What Is Spiritual Freedom

You can make your heaven here and now. The more you understand this, the greater your spiritual freedom. Imagine you're locked in a tiny, dark room. Feeling sad and alone, you lie down on the floor. Then you have a dream. In the dream you're visiting with a friendly stranger. His face is pleasant, familiar. He explains you've made this room of problems for yourself. You shut and locked the door when you started pushing against these problems. However, he says you can get to the spiritual root of your problems. The door can be unlocked and opened from the inside--if you know the secret. When you awaken, you see he is right. You unlock the door, pull it toward you, and step out. You feel the warmth of the sun, see the deep blue sky, and hear wonderful sounds. This is spiritual freedom! And that is what this book offers. In What Is Spiritual Freedom? Sri Harold Klemp, also the dream teacher, uses stories, special techniques, and unique insights to help you find true spiritual freedom.

Winner of the René Wellek Prize Named a Best Book of the Year by The Guardian, The Millions, and The Sydney Morning Herald This Life offers a profoundly inspiring basis for transforming our lives, demonstrating that our commitment to freedom and democracy should lead us beyond both religion and capitalism. Philosopher Martin Hägglund argues that we need to cultivate not a religious faith in eternity but a secular faith devoted to our finite life together. He shows that all spiritual questions of freedom are inseparable from economic and material conditions: what matters is how we treat one another in this life and what we do with our time. Engaging with great philosophers from Aristotle to Hegel and Marx, literary writers from Dante to Proust and Knausgaard, political economists from Mill to Keynes and Hayek, and religious thinkers from Augustine to Kierkegaard and Martin Luther King, Jr., Hägglund points the way to an emancipated life.

Foreword by Cardinal Christoph Schönborn, O.P. "Be men and women of freedom! But remember: Human freedom is a freedom wounded by sin. It is a freedom which itself needs to be set free. Christ is its liberator." —John Paul II, from the Introduction No matter where you are on your journey of faith, God wants you to be freer. "There is always more freedom, more grace, more forgiveness, more mercy, more God," Father Dave Pivonka says. But can you be freer than you already are? Maybe you're in a position to do whatever you want, whenever you want, the common definition of freedom. Maybe you've tried to free yourself from bad habits, had no luck and decided to accept the status quo. Maybe you want greater freedom but can't quite get there. Maybe you feel like God has given up on you and freedom is the least of your concerns. Spiritual Freedom not only defines the true nature of freedom, it also gives you the practical tools you need to achieve the conversion, healing and restoration that God has for you. Through Scripture, teaching, stories, humor and questions for reflection, Father Pivonka will inspire you to embrace the truth of who you really are, a son or daughter of a God who made you in freedom, for freedom.

Steps to Knowledge: The Book of Inner Knowing Steps to Knowledge is the Book of Inner Knowing. Its one-year study plan, which is divided into 365 “steps,” or lessons, is designed to enable students to learn to experience and to apply their Self-Knowledge, or Spiritual Power, in the world. Steps to Knowledge sets out to accomplish this task in a step-by-step manner as students are introduced to the essential ideas and practices which make such an undertaking possible. Practicing every day provides a solid foundation of experience and develops the thinking, perception and self-motivation necessary for both worldly success and spiritual advancement. Steps to Knowledge describes Knowledge in the following way: “Knowledge represents your True Self, your True Mind and your True Relationships in the universe. It also possesses your greater calling in the world and a perfect utilization of your nature, all of your inherent abilities and skills, even your limitations, all to be given for good in the world.” (Step 2) Knowledge is the deeper spiritual mind that the Creator has given to each person. It is the source of all meaningful action, contribution and relationships. It is our natural Inner Guidance system. Its reality is mysterious, but its Presence can be directly experienced. Knowledge is remarkably wise and effective in guiding each person in finding his or her right relationships, work and contribution. It is equally effective in preparing one to recognize the many pitfalls and deceptions that exist along the way. It is the basis for seeing, knowing, and acting with certainty and strength. It is the foundation of life. Steps to Knowledge has been provided as a Way for individuals who feel that a spiritual calling and purpose are emerging in their lives, but who need a new approach to fully comprehend what this means. Often these individuals have felt this pull for a long time. Steps provides a foundation upon which they can begin to respond to this calling. The only entrance requirement is the determination to know one’s purpose, meaning and direction.

Liberalism is often castigated for being spiritually empty and unable to provide meaning for individuals. Is it true that there simply is no spiritual side to liberalism? In Recovering the Liberal Spirit, Steven F. Pittz develops a novel conception of spiritual freedom. Drawing from Nietzsche and his figure of the "free spirit," as well as from thinkers as varied as Mill, Emerson, Goethe, Hesse, C. S. Lewis, and Tocqueville, Pittz examines a tradition of individual freedom best described as spiritual. Spiritual freedom is an often overlooked category of liberal freedom, and it provides a path to meaning without a return to communal or traditional life. While carefully considering Progressive and Communitarian counterarguments Pittz argues for both the possibility and the desirability of a free-spirited life. Citizens who are "free spirits" deliver great benefits to liberal democracies, primarily by combatting dogmatism and fanaticism and the putative authority of public opinion.

Stop hitting the spiritual snooze button. Would you describe your walk with God as fresh and exciting? Would you describe your spiritual life as vibrant and passionate? If not, would you like these attributes to be the norm in your everyday relationship with God? Are you ready to experience an awakening? Awakening helps you stir up your slumbering soul. You’ll discover how to break out of your season of dryness or get off to a great start either in the New Year or the next season in life. Take your faith-walk from a “going through the motions” or “have to” mindset to the stimulating, fresh “want to” experience of enjoying God’s presence—24/7. Weems encourages you to surrender fully, to discover the right kind of fuel for the journey, and to learn a new way to pray and fast. This lifestyle is not based on rules or religion, but on a deep, satisfying, motivating relationship with God. Included in Awakening is a 21-Day Plan that will guide you through the principles that ensure a lasting, fresh relationship with God—even in a world where everything quickly becomes stale. “It’s time to wake up and put an end to spiritual sluggishness! I promise this year will be the best of your life if it is your best year spiritually.” – Stovall Weems

The author's work is as compelling as it is insightful and practical, providing balanced perspectives to the less traveled road--faith-based health care which places the afflicter under the afflicted's feet. (Practical Life)