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The subtitle of this book is “Impermanence as the Key to Wisdom.” Actually the word “wisdom” occurs only infrequently as in the expression “the arc of evolution leads to the goal of wisdom-compassion non dual” for every sentient being. In days gone by, Catholic universities especially used to feature wisdom as one of the primary goals of their curriculum. Wisdom as a feature of higher education seems to have fallen out of favor. I’m not clear on why that is, except that once upon a time, philosophy & theology used to be enthroned as the Queen of the Sciences. Not beheaded quite, but certainly dethroned, she now serves more like the scullery maid in the Castle of Technology. Wha...
This book is written with Christians principally in mind, folks whose spiritual life has been nurtured by the sacraments. The Christians I have in mind are also seeking a practical way to enter more deeply into the sacred mystery of the divine presence on a daily basis in their walk-about lives. The sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Penance and Eucharist are considered from the viewpoint of the method they reveal for developing an habitual state of mind and heart that gives entry into a deeper daily connection with the mysterious presence of the divine in all things.
It has been my experience and observation of students of Buddhism, that after an initial period of enthusiastic practice, they get stuck. They come to the edge of a gap, and can’t go back but are stuck going forward. The edge of this gap represents the boundary that defines the results of their efforts so far. Serious effort has been given to practice and to incorporating the fundamentals of the Buddha’s method into their lives. Nevertheless, the practitioner I have in mind feels not only stuck but somewhat disheartened perhaps. Having exhausted the youthful enthusiasm that naturally arises upon discovery of the Buddha’s path, one now feels a lack of joy. Looking beyond the boundary line of the gap, there seems to be a vast space between where one is now and the ultimate goal of enlightenment. The Virtual Self: Beyond the Gap in Buddhist Philosophy offers some suggestions for renewing one’s inspiration and a way to joyfully navigate that sacred space beyond the gap.
What resources do thoughtful parents fall back on when the faith-based religious practices of their youth no longer satisfy their own spiritual needs, and yet they truly want to raise their children with a foundation in some faith-based practice? Thoughtful parents struggle with this basic question: how do we raise our children to have a solid religious footing? The suggestion for guidance made in this book is that really good questions can be the resource parents are looking for. “Pathfinder questions” are the really good questions that not only illuminate the way to go; they actually help create the way to go. Pathfinder questions are one of the resources from the spiritual technology ...
Jesus gave the key to the Kingdom and to life more abundant when he gave us the example of children. This book explores the idea that people are most themselves when they achieve the seriousness of children at play. When folks are most themselves, they naturally experience the beginnings of mystic perception. The demystifi cation of mysticism starts as simply as the focused attention of children at play, and takes small steps that, slowly but surely, lead to a life changing relationship with the Divine and the entire universe. Although this book is not intended to be a how-to manual, it nevertheless brings the demystifi cation of mysticism down to daily experiences that can be practiced by anyone. Mystic perception just penetrates beyond their surface appearances. Once even the fundamentals of mystic perception become clarifi ed in practice, sacred space opens up as one’s natural environment. Within the environment of sacred space, gratitude as a gift giving exchange becomes the natural relationship one comes to enjoy with the entire universe.
This volume is a compilation of six smaller books that were published between 2012 and 2014. They were written as though I were taking dictation. Some higher power unlocked the gates of inspiration and articulation, and I wrote almost continuously for three hours every day without ever fi rst composing an outline for any of these books. Instead of coming out as gibberish, they form a coherent, and I feel, cogent whole, and so I have grouped them together in one volume. Performance excellence in any fi eld requires, among other things, a clear goal that can be methodically approached incrementally in manageable steps and stages. Without a clear goal, there can be no cogent methodology. Accomp...
If we all were not so distracted these days by one thing and another, we would notice more the fallout from our lack of focus. Sophistication in the form of multitasking is just one example; its become a synonym for cultivated distraction. Distraction comes in many forms. There is a time management demonstration in which a large jar is first filled with big stones, then pea gravel, then fine sand and finally water. At each stage the jar appears full until a finer ingredient is added to the mix. The point of the demo is to emphasize the importance of getting your priorities right. If the big stones dont go in first, then you will never get them in. This book invites the reader to focus first on the big stone of ones ultimate purpose. Remembering to remember to remember ones ultimate purpose is the first step in eliminating other finer forms of distraction. The erosion of meaning through the slippage caused by distraction is the overall theme of this book.
This book explores a dimension of mind that is only a potentiality at birth. This in itself is not so unusual as all adult capabilities are only developed with time and practice as we grow. The translucent imagination is different, however, in that it usually goes not only undeveloped but completely unnoticed throughout the entire course of life. It differs in how it functions once it is noticed and developed. The imagination we are all familiar with I call the reflective imagination. It functions at the confluence of memory and motivation, and allies itself with the self promotional strategies of self nature. It is reflective in that it configures or images the world in accord with the conc...
The three self-contained works in this compilation are: No Urgency: or How We Fiddle with Eternity Complete, Not Completed Why This Ignorance? These works build on the earlier books in Volume I, and they are more challenging. They provoke--at least I hope they do--a more energetic pursuit of soul depth for the sake of spiritual depth. Like all my books, they openly rely on the spiritual technology of the Buddha. However, they can be on confrontationally read. Because they are non sectarian in the sense that they don’t require or promote a “conversion” to a religious viewpoint, they can be practically incorporated by anyone practicing a sectarian or non sectarian path. That’s the nature of this “spiritual technology”--Tibetan Buddhism doesn’t even have a word for “religion” in its lexicon! The reader is cautioned to take their time and read these books slowly, not hesitating to “stay where there’s fruit.” In fact, if one reads more than one chapter a day, that pace will miss much. As the pithy Latin expression (“non multa sed multum”) has it: “It’s not knowing many things that satisfies the soul, but knowing a few quality things deeply.”
Mr. Bottiglia runs a bar called The Wandering Nomad. He practices and represents a disguised spirituality. It's right out in the open for all to see yet almost no one does. The fact that it is disguised doesn't make it any less effective. In fact, it seems that his spirituality is more effective because it is disguised. In the persona of Mr. Bottiglia, the imagination is a secret ally and a practical theoretician. The imagination as bartender is an acute observer of the human scene. It is silent, keeping its own counsel, until asked. The imagination as ally offers concrete suggestions to advance any situation. It sets the bar raising or lowering it depending on the situation's concrete circumstances.