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Rating: 
Summary: Short and Bittersweet
Review: "They knew the workings of the human unconscious four centuries before Sigmund Freud." Dr. May, a retired psychiatrist who is now a Senior Fellow in Contemplative Theology and Psychology, has carefully distilled his profound lifelong relationship with John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila in a little guide that's a brief yet subtle primer on both amazing saints. Notable especially in describing what the newly popular, corrupted phrase "dark night" is *not*, Dr. May is welcome company on the way to a mature, authentic spiritual life. Recommended -- for those who can say along with Dr. May that "the idea of God's having any needs at all, let alone needing us, may sound like an alien, even heretical idea, yet it is a realization that many contemplatives come to" and "if there were such a thing as a divine suggestion box, I'd suggest that God make things easier. Or if not easier, at least clearer."
Rating: 
Summary: Short and Bittersweet
Review: "They knew the workings of the human unconscious four centuries before Sigmund Freud." Dr. May, a retired psychiatrist who is now a Senior Fellow in Contemplative Theology and Psychology, has carefully distilled his profound lifelong relationship with John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila in a little guide that's a brief yet subtle primer on both amazing saints. Notable especially in describing what the newly popular, corrupted phrase "dark night" is *not*, Dr. May is welcome company on the way to a mature, authentic spiritual life. Recommended -- for those who can say along with Dr. May that "the idea of God's having any needs at all, let alone needing us, may sound like an alien, even heretical idea, yet it is a realization that many contemplatives come to" and "if there were such a thing as a divine suggestion box, I'd suggest that God make things easier. Or if not easier, at least clearer."
Rating: 
Summary: What we really need to hear
Review: Gerald May is a national "spiritual" treasure in my opinion. His books are all about living from the heart without at the same time being "fluffy". No mere icing here. Our country these days is surely in a "dark night". This book offers so much hope.
Rating:
Summary: Sheds light on the "dark night"
Review: Pray-ers who have experienced the rich silence of quiet prayer typically find themselves feeling strangely unsatisfied after praying this prayer for a while. The sense of God's presence and love wanes and a growing sense of one's being somehow off track increases. This beautifully written and highly informative little book by one of the present time's most eloquent and knowledgeable mystics is a trustworthy guide to what lies ahead. It's central message is that the prayer of quiet is God's doing, not one's own, and that one's emotional and psychological responses are transitory and not of God. The call is to wait patiently, trustingly, and faithfully, and know that in the dark mystery God is working to bring the soul closer to God. Dr. May's decades of reading and praying with John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila shine forth in this book.
Rating:
Summary: Footprints in the Sand, they are only yours, alone
Review: The Dark Night of the Soul, is a hard experience. I did not ask for it, I did not desire it, but God willed it on me. Footprints in the Sand. When you go through the Dark Night, you look back on the seashore in the Night and see only one set of prints, and they are yours. Jesus does not walk with you, nor does he carry you. I cannot discrib the darkness or the loneliness.
When God finally allows Jesus to come to you, there then is ALWAYS two sets of prints. This is the way it must be. Jesus cannot carry you.
A sliver of the cross has been embedded in your heart and you and Jesus must walk together, always two sets of footprints.
Rating:
Summary: Footprints in the Sand, they are only yours, alone
Review: The Dark Night of the Soul, is a hard experience. I did not ask for it, I did not desire it, but God willed it on me. Footprints in the Sand. When you go through the Dark Night, you look back on the seashore in the Night and see only one set of prints, and they are yours. Jesus does not walk with you, nor does he carry you. I cannot discrib the darkness or the loneliness.
When God finally allows Jesus to come to you, there then is ALWAYS two sets of prints. This is the way it must be. Jesus cannot carry you.
A sliver of the cross has been embedded in your heart and you and Jesus must walk together, always two sets of footprints.
Rating:
Summary: What we really need to hear
Review: This book reminded me of the importance of allowing difficult times to be just as they are. There is a reason and purpose for everything. Just be open to the dark as well as the light. A very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Never Give Up
Review: This book reminded me of the importance of allowing difficult times to be just as they are. There is a reason and purpose for everything. Just be open to the dark as well as the light. A very good book.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent thoughts and ideas, slightly fuzzy logic
Review: This is the first book of Dr. May's that I have read, and I found it both interesting and helpful. I would recommend it to others who do holistic counseling or spiritual direction.I found some of Dr. May's logic to be slightly fuzzy. Part of this is due, no doubt, to the dualism in our language. However, in describing Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross's perspective, Dr. May attempted to collapse several stages of religious experience into one level. I would refer any interested reader to the works of Ken Wilber - most notably in this case, "The Atman Project" and "Up from Eden". Using Wilber's frame of religious experience, Dr. May collapse Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya together - and 'Teresa and John' (as Dr. May often refers to them) - were clearly in the Dharmakaya level. Using some of Wilber's distinctions would have made this a clearer work I'm looking forward to reading Dr. May's other works.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent thoughts and ideas, slightly fuzzy logic
Review: This is the first book of Dr. May's that I have read, and I found it both interesting and helpful. I would recommend it to others who do holistic counseling or spiritual direction. I found some of Dr. May's logic to be slightly fuzzy. Part of this is due, no doubt, to the dualism in our language. However, in describing Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross's perspective, Dr. May attempted to collapse several stages of religious experience into one level. I would refer any interested reader to the works of Ken Wilber - most notably in this case, "The Atman Project" and "Up from Eden". Using Wilber's frame of religious experience, Dr. May collapse Sambhogakaya and Dharmakaya together - and 'Teresa and John' (as Dr. May often refers to them) - were clearly in the Dharmakaya level. Using some of Wilber's distinctions would have made this a clearer work I'm looking forward to reading Dr. May's other works.
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