Taking Flight: A Book of Story Meditations

by Anthony de Mello

Book Overview

Vysa the great author of the Mahabharata says that if you listen to a story you will never be the same again. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0385413718
• Release Date: July 1990
• Publisher: The Crown Publishing Group
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.44 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.4" x 5.4"

Customer Reviews

Well Done! Enjoy the CD Program of De Mello Live

Wondrous Stories to make one expand in their own Life. And his efforts are self-evident, so let me talk about the Live CD program "Wake Up to Life." This is the only full-length Conference de Mello ever allowed to be recorded. It is full of Stories and with a Live Audience. It is very Special, profound and possibly Life-Changing!!!

Food For Thought

Good meditation starter and companion. Much food for thought. A lot like his "Song of the Bird".

Books Can Speak

Following Anthony de Mello's book titled Awareness, I rank this as number two for him. The work being great for those living a life of reflection and contemplation. Before I ever practiced Zen Buddhism, and while I was not Christian either, Anthony de Mello's works were my spirituality. And my were those ever enjoyable and fascinating times. New worlds opened up to my sluggish eyes. De Mello gave me hope, made it appear, "Why yes. Life does have potential you silly ***." This book's in essence a compilation of short to moderately long sections borrowed from various religious traditions and/or philosophical traditions. Following some of these allegories de Mello may add a concise commentary on the piece, at other moments he leaves it up to the reader to truly decipher what had been said. You are going to love Anthony de Mello. So treat yourself to a great book. Go ahead. Do it. Buy this book.

The Best of de Mello?s Story Collections

Of all the collections of meditation and wisdom stories that de Mello has put together I think that this one is the best (followed closely by Song of the Bird, which is equal in quality but has fewer stories). This book contains over 250 stories arranged by topic: Prayer, Awareness, Religion, Grace, The Saints, The Self, Love and Truth. These are real stories not just the didactic aphorisms and sayings (beginning with "The Master said") that are more typical of de Mello's One Minute Wisdom, One Minute Nonsense and More One Minute Nonsense. And the stories are more to some spiritual point, in my judgment, while the companion book, The Heart of the Enlightened, tends to have many that are merely humorous. So while he has a lot of good sayings and stories, were you to pick just one of those books, for my tastes it would be this one.

Stories that changes your outlook

Original Indian title: "Prayer of the Frog, Volume I" ("Heart of the Enlightened" is volume II)I'll keep this short. "Taking Flight" and "Heart of the Enlightened" are the best books I've ever read.