| Foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama | xiii |
| Preface by Dr. Beatrice Bruteau | xvii |
| Acknowledgments | xxi |
| Part I: Finding What Unites Us |
| Introduction The Mystic Heart: Our Common Heritage | 3 |
| The Interspiritual Age |
| • The Parliament of the World's Religions |
| • The Turn to Spirituality |
| • A Dot on a Blackboard |
| Chapter 1 A Bridge Across the Religions and Beyond | 15 |
| What Is Spirituality? |
| • Spirituality in the Religions |
| • The Nature of Mysticism and Spirituality |
| • What Is Interspirituality? |
| • The Treasure of Community |
| Chapter 2 Crossing Over: Pioneers of Interspiritual |
| Wisdom | 31 |
| The Meeting of Christianity and Hinduism |
| • Dialogue Between Catholicism and the Other Religions |
| • Buddhism Comes to the West |
| • Finding Your Place in the Interspiritual Movement |
| Chapter 3 The Mirror of the Heart: Consciousness As the |
| Root of Identity | 51 |
| Hinduism: Supreme Identity in the Mahavakyas |
| • Buddhism: Enlightenment, Shunyata, Nirvana, and the Doctrine of No-Self |
| • The Greeks: Plato and Aristotle |
| • The Christian Understanding |
| • Who We Are Is Where We're Going |
| • A New Paradigm of Identity: We Are Consciousness |
| • Quantum Physics Shows Us Reality and Self-Identity |
| • The Nature of the Divine |
| Chapter 4 "The Paths Are Many But the Goal Is the |
| Same": Discovering the Way | 79 |
| The Inner Path: The Way of Contemplation |
| • The Outer Path: The Way of Action |
| • The Place of Spiritual Transformation |
| • The Asramas and Margas: Living the Sacred |
| • The Integration of Action and Contemplation |
| • The Goal of the Spiritual Journey |
| Part II: The Practical Nature of the Mystical Way |
| Chapter 5 The Mystic Character | 105 |
| The Problem of the Ego-Driven Life |
| • The False Self |
| • Actual Moral Capacity |
| • Solidarity with All Living Beings |
| • Deep Nonviolence |
| • The Mystic or Contemplative Character |
| • Who Is a Saint? |
| Chapter 6 Spiritual Practice: The Crux of Inner Change | 125 |
| Humility |
| • Spiritual Practice |
| • Mature Self-Knowledge |
| • Transformation As the Reality of Inner Change |
| Chapter 7 Out in the World: The Spirituality of Action | 147 |
| Simplicity of Life |
| • Selfless Service and Compassionate Action |
| • The Prophetic Voice |
| • The Fruits or Capacities of the Spiritual Journey |
| • The Fruits of Spirituality Work Together |
| Part III: The Mysticism of the Natural World |
| Chapter 8 Natural Mysticism: Reading the Book of Creation | 173 |
| • Readers of the Book of Nature |
| • Natural Contemplation As the Capacity to Read the Books of Creation and Life |
| • A Spirituality of Creation |
| • The Mystical Experience of Totality |
| • The Spirituality of Pilgrimage |
| • Nutrition and Spirituality |
| • Yoga and the Martial Arts |
| • Toward a Holistic Spirituality |
| • Natural Meditation |
| • Discourse of the Rose |
| Part IV: Global Mysticism |
| Chapter 9 The Promised Land of the Spiritual Journey | 211 |
| An Intermystical Bridge: The Guidelines for Interreligious Understanding |
| • The Summit of the Spiritual Life |
| • Mystic Visitations: Personal Experience of the Summit |
| • Stations of the Mystical Summit |
| • Dreams: Channels of the Sacred |
| • Experimental Mysticism |
| • Reaching the Further Shore of the Spiritual Journey |
| • Becoming Cosmic in the Center |
| Chapter 10 Opening the Heart of the World: Toward a |
| Universal Mysticism | 235 |
| A Universal Communal Spirituality |
| • Beauty in the Intermystical Journey |
| • Discovering the Mystic Heart Together |
| • A Special Message to the Young |
| • The Church As Matrix of Interfaith Encounter |
| • A Universal Order of Sannyasa |
| Chapter Notes | 251 |
| Glossary | 263 |
| Recommended Reading | 273 |
| Index | 279 |
