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Available
Call number
Publication
Doubleday, Paperback, 184 pages
Description
"Wisdom from one of the greatest spiritual masters of our time."--James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage The heart of Anthony de Mello's bestselling spiritual message is awareness. Mixing Christian spirituality, Buddhist parables, Hindu breathing exercises, and psychological insight, de Mello's words of hope come together in Awareness in a grand synthesis. In short chapters for reading in quiet moments at home or at the office, he cajoles and challenges: We must leave this go-go-go world of illusion and become aware. And this only happens, he insists, by becoming alive to the needs and potential of others, whether at home or in the workplace. Here, then, is a masterful book of the spirit, challenging us to wake up in every aspect of our lives.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member gregfromgilbert
An easy read organized into a series of 1-2 page 'talks'. I probably went through this book too quickly. I would recommend reading it as a daily meditation. Read a talk a day and then spend some time thinking about it. While the reading is easy the ideas are at times challenging and deep. The
"Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling." (pg. 54)
"You don’t have to do anything to acquire happiness. The great Meister Eckhart said it very beautifully, ‘God is not attained by a process of addition to anything in the soul, but by a process of subtraction.’ You don’t do anything to be free, you drop something. Then you’re free." (p. 82)
"We never set about the task of freeing ourselves, of dropping the baggage, of being ourselves. I’m sorry to say that everywhere I go I find Muslims who use their religion, their worship, and their Koran to distract themselves from this task. And the same applies to Hindus and Christians." (pg. 132)
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author comes from a Christian tradition but pulls in ideas from Hinduism and the mystics. He often quotes from the bible but interprets some of these quotes in a unique way that some religious people may find challenging. Here are some representative quotes:"Perfect love casts out fear. Where there is love there are no demands, no expectations, no dependency. I do not demand that you make me happy; my happiness does not lie in you. If you were to leave me, I will not feel sorry for myself; I enjoy your company immensely, but I do not cling." (pg. 54)
"You don’t have to do anything to acquire happiness. The great Meister Eckhart said it very beautifully, ‘God is not attained by a process of addition to anything in the soul, but by a process of subtraction.’ You don’t do anything to be free, you drop something. Then you’re free." (p. 82)
"We never set about the task of freeing ourselves, of dropping the baggage, of being ourselves. I’m sorry to say that everywhere I go I find Muslims who use their religion, their worship, and their Koran to distract themselves from this task. And the same applies to Hindus and Christians." (pg. 132)
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LibraryThing member mikitchenlady
A must-read that I must read again and again to fully understand all of its subtle nuances. When I first picked up this book, I tried to understand what it was about based on the cover description and critical reviews, but it takes a thorough reading to get DeMello's message. I won't begin to
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explain it here, other than to say if you are ready for this book, you will be changed and awakened by what he has to say. Best read in small pieces, one section at a time, each digested and contemplated before moving forward. Show Less
LibraryThing member John5918
I believe the late Anthony de Mello is one of the greatest spiritual writers and teachers of contemporary times. His concept of "awareness", being in the present moment, is very similar to what Thic Nhat Hanh calls "mindfulness". The two authors teach much in common, coming from different spiritual
A few things stick in my mind rather randomly. In recommending being in the present moment, de Mello notes that we spend most of our life either feeling guilty about the past or anxious about the future. Yet only the present moment is real. He warns against trying to change others or even ourselves; if we simply are "aware", then in fact change will come anyway. And he also warns social activists (and I take this one to heart personally as that has been part of my own life story) not to act without first being "aware" - he compares us to loose cannons, often acting without really having worked out the best course of action.
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traditions (Christianity, probably influenced by his Indian roots, for de Mello, and Buddhism for Hanh). Awareness as espoused by de Mello is a sound basis for living our lives. A few things stick in my mind rather randomly. In recommending being in the present moment, de Mello notes that we spend most of our life either feeling guilty about the past or anxious about the future. Yet only the present moment is real. He warns against trying to change others or even ourselves; if we simply are "aware", then in fact change will come anyway. And he also warns social activists (and I take this one to heart personally as that has been part of my own life story) not to act without first being "aware" - he compares us to loose cannons, often acting without really having worked out the best course of action.
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LibraryThing member Arctic-Stranger
I picked this up at a used bookstore, not knowing what it was, and it opened a whole new world for me. This was the first fusion I had read of eastern and western Christianity, and De Mello does a pretty job and reminding us that Christianity was once an eastern religion.
LibraryThing member abraxalito
de Mello is a gem of a writer - so simple and yet so profound.
LibraryThing member whorton
Essential reading – forthright, incredibly insightful, challenging and blunt – readable only in small chunks (there’s so much to digest) – the book is, in fact, excerpts from some of deMello’s renowned workshops.
LibraryThing member Thomas_Burwell
My review from Dec 2007:
Really helped bring peace of mind to my life and clarify my thoughts about religion, what's good and what's not so good about it. I found it especially helpful at presenting a response against the definition of "being a success" or "being a good person" that is too often put
When reading it, it's important to understand that De Mello sometimes communicates through exaggerations or contradictions. (For instance, he tells us on pg. 35 - "The only way someone can be of help to you is in challenging your ideas." No doubt, all of us can think of countless other ways and specific situations in which someone could be of help to us in a way other than by "challenging our ideas".) De Mello has intentionally chosen this style in order to battle the sea of misconceptions that he sees over flooding our society. Rather than go through the semantic hoops that are technically necessary in order to make the subtle distinctions that he is after, De Mello chooses to "shock the truth out of us". He says things that are not intended to be completely accurate, and are sometimes even logically inconsistent, but rather contradict our culture's common assumptions, forcing us to either totally dismiss what he says or, if we read with an open mind, to consciously think about the point that De Mello is trying to communicate.
This is a stylistic choice that fits with his view that logic is unable to fully capture reality. He explains, "the guru cannot give you the truth. Truth cannot be put into words, into a formula. That isn't the truth. That isn't reality. Reality cannot be put into a formula. The guru can only point out your errors. When you drop your errors, you will know the truth. And even then you cannot say."
Really helped bring peace of mind to my life and clarify my thoughts about religion, what's good and what's not so good about it. I found it especially helpful at presenting a response against the definition of "being a success" or "being a good person" that is too often put
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forth in the media and in too many mainstream religions today. When reading it, it's important to understand that De Mello sometimes communicates through exaggerations or contradictions. (For instance, he tells us on pg. 35 - "The only way someone can be of help to you is in challenging your ideas." No doubt, all of us can think of countless other ways and specific situations in which someone could be of help to us in a way other than by "challenging our ideas".) De Mello has intentionally chosen this style in order to battle the sea of misconceptions that he sees over flooding our society. Rather than go through the semantic hoops that are technically necessary in order to make the subtle distinctions that he is after, De Mello chooses to "shock the truth out of us". He says things that are not intended to be completely accurate, and are sometimes even logically inconsistent, but rather contradict our culture's common assumptions, forcing us to either totally dismiss what he says or, if we read with an open mind, to consciously think about the point that De Mello is trying to communicate.
This is a stylistic choice that fits with his view that logic is unable to fully capture reality. He explains, "the guru cannot give you the truth. Truth cannot be put into words, into a formula. That isn't the truth. That isn't reality. Reality cannot be put into a formula. The guru can only point out your errors. When you drop your errors, you will know the truth. And even then you cannot say."
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