Religion Rebel’s Healing Handbook

Sisters, Cousins, Brothers 

     The focus of  is care, concern and healing for the heart of the rebel, and for a world suffering the burden of spiritual lack, disunity and strife. Among its ultimate gifts are reunion and unity for ourselves and our world, succor for our woes, and, for those who wish it, a greater closeness with Spirit.

         The place of comfort is one of union; but the place of rebellion brings little peace. By definition, it “sets us against” something or someone. Anger, betrayal, and grief are in its unfolding; Sisters, Cousins, Brothers  gives them voice, unraveling their truth, bringing solace, awareness and logical answers. Rebelliousness may remain, and surely independence of spirit, but in a more flowing and forgiving heart.   

      Our world needs the thoughtful scrutiny of the rebellious, but it is home to the religionist as well. The estrangement between them is disconcerting and contradicts unity.  When any view becomes entrenched, it negates investigation and change.  To share a common ground of healing and re-connection for those of differing beliefs, of faith or no faith, is at the heart of this work, reflecting a refreshing glimpse into today’s challenges and future possibilities gleaned from spiritual sources.

       Saying “no” to rigid thinking, religiosity and divisiveness, Spirit’s rebel sees the unity of  a ‘Greater Reality’ and the faiths as intended reflecltions of that One Light, however distorted by time and men.  Sisters, Cousins, Brothers  aka a Religion Rebels Healing Handbook  reinforces a transcendent view of faith, religion, and the search of the heart, opening dialogue and bringing forth concerns in the life of our planet. It shares solutions for hope and the spiritualization of humanity, whose oneness is seen as a foremost, necessary principle for the continuance of our kind. 

       The uniqueness of this investigation stems , in part, from its sources. Though little is made of it, many of its understandings and logically derived elements were born in the little known, highly progressive writings of the Baha’i Faith, one of the world’s newest independent and fastest-growing religions. Validating and vitalizing these pages, these teachings hold the key to the root of religion’s waywardness and evolution from “old guard” faiths to new and healing pathways. For the purposes of this book, the author admits a natural reticence to draw from any faith whatsoever, yet their undeniable source, compelling logic and sustenance has prompted inclusion of selected quotations of the Baha’i scriptures, which intermingle with those of other pathways, bringing new awakenings and eye– popping sensibility to long– standing concerns of confusion.  

     “All revelation, religious or secular,” the author asserts, “is the property and rightful domain of all who wish to partake, both declared follower and rebel alike.” A generous, kindly tongue, sensitively wielded, beautifies and invites us to Sprit’s union; excerpts chosen for the rebel’s heart enable the transformational power of  a Greater Heart to bloom more sweetly from this life-giving soil.

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Authors notes… Regarding Baha’i inspiration:

     An outstanding source of spiritual and practical understanding, dubbed “the spirit of the age”, the Baha’i view supports modern principles for the healing of  humanity, holding its oneness as a foremost principle for the continuance of our kind, charging those who choose a faith to cleave to one which is harmonious with all religions. The “fundamental purpose is unity and the establishment of Peace”; the Faith upholds independent investigation of truth and an absolute prohibition against violence. The clarity and transcendence of the quoted “writings of Spirit” lend credence, grace and refreshment to the themes of this work.

  Musings, quotes, and inspiration flowing from the world's religions on the use of logic, the  heart, and tools of spirit in matters of import for our lives and times.     

Heart's Awaken ! A TruthSeeker's Sourcebook  

  Musings, quotes, and inspiration flowing from the world's religions on the use of logic, the  heart, and tools of spirit in matters of import for our lives and times.     
380 pgs

       It is in the nature of the soul to search for meaning. Whether we do this consciously or below the level of our own awareness, the answers we come to profoundly guide our personal movement and the course of the entire planet. Tools for the seeker of spirit in this vital endeavor is the inspiration for this work.

      Heart's Awaken ! A TruthSeeker's Sourcebook underlines the value and life– giving power of individual search for truth and personal spiritual development.  Shedding clear, purposeful light on vital concerns of the heart helps the reader make cleaner, reasoned choices in what really matters. It offers readings from many paths, the scriptures of the faiths, to brighten and illuminate its pages.  Logic, sensibility and inner wisdom help to further distil the needs of Spirit to a simplicity that speaks directly to the soul. 

     Spirit’s eternal teachings have provided guidance and encouragement for seekers of the ages. Yet many today find religion unapproachable; its loss has opened a void yet to be filled. This issue is among the themes brought forward. Contemporary, little– understood developments are illustrated as pointing out new directions for humanity that can amend the harms of the past. The sources and readings are sensitively chosen to call forth the utmost receptivity from the reticent sophistication of the modern mind.  A TruthSeeker's Sourcebook  creates a delightful home for lives that have lost the creative magic found in the original teachings of the great faiths of the world.

