Unbroken Wholeness: Six Pathways to the Beloved Community: Integrating Social Justice, Emotional Healing, and Spiritual Practice

by John Bell

Distilling a lifetime’s insights on the triangle of healing emotional pain, social justice work, and spiritual growth, veteran activist and educator John Bell shares personal stories and reflective practices to help us on our path of personal and collective transformation

Unbroken Wholeness brings an integrated lens of social justice, trauma healing, and spiritual practice to the work we do in the world and the pressing concerns of our times.

Collectively, these writings help us access a view of the world as unbroken, even in the face of obvious suffering and disharmony. With searching questions and easy-to-follow practices, Unbroken Wholeness offers a way for activists to apply mindfulness and insight to bring about healing for seemingly intractable social divisions. “Skillfully handling our emotional pain about the world while cultivating a joyful and kind heart helps us navigate the troubled waters of our life,” says John Bell. Continuing the peace work of his teacher, the Vietnamese social activist and Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, John Bell brings forward the importance of cultivating a practical yet visionary, ennobling view of humankind when engaging in the “mud” of daily difficulties that gives rise to the lotus of an enlightened, compassionate heart.

Genres: Buddhism

256 pages, Paperback

Published April 30, 2024

Reviews

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although I was familiar with most of the ideas presented, I did enjoy the inclusion of Bell's personal journey and stories illustrating his pathways. They show how he integrated his philosophy into his life through. His casual tone makes the book easy and enjoyable to read and the ideas easy to understand.

[Fred Small · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unbroken Wholeness is a compelling testament to the enduring power of Martin Luther King Jr.’s dream of Beloved Community, a vision of justice grounded in love never more urgently needed than today. John Bell’s uplifting book is at once a memoir of a life devoted to collective liberation and a toolkit for personal and social transformation that anyone can use. Though unflinching in its keen-eyed analysis of a society driven to the brink of collapse by oppression, inequality, and heedless exploitation of the natural world, Unbroken Wholeness is animated throughout by the author’s generous spirit and abiding love for all beings, including his opponents. Bring your broken heart to these pages and be reminded of the wholeness that is the birthright of all.

[Marjorie Breton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book could not be more relevant and important as we deal with the ramifications of our choices as an individual and a society. Climate chaos, unconscious consumerism, political fallout from greed and power fixation, all leading to further separation from our true nature. John, with his extensive study, life experience in healing and innate wisdom, takes us into the heart of the pain and walks us towards a Path of understanding and action. As we face the very real possibility of the destruction of our planet, there is no more essential message. This book cannot be ignored.

[Colleen Miller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfinished really 50%. Lost interest.