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Sarah Masters reviews the audio series

Path to the Palace of Nowhere

Thomas Merton, hailed as a prophet by some, censured for his outspoken social criticism by others, was a Trappist monk, student of Zen teachings, and author of writings on both Eastern and Western spiritual thought.

Dr. James Finley, who lived with Thomas Merton at the Abbey of Gethsemani near Bardstown, Kentucky, explores in this 8-hour CD set his memories of the renowned monk and his writings. They shared the traditional Trappist way of life involving prayer, silence and solitude. During his years at Gethsemani, Merton evolved from an inward-looking monk to an internationally recognized writer and poet who promoted dialogue with other faiths. Merton also advocated for non-violence during the Civil Rights era and Vietnam War. Chaplains may find of interest Merton’s internal struggle between his desire for a quiet, contemplative life and his need to heed the call for dynamic contact with the outside world, in Merton’s case through international travels to meet with religious leaders such as the Dalai Lama.

The title of these musings on Merton are attributed to the Taoist sage Chaung Tzu, who described the “the Palace of Nowhere” as a place “where all the many things are one.” In Path to the Palace of Nowhere: the Contemplative Teachings of Thomas Merton, Dr. Finley uses Merton’s spiritual teachings in an interactive way to guide the listener “to disappear into G_d, to be submerged into his peace, to be lost in the secret of his fact,” a place “where all the many things are one.”

Completed: 2002
Running Time: 8 Hours – 8 CD set
Publisher: Sounds True, Boulder, Colorado

If you are interested in purchasing this audio series, you can do so at www.hartleyfoundation.org. Just click on “Sages of Our Age” on the homepage, then scroll down and click on Thomas Merton for more information. The cost of the audio series is $69.95 for an 8-CD set.

Sarah Masters is the Managing Director of the Hartley Film Foundation, a non-profit foundation dedicated to cultivation, support, production and distribution of the best documentaries and audio meditations on world religions, spirituality, ethics and well-being.

Book Review

Chaplain Joan Paddock Maxwell reviews

Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith

Barbara Brown Taylor tells a searchingly honest story of her struggle between wanting to serve God as an Episcopal priest and wanting to love God as one of God's beloved children. She had no idea at first that the two desires are in conflict, but over time she found that they are. This book is her account of that profoundly wrenching conflict and how she has tried to resolve it.

Taylor, who as a child first fell in love with God as revealed in the beauty of nature, became a famous preacher and famous writer in the Episcopal Church. She describes how much she loved the people both in and out of the churches that she served. She also describes how much she loved God, and how the busy-ness of her ministry came between her heart and God. As Taylor writes about her own sharply curtailed spiritual practices during the height of her busy-ness, "I pecked God on the cheek the same way I did [husband] Ed, drying up inside for want of making love." Finally she got to a breaking point, and she chose: she ceased her "professional" ministry and became a college professor of religion. And after a dark night of the soul she found herself where she believes she needs to be -- back in "right relationship" with the Divine. But this all came at a high price. She is quite unsparing in her description of what she's lost as well as what she's gained.

She's also eloquent about the pressures on the Episcopal Church and sounds a prophetic warning about its future if it continues in the hierarchical way it currently follows.

The relevancy of this book for chaplains should be readily apparent. Most of us are drawn to chaplaincy at least in part as a way of serving God through serving God's people. Yet as time goes by we find we get busier and busier, often so busy that we skimp on our own spiritual practices. Burnout, compassion fatigue, and/or depression can result. This is a sobering book to read, and an important one. It calls us back to making love.

Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006) 256 pp.

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