Quote for the Day
As a general rule, I would say that human beings never behave more badly toward one another than when they believe they are protecting God. In the words of Arun Gandhi, grandson of Mohandas, “People of the Book risk putting the book above people.”
— Barbara Brown Taylor, Leaving Church: A Memoir of Faith
The Celtic Way of Seeing
The Celtic Way of Seeing: Meditations on the Irish Spirit Wheel
By Frank MacEowen
Novato, CA: New World Library, 2007
Review by Carl McColman
As I hinted a few days ago, I’ve really rather wandered away from the world of Celtic wisdom since becoming so engrossed in ancient Christian mysticism, Benedictine spirituality, and the postmodern emerging church movement. Indeed, I hadn’t even read a Celtic-themed book in months, when I picked up Frank MacEowen’s latest book, The Celtic Way of Seeing. But I’m glad I did pick this one up; it gives me hope that there is still much that the non-sectarian representatives of Celtic spirituality can offer us. Indeed, MacEowen himself is a wonderful example of Celtic spirituality expressed in a trans-religious manner: he brings the mindfulness of a Buddhist and the nature-sensitivities of Native American wisdom to his exploration of Irish myth, and thankfully, this syncretistic mix pays off. As a lifetime student of indigenous wisdom and earth-based healing practices, MacEowen naturally gravitates to the Celtic seer tradition; in this book, he avoids spiritual trendiness by simply recounting a traditional story while providing rich, layered, reflective prose in which his reflections on the inner meaning of the old tale becomes an invitation for his readers to embark on a similar journey of inner discovery. (more…)
