Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul : 30 Stories of Interspiritual Discovery in the Community of Faiths

This fascinating array of thirty original spiritual mini-autobiographies showcases the varied ways that people come to faith -- and what that means -- in today's multi-religious world. Examining their own journeys from belief to disillusionment and from searching to discovery, contributors from many faiths, ages, and backgrounds tell the stories of how they learned to integrate the life of the Spirit into their dailly lives, and the remarkable transformations that followed. From South Aftica to India, Chicago to San Francisco, and many places in between, Awakening the Spirit, Inspiring the Soul is the first international collection of its kind; it takes readers on a trip through the spiritual lives of Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, Mulsims, Jews, and people who are continually searching to find their spiritual identity. Many of these brief, inspiring memoirs exhibit the spirit of interspirituality that is growing in the world today, showing readers how to build the foundatin for a religiona nd spirituality that can serve to unite, rather than divide, humanity. Published to coincide with the Parliament of the World's Religions in Barcelona, Spain, Summer '04. Wayne Teasdale is a lay monk and the author of The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions and Bede Griffiths: An Introduction to His Interspiritual Thought. Teasdale is an adjunct professor at DePaul University, Columbia College, and the Catholic Theological Union in Chicago. Martha Howard, MD, is a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine, which she has practiced since 1982. She is medical director of Wellness Associates of Chicago, and author of the Power of Suggestion CD series. A practicing Buddhist, she is a producing partner of a documentary film in development, Journey to Peace. Joan Borysenko, PhD, is a respected scientist, gifted therapist, and unabashed mystic. Trained at Harvard Medical School, she was an instructor in medicine until 1988. Currently the president of Mind/Body Health Sciences, Inc., she is an internationally known speaker and consultant in women's health and spirituality, integrative medicine, and the mind/body connection. She is the author of nine books, including the New York Times bestsellers Minding the Body, Mending the Mind; A Woman's Book of Life; 7 Paths to God; The Power of the Mind to Heal; and Inner Peace for Busy People.