Richard Carlson - Handbook for the Spirit

Revised Edition 1997 Benjamin Shield, Ph.D.,
and Richard Carlson, Ph.D.
Original Edition 1990 Benjamin Shield, Ph.D.,
and Richard Carlson, Ph.D.

Previously published as For the Love of God: Handbook for the Spirit

Copyright notices for the writings by the contributors
are found at the back of this book.

Editorial: Jason Gardner
Cover design: Tracy Pitts
Text design: Aaron Kenedi

All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, mechanical, or other without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Handbook for the spirit / edited by Benjamin Shield and Richard
Carlson ; foreword by Marianne Williamson. - 3rd ed.
p. cm.
Originally published: For the love of God. Rev. ed. Novato, Calif. : New World Library, c1997.
ISBN 978-1-57731-613-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Spiritual biography. 2. Spiritual life. I. Shield, Benjamin, 1964
II. Carlson, Richard, 1961-2006. III. Title.
BL72.F57 2008
204dc22

First printing of the third edition, February 2008
ISBN: 978-1-57731-613-8
Printed in Canada on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Love, Compassion, and Tolerance
by HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA

Creation Spirituality
by MATTHEW FOX, PH.D.

The Long Journey Home
by RIANE EISLER

The Secret in the Center
by WAYNE DYER, PH.D.

Grace, Gratitude, and the Sacred Experiences
by JEAN SHINODA BOLEN,M.D.

God Lost and Regained
by HOWARD MURPHET

What Personal Life?
by REV. MICHAEL BECKWITH

God as Essence
by A. H. ALMAAS

An Invitation to God
by BARBARA DE ANGELIS, PH.D.

Burning for God
by ANDREW HARVEY

Leaning Toward the Light
by STEPHEN LEVINE

Encounter with God Through the Senses
by BROTHER DAVID STEINDL-RAST

Open to the Great Mystery
by BROOKE MEDICINE EAGLE

God as Global Love
by BARBARA MARX HUBBARD

Awakening to the Dharma
by JOSEPH GOLDSTEIN

The Power of Small Things
by SUE BENDER

The Community of God
by RABBI HAROLD KUSHNER, PH.D.

The Process of God
by ANNE WILSON SCHAEF, PH.D.

Alive with God
by FATHER WILLIAM MCNAMARA

Life as God
by SHAKTI GAWAIN

The Peace of the Divine Reality
by THICH NHAT HANH

Who Speaks?
by MARSHA SINETAR

Encountering God
by HUSTON SMITH, PH.D.

Walking Home
by HUGH PRATHER

Compassion in Action
by MOTHER TERESA

We would like to thank the participants of this anthology for their selfless gifts of their wisdom and time, and for demonstrating what presence of faith is all about. Special thanks to Don Carlson for his loving assistance, Tara Carson for her love, and to each other for proving that best of friends can be best of partners.

F OR THOSE ON A SPIRITUAL PATHWAY, editors Benjamin Shield and Richard Carlson have harnessed a magnificent variety of opinion by some of the worlds best-known teachers. Although the authors come from a diversity of backgrounds, they had much in common when responding to questions about their relationships with God and with life.

For some people the word God is a limiting term, and for others it is a nonissue word. I was as moved by His Holiness the Dalai Lamas remarks, who did not use the word God in his writing, as I was by others who did write about God. The simplicity of His Holinesss remarks about the applications of kindness, compassion, and tolerance in our lives, the harmony between our hearts and our minds, and the importance of our spiritual sustenance are concepts that go directly to the core of our souls. What a wonderful blessing for the world that he was chosen to receive the Nobel Peace Prize for 1989.

I had the good fortune to spend time with His Holiness during the filming of a special television program on our project Children as Teachers of Peace. Here was a human being who lived the principles he so eloquently taught. He demonstrated to everyone an experience of unconditional love, inner peace, joyfulness, kindness, compassion, tolerance, and the Oneness of the Universe.

We dont have to believe in God or use the word God to experience Oneness. The moment our ego and intellect come into play we attempt to categorize and put words around our concepts about God, a feeling of separation from one another often takes place. Yet, the beauty of this collection of spiritual wisdom by some of todays outstanding leaders shows how each, in an individual and heartfelt way, uses different words and different metaphors toward a common goal: to bring us together as a human family, celebrating our Oneness and not our separateness.

It is our thoughts, actions, and how we live and experience our lives that is important, not the words we use. When we believe that the essence of our being is love, that our true identity is a spiritual one, it becomes easier to understand that all our relationships offer us opportunities to experience that light of love in one another and to know that what we see is but a reflection of ourselves. Our experiences with that which Created us, which many people call God, therefore becomes manifested by our relationships.

Although I am now comfortable using the word God with myself, I frankly am not totally at ease using it with others. Peoples perceptions of what that word means have differed so much, causing not only separation, but also many wars. When we give our total love to one another with no exceptions, however, we can then recognize that the purpose of all our relationships is to see the light of love in everyone we see. As you read this book, I hope you will find yourself rekindling the light that has always been in you.