Customer Reviews

Ordinary Magic: Everyday Life as Spiritual Path

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

 

 

"Spirituality is completely ordinary. Though we might speak of it as extraordinary, it is the most ordinary thing of all.

Spirituality is simply a means of arousing one's spirit, of developing a kind of spiritedness. Through that we begin to have greater contact with reality.

If we open our eyes, if we open our minds, if we open our hearts, we will find that this world is a magical place. It is magical not because it tricks us or changes unexpectedly into something else, but because it can *be* so vividly and brilliantly." ---Chogyam Trungpa

Everyday life is something that we are all mired in, yet few of us appreciate. When was the last time you heard the birds singing outside your window or were aware of the raindrops as they fell from the sky? Have you ever bathed in the moonlight of a warm summer night? Are you ever aware of the miraculous act of breathing?

This book is a joy to read. It has gently led me to the wonders of awareness---"So many of us are leading half-lives, half-heartedly with only half of our minds actively engaged in making contact with the universe around us." Page 148. Each chapter is written by a different person. Some of my favorites are: Natalie Goldberg on writing fearlessly; Allen Ginsberg on meditation and poetics; Ram Dass on the listening mind; Thich Nhat Hanh on sunshine and green leaves.

I very highly recommend this book to anyone who considers themself a seeker in this journey we call life. It will brighten your path and illuminate the way and best of all, open your eyes to the recognition that there is absolutely positively NOTHING ordinary about your daily life!

It has been over ten years since I first read this book, and I just rediscovered it last night. Now more than ever, I need this book...and I would suggest that the rest of the world needs its invitation to be fully present to our ordinary everyday life as well.

These days when we are pulled by the ding of our blackberry as we eating our lunch while rushing down the highway to run to our next meeting, and as multi-tasking has become the medal we display proudly on our chest, it seems almost counter intuitive to just stop. To fully particpate in being completely where we are, when we are.

Each chapter in this book is a jewel. An invitation from the stillness to relax, to fully inhabit the moment you are living in. And each chapter offers a perspective from a different author, each steeped in Presence, whose invitation reminds you what being fully present is like...when you are eating or dancing or drawing or dying or in relationship or at war or at work.

I just read Frderick Franck's chapter on drawing as a way of seeing. He distinguishes between "looking" (a quick observation which leads to instant appraisals and choices according to its usefulness to the small "me.") and "seeing", when "...suddenly I am all eyes, I forget this Me, am liberated from it and dive into the reality of what confronts me, become part of it, participate in it." (p.80)

The writers are people like Thich Nhat Hahn, Ram Dass, Natalie Goldberg, Steven Levine, Deena Metzger, John Welwood (also the editor), and their chapters are written in clear, almost prose style. This is not an academic treatise, but a series of short well written chapters that take you right to the place each describes.

Thanks you John Welwood and all contributors for this vacation from all of the distractions. Ah, relief!

I took my time to read this book since there is so much wisdom in it. I loved this book just like I did with his other books. This is a compilation of chapters from different authors but his selection was right on and their message very clear. I highly recommend this book.

This book seems very innocuous at first glance, but there is not a page devoid of truth or useful wisdom. The author uses language which might seem crass to some, but I prefer that to mainstream, dry and monotonous (ahem; eckhart tolle) blather that lines the shelves of the spiritual section of B&N. The author does not yammer on, citing other references or boring the reader with case histories or anecdotal input. This book has soul.