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Title: Callings : Finding and Following an Authentic Life by Gregg Michael Levoy ISBN: 0-517-70569-9 Publisher: Harmony Books Pub. Date: 16 September, 1997 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $23.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.75 (12 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: An eloquent, entertaining discussion of our callings in life
Comment: Gregg Levoy is a master at telling stories, using creative--often very amusing--metaphors to discuss the spiritual, abstract world of life callings. Though I expected a more direct how-to type manual on finding one's path in life, I was not disappointed in this book; on the contrary, I immensely enjoyed this more picturesque, sensitive sojourn through others' experiences with taking risks and following their callings. It inspired me to dream and begin adventures of my own!
Rating: 5
Summary: Eloquent and moving
Comment: from the author of DREAMING YOUR REAL SELF: A PERSONAL APPROACH TO DREAM INTERPRETATION; and DREAM BACK YOUR LIFE: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO DREAMS, DAYDREAMS, AND FANTASIES.
Written in lyrical, poetic prose, Gregg Levoy's CALLINGS is a beautiful book that offers hope for all of us to realize our dreams. Like one of the reviewers below, I was charmed by so many sections that much of my hardcover copy is now highlighted in yellow.
I especially liked: "...we often end up trading our authenticity for what we perceive as survival, terrified to swap security for our heart's deepest desires, which is the imperative of all callings and none of the dominant fears in responding to them." and "The great breakthroughs in our lives generally happen only as a result of the accumulation of small steps and minor achievements." (And these two quotes are in the first five pages!) This book is truly a gift to readers everywhere.
Rating: 5
Summary: Listening for a call...
Comment: Hearing a call is a very difficult discernment process. Sometimes the call is clear, but the path is not. Sometimes the path is clear, but the desire is not. Gregg Levoy has done an exceptional job at being an in-print spiritual director for those seeking an entrance into the process of finding a true calling and a more authentic life.
I recently met Levoy, and heard him speak on the topic of vocation and discerning a calling at the college adjoining my seminary. His manner of public speaking is very much in concert with his style of writing -- vibrant, interesting, engaging, and honest.
What is right for me? and Where am I willing to be led? are the two essential questions -- Discernment requires that we ask these two questions continually and devotedly.
As Levoy says, 'people won't pursue their callings until the fear of doing so is finally exceeded by the pain of not doing so.' I have found this to be very true. It took a very long time to discern my call to the priesthood, and yet more time to decide that it is something I must do at all costs (and the costs have been heavy). Yet, I cannot imagine myself doing anything differently and being in any way fulfilled.
'The truest calls seem not only to keep coming back but also to make their way to us through many channels.'
Levoy integrates so much material here, from spiritual masters and the scriptural traditions of many religious faiths to modern psychology and artistic/cultural experts.
Perhaps the greatest chapter for me was that on 'Finding Clarity', in which Levoy says that 'there is such a thing as thinking too much about a calling.' As Emerson said, sometimes it is best to let the bird sing without trying to decipher the song. 'A calling is ultimately mysterious, and the process of discernment is always a bit of a guessing game.'
Levoy's guidance, in cooperation with others in my community, helped me to see a change of mindset, a change of events, a change of personalities were all converging to tell me something that I had closed my mind to, or, more accurately, had closed my heart to. So, I began to pray, even if only subconsciously, and the path began to materialise before my eyes. 'When I pray, coincidences start to happen. When I don't pray, they don't happen.' - William Temple
It also taught me that I couldn't wait for 'someday' -- how we spend our days is how we spend our lives, according to the apt observation of Annie Dillard.
And finally, it made me face what it was to keep saying no. There is a cost, and eventually God will get you anyway -- Jonah (remember Jonah and the great fish?) said no, but eventually had follow his call anyway. I learned that one source of my fear: 'One of the frightening prospects of saying yes to a calling is that you may find out who really supports you and who doesn't.'
Figuring out how to bring my call into being was the final task, and Levoy provided wisdom here as well. 'You cannot cross a chasm in two small jumps', he quoted Lloyd-George as saying; I was forced to create a response to my call, one that did not exist before.
Thus, not too long after discovering this book, I became Father Kurt, and I owe much to this book for that. But please, don't assume that it will tempt or trap you into a ministerial role--it is an excellent guide for discernment, and discernment is one of the most personal tasks for any human being. Prepare to be enlightened.
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Title: Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation by Parker J. Palmer ISBN: 0787947350 Publisher: Jossey-Bass Pub. Date: 10 September, 1999 List Price(USD): $18.95 |
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Title: The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom by Don Miguel Ruiz ISBN: 1878424319 Publisher: Amber-Allen Publishing Pub. Date: November, 1997 List Price(USD): $12.95 |
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