cover image Four Spiritualities: Expressions of Self, Expression of Spirit

Four Spiritualities: Expressions of Self, Expression of Spirit

Peter T. Richardson. Intercultural Press, $18.95 (264pp) ISBN 978-0-89106-083-3

Unitarian Universalist minister Richardson offers a handbook for a Jungian spiritual journey through the religious traditions of the world as well as a manual for discovering spiritual self-identity. Using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator as a tool for determining personality types, the author demonstrates in his first section that different individuals have different spiritual needs. Richardson applies these insights in his second section as he proceeds to explore, through illustrations from sources as diverse as the Bhagavad Gita and Mother Teresa, the similarities among various world religions. The author points to four spiritual paths--the Journey of Unity, the Journey of Devotion, the Journey of Works and the Journey of Harmony--that are universally present in the world's religious traditions. He then combines the Jungian analysis of personality with the universality of spiritual expression to conclude that our perception of self and world is intimately connected to the spiritual path we choose to follow. Joseph Campbell meets Carl Jung and Myers-Briggs in this rather tired rehearsal of New Age spirituality. (July)