I have re-read it several time in the last dozen years, and I continue to say hello to parts of it.
I bought a case of them and shared them all, and keep buying more to share.
From my perspective, Marion doesn't help much with the HOW of spiritual deepening (although he takes a shot at it)
- I have very effective tools for that, so that doesn't matter to me.
But, while many Christians seem to be sitting around waiting for the heaven train,
Marion inspires us with the Big Fat 'why bother' to do our spiritual work, spiritual deepening, discipleship...
He encourages us to engage our Unique Process of Soul Maturity, Teleios
Realizing who we are in God, into our body, life, world...
Marion encourages us with the purpose of all of our spiritual evolvement (and in the case of this work: true Christian Spirituality):
to experience (as Jesus did) non-dual consciousness (Oneness),
in Jesus language: “the Father and I are One”.
Although I personally disagree with some details of Marion’s book,
I am Thrilled to see the idea of this evolvement being encouraged within Christianity.
And I am encouraged in my own spiritual ‘progress’ as well as my 'challenges',
by Marion's sharing about many fellow travelers ahead of us on the path.
Marion is writing from a Christian perspective,
overlaid on the work of Ken Wilber – who outlines the developmental stages we go through psycho-spiritually regardless of religious or spiritual background.
Although I am grateful to Wilber for his breakthrough work,
I personally prefer the flavor of Marion's presentation of this wisdom.
in Life! Wendy
Info from Spirituality and Practice: Book Review
Info from Amazon:
Customer Reviews
Editorial Reviews Below:
Ken Wilber, from the Foreward
"A pioneering book, a truly inspired revelation, and a gentle guide to the deepest terrain of our own souls."
Bo Lozoff, author of
"It is encouraging to see a book that reminds us that true spiritual development is neither easy, safe, nor comfortable."
NAPRA ReView
"an adventurous study of Christianity which opens the mind and searches the soul."
SMV News - Feb. 2001
An important book, which will both challenge and inspire those already actively engaged in the process of 'putting on the mind of Christ'.
Science and Medical Network, Network No.74, December 2000
an illuminating book that brings the Christian mystical right into the present.
From the Publisher
At a time when many are turning away from organized religion and dogmatic Christianity for their own uncharted "life in the wilderness," Jim Marion shows how standard Christian terms and concepts illuminate a genuine path of inner development, one that requires a fair degree of effort.
He says if you expect to get to "Heaven," there are no priestly chauffeurs who will deliver you unwrinkled to the pearly gates. You'll only "get there" on your own volition, and in order for it to mean anything, you need to do it while you're here, alive, on Earth, wondering what life is all about.
You don't have to be Christian either. Marion draws on various spiritual and metaphysical traditions--Buddhism, the Yaqui teachings described by Carlos Castaneda, Native American shamanism--and the insights of several mystical mavericks to make his case. You'll get to "Heaven" in stages, as you unfold your inner process, and he sets out the typical experiences and travails you're likely to encounter. He charts a develpmental model for inner spiritual unfolding, and uses well-chosen excerpts from scripture and other sources to make his points. This is Christianity the way Christ meant it to be done.
This is not a book about theory, or one man's speculation about how you might get there. Jim has done the hard work: the meditating, the inner scourging, the questioning, the despairing, the life of the committed monk--he has done his tunnel work, burrowing through the great mountain of the Self to the other well-lit side where you can rightfully put on the mind of Christ.
From the Inside Flap
What does it mean to follow the path of Christ today? For Jim Marion, former Catholic monk, mystic, and attorney, if you want to join the Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven, you must do so while living as a human on the Earth. It's not something that automatically happens to Christians after death, nor can the Church do it for you. Indeed, says Marion, inner spiritual growth has always been the true essence of Christian practice.
"Putting on the Mind of Christ" is the ardent expression of a modern mystic reporting his spiritual experiences within a "Christ-focused" framework. Neither evangelist nor theorist, Marion is a Christian practitioner--he's simply done what the scriptures advise. For Christians who are disaffected with contemporary Christianity there is another way--Marion calls it the "old original way"--to experience the true spirituality of Christianity.
Drawing upon his own rich mystical experience and deep understanding of scriptural models, Marion shows the reader how to emulate the developmental stages of the Christ--how to put on the mind of Christ to achieve spiritual illumination and communion with the Christ. Provocative and pioneering, transcendent and grounded, "Putting on the Mind of Christ" may permanently alter the landscape of 21st century Christianity.
About the Author
I have written Putting on the Mind of Christ to share with you, the reader, some of the things I've learned in my many years of following the Christian spiritual path. I also wanted to provide you with a modern map of the way to what Jesus called the "Kingdom of Heaven." The map I have drawn is based on the writings of Christian saints and mystics, on the work of modern psychologists and psychiatrists, on the work of "consciousness studies" pioneers like Ken Wilber, on my own mystical experience, and on the New Testament and the words of Jesus himself.
„Putting on the Mind of Christ‰ is the first book to clearly describe the entire Christian spiritual path. Step by step, from the consciousness of infants, children, and adolescents, „Putting on the Mind of Christ‰ will lead you to the highest level of human spiritual and psychological inner development--the consciousness (or awareness) that Jesus called the "Kingdom of Heaven." In the Kingdom of Heaven there is no separation between us and God nor are we separated from each other. Jesus' public ministry and his Death and Resurrection were designed to show us the way to this inner Kingdom; and that way is for us to develop our own consciousness, step by step, into that awareness.
I hope you will enjoy reading the book, and that you will learn as much in reading it as I learned in writing it for you.
Book Description
A former Catholic monk and modern mystic asserts that the path of Christian spirituality is difficult, and that individuals, not the Church, must do the work of preparing themselves for the Kingdom of Heaven. Marion believes the "Kingdom of Heaven" is actually a state of mind that any practicing Christian--those doing the hard inner work of spirituality--may attain. Marion uses his extensive knowledge of scripture to document his assertion that "putting on the mind of Christ," or achieving the same degree of spiritual illumination as the Christ, is the original and true goal of Christianity.
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