     Truth is revealed to us only when we manifest necessary conditions of head and heart. Factors involving self- esteem, the cunning of ego, the meaning of humility, semantics, and the many issues of scripture can block us in our search.  Supported by the timeless, transformational, poetic words of the Holy Beings, the Sourcebook brings the lens of logic to the concerns of a truth-seeker in simple understandings that clear a path of healing. Reflections on prayer, introspection, meditation, the virtues of our "noble creation", and readings of the spiritual Masters remind us of their needful, healing place. Closing passages describe of  the human reality and that of the Godhead and the Higher Beings in the words of Divine revelation.  The readings of the TruthSeeker's Sourcebook resoundingly reflect and inspire hope and belief in the oneness of humanity and every faith of God. Humanity's spiritual roots and the soul-stirring awakenings of our time springboard its purpose.  Heart’s Awaken! A TruthSeeker's Sourcebook invites us on a journey and feeds and sustains us for its lifelong continuation. The answers we find, in the end, rest within the seeker’s heart.  

Longer version below is edited to fit with shorter version w/o redundancy  for Book proposal/ summary 

  Heart’s Awaken ! A TruthSeeker’s Sourcebook  

        Birds, animals, and other beings of the earth live simply, but the soul of man would yearn for something more.  From the beginning of time we have sought for the meaning of life.  The answer we find is revealed differently for each one of us; our contentment and happiness depend upon it, and this vital search is what fuels this work.

     The religions of the world offer spiritual guidance to direct and feed us in this journey; unfortunately many have found these unapproachable. Fraught with seeming contradictions and competing pathways, rife with authorities claiming exclusive knowledge, the trappings of religiosity have rebuffed many a modern mind.  Among the issues addressed in “Roots” (Part III) are : “Is religion sustainable? What does it have to offer our time?”  The author holds, with support of scripture, that religious competition has caused great harm., and that truly the faiths  are one. “Can they”  she asks, “be united in a common purpose for the good of all humanity?” 

      “Foundations” for ourselves and our world, warms the reader up to the importance of individual search for truth and personal spiritual development, and offers some beginnings in that endeavor.

             The truth--seeker’s “Toolbox for Investigation” considers conditions of head and heart in spiritual search. Self esteem and ego enter the mix, and words may either assist or become a stumbling block of epic proportions.  Simple logic here illuminates issues of semantics and scripture. Through this lens, even the most skeptical finds the scriptures lose their daunting face, as resistance and obscuring veils drop away.  “Thee”, “Thou”, &  O those “Wordy-Words’’ explains the reasons behind what puts us off, helping to heal the gap between religious and secular understanding.   More on these topics emerge in a later section dubbed “Messiah’s Toolkit: Prepared— To Meet your Maker ?”, as a “journey of the improbable, imagination, and creative opening”, investigates great events in spiritual history and how we might approach the idea of Messianic might and power.

      Life began before us and continues long after our passing: what seeker’s journey would be complete without homage to that bigger picture?  Part Five, “For Our World” considers the current planetary “S.O.S.” and contemplates some spiritually based solutions for peace and healthy worldwide co-operation. The realization of humanity’s oneness is a hopeful harbinger.  A spiritualization of the planet could set a new direction for all human life;  our own spiritual search could give us clues and there may yet be more answers than we know.  Unity is named as a foremost concern; the faiths may play a part in this but they would have to unite themselves to have any significant impact.

       “Spirit’s Toolbox” highlights finding a Higher Power and deepening the spiritual connection. The human soul, a “noble creation”, holds latent virtues that attest to its potential and give us a hand– hold in its development. Brief selections on various practices elucidate their uses and importance along with the readings of the spiritual Masters as a power beyond the self.  When the seeker is ready, meatier portions of stock are added to the mix in the final section, “From Human to Divine: Through Scriptures’ Eyes”, drawing solely on the words of  Divine revelation in describing the human reality and that of the Godhead and the Higher Beings. Here, the reader’s heart opens to the poetry and purity of the holy writings to enable powerful transformation. 

     Heart’s Awaken ! A TruthSeeker’s Sourcebook brings head and heart together in a sweet concerto for the soul. The author’s rationale and process provide a sound, sensible and sensitive backdrop to carefully selected readings of the faiths, revealed in oneness and beauty, offering, as the gods would have it, an inspiring, uplifting, delectable spiritual food.  

     Heart’s Awaken ! A TruthSeeker’s Sourcebook is a must– have read for the library of every wonderer and wanderer, a book to be read, re– read, and referred to again and again.

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