3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Mysticism of the Ordinary, July 24, 2000
This review is from: Living Consciously (Paperback)
Simple yet insightful wisdom made available in this book by Jorge Waxemberg, the Spiritual Director of Cafh Order. Mr. Waxemberg's advice is straightforward and down-to-earth, and yet is rich in insight. One of the themes running through these 18 short essays is the immediacy of spiritual work: the spiritual road begins right here, right now, in the ordinary situations and chores and problems of everyday life. Part One, "Understanding Relationships", explores both interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships. These make clear that the arena of spiritual unfolding is the present moment - the person I am right now as well as my family members and coworkers, the people with whom I interact everyday. Part Two, "Developing Physical and Spiritual Health", looks at well-being in a broad and holistic sense. These essays have the superficial appearance of common sense advice, but their subtle implications are powerful. The topics seem almost obvious: our failure to appreciate alternatives creates problems in many situations, and anger makes problems worse. Yes, that's true, but what if we think about that and respond to those truisms in a serious way in our lives? The cumulative effect of the essays of Part Two is to show how much our well-being is the result of our own choices. Part Three, "Discovering our Vocation", directly treats spirituality as a life-choice. Here, in the title essay, we find the statement, "The most fundamental choice a person makes is what to do with his or her life" (p. 92) - where "what to do" is ultimately not one's profession, but one's spiritual orientation. The vision of spirituality presented is individual and interior, with a profound respect for the full freedom and genuine intuition of each soul; at the same time, spiritual work can never be separated from the web of human interrelatedness. Mr. Waxemberg asserts that the spiritual road consists in cultivating an "inner sanctum", an inviolable inner place of personal relationship to the Divine, and yet the work is to break down all that makes up special and different, all that separates us from others. The essays are short, many of them only 4 or 6 pages long, so they are ideal reflections before meditating or before going to sleep. I have read the book a few times, and each time, I get more out of it.
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