Mark S. Burrows

Following Rilke's advice to "live the questions," this book invites us to draw upon his startling insights and often unconventional wisdom to see ourselves as ripening, unfolding, and always becoming." This is a book to savor, soaking up the rewards of stories, insights, and provocations about the passage of our lives." --Sally Gillespie, author of Climate Crisis and Consciousness: Re-imagining our World and Ourselves"You Are the Future beckons us to discover a wise way to live a life in the company of self and others." --P draig Tuama, poet, peace activist, and host of On Being's "Poetry Unbound" Rainer Maria Rilke's illuminative writings have influenced and shaped readers over the century since his death. Rilke's spiritual "unorthodoxy" speaks uniquely to our times, fraught as they are with anxieties and shadowed with violence. In the hands of two writers who have journeyed with Rilke over the arc of their lives, this book explores some of the essential questions we all face. Among the existential issues this book explores are these: "How do we live the questions?"; "What about death?"; "What path into creativity?"; "What does darkness open us to?" All translations of Rilke throughout the volume (poems, citations from his correspondence, etc.) are those of Mark Burrows, a native German speaker and renowned translator of Rilke.

"Within each of us is a divine treasure, and if we hope to discover it we need to go deep into the heart of who we are."--Meister Eckhart Meister Eckhart has been a huge influence on spirituality for more than 800 years, including to philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox--all crediting Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. This book of Meister Eckhart meditations is for people seeking the "wayless way." It is not for those looking for a simple path. Many people in our time still go looking for a straight path toward a defined goal, without detours, led by a guide who tells them what to do and what not to do. They would be uncomfortable with Meister Eckhart--a Christian mystic from the century of Rumi and Francis of Assisi--who said to "take leave of God for the sake of God." And, "Learn not to love in order that you may learn to love." And, "All things are equal and alike in God and are God." These fresh, stunning renderings of his writings in poetic form bring life to one of the great spiritual voices of any age. They reveal what it means to love God and find meaning in darkness. In a culture that craved light--and what culture does not?--Eckhart dared to imagine that the darkness is what matters most. Not darkness in general, but your darkness, because it is the one thing you know something about, and without facing your darkness, you'll never know what it means to desire the light. You'll never even imagine what light is about. Only when you are in the darkness, Meister says, do you have even the possibility of seeing the light.

An elegant rendering of the great mystic's thoughts on the mysteries of the authentic lifeThis is a little book about soul freedom. It is a book about discovering the secret to all the things we most desire: contentment, meaning, peace of mind, and true freedom. This skillfully edited translation of selections from the writings of Meister Eckhart provides a roadmap to the spiritual life for contemporary seekers. Eckhart takes us on a journey of discovery; a journey in which we learn to let go, relinquish our need to know everything, and lose those things that we think are important for a life of worth. And in the end he shows us that the true secret is this: to find yourself, you must lose yourself. Here is timeless wisdom from a medieval mystic who has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Arthur Schopenhauer, Dag Hammarskj ld, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th-century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition. Divided into five sections--Seeking the Light, Facing Darkness, Risking Love, Knowing Nothing, and Embracing Everything--the book leads readers on the path to an authentic spiritual life.

Meister Eckhart (1260-1328) was a priest, a mystic, and nearly a heretic (he died before the Church court's verdict). In the 20th century, the Roman Catholic Church rehabilitated him and the late Pope John Paul II spoke of his work with fondness. However, what makes him of particular interest is the fact that he has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, and Rudolf Steiner have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition. Eckhart wrote at a time--much like our own--when society appeared to be coming apart at the seams. In the midst of all that chaos and uncertainty, he captured the many forms and stages of the love of God, the mystic path, and the journey of transformation--in language so startling that he, too, was often accused of heresy. Now, seven centuries later, this fresh, stunning rendering of his work translates the essence of one of Christianity's greatest poetic and spiritual voices. Here is a book that conveys the heart of Eckhart's teaching on what it means to love God and embark on an authentic spiritual journey--a journey that is characterized by mystery, paradox, and an embrace of the unknown.