Neenah Public Library

The naked now, learning to see as the mystics see, Richard Rohr

eng

Includes bibliographical references

no index present

non fiction

The naked now

bibliography

316058093

Richard Rohr

learning to see as the mystics see

For Christians seeking a way of thinking outside of strict dualities, this guide explores methods for letting go of division and living in the present. Drawn from the Gospels, Jesus, Paul, and the great Christian contemplatives, this examination reveals how many of the hidden truths of Christianity have been misunderstood or lost and how to read them with the eyes of the mystics rather than interpreting them through rational thought. Filled with sayings, stories, quotations, and appeals to the heart, specific methods for identifying dualistic thinking are presented with simple practices for stripping away ego and the fear of dwelling in the present

Why I am writing this book -- The gift is already given -- When you surrender to fear and distraction -- When you joyfully surrender to God -- Discover your birthright -- Prayer-practicing heaven now -- The great unsaying -- Three ways to view the sunset -- The urgent need for contemplative seeing -- What it means to be a mystic -- We should have known better -- Knowing worse: all-or-nothing thinking -- Knowing better: contemplation and presence -- Mystical Christianity: a critique from within -- A lesson from the monks -- The limitations of individualism -- A debate everyone can win -- Glimpses of wonder: the quest is begun -- But we have to make judgments, don't we? -- We see what we are ready to see -- The radical perceptual shift: is it true? -- Yes, but -- Not many things, but one thing -- Getting thrown off your horse: sudden conversion -- Gradual conversion -- How Martha becomes Mary: willfulness and willingness -- What about Jesus? -- The prayer of Jesus -- Not here, not there -- The two heels of a Christian achilles -- Conversion: begin by changing the seer -- Healing the observer -- Three levels of conversion -- Change your mind -- The ego hates change -- Different religions, same ego resistance -- Inertia resists change -- Heaven and hell: you must change again and again -- Things too good to be true: from polarity thinking to prayer -- Reframing false dilemmas -- Alternative consciousness -- Prayer is resonance -- Experience impossible and improbable things -- The lost tradition -- The decline of contemplation -- More recent rediscoveries -- Faith is more how to believe than what to believe -- Opening the door: great love and great suffering -- What nondual thinking is not -- The watchful gaze: what do we mean by being awake? -- The meaning of spiritual love -- Sinners, mystics, and astrophysicists: how to celebrate paradox -- The value of paradox -- Greek logic -- Trinity -- Physics and astrophysics -- What it means to follow Jesus -- What every good leader knows -- The principle of likeness: in the end, it all comes down to this