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An Ocean of Light: Contemplation, Transformation, and Liberation, by Martin Laird
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Review
"Once again, Martin Laird has given us a book on the contemplative journey that is without verbiage, mystification, or sentimentality, both intensely challenging and enriching, and anchored in realism. His writing on this subject is simply in a different league of seriousness from most other books on 'spiritual' practice." -- Rowan Williams, Master, Magdalene College, University of Cambridge"In this his third volume on contemplative prayer, Martin Laird once again combines acute scholarly citations from the contemplative tradition with memorable narratives from his own direction. But this time he plumbs new depths of insight: the section on prayer and depression, in particular, is unique in its wisdom and insight. This is a new modern classic, and will stand the test of time. To be read and savoured again and again." -- Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge"A beautifully written, thoughtful and honest account of what it means to face oneself and our shared world in the silent depths of prayer. And so encouraging! A powerful reminder that the simple, daily, moment-to-moment practice of paying attention can heal and transform, can help bring us closer to God and to one another. The one thing necessary." -- Douglas E. Christie, author of The Blue Sapphire of the Mind"Martin Laird is a gracious host; he presents the rich fare of the Christian contemplative tradition in an authentic twenty-first-century vernacular, and in so doing invites the reader-who could resist such an invitation?-to enter into the banquet of silent and loving communion with the living God." -- Carol Zaleski, Professor of World Religions, Smith College
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About the Author
Martin Laird, O.S.A, is Professor of Early Christian Studies at Villanova University. Laird is the author of several books on Early Christian thought and Christian contemplative life, including Into the Silent Land and A Sunlit Absence. He lectures widely through the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
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Product details
Hardcover: 264 pages
Publisher: Oxford University Press (December 7, 2018)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0199379947
ISBN-13: 978-0199379941
Product Dimensions:
7.1 x 1.1 x 5.3 inches
Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
Average Customer Review:
5.0 out of 5 stars
5 customer reviews
Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
#24,294 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Martin Laird is my favorite writer on the art, practice, and literary soul of Christian contemplation. I pre-ordered this book months ago and am now working my way through. His books are to be read slowly, and I appreciate their engagement with not only the saints of old and new (of whose writing and lives he has an academic's knowledge), but with beautiful poetry and literature. His work is dense and wise. I still think back to stories from his first book on Contemplative practice, INTO THE SILENT LAND, as my understanding of his work deepens with my own daily centering prayer practice. I love this newest book -- it is as good as I had hoped it would be.
This is the type of book that must be read twice if not multiple times to fully grasp the depth and width of this wonderful topic. Let me share eight key points I found very enlightening.Intention“The more we give our lives over to the practice of contemplation, the more our thinking mind is trellised by silence, the more easily thinking mind remains still and focused on what it is good at, such as thinking, inventing, writing, creating new ways to hold and heal.â€â€œPractice gradually trains the attention and grounds us more solidly in our bodies, increasing our ability to be where our bodies are at any given moment.â€â€œThe present moment is our home.â€Silence teaches us how to live. Silence is a place we come from. Silence teaches us to be present. When we are present we do our best work: thinking, inventing, writing, creating new ways to hold and heal. Silence seems to show us the way forward!Awareness“Cultivating the skill of becoming aware of our thoughts allows for the possibility of choosing what we give our attention to.â€â€œBy learning to choose what we give our attention to we open ourselves up to the possibilities of experiencing a situation with less anxiety and with more compassion.â€â€œWe may think we are feeling our feelings but what we actually feel is the story we tell ourselves about our thoughts and feelings.â€We are not our thoughts. Yet, so many of us believe we are our thoughts and what they seem to tell us. When we cultivate the ability to observe our thoughts, we can choose which ones to believe and which ones to let go of.There are thoughts that merit our attention and there are ones that will hinder our growth, progress and movement forward. It becomes particularly important during life’s most stressful moments to choose what we give our attention to. We can became an important source of strength and calmness for those around us.Radiant Ground of Light“The practice of contemplation gradually declutters our minds, gradually revealing the brightly polished floor—the radiant core of all—that we did not realize was already there.â€â€œThe mind cleared of clutter allows the grounding radiance of unitive mind to manifest the fullness that is its essence, both in time and in eternity.