Overview

McDowell characterizes the spiritual life as a captivating dance. Sometimes the steps are easy to follow; other times they become confusing or lost from view. In a clear and compelling voice, McDowell guides the reader through the steps of the dance. Each chapter offers a rich description of one step to spiritual realization and ends with open-ended self-reflective questions for the reader. These steps include experiences of bewilderment, detachment, renewal, awakening, illumination, dark night of the soul, and finally divine union or Self-realization. Drawing upon the wisdom of ancient traditions, contemporary spiritual teachers, and the author's own experiences, Dance of Light offers practical wisdom for contemporary spiritual seekers. Whether beginner or advanced, readers will receive guidance on the dynamics of the spiritual journey, learn how to further develop their inner life, and find ways to move forward when unmotivated, stuck, or lost.

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9781959770374

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Reviews

Alice McDowell is a trustworthy and honest guide for those embarking upon the spiritual journey and all the adventures and misadventures that one will encounter along the way. Dance of Light strips away the falsities, simplifies the unnecessary complexities, and gives numerous resources to light the way, and specifically your way, as benefits your own soul and psyche. -Meghan Don, award-winning author, Meditations with Teresa of Avila: A Journey into the Sacred and Feminine Courage. Alice McDowell has written a wonderful book of ideas from a range of spiritual paths. I meant to read it straight through, only sometimes stopping to consider one of the self-reflection questions at the end. But by the end, I realized I was missing out on the depth and richness that this book offers.... Fascinating, and thank you to the author for writing and sharing her wisdom. -Sharon K. Yntema Alice McDowell writes with gentle discernment. Her words are a light and a balm. PIR ZIA INAYAT KHAN, head of the Inayati Sufi Order and author of Mingled Waters: Sufism & the Mystical Unity of Religions When one is venturing into unfamiliar territory, possessing a good map can make all the difference. Dance of Light is such a map. Equally inspiring and informative, it draws from a wide range of spiritual and religious traditions to reveal the underlying arc of the spiritual journey, as seen through the eyes of an experienced and compassionate guide. JALAJA BONHEIM, PhD Author of The Sacred Ego and Aphrodite's Daughters Alice McDowell is a trustworthy and honest guide for those embarking upon the spiritual journey and all the adventures and misadventures that one will encounter along the way. Dance of Light strips away the falsities, simplifies the unnecessary complexities, and gives numerous resources to light the way, and specifically your way, as benefits your own soul and psyche. -MEGHAN DON, award-winning author, Meditations with Teresa of Avila: A Journey into the Sacred and Feminine Courage. Alice McDowell's book Dance of Light is a stunning exploration of the phases, pitfalls, challenges, and joys of the spiritual life. Written in a warm and genuine voice, Alice shares decades of study and practice, both as a student and a teacher, in the Christian, Sufi and Zen traditions. This book truly serves as a guide, as she expertly synthesizes ideas and beliefs from these seemingly disparate traditions. In Alice's hands, the philosophies and faiths are clearly defined, both for their individual beauty and offerings, and for the astonishing ways that they all overlap. The book is a valuable and rare treasure trove of impactful quotes from the world's Eastern and Western spiritual writers, all of them illuminated by Alice's insights, ruminations, and hard-won experiences. Each chapter closes with reflections that will challenge readers to both stretch and realize the possibilities of their own seeking and journeying. What a useful and timely guide Dance of Light is, its pages giving a seasoned partner to guide readers' intricate steps, and to take them more joyfully into the mystery and the magic of the dance. -MAUREEN O'BRIEN, author of What Was Lost: Seeking Refuge from the Psalms I would like to offer my heartfelt endorsement of Dance of Light: Christian, Sufi, and Zen Steps to Spiritual Realization. I will be ordering this text for Mysticism: East and West, a course that I teach at Southern Methodist University, as soon as it becomes available. Dance of Light not only articulates a thoughtful and nuanced depiction of the stages of the mystical journey (drawing primarily upon Christian mysticism, the Zen Ox Herding pictures and Sufism), but it also offers helpful and practical spiritual guidance for those who are seeking to access the wisdom that can be gained from a balanced and energized examination of the mystical life. Dance of Light speaks to readers in clear and accessible language, and offers the distilled insights of ...

Author Information

Alice McDowell, Ph.D., is an author, spiritual director, workshop leader, retreat guide and founder of the Hidden Treasure Program-a three-year training in personal and spiritual growth. She co-founded Light on the Hill Retreat Center in 1991 where she continues to guide individuals and groups on their spiritual journeys. She is author of Hidden Treasure: How to Break Free of Five Patterns that Hide Your True Self (She Writes Press, 2017). As a professor of religious studies at Ithaca College for eighteen years, she taught courses in mysticism, world religions, depth psychology, and women's studies, and received the Dana Fellow for Excellence in College Teaching. McDowell has a Ph.D. in theology from Fordham University and has trained with Sufi and Buddhist teachers, Christian contemplatives, and humanistic and transpersonal psychologists. She is a mother of two, the grandmother of four, and lives at Light on the Hill Retreat Center in Van Etten, NY, with her husband and two cats. Visit her at: www.alicemcdowellauthor.com

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