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Falling Upward: A Spirituality For The Two Halves Of Life

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You can immediately see that the object's distance traveled is proportional to the fall time squared. It means that with each second, the falling body travels a substantially larger distance than before.

I understand why this book is popular. It feels comfortable and inclusive. And on its surface, it seems to get to the heart of why many are leaving religion today. And if one is just reading this to provide some ideas of how they can be more inclusive or kinder then great. But I believe many will adopt this book as what religion should be. It strips religion and spirituality of covenants and godly power and commitment. It offers nothing that any non-believer couldn’t gain from just being a nice non-judgmental person. This book offers Jesus without the atonement and the cross. And, ultimately that minimizes Jesus. A Short second reading review: I still think that this is an overall helpful book. But I was more irritated by the platitudes this read. There are wisdom all over this book. The overall theme is a good and important one. But because you sound esoteric, does not mean you are wise. There are lots of instances where I just wish he would speak clearly without so many 'wise' quotes. Some of those quotes really are helpful. There are several key places where I believe Rohr is articulating a spirituality grounded more in a "new age" spirituality than in Christian orthodoxy, despite is warm avowals of how for him Christ is the center. For one thing, he articulates a new age account of the fall of Adam and Eve as a "necessary fall" for their development of consciousness. I would agree with the formative nature of failure, transgression, and suffering that comes to the foot of the cross and finds grace. That is different from a theology that says the fall was necessary for the evolution of our consciousness. One involves restoration of what was lost through the cross. The other seems to involve evolutionary progress where a cross is superfluous. Church practice has been more influenced by Plato than by Jesus. We invariably prefer the universal synthesis, the answer that settles all the dust and resolves every question even when it is not entirely true over the mercy and grace of God.” All great spirituality teaches about letting go of what you don’t need and who you are not. Then, when you can get little enough and naked enough and poor enough, you’ll find that the little place where you really are is ironically more than enough and is all that you need. At that place, you will have nothing to prove to anybody and nothing to protect.Campbell calls this myth “the hero’s journey.” And, as you may have guessed, it’s analogous to our own transition from the first half to the second half of life.

The fears that assault us are mostly simple anxieties about social skills, about intimacy, about likeableness, or about performance. We need not give emotional food or charge to these fears or become attached to them. We don’t even have to shame ourselves for having these fears. Simply ask your fears, “What are you trying to teach me?” Some say that FEAR is merely an acronym for “False Evidence Appearing Real.” Finally, Rohr seems to propose that our development is really through a transformation of consciousness through the "falling upward" experience, perhaps aided by the Spirit of God, rather true spiritual rebirth. There is language of "union with ourselves and everything else" that seems more the language of pantheistic monism than of being "at-one" with God in Christ. In fact, it seems at times that Rohr is among those who say that all religions are really saying the same thing and that those who say otherwise are guilty of "either-or" thinking. I would contend that the difference between a "both-and" view that wipes out distinctives and the Christian faith is that the Christian faith is a faith of reconciliation--a third way between "either" and "or" that doesn't wipe out distinctions but reconciles them in Christ.There’s a book called The Second Mountain, another book on purpose that we don’t cover in this round up. But it’s worth pointing out one feature of that book, what gives it its name. That book was heavily inspired by this one, Falling Upward by Richard Rohr. And in this summary and collection of key takeaways, will uncover why. Let’s state it clearly: One great idea of the biblical revelation is that God is manifest in the ordinary, in the actual, in the daily, in the now, in the concrete incarnations of life, and not through purity codes and moral achievement contests, which are seldom achieved anyway.”

In life, we have at least two major tasks to complete. In the first half of life, we discover the script for our life. In the second, we write and own that script. Rohr has helped me realize that much of the impatience and frustration I have been feeling with certain trends in my profession (I am a teacher at a Catholic high school) may derive from the fact that my own path has moved beyond the institutional structures that inform and often dictate what I can accomplish. Although such structures may be of value for the integrity of the institutions themselves, and for younger teachers who are establishing their identities within it, they are of little use to those who are in the second half of life (and even less so, I suspect, for those in the last quarter of their lives, like me). Falling upward means, quite simply, casting off the excitement and cravings of youth, as Paul of Tarsus enjoins all those who are commencing the New Life. With that removal of extra gravity pull, we commence our "fall" (relaxing of our cares and attachments), "upwards" - into the Grace which is specific to the Second Phase of Life. Franciscan priest Rohr is a big–picture kind of thinker when it comes to characterizing the human journey. This small, provocative book will make a particularly good gift for a thoughtful, spiritually open man. - Publishers WeeklyThat's not to say there are any easy answers. The greatest sins we can commit are ones of superficiality and blindness. Nothing about life is certain and we have to endure the mysteries of doubt and finally death. That includes a realization of the pain of others, without which we cannot live very humanely. Rohr tries to use exceptions to make the rule, in the case of “salvation.” He says that because there are mentally ill people, we can’t believe “any of our theories about the necessity of some kind of correct thinking as the definition of ‘salvation.’” Rohr and Morrell have given us a liberating and yet totally orthodox invitation into the life of God. This book is a celebration of the Trinity, not as bad math (1+1+1=3), and not as baffling mystery to avoid, but as the divine movement of love. The Divine Dance is an example of why Rohr has had such a profound influence on so many Christians seeking to balance reason and mystery, action and contemplation, not to mention faith and real life. - Nadia Bolz-Weber, Pastor, House for All Sinners and Saints, Author, Accidental Saints: Finding God in All the Wrong People We live in a “first-half-of-life culture.” It’s nothing new. It’s been this way throughout history. Our main purpose has always been to survive, so we concentrate on building our identities: establishing a home, a relationship, friendships, and a community.

Understanding the spiritual aspects of aging is as important as appreciating the systems and biological processes that age us. Richard Rohr has given us a perfect guide to what he calls the "further journey," a voyage into the mystery and beauty of healthy spiritual maturity. - Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of the 'Dr. Oz Show' Or think of it this way. During the first half, you’re building the “container” for your life: your identity. The second half is all about “filling” that container – giving your life purpose.He slams orthodoxy and fundamentalism constantly and essentially rules it out as a path for growth and “enlightenment.” He views historical Christian views (and historical, orthodox views of other religions for that matter) as an obstacle rather than a path. When you get your,’Who am I?’, question right, all of your,’What should I do?’ questions tend to take care of themselves” I woke up an hour ago from a sound sleep remembering my friend Mohammed who is from Cairo. His father retired several years ago. Mohammed told me that in this “second” half of life, male Muslims become contemplative and studious. The burdens of living are lifted somewhat and they can pursue the Koran and the meanings of life and death. Sure enough, the old gentleman began to spend more time outside of the city in his birth village where he also owned all the land. He read, he talked, he saw a different side of himself. The book is not simplistic. It is I who am cramming the whole thesis into a nutshell for the sake of time and tide – which always changing, wait for no man. I'm a little skeptical of approaches to spirituality that seem to overemphasize finding God within oneself. There's some truth to it, I think. We are made in God's Image and can grow to be more Christlike though the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Greater self understanding is essential to understanding our relationship to God. But it can also lead to self-justification, even at the expense of others in the relative judgements we then make about them. We can end up trusting too much in our own inclinations as a basis for our understanding of God.

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