Fire & Light: An Off-Road Search for the Spirit of God

by Jon Robertson

People of every religion attribute transcendent moments of inspiration to the divine. When asked to define the Spirit of God, most people have only a vague sense of what it is. This text searches for... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1587612666
• ISBN13: 9781587612664
• Release Date: October 2006
• Publisher: Celestial Arts
• Length: 286 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 5.3" x 8.1"

Customer Reviews

A Good Ride

We Are One In Spirit Describe in words the New World Symphony so that I can have the experience of it. That is the task Jon Robertson offers as a challenge equal to that of attempting to help people experience the Creative Spirit by using words to do so. In making this comparison, he is confessing that he realizes that his intentions for writing his book, Fire and Light: An Off-Road Search for the Spirit of God (Celestial Arts) will be difficult to achieve. When asked questions about spiritual matters, I've regularly used the silent motto, "spirit unites, words divide," worried that a verbal answer will most likely lead to confusion or distraction rather than to enlightenment. For a person who makes a living with words, I often wish, when coming up on stage to give a "talk," that I could serenade the audience instead. Aesthetic experiences, rather than intellectual ones, seem to be a more natural doorway to the spiritual. Jon, a professional writer and editor, handles this challenge first by demonstrating just how universal is the experience of spirit, regardless of its name. Quotations from the world's religious and spiritual literature offer proof that Spirit does not pay attention to theology. Jon shares his own stories, and the stories of many others who've had realizations of Spirit in their lives. Such stories exemplify Cayce's attitude that we do a better service to others when we share of our experiences than when we preach from things we've read. Stories invite empathy, explanations invite thought. Shortly after being introduced to Edgar Cayce, I had a dream in which a white dove comes down out of the sky and nestles in my chest, letting me know I am loved. In the inaugural issue of Venture Inward magazine, I wrote about that dream and how it led to my spiritual recovery from alcoholism. Years later, as Spirit continues to have its way with me, I've become a "recovering intellectual," developing more trust in other ways of knowing, even it sometimes means sacrificing understanding. I had a dream, for example, where I am at a circus arcade attempting to "win" the white dove by throwing a lapis lazuli stone at it. As I ready my swing, the dove flies up into the air and lands on my shoulder, showing that you can't win what is a gift. Sometimes the attempt to understand is an attempt to win control. There's the paradox to spirituality. As a spiritual being having a human experience, the human strives to attain what is already present. "Be still," quit trying to understand, but "know, I am God." It's easier said than done. Jon identifies the qualities of Spirit--immortality, the "I am" awareness, inwardness, unity, creativity, freedom, love and the male/female dynamic--and he explores what we might refer to as the "technology of spirit," such as the Golden Rule, kindness, service, patience, etc. The dilemma arises because even though following the Golden Rule helps make our actions consistent with Spirit, following the rules isn't the same as

Understanding the nonunderstandable.

I am enjoying the book and agree with his major thesis that the Spirit is around and in us. It's an intellectual explanation of something that is beyond intellectual and resides in experiences, so it can help those who turn off works of the Spirit because they can't intellectually believe it.

Fire and Light Review

I found Jon Robertson's Fire and Light very comforting. It was familiar territory to me since I, too, have been searching for the spirit throughout my life. His research was so in depth and his many interviews served to heighten the sense of human unity. Some of Jon's conclusions felt like old friends; some were brilliantly new and obviously inspired by the Spirit. His style was journalistic in that it was extremely fair, even loving to every possible point of view. Bravo!

Compelling and Inspiring

Fire & Light expresses a personal approach to experiencing the divine. The book links people of various centuries, regions, religions, and lifestyles through individualized but simultaneously universal experiences of divine spirit. Though the author incorporates plenty of historical context and facts, it is the unpretentious, honest, and open way that Robertson's theories and ideas are presented that make this book stand out. I highly recommend this book for anyone interested in a down to earth, modern perspective of a timeless topic.

Finding the Spirit

Jon Robertson has provided a universal, nondenominational path to follow if your longing is to know Spirit, answering the questions you may have about how it has moved throughout history and how it is moving perhaps even more powerfully today. Many of us feel a wave of Spirit crossing the world at this time, whispering to open hearts and minds everywhere: "Awaken, awaken. It is time." Perhaps you are also feeling the call to turn to Spirit. This beautifully written book--filled with inspiring stories, wisdom, and very practical advice; by turns intimate, warm, and funny--is for those who want to find or deepen their relationship with the Spirit or Presence of God, which is everywhere, in all times, and in all people, guiding, inspiring, helping. Before you have even finished it, you will trust--if you don't already--in both the reality of Spirit (through the dozens of stories of people like you and me) and in the complete availability of its presence in your life. If you are ready to find or deepen your oneness with the Spirit and are looking for a guidebook, Jon's will serve you better than any other I have seen. He and the Spirit have together brought forth a book of living water. Stuart Dean