Spiritual Delights and Delusions: How to Bridge the Gap Between Spiritual Fulfillment and Emotional Realities

by Steve Posner

Book Overview

While spiritual delusions lure us into thinking that enlightenment brings the elimination of all suffering, spiritual realism helps us love the world as it is. Steve Posner links his personal experiences with spiritual wisdom from all over the world in order to reveal a reliable path toward a more realistic spirituality. Charting a course that can be followed by anyone of any faith-or even of no particular faith-- this book is a guide for imperfect...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0471698253
• ISBN13: 9780471698258
• Release Date: February 2008
• Publisher: Trade Paper Press
• Length: 272 Pages
• Weight: 0.98 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.3" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

--Reviewed by Sonia Linebaugh, author of 'At the Feet of Mother Meera: The Lessons of Silence'

I can't tell you how much I appreciate the wedding of spirituality and unblinkered, real-world consideration expressed in 'Spiritual Delights and Delusions.' It's given me hope that these two frequently disparate realms are going to continue to converge, and for this sense alone I'm made glad.

-- Reviewed by Denise Linn. author of 'The Soul Loves the Truth' and 'The Glory and Pleasure of Bein

The personal stories in this book are compelling as we follow the author as he shares about growing up in the Bronx, being shaken down by thugs in Shanghai, maneuvering along a treacherous mountains in Burma, being confronted by terrorist supporters on the West Bank, meeting the guru Mother Meera and being hugged by Amma the hugging saint. Using examples from the terrifying to the sublime, Steve shares his belief in 'spiritual realism' which insists that we must never close our eyes to the horrors of the world, yet suggests that there is a way to find stillness amidst it all. At times, it was hard to read this book because Steve demands that the reader face the violent realities of the world and his vivid examples often staggered me. Yet, having trouble just reading about these atrocities, caused me to address the question that Steve puts forth so eloquently--if you can't face the atrocities of the world, how can you ever find spiritual quietude if those realties ever visit your world. It is a question worth pondering.

--Reviewed by Bob Waxman, author of 'Kabbalah Simply Stated'

Posner's book contains great spiritual and psychological truths that can be easily understood and practiced in daily life. This intriguing story of self-realization includes timeless, universal esoteric gems that hold the keys to the awakening of higher consciousness. Here is the 'Perennial Philosophy' taken to the next level.

-- Reviewed by Sheikh Abdul Hadi Palazzi, Secretary-General of the Italian Muslim Assembly

One directly feels that this book is written with the heart, as a living witness of a search for peace which depends on an inner disposition and not on a political project. It is really wonderful, helping the reader understand how deeply the urgent need for peace can be felt. Posner has given us a precious gift.

--Reviewed by Alex Raksin, winner of the 2002 Pulitzer Prize for Editorial Writing

With lucidity and genuine intimacy, `Spiritual Delights and Delusions' shows me how inner peace, far from dulling outer awareness, can help us respond more compassionately to injustice.