Our Road to Damascus: 7 Lessons for a Life of Purpose and Meaning

by Dan Assisi

Overview

One ancient story. Seven new lessons about life and change.

Internationally acclaimed speaker and writer Dan Assisi transforms an old story told countless times before into something new and deeply relevant to our times.

In Our Road to Damascus, Dr. Assisi uncovers 7 lessons for a life of purpose and meaning that will help us navigate the challenges we face and find the happiness we seek. At the end, we are left with a blueprint for understanding change and acting on personal growth that will stick with you forever.

"Loneliness, loss, failure, doubt, confusion, hope, direction, faith... A Paul like you have never seen before. Our Road to Damascus is practical wisdom that transcends time. It hits so close to home it will leave you gaping..."

Paul of Tarsus' journey to Damascus is not a religious story - it is a tale of profound personal transformation that helps us understand life's challenges and inspires us to keep on walking our own path. As we dive deeper into one of the greatest personal transformations in recorded history, we begin to understand why we face the struggles we do, how they relate to each other and what may lie ahead for us.

"Our Road to Damascus is spirituality steeped in reason. It weaves in science, poetry, biology, philosophy, and psychology to craft a beautiful tapestry of rational faith that speaks to both heart and mind. It is the wisdom of the Gospel shown in a way you have never seen before."

This is a book for anyone who has gone through difficult times and is wondering: what comes next? If you enjoy seeing different concepts connect to create a bigger picture that can help you navigate life, this book is for you.

Discover what lies ahead in your own road to Damascus.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781735967509
Publisher:	Daniel Assisi
Publication date:	12/12/2020
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.57(d)

About the Author

Dan Assisi, Ed.D., MPA, PMP is a best-selling author and internationally celebrated speaker who has delivered hundreds of talks and conferences on spirituality in over 60 cities in 4 continents. Known for a mix of deep thinking and witty humor, Dan takes a unique approach to spirituality that is steeped in reason to remind audiences everywhere of our spiritual nature.
Dr. Assisi was featured in the Togetherness Video Series, an interfaith documentary on religious diversity and spirituality, and is a founding member of The Spiritist Institute. You can also find him as the host of the Spiritist Conversations podcast.
You can connect with him online at www.danassisi.com.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

Before We Begin: A Word on "Religion" ix

1. On the Road with Paul 1
2. Why Paul? 6
3. The Story 24
4. The Seven Lessons Before Us 32
5. Lesson 1: In a Group But Alone 37
6. Lesson 2: A Destabilizing Moment 65
7. Lesson 3: The Courageous Question 84
8. Lesson 4: The Temporary Blindness 106
9. Lesson 5: The Decision to Go Ahead 130
10. Lesson 6: The Unexpected Help 156
11. Lesson 7: A Different Damascus 179
12. Our Road to Damascus and Beyond 198

About the Author 213

Copyright Permissions 215

Discussion Questions 217

Appendix: People Mentioned in the Book 221

Notes 227

Reference List 233

Also by Dan Assisi 237

Editorial Reviews

2021-02-02
A debut manual looks at St. Paul’s Damascus road experience as a template for human contemplation.

Early on, Assisi assures his readers that despite its title, his book is not about organized religion. Rather, it’s about “unpacking a personal experience of an incredible person who decided to change himself—an experience from which we can hopefully transfer some wisdom into our lives.” As the title indicates, this incredible person is Saul of Tarsus, who had a vision on the road to Damascus and converted to Christianity. This presence of the divine is central to the author’s contentions here; everyone, he maintains, has a one-on-one relationship with what he refers to as “G.O.D.—the Guiding, Designing, Organizing force of the universe. Or whatever other nomenclature one chooses.” Some readers may find these opening assertions confusing—Saul doesn’t decide to transform himself, for instance; he’s essentially ordered to do so by direct divine intervention. And that divine intervention is not some generalized Guiding, Designing, Organizing force but very specifically the Christian God. Still, Assisi smoothly and invitingly broadens his inquiry to include the universal human desire for meaning and purpose in life and his readings of the Paul story. He’s particularly insightful on the many ways Paul’s tale more closely reflects the Christian faith experience than the stories of the other disciples. “Paul never met Jesus in the flesh, he never spent time with him, never had a chance to listen to his teachings directly from him, never followed him in his wanderings or preachings,” the author writes. “Paul was like most of the Gentiles—all who would hear about Christ, but not from Christ. Like us.” In a series of very readable chapters, Assisi turns the underlying precepts of the Paul story—a tale of being “called to change”—into a series of lessons designed to address a broad array of human experiences, from coping with complicated relationships to dealing with grief. The result is a book that succeeds in the tricky feat of being intriguingly spiritual without being explicitly religious.

A vigorously written and thought-provoking inspirational guide to changing your path in life.

Kirkus Reviews