Meditations of the Heart

"Teach us to overcome our fear of life; and in that freedom may we learn to understand life and, in our understanding of life, to love." "I must ease the tension in my heart that ejects the sharp barb, the stinging word. I want to be more loving in my heart that, with unconscious awareness and deliberate intent, I shall be a kind, a gracious human being." "Life abounds in all variety of resources and resourcefulness. Every moment is a divine encounter, every facet is an exposure to the boundless energies by which life is sustained and our spirits made whole." Howard Thurman, the great spiritualist and mystic, was renowned for the quiet beauty of his reflections on humanity and our relationship to God. This collection of fifty-four of his most well-known meditations features his thoughts on prayer, community, and the joys and rituals of life. Within its pages are words that sustain, elevate, and inspire. From "A Man Becomes His Dream" to "I Need Courage" to "The Season of Remembrance,"Thurman addresses life's moments of trial and uncertainty and offers a message of hope and endurance for people of all faiths.

Howard Thurman (1900-1981) was the first black dean of Marsh Chapel at Boston University and cofounder of the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco, California, the first inter-racially copastored church in America

EDITORS: Walter Earl Fluker is professor of philosophy and religion and executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College in Atlanta, Georgia. Catherine Tumber is a Du Bois fellow at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.