Spirit Matters

by Michael Lerner

Stock options and high earnings are no replacement for a sense of meaning and purpose for one's life. Living in a society whose "bottom line" is "looking out for number one" has undermined friendships, made relationships difficult, produced alienation and loneliness-and has been used to justify corporate social irresponsibility and environmental destructiveness. Selfishness and materialism permeate our relationships in work and in personal life, while we are taught to keep our spiritual life and our moral vision away from the public sphere. Spirit Matters shows how deeply we've been hurt personally, emotionally, ecologically, and politically by living in a world that systematically represses our spiritual needs-and how we might create a personal life and society that embodies what Michael Lerner describes as an Emancipatory Spirituality. It is a spirituality that affirms that there is enough, that generosity, atonement, joy, and celebration of the grandeur of the universe can be basic building blocks in constructing our own lives together. Spirit Matters demonstrates that the time is now to stop compromising with a world whose fundamentals are so far from our own highest values and begin to create the world we privately tell ourselves we really believe in. Don't be misled by the easy and accessible style of Lerner's Spirit Matters is a profound new contribution to social theory and spiritual practice, and a new framework for thinking about childhood, loving relationships, the world of work, politics, law, education, and ecology. It is on the cutting edge of contemporary thought and yet speaks to the heart and soul. Spirit Matters speaks both to people who have tended to think that "spirit" is an empty category for religious zealots or a reactionary tool of repression, as well as to those who take spirituality seriously in their personal lives but who have yet realized that their spiritual practice could be the basis for a fundamental transformation of the world.

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published May 31, 2000

About the author

Michael Lerner was an American political activist, the editor of Tikkun, a progressive Jewish interfaith magazine based in Berkeley, California, and the rabbi of Beyt Tikkun Synagogue in Berkeley.

Reviews

[Dave · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is incredible.
It covers the spirit based impact that is missing from our relationship to politics,social justice and bringing people in a world of selflessness rather than being selfish or self absorbed.

[Javier Martinez · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tiene fragmentos muy buenos, escondidos entre sueños utopicos e irrealizables que rayan en la esquizofrenia

[David C. Mueller · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is by a rabbi who has written extensively about politics, meaning and spirituality. He explains how our modern globalizing society deadens our spirits and generates cynicism and feelings of powerlessness. The book shows how we can counteract these trends by becoming more aware of how much true spirituality matters. The author describes his vision of social change driven by what he terms "emancipatory spirituality," which shares many features with Baha'i perspectives on a number of issues. "Emancipatory spirituality" stresses the need for people of all types of beliefs to work together to help make our world a better place. The author gives concrete examples of how the practice of "emancipatory spirituality" can profoundly effect areas of common concern such as education, healthcare and the practice of law.

[Blaine Morrow · Rating 2 out of 5]

Lerner bites off much more than he can chew, though he seems unaware of the fact. Of course spiritual awakening engenders social conscience, but the changes the author predicts to medicine, law, and education are neither realistic nor entirely desirable.

[Carol · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good concepts, but they are buried in repetitive descriptions of a utopian society