Max Reif's Blog - Posts Tagged "spiritual-path"

"Toward an Interior Sun: Awakening by a Master, and the Difficult Journey Toward Discipleship" (Stories by Max Reif) has been out for a month now. Here is the summary that appeared in The Mindful Word, the online journal that published first the 11 stories, and now the book:

Martin is a young man with no conscious spiritual yearning and a dim sense of something wrong deep inside. He almost destroys himself by the time he’s twenty-two, but then has the good fortune to be awakened by Meher Baba, a renowned spiritual figure.

After a honeymoon of divine love, it gradually begins to dawn on Martin that the Master wants not only love, but obedience. The spiritual path is “no game for the weak and fainthearted.” Martin has a difficult go of it, blundering several times over the next decades, suffering precipitous falls–but always, somehow, being given another chance. He comes to realize the journey is a long one.

In this collection of short stories, Max Reif digs deep to offer an entertaining and insightful account of this arduous spiritual trek. The tales lead the reader from epiphanies of youth, to the life of a spiritual seeker, to a deepening awareness of the maturity required for true discipleship. These stories take the reader on a bumpy ride from the dark depths of shock therapy to the soaring heights of seeing God manifest in the world, illuminating the hope we all have for redemption and rebirth.

This is a book not just for Baba lovers but for all who want spiritual growth and want to learn through the challenges of a personal story about the spiritual journey.

To get a sample of Max’s writing, check out his author page at The Mindful Word. Most of the stories in this collection can be found there.

Below are some quotes from the frontpiece material of Toward an Interior Sun.

From the Preface by Kiva Bottero, publisher of The Mindful Word:

"Certain writers have a way of authentically expressing in words the images floating around in their heads with such vividness that it inspires readers to draw inwards and reflect. Max Reif is one of those writers."

"Toward an Interior Sun invites readers to do more than just read, but to ponder. It invites readers to sit back and be entertained, but to also engage themselves with curiosity. But most of all, the authentic nature of the stories in this book inspire readers to develop a true thirst for the truth."

From the Foreward by Naosherwan Anzar, publisher of GLOW International magazine:

"Toward an Interior Sun is a door that opens in degrees to those who are willing to “walk on fire” as did Max. He is honest in his narration of experiences that span a lifetime."

From my Author's Introduction

"If I had taken my younger self aside, as if we were in some “Back to the Future” movie, and told him what he would be going through in coming decades, I don’t think he would have believed me! The life that has unfolded has astounded me in its glorious heights as well as, sometimes, its dismal depths. Most remarkable of all, perhaps, has been learning that rebirth, redemption, and a fresh new page are always possible, even after the darkest night. It is these insights that have set my spirit and hand in motion to write the pieces collect.

Click here TO ORDER THE BOOK

To read three previous blogs accompanying the publication of this book. (Scroll down from this one, which will appear again there, to see them.)