You are Here - David Steindl-Rast OSB

You Are Hear by ORBIS BOOKS is David Steindl-Rast’s most recent book. David said that, “This is a book of keywords for spiritual life.”  There are over 100 keywords – some discussed in detail and some in summary. Below is a very small sample of David’s summary of a few keywords.

Afterlife – Just as we can think of our mind as the “inside view” of our bodily existence, so we can imagine our Self as the “inside view” of our mind-body existence. …the Self the Observer is not bound by space-time and is, thus, beyond death. Thus, “I-myself” am living in both a mortal and an immortal dimension… Will we be united with our loved ones…Here and now we can strengthen our bonds of love, cultivate and celebrate our awareness that those bonds unite us at the center of our innermost Self. If we do this diligently in daily life, we will hardly have time for idle speculations about an afterlife.

Authority – True authority leads through wisdom. It proves itself by clear insight into the meaning of a given situation and clear vision of the goal to be achieved. A wise leader acts not as an impetuous führer, but as a patient midwife, bringing to birth in people’s hearts attitudes that enable them to live together peacefully and joyfully.

Desire – According to its Latin origin, the very word means “relating to a star” or following a star” …your star. You purify your desires not by suppressing them but by finding your highest star and hitching your heart to it.

Fear – The opposite of fear is trust – not, however, trust in our own limited strength and insight, but trust in life.

God – is not an invention of religious imagination, like the gods, but a discovery- the central discovery of our innate religiousness. Domestication of our notion of God through mixing it up with some aspects of the gods remains a constant hazard. That is why in this book we prefer to speak of “Mystery,”…

Hope – in the full spiritual sense of the word means something quite different from “hope” in everyday language.  What we hope for in everyday life is always something we can imagine, but hope in the spiritual sense if openness for the unimaginable, openness for surprise.

Lila – is a Sanskrit word meaning “play.” In Hinduism, lila refers to the idea that we can ultimately recognize in all that happens the Great Mystery at play – the Great Sacred Dance of the universe.  Not only for Hindus but for all of us, this image is worth pondering. The meaning of our life, we may discoverer, is learning to stay in step with the cosmic dance.

Love – Whenever we love, we say an unlimited benevolent yes to belonging. Love is the lived yes to mutual belonging.

David Steindl-Rast OSB (1926 - ) is an Austrian-American Catholic Benedictine monk, author, lecturer and one of our living spiritual teachers. He is a pioneer in Christian contemplative life and interfaith encounter.