Morning Read

I started a new book for my morning read. I found it in the lending library at the House of Prayer, an amazing place on the campus of St. John’s University in Collegeville, MN.  The book is about Meister Eckhart, a German Mystic/Theologian from the Middle Ages.  One of my blog readers said that she has checked out some of the books I have mentioned on my blog. I am holding out on any recommendations of this book. It is kind of heavy-duty scholarly but not quite as difficult as some I have read. So far I have only read the introduction.

In the years that I have been doing spiritual reading in the morning, I have rarely abandoned a book. I have read books that sent me to the dictionary every time I turned a page. I have read books with words not even in the dictionary. I have read some with ideas about spirituality that I found pretty off the wall. Some were too elementary for where I believed I was at, others way beyond me. Some I have questioned the sanity of the author; others seemed to challenge my own. Some matched my experience so closely that I wondered if the author somehow knew me. There are books I read and thought I understood, then returned to later and found I hadn’t understood a darned thing at first visit. And, as I mentioned, there were a few I abandoned because of bad timing or because they somehow contradicted where I wanted to go in my life.

I prefer uplifting books, rather than those that focus on the dark side of life. I believe that the first place to change the world is in that little tiny space that is me dwelling here. Therefore, most of the books I choose start there. I also prefer hope over despair, so I like to be offered ways to make a difference in the world.

We will see what Meister Eckhart has to offer. I will keep you posted.