Emerging Heart: Global Spirituality And The Sacred

by Beverly Lanzetta

Highlighting pioneers of global spirituality such as Thomas Merton, Thich Nhat Hanh, Abraham Heschel, Mohandas Gandhi, Howard Thurman, Bede Griffiths, and Dorothy Day, "Emerging Heart" shows how a variety of religious traditions emerge from and converge on a divine nature and mystic quality that creates a loving heart. Lanzetta first describes this phenomenon in her own experience and then elaborates on that mystical core, the notion of the divine, the new shape of interreligious dialogue, pioneers of this new global spirituality, and the personal, spiritual, and ethical challenges that it poses to us.

Genres: Spirituality

164 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 24, 2007

About the author

Dr. Beverly Lanzetta is a theologian, spiritual teacher, and the author of many groundbreaking books on emerging universal spirituality and new monasticism, including Radical Wisdom: A Feminist Mystical Theology, Emerging Heart: Global Spirituality And the Sacred, Nine Jewels of Night: One Soul’s Journey into God and most recently, The Monk Within: Embracing a Sacred Way of Life. Dedicated to a vision of theological openness and spiritual nonviolence, her work has won praise for its wisdom, eloquence, and mystical insight and is considered to be a major contribution to what theologian Ursula King called “a feminine mystical way for the 21st century.”

Dr. Lanzetta is also a vowed monk of peace living in the world and an interfaith chaplain. She has formed a community of new monks—single, married, partnered, celibate, etc.—dedicated to the universal mystical heart and to the spirituality of nonviolence. She has devoted much of her life to mentoring people who seek a deeper contemplative commitment and who wish to take personal monastic vows. She has taught theology at Villanova University, Prescott College, and Grinnell College.

Reviews

[Corinne Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This inspiring invitation to a global spirituality is eloquent, wise, beautiful and transformative. As I read it, all I could think was, "This is why I'm alive - to read and know and live this truth." With a combination of personal experience and deep contemplative wisdom, Lanzetta calls us to a new way of living Spirit in this world. She describes "a new revelatory landscape wherein we are called to a new or different paradigm of the sacred that is making fundamental demands on our personhood and view of self, God, and the world." If ever there were a bookshelf designed as a spiritual map of the contemporary spiritual journey, Emerging Heart would be right at the top of the shelf.

[Trish Remley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had come to my own understanding of the idea of a global spirituality before I read this book, but very much enjoyed reading these ideas written down with the core ideas of Ewert Cousins, Raimon Panikkar, Mohammad Gandhi, Thomas Merton, Abraham Joshua Heschel, the Dalai Lama, and Native American, and the author Beverly Lanzetta. The idea that you can "be a religion" or no religion, but at the same time accepting of all other religions because basically we are all seeking the same. The idea of working toward spiritual nonviolence, religous diversity, intercultural and interreligious communication. That many of these religious giants already met, already had dialogue, and already understood the good in many faiths - all good.

[Joy-Ellen]

Loved this book! It is part of a class for my D.Min. program and it is a delight.