Meister Eckhart's Book of Secrets: Meditations on Letting Go and Finding True Freedom
Description
An elegant rendering of the great mystic's thoughts on the mysteries of the authentic life
This is a little book about soul freedom. It is a book about discovering the secret to all the things we most desire: contentment, meaning, peace of mind, and true freedom. This skillfully edited translation of selections from the writings of Meister Eckhart provides a roadmap to the spiritual life for contemporary seekers. Eckhart takes us on a journey of discovery; a journey in which we learn to let go, relinquish our need to know everything, and lose those things that we think are important for a life of worth. And in the end he shows us that the true secret is this: to find yourself, you must lose yourself.
Here is timeless wisdom from a medieval mystic who has influenced a wide range of spiritual teachers and mystics both inside and outside the Christian tradition. Erich Fromm, Arthur Schopenhauer, Dag Hammarskjöld, Eckhart Tolle, Richard Rohr, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, and Matthew Fox have all credited Eckhart as being an important influence on their thought. In addition, his work has influenced the development of 20th-century American Buddhism and the Theosophical tradition.
Divided into five sections--Seeking the Light, Facing Darkness, Risking Love, Knowing Nothing, and Embracing Everything--the book leads readers on the path to an authentic spiritual life.
Product Details
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
About the Author
Mark S. Burrows is a poet, translator, and professor of religion and literature at the Protestant University of Applied Sciences in Bochum, Germany. His poetry has appeared in Poetry, the Cortland Review, the Southern Quarterly, Weavings, and a number of other periodicals.
Jon M. Sweeney is an independent scholar, critic, and writer. Several of his books have become History Book Club, BOMC, One Spirit Book Club, and QPB selections. After cofounding SkyLight Paths Publishing in Vermont, he served as editorial director at Franciscan Media, and is now the editor-in-chief at Paraclete Press. He lives in Milwaukee, WI.
Reviews
"Positioned as a follow-up to Meister Eckhart's Book of the Heart: Meditations for the Restless Soul, this book by collaborators Sweeney and Burrows collects meditations from the 14th-century priest and mystic Eckhart von Hochheim, better known as Meister Eckhart. Though presented as a combination of prose and poems, the work notes that Eckhart himself did not write poetry. Rather, these are curated theological reflections presented in poetic form with many lines taken verbatim from Eckhart's more formal theological discourses and sermons. In this, Sweeney and Burrows have crafted something akin to a road map to centering prayer. Eckhart's mystical musings lead toward an 'undoing, letting go of our need to manage our lives, freeing ourselves to seek this treasure.' VERDICT With an economy of language, these words read like Buddhist koans, encouraging a path toward the richness of an interior life."- Library Journal, Sandra Collins, Byzantine Catholic Seminary Lib., Pittsburgh -- "Library Journal"
"Christian through and through, with a mystical bent, Eckhart earned a following from the likes of Erich Fromm, D. T. Suzuki, Rudolf Steiner, Richard Rohr, and many others across the religious spectrum. This superb new translation modernizes Eckhart's writings into short poems for contemporary seekers. In their introduction, Mark Burrows and Jon Sweeney invite readers to discover the secrets of the Meister's teachings, which draw "on perennial truths that point to what Eckhart called the 'pathless path, ' which alone can lead us into true freedom." - Foreword Reviews-- "Foreword Reviews"