Thomas Merton Books Free Download

Merton, one of the rare Western thinkers able to feel at home in the philosophies of the East, made the wisdom of Asia available to Westerners.

A celebration of Merton's spiritual autobiography is accompanied by an introduction from the editor and a note from Merton's biographer

All aboard! Travel with me on God’s spiritual soul train! When I was three years old, I boarded a train and waved goodbye to my mother. I never saw her face again. Separated from our brother, I wrapped my arms around my sister, and God wrapped his arms around me. I did not realize at that moment that God had given me a job at that station in my life. I looked out the window and saw a blue sky of hope that I will remember always. My life is blessed in spite of this childhood heartbreak, my brother’s suicide, and my sister’s issues with epilepsy and suicidal tendencies. I have a remarkable life, and at each station I have been fortunate to know a God that holds me steadfast with the fascinating adventure and mystery of the world so created by him. I want you to travel with me and feel the rain upon your face, stand in awe of the descriptive sunrises and sunsets, hear the birds waking up, and picture the magnificent race horses galloping around the horse farm. Visualize the wild coyote and the white-tailed deer that dwell around me. Meet great Biblical leaders of the Bible and Christian warriors and missionaries of yesterday and today. Enjoy quotes and stories by the famous and not-so-famous but extraordinary women and men who have made and are making a difference in the world that we live in. Experience God’s seasons with me as I paint you a spring with cherry blossoms and dogwood trees surrounded by buttercups; show you the colors of autumn, highlighting the vivid oranges, yellows, and reds; smell the evergreen, pines, honeysuckle vines as I ask you to swim in their fragrance on my favorite prayer walk in the park; sit with me around the warm fires, and walk in the snow with me during Christmastime. Settle down in my snug, old barn office with hot coffee as I ask you to join me for devotional and prayer. May you exhale and inhale passion as the devotionals come alive in your heart with eternal hope and love.

This book synthesizes the diverse reflections on technology by monk and spiritual writer Thomas Merton to develop a compelling contemplative critique of the threats and challenges of nuclear war, communication technologies, and biotechnologies that may alter what it means to be human. At the core of his critique, Merton opposes a technological mentality that favors processes of efficiency and utility at the expense of our ultimate purpose, a quest for the wisdom to guide us to the divine source of our being and reality. To counter this modern idolatry, Merton's insights offer a path of reflection, balance, and community. More specifically, Merton offers some constructive approaches and healing possibilities through a balanced approach to work, a careful and intentional managing of technology, and an accessing of the recuperative dimensions of nature. In its conclusion the book brings the insights of these chapters together for a final reflection on how to maintain our humanity and our spiritual integrity in a technological world.

2015 Thomas Merton 'Louie' award winner for a publication that provides 'fresh direction and provocative insight to Merton Studies,' presented by the International Thomas Merton Society. In the fall of 1964, Trappist monk Thomas Merton prepared to host an unprecedented gathering of peace activists. 'About all we have is a great need for roots,' he observed, 'but to know this is already something.' His remark anticipated their agenda--a search for spiritual roots to nurture sound motives for 'protest.' This event's originality lay in the varied religious commitments present. Convened in an era of well-kept faith boundaries, members of Catholic (lay and clergy), mainline Protestant, historic peace church, and Unitarian traditions participated. Ages also varied, ranging from twenty-three to seventy-nine. Several among the fourteen who gathered are well known today among faith-based peace advocates: the Berrigan brothers, Jim Forest, Tom Cornell, John Howard Yoder, A. J. Muste, and Merton himself. During their three days together, insights and wisdom from these traditions would intersect and nourish each other. By the time they parted, their effort had set down solid roots and modeled interreligious collaboration for peace work that would blossom in coming decades. Here for the first time, the details of those vital discussions have been reconstructed and made accessible to again inspire and challenge followers of Christ to confront the powers and injustices of today.

Understanding living religion requires students to experience everyday religious practice in diverse environments and communities. This guide provides the ideal introduction to fieldwork and the study of religion outside the lecture theatre. Covering theoretical and practical dimensions of research, the book helps students learn to ‘read’ religious sites and communities, and to develop their understanding of planning, interaction, observation, participation and interviews. Students are encouraged to explore their own expectations and sensitivities, and to develop a good understanding of ethical issues, group-learning and individual research. The chapters contain student testimonies, examples of student work and student-led questions.

Please note that the content of this book primarily consists of articles available from Wikipedia or other free sources online. Pages: 43. Chapters: Thomas Merton, Adi Da, David Deida, John Starr Cooke, Richard Rose, Caroline Myss, Elisabeth K bler-Ross, Geoffrey Hoppe, Eli Jaxon-Bear, Marshall Vian Summers, Gangaji, Wayne Teasdale, Wayne Dyer, E. J. Gold, Albert Rudolph, Esther Hicks, Hanumatpresaka Swami, Peace Pilgrim, Lex Hixon, Ernest Holmes, Vernon Howard, Guy Finley, Byron Katie, Michael Newton, Flower A. Newhouse, Hilda Charlton, Robert Collier, Ronald Podrow, Alex Anatole, Joseph Murphy, Adyashanti, Tolly Burkan, Christian de la Huerta, Clyde T. Francisco. Excerpt: Adi Da Samraj (Devan?gar?: ? ) (November 3, 1939 - November 27, 2008), born Franklin Albert Jones in Queens, New York, was a spiritual teacher, writer and artist, and the founder of a new religious movement known as Adidam. Adi Da changed his name numerous times throughout his life; these names included Bubba Free John, Da Free John, Da Love-Ananda, Da Kalki, Da Avadhoota, and Da Avabhasa among others. From 1991 until his death, he was known as Adi Da Love-Ananda Samraj or Adi Da. Adi Da initially became known in the spiritual counterculture of the 1970s for his books and public talks, and for the activities of his religious community. His philosophy was essentially similar to many eastern religions which see spiritual enlightenment as the ultimate priority of human life. Distinguishing his from other religious traditions, Adi Da declared that he was a uniquely historic avatar (incarnation of a god or divinity in human form). As such, Adi Da stated that devotional worship of him is the sole means of spiritual enlightenment for others. In the mid 1980s, allegations by former followers of financial, sexual and emotional abuses within Adidam received international media attention. These allegations resulted in lawsuits or threatened suits on both sides. Adi Da wrote many books about his..