Editorial Reviews  
Amazon.com  
Author Wayne Teasdale believes that we're entering the "Interspiritual Age," when a new civilization will be formed--a global culture based on common spiritual values. "Such a universal society will draw its inspiration from perennial spiritual and moral insights, intuitions, and experiences," Teasdale predicts. Throughout this ambitious book, Teasdale examines the world's religions and highlights the underlying beliefs and yearnings that will ultimately link humankind. Nonetheless, Teasdale is also a proponent of spiritual diversity, urging readers to protect and study their own indigenous religions (or in many cases the religions of their childhoods) before rejecting them. In his glowing introduction, the Dalai Lama also speaks to the importance of preserving religions while simultaneously joining forces to create a more spiritually evolved and compassionate planet. In his final chapters, Teasdale offers ideas for cultivating a more spiritual life. Although his suggestions aren't startlingly original ("Gravitate toward silence," "Always leave the door of hope wide open.") they are tried and true and well worth the reader's time and investment. --Gail Hudson 

Book Description  
Drawing on his extraordinary experience as an interreligious monk combining his profound Christian faith with an intimate understanding of Hinduism's ancient traditions, Brother Wayne Teasdale reveals the power of a universal spirituality and its practical elements. These elements include solidarity with all life; moral capacity; nonviolence; self-knowledge; selfless service; simplicity of lifestyle; daily practice; and serving as a prophetic witness in the causes of justice, peace, and protecting creation. Teasdale shows that comparing religions is more than a matter of increasing tolerance; it can lead to a greater truth. 

Synopsis  
An interreligious monk shares his insights from both Hinduism and Christianity, revealing the road to moral capacity, nonviolence, self-knowledge, selfless service, and simplicity of lifestyle. Tour. "Drawing on his experience as an interreligious monk and mystic, Brother Wayne Teasdale reveals in The Mystic Heart what he calls interspirituality, a genuine and comprehensive spirituality that draws on the mystical core of the world's great religious traditions. After years within the Catholic lay monastic community, Teasdale found himself drawn to the visionary path of Father Bede Griffiths, who initiated him in the way of sannyasa, the life of renunciation and dedication to the quest for God."--BOOK JACKET. "As a sannyasi, Teasdale combines his profound Christian faith with an intimate understanding of other religions' ancient traditions. From this spiritual vantage, The Mystic Heart shows that what so often forms the basis for conflict can really be a meeting place of understanding."--BOOK JACKET. "Through scholarship, stories, and personal practice, Teasdale demonstrates that the final goal of authentic spirituality is realizing our true nature as mystics."--BOOK JACKET. 

The publisher, New World Library , November 11, 1999 
Praise for The Mystic Heart 
"My good friend Brother Wayne Teasdale has long been actively involved in the effort to bring our religious traditions together. In this book Brother Wayne explores what he calls interspirituality. He shares his deep respect for and knowledge of the world's religions, relates examples from the lives of many great spiritual practitioners, and illuminates the traditions' wonderful commonalities. The Mystic Heart is a work of great inspiration." - H.H. the Dalai Lama 

"As a student of mysticism for more than thirty years, I have never encountered as thorough or profound a book as The Mystic Heart. Teasdale gives us a history, a multi-faith context, the actual experience of the mystical state, and a wide-ranging and practical set of how-to's to bring the ancient secrets into the lives of modern mystics - like you and me." - Thom Hartmann, author of The Last Hours of Ancient Sunlight 

"The Mystic Heart is a beautiful and profound meditation on the commonalities at the core of the world's great religions. In this age of extreme pluralism, which encourages us to all be different (and fragmented), Brother Teasdale reminds us that Spirit is common in and to us all, and thus in addition to cherishing differences we can embrace unity. A wise and wonderful wake-up call to a world in shattered pieces." - Ken Wilber, author of The Marriage of Sense and Soul 

". . . The Mystic Heart is a superb presentation of how these great spiritual traditions are now meeting and supporting each other - how they all give witness to the transforming presence of the divine in human consciousness. A dedicated scholar and practitioner, Wayne Teasdale adds to this personal insights drawn from a lifetime given to the study of the mystical traditions." - Thomas Berry, author of The Dream of the Earth 

"This rare and wonderful book awakens its readers to their own mystic nature. . . What is unique in this work is the luminous guidance the author gives us for deepening one's personal faith while exploring the mystical genius of other traditions." - Jean Houston, author of A Mythic Life