Philip Goldberg - Spiritual Practice for Crazy Times: Powerful Tools to Cultivate Calm, Clarity, and Courage

The Life of Yogananda: The Story of the Yogi
Who Became the First Modern Guru*

American Veda: From Emerson and the Beatles
to Yoga and Meditation, How Indian
Spirituality Changed the West

Roadsigns: On the Spiritual Path
Living at the Heart of Paradox

The Intuitive Edge: Understanding Intuition and
Applying It in Everyday Life

Get Out of Your Own Way: Overcoming Self-Defeating
Behavior (with Mark Goulston, M.D.)

*Available from Hay House

Please visit:
Hay House USA: www.hayhouse.com
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Copyright 2020 by Philip Goldberg

Published in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Claudine Mansour

Interior design: Nick C. Welch

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Goldberg, Philip, 1944- author.

Title: Spiritual practice for crazy times : powerful tools to cultivate calm, clarity, and courage / Philip Goldberg.

Identifiers: LCCN 2020011109 | ISBN 9781401959753 (hardback)

ISBN 9781401959760 (ebook) / Subjects: LCSH: Spiritual life.

Classification: LCC BL624 .G63424 2020 | DDC 204--dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2020011109

Tradepaper ISBN: 978-1-4019-6163-3

e-book ISBN: 978-1-4019-5976-0

Audiobook ISBN: 978-1-4019-5977-7

To all the steadfast, compassionate souls
who work to make the world a saner,
safer, and more sanctified place.

In early 2019, not long after the mass slaughter in a Pittsburgh synagogue, when migrants were being separated from their children at the U.S.-Mexico border and the world breathlessly awaited the Mueller Report, I received an e-mail with a cartoon attached. It was by David Sipress, whose insightful art was frequently featured in the New Yorker magazine. Two people are walking on a city street. One says to the other, My desire to be well-informed is currently at odds with my desire to remain sane.

Bingo! I immediately forwarded the cartoon to friends and posted it on social media. Turns out I was not the only one; the joke had gone viral because it captured a prevalent mood. Terms like overwhelmed, confused, helpless, afraid, enraged, and despondent were common, even among veterans of the spiritual path whose outlook was usually upbeat. That prompted me to write an article titled The Importance of Spiritual Practice in Crazy Times. I argued that spiritual practices were an absolute necessity in times like these for two reasons: they provide a much-needed sanctuary when we need it most, and theyre also a sturdy platform for corrective action. The response to the article and affirmation of its basic premise led me to start this book.

Then came an interesting twist. When I searched online for the Sipress cartoon so I could properly reference it, I found an essay by the artist himself. He said that, of all his many cartoons, that one was the most published, republished, tweeted, retweeted, liked, shared, or stolen and reprinted without my permission. The essay was dated February 3, 2017two whole years before the cartoon arrived in my inbox! Ah, but that was only two weeks after Donald Trumps inauguration, when much of the world was in shock and therapists were reporting that their clients were self-medicating and ranting about politics instead of their usual issues.

But heres the real shocker. Sipress had originally published that cartoon in the 1990s, during the Clinton Administration. Ever since, he said, every time the news gets particularly dire, the cartoon pops up all over the place.

Which highlights an important point I want to emphasize at the outset. It has been said that we live in uniquely crazy times. In many ways we surely do; a 2018 Gallup poll, for instance, found that the level of stress, anger, and worry in America was the highest it had been in a decade. But sociopolitical turmoil has no deadlines or expiration dates. Weve endured it repeatedly, and well deal with it again, no matter who is president or which new crises humans create for themselves. Furthermore, for each of us, any time can be a crazy time. Many of the conditions that make us feel emotionally assaulted, angry, helpless, and exhausted are endemic to modern life. In our plugged-in, fast-paced world, high stress levels are more predictable than the weather, and a crisis can rise up and assault anyone at any time.

For that reason, this book is not designed for this wild and woolly era alone. The advice, insights, and practices it contains are perennial; they will be as relevant in 2040 and 2080 as they are in 2020. They cut across cultural and spiritual categories, and their value does not depend on our beliefs or affiliations. Whenever mayhem arises, the practical methods in this book can be counted on for refuge, firm footing, and transformation.

And, I hasten to add, the information and guidelines youre about to explore will be just as useful when times are good. They are the spiritual equivalent of good nutrition and exerciseongoing maintenance and wellness enhancement for the soul. Regardless of your spiritual orientation and current life circumstances, you will find the book a valuable companion on your spiritual path. May it accelerate your progress on the sacred journey we all traverse together.

It is March 2020, and I am examining the galley proofs of this book while much of the world is engaged in social distancing to combat the corona-virus pandemic. If ever there was proof that crazy times can get crazier at a moments notice, and that spiritual practices are a necessity not a luxury, this is it. My editor and I decided not to change a word of the text in response to the crisis. The information applies now, and it will still apply no matter what transpires in the five months before publication.

While ponderous planets of unwaning woe revolve round me, deep down and deep inland there I still bathe me in eternal mildness of joy.

HERMAN MELVILLE, Moby-Dick

In the late 1960s, I was a dazed and confused young man trying to figure out how to live in a world gone mad. Vietnam, assassinations, riots, and other horrors made coming of age feel like a life-or-death issue.