Hope for the Sacred (Further Explorations on Faith, Meaning & Commitment)

This book is an outgrowth of both my personal experience with the sacred (what is referred to as God, the Sacred-concept, the Great Mystery, Being, the Self, etcetera) and my professional experience working with clients as a psychotherapist while observing how others use and experience the Sacred as a resource and condition for well-being. This book is for seekers who have tried formal religions and found them lacking. Though religious organizations tend to promise much (whether "salvation" or something else) they are not an end in themselves and once they draw you into "membership," you are often left on your own to navigate the treacheries of the spiritual path. Of course, many fall by the wayside, disillusioned and resentful, never to return. This is unfortunate, because spiritual development can be one of the most fulfilling tasks a person will embark on. This book is also for seekers who have experienced spiritual abuse seekers who question whether they can rely on society's officially sanctioned outlets for spiritual growth. My hope is that this book will be an invitation to realize that you are on a journey and that there is more to this life than what our theologies will allow by their dogma. There is an "Other"- call it God, a higher power, intelligence, Atman, Allah, Superman or woman, etcetera. It does not have a gender and has been called many names throughout history. It is both object and subject and more than we can conceive of. We are It and It is we though we mull around unconvinced of our true identity and live beneath our ability to experience a better quality of life. Because our relationship with "the Other" is transpersonal, it is beyond our normal and conscious sense-of-self though very much a part of our day-to-day experience. We do not need instructions from formal religions to remember our connection to the Other. However, as we will see, religions were formed with some kind of structure for the masses to follow in t