Bare Bones Spirituality

BARE BONES SPIRITUALITY

Teachings in a Secular Age

Peter Broner
Epigraph Books
2011
ISBN: 978-1-9369-4003-5
religion, spirituality

This is one of the few books I've read that dares to tackle difficult spiritual/religious/metaphysical anomalies—for example, is God personal or impersonal; where does evil come from; what is karma; what is the soul; and many other intriguing conundrums.

As with many books of this nature, it is not a fast read. And the reader should also be aware that the author approaches the subject matter primarily from a Buddhist-Vedantist viewpoint.

However, no matter what the reader's belief system might be, the author certainly offers much mental food for thought.

As well as the metaphysical ruminations mentioned previously, the author gives what he calls Teacher-Student Explorations. These are several question-and-answer segments that further discuss and elaborate on those enigmatic topics that we may occasionally (or, for some of us, more often) wonder about—consciousness, the Ego, the Life Force, free will, and others.

In addition, the author uses short meditations, fables, talks with God, analogies, and short essays to further help us grapple with the spiritual questions many of us often pose, but to which we never seem to find adequate answers.

As the author begins the book: "My motive for writing these essays is...To arrive at a belief system that I can accept in its totality because I have found... that there are elements in the various teachings and religions that seem to me contradictory or skipped over or avoided altogether".

That assertion is something to which many of us can relate, so perhaps some might find answers within the pages of this book. 

[Book Review by Michael Woodhead, 2011]