Life Stills: A Spiritual Calculus

By Anonymous and Geoffrey Lasley

Written in free verse that one noted theologian describes as "clear and stirring," this small book echoes many of the Catholic Church's greatest authors -- Thomas Aquinas ( Summa Theologica) , Thomas of Kempis ( The Imitation of Chris t) Theresa of Avila ( The Way of Perfection ), Ignatius of Loyola ( Spiritual Exercises ), and the anonymous author of The Cloud of Unknowing, as well as the teachings of the Buddha -- all identifying the belief in an individual, immortal Self as the greatest impediment to a closer relationship with God/Spirit. Here you will find a radical new perspective on belief and faith, sin and righteousness, grace, mercy, humility, and forgiveness that is at once comforting and liberating. You can read the full book online at: againlifestills.blogspot.com, download the free .pdf file from the same page, or purchase the book here at Amazon. From the book's "Precis": Of a kind with all things living, Man is of both The flesh that sustains him and The spirit that animates him. Setting man apart and Making him fully human is His awareness that This is the case - that He is both flesh and spirit By birthright. Deep in their hearts, All men hear my whisperings, and As clearly and as loudly As one hears my voice, To that extent is he Ruled by spirit and To that extent does His desire for me Determine the path of his life. Alive to the flesh but Dead to the spirit, They that deny me Are no less my children. Estranged through the Conditions and experiences - The dispositions - of their lives, Their spirits remain undefiled, Returning, as do all, To me in the end. Hearing me from a distance, My devotee comes to me by addition; Believing me outside himself, My devotee gives me a name, and In naming me, pushes me away. In the suffering of his isolation, My devotee offers me his prayers and Living a life pleasing to me Secures his place in my eternity. Hearing me not from a distance but From within his own heart, The renunciant is aware that He IS not - That Self is of the flesh and Has no true being. All that his mind thinks and All that his hands create are For this moment only and, like Self, Have no true being. Aware that I can be seen in this life Only by subtraction, The renunciant uproots Self and Shuns all things temporal. Detached from the world of the flesh and The burdens of both heart and mind, The renunciant grows In love and in Charity, in Undifferentiated and eternal Spirit only. Hearing but denying my voice, Hearing my voice but softly, or Hearing my voice as a deafening roar, All men walk the paths Determined by their dispositions. All men - non-believers, devotees, renunciants - All men alike return, in the end, To whence they came, Their bodies returning to earth, and Their spirits returning to me, Untouched, Unchanged, Unblemished. Perfect. .... Also from Life Stills: Arising from the body, Self is but a mirage, Devoid of true being. Arising from the heart, Self is but a phantom, Empty of true being. Arising from the mind, Self is but a dream, Without true being. Arising from the flesh, Self is but a mirage, a phantom, a dream, and Possesses no true being. ...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0915RP4X3
• ISBN13: 9798701806694
• Release Date: March 2021
• Publisher: Independently published
• Length: 115 Pages
• Dimensions: 6.8" x 0.3" x 4.3"