A Spiritual Journey of Disillusionment and Re-Enchantment-My Review on Rev. Mark Townsend's book, "The Path of The Blue Raven-From Religion to Re-Echantment"
February 9, 2011
By The Rev. Fr. Jerry "Aidan" L. Hix Jr.
I was introduced to Mark by a mutual friend a few months ago; and in addition to reading his book (The Path of the Blue Raven), he has also been kind enough to correspond with me about his journey. As a priest in the Anglican tradition, who has also experienced some of the disillusionment with ministry and the down side of institutional religion and bureaucracy, I found in Mark, a Comrade in Arms; and the knowledge I was not alone in my own journey.
Although I tend to remain rooted in the more traditional expressions of the Christian faith and the working out my own struggles with disillusionment within the context of the institutional Church and do not always agree with Mark's perspectives or conclusions, I can relate, sympathize and empathize with the process of his Spiritual Journey of Disillusionment to Re-Enchantment .
I also am extremely encouraged by his honesty, sometimes brutal honesty about himself, his shortcomings and failures; and his openness and "heartfulness" to dialogue and share the journey as friends and brothers, even though we might strongly disagree at times with each others views. That speaks volumes to me about his character and his gift of "presence" as a priest and fellow pilgrim on the journey.
All of which makes this book such a wonderful expression of the Spiritual Journey, as told not only by Mark but by others from different religious and/or spiritual traditions! It not only introduced me to many of the earth based spiritualities I had been ignorant of but also reawakened in me the "earthiness" of Jesus and the earlier Christian faith of my own spiritual tradition.
I believe its especially important in Today's world where the meeting of the world's religions and cultures are drawing closer and closer together, that we learn about each other and how we can both respect our common ground, as well as respecting the differences. Mark's book was a wonderful tribute to the encounter of different spiritualities and how we can reinvest ourselves in lives filled with wonder and enchantment!
Thanks and Blessings to you Mark, respectfully,
Father Jerry "Aidan" Hix, O.S.C.
[Review also on Mark Townsend's Amazon Profile]
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Ecumenism is the promotion of unity and cooperation between distinct religious groups and denominations in Christianity and in the larger sense the unity among all religions worldwide. Jesus modeled this by associating with all people and castes. He shows us unity by showing us the silent witness inside that sees the Divine and Beloved in everyone's eyes. He was not interested in converting people to his way of thinking or selling real estate in heaven, but to guide people who were ready to go deeper into themselves and the spiritual experience of unity. The spiritual experience can't be taught, but Jesus offered a way to the experience, where God's pure consciousness could be felt. http://thinkunity.com
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