Review
Spirit Matters is a highly recommended book for anyone who longs to live in a world with stronger spiritual values and less emphasis on ecological destruction, material gain, and technological progress. And nowadays, there are a lot of us out there struggling with those phenomena, according to acclaimed rabbi and author Michael Lerner (The Politics of Meaning). Many individuals live as a “divided self,” he explains. We privately hold deep, spiritual beliefs but a…
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Lerner tackles conservatives who think religion should defend the status quo and liberals who think secular society has all we need. His basic argument is that ‘spirit matters’ — people’s need for meaning, connection, love, awe, mystery, rest and joy are essential to our happiness; and, when absent, are a source of profound personal and collective malaise. If you don’t share Lerner’s spiritual optismism, as I don’t, you nevertheless will have to confront his insistent questioning about the sources of your pessimism, fear and despair. Not content to rest with generalities about spirit in society, Lerner applies his ideas to medicine, law, education and the environment. Get the book. Read it. Argue about it. It will challenge many of your assumptions about spirituality, politics and society.
Michael Lerner, described as “one of the most significant spiritual innovators of our times, calls for “Emancipatory Spirituality” in his latest book, Spirit Matters. Lerner, who holds degrees in philosophy and psychology, says emancipatory spirituality involves regaining our awe and wonder at the universe and reconnecting with Spirit.
He maintains that people are seeking spiritual meaning in their lives, but the world we live in today discourages openness about spiritual matters. People are torn by conflict between what they privately know is right, and the way they’re forced to abandon that in their public lives, in order to be “successful.” Thinking only in terms of the “bottom line” has led to destructive behavior, individually, socially, and environmentally.
Lerner describes a new kind of bottom line, where love and caring are the measure of success. Although spirituality can be incorporated into every aspect of a society, he goes into great detail with his vision of how medicine, education, and the law would function in a spiritually-based world.
The world we live in is determined by the choices we make. Most people feel that, given the opportunity to do so, they would make spiritually responsible choices, but they can’t, because other people can’t be trusted to do the same. Lerner says “the more we trust each other and the universe . . . the more we will make the world safe for Spirit. And the safer it feels, the more people will start to come out of their own closets and acknowledge their deep hunger for a spiritually grounded life.”
Lerner doesn’t just offer his vision of a more spiritual world–he includes some practical suggestions for what people can start doing right now to get involved and help heal their lives and transform their communities.
Regardless of their religious beliefs, Spirit Matters will help all readers achieve a deeper spiritual understanding that “can bring you both a deeper fulfillment in your life and, at the same time, a deeper connection to the central challenges facing our planet.” Buy two copies–one for yourself, and one for sharing. It’s essential reading for anyone wanting to transform unhappy, alienated, and destructive lives and societies into a new reality of spiritual joy and meaning.
Excellent, enlightening, and inspiring. Well done, reminding us that there are no “right answers”, and we can have the courage to place our integrity and ideals as values to stretch for and live by, rather than passively buy into some of the insanity created by the collective fears and egos of the society around us. (And this can result in not only greater happiness, but more effective organizations – they go hand-in-hand). This is a great book for stimulating thought, and encouraging us by letting us know that some of the things we thought were “wrong” or “missing” in society and in organizations we participate in, are very real and very valid (rather than believing they are our own “hangups”). The beautiful human spirit and goodness which we share (the important things in life), is typically precisely the stuff we don’t share and talk about. Reading this book a great way to get started, or to provide further inspiration.
I’de recommended to anybody who is looking for a deeper meaning in life or work.