â€â€œThe practice of contemplation proceeds by the gradual removal of layers of clutter so that the radiant ground of light now shines less lumbered and encumbered.â€â€œSimilarly the vast and radiant core of all being is already unspeakably vast and radiant despite the abundance of noise and clutter in our heads.â€During silent prayer we enter the vast and endless depths of God. Each time we return to the silence, we clear away more and more of the clutter. We begin to discover a new world that we did not know was there. Each time we enter the silence we explore more and more of the vastness and spaciousness of silence. It becomes a life long journey.Dig Your Well“Changing our practice often does not allow our practice to put down roots deeply into the soil of the present moment.â€â€œAs we have said, a contemplative practice is something like a plant. If we are frequently digging up and replanting the plant elsewhere, it will not put down roots.â€My mainstay is centering prayer. I practice twice per day, twenty minutes each time. I have done so since June of 2014. I have found my well. Now I will dig deep into my centering well. And see where it takes me.Reactive Mind….Receptive Mind….Luminous Mind“Reactive mind simply does not register this depth-dimension, which has always been present.â€â€œReceptive mind is characterized by a growing sense of inner spaciousness.â€â€œIt is important to emphasize that this luminous vastness, which begins to expand as our practice transitions from reactive mind to receptive mind, is not an extra quantity of vastness that has been added into the mix. Ever flowing, luminous vastness has always been shining like the sun.â€â€œIn luminous mind our practice is free of any strategy to acquire, possess, and control.â€I love how Laird eloquently describes the stages we seem to go through in our silent prayer: reactive mind, receptive mind, luminous mind. Though it is more likely that we move back and forth between these stages. Silent prayer is never a linear process. Laird nicely describes the experiences one might go through in each “mindâ€.The Mature Contemplative“The maturing contemplative is too poor to be concerned with spiritual progress.â€â€œThe fruit of practice is compassion, born of the fragrant wound of solidarity with all that is. It has nothing to do with outcomes assessments. We cannot behold if we are trying to assess.â€â€œAs we release into our practice, we also release our control over ourselves as contemplative projects to be realized. What, when, or if anything happens is entirely up to God.â€We are all beginners. Each time I sit I like to think of myself as a beginner. Contemplative prayer is the world in which anything can happen. I simply rest in the rest of God. I open to the presence and actions of God within. I let God pray in me.Depression“Depression can help us stay anchored in the present moment; for it limits us to coping with getting through the day one step at a time, one half-hour at a time—whatever it takes. This is actually the only dosage life comes in: one step at a time (one day at a time can sometimes seem over-ambitious).â€â€œInsofar as we are aware of depression, there is something within us that is free of depression; otherwise we could not be aware of it.â€I do not suffer from depression. From time to time like anyone else I experience times of sadness, worry or a sense of hopelessness. When I do, I try to remember that there is something within me that is free of these feelings. I can observe these thoughts and feelings. They are not who I am. They cannot hold me back from becoming the person God intends me to be: my true self.For those that suffer from long term depression, part three of this book is devoted to silence and depression. I highly recommend it. Laird magnificently navigates depression and the place in can take in silence.Self Knowledge“Fourth, self-knowledge becomes less a matter of knowing about ourselves than a falling away of self, a self unselfed of self, and therefore one with all in the intimate love of God, who has sought and found us from all eternity.â€It is in the silence that we let go of our self to discover a new self: one with all in the intimate love of God. This is who we are. We are a child of God who unconditionally loves us, yet patiently waits for us.I encourage you to check out An Ocean of Light. Read it once. Go back and read it a second time. I did. Come back to it when needed. I know I will!Rich LewisSilenceTeaches.com
An Ocean of Light is the very best book I have ever read on the subject of contemplative prayer. Fr. Martin’s explanation of reactive mind is explained perfectly. Receptive mind and luminous mind are described in a way that was new for me. I appreciate Fr. Martin’s work on this book as well as those people who supported him in his writing. I will be returning to this book again and again.
The third of the trilogy--and it certainly didn't disappoint. Beautifully written and extraordinarily helpful!
I am amazed at the clarity that Martin Laird brings to this topic that some call the Divine Mystery. He has a knack for assembling the right quotes and metaphors and turn of phrase that provides a firehose of beautiful soul nutrition...clarifying that which seems impossible to talk about. I am just drinking this up, the soul-thirsty pilgrim that I am. ...Wanting to share it with all.I am inspired by many of the writers he quotes and there are many that are new to me here. But his approach is like bringing all of them into a room at the best dinner party ever.I would think this book is a must for anyone on the contemplative journey.
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