for life are turned over to God--the "wad of undigested psychological data [we have held] from early childhood." This is a part of the necessary purification others talk about. Father Keating insists,
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To submit ourselves to divine therapy is something we owe ourselves and the rest of humanity. If we do not allow the Spirit of God to address the deep levels of our attachments to ourselves and to our programs for happiness, we will pour into the world the negative elements of our self-centeredness, adding to the conflict and social disasters that come from ... our particular culture and upbringing."
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Father proposes like most of the spiritual masters, that we submit to this "Divine Therapy" every day. He suggests that we "take a half and hour every day for silence and solitude, just to be with God and with ourselves (without yet knowing who that is)." Out of the silence and deep rest our emotional life will be put in its true perspective under the reassurance of God's presence, which he says, "is true security. There really is no other. Divine love is the affirmation of who we are." We begin to experience spiritual awareness. Life changes once we recognize the "inner tyranny that opposes true freedom--and we find the freedom of the children of God.

From my former opposition to the founder of Centering Prayer, I am now "pro"-founder because of this profound little book.

Very engaging and readable discussion of deepening one's awareness of and response to God that combines spiritual tradition with psychological insights. I've given several as gifts.

After reading Father Thomas Keating's "The Human Condition", introduced superbly by Elaine Pagels of the brushfire "Gnosticism" phenomenon or fad (take your pick) one feels naked as Adam and Eve in Genesis. Cisterican monk or not, it is difficult to comprehend how a man could pack so much power and almost embarrassing clarity regarding the human condition into such a short package.

Keating's basic thesis is as follows: human life consists of each person trying to convince the other that he or she has the key to happiness. We run around experimenting with sensate senations, waste a lot of time with different Dionysian approaches to life, and remain unhappier than when we began. For some people this painful merry go round goes on for longer than others, for some their entire lives.

None of us have much of a sense of what we're doing, and pretend we do. We remain manchildren, not adults, for so long as we evade truth. It is only when we recognize the only joy possible--the One who knitted us in our womb and brought us into existence--that we discover our true names, as Christ gave to his disciples, and the core of existence itself. What must happen for this to occur, though, is a process of "rewiring" the tapes of our psyche and allowing the psychic garbage dump accumulated in the first ten years of our lives to leave us. This occurs through an ancient practice called contemplative or centering prayer (all the talk about it being "non-Christian", etc, is misinformed. Saints, laypeople, clergy and first Christ himself originated the practice.)

Fr. Keating makes it known that this is not easy at first, and is to be done with a spiritual mediator because when the feelings/memories begin to emerge, it feels "like hell". To get started on this path I would recommend Interior Castle, the great mystic Keating references in the text The Collected Works of Saint John of the Cross, and finally his own work Open Mind, Open Heart 20th Anniversary Edition.

Really, after I read it I felt as though I had no excuses. And it is quite a relieving feeling. Recommended for anyone of any denomination whatever.

As a professional therapist I thought some of the insights involving divine therapy were profound and as someone who meditates daily using Keating's concept of centering prayer has been a deeply enriching addition to my practice.

This was my first introduction to Thomas Keating. The book was recommended by a friend. The book will be relished by those who see our culture as too focused on appearances and not enough on self. Those who are wanting to "look at the log in their own eye versus the speck in their neighbor's" will find this book helpful. Short and easy to read but much fruit for reflection.

This book alleviates the worry and confusion often associated with the spiritual path. As a practitioner of both Eastern and Christian practices, I've found Thomas Keating's books to be an appropriate blend of Christian faith and Eastern meditation in the context of contemplative practice.

I found his description of the development of the "false self" especially insightful. The formation of the world of Identity dissolves our connection with God and the spirit. Identification with who we think we are leads to all sorts of psychological and social problems. This is the human condition.

This is recommended reading for anyone seeking to resolve unhappiness or discontent with life. It doesn't contain all the answers, but its concise form will transform your thinking and start you in the right direction without having to slog through any huge volume of rhetoric. Be sure to check out other books by Thomas Keating, especially Open Mind, Open Heart, which furthers one's understanding of contemplative practice.