Anthony de Mello (1931-1987) was an Indian Jesuit priest whose creative use of stories, parables, tales, and aphorisms set him apart from other religious teachers. He was very taken with Eastern spirituality and chose awareness (waking up) as the linchpin of his writings and talks. He was a creative mystic who used anything and everything he could to convey the adventure, paradox, and freedom of the spiritual journey. De Mello fused bits and pieces of wisdom from Hinduism, Buddhism, Hasidic Judaism, Sufism, Taoism, and other traditions. This creative Jesuit rebel was one of the first of many Catholics to break away from the smog of traditional Christianity and explore the territory ahead which would eventually be called by Wayne Teasdale, another renegade Catholic, "interspirituality." One of de Mello's best books is Sadhana: Christian Exercises in Eastern Form, which consists of 47 exercises to help people liven up and deepen their devotional lives.
Thomas Casey is the director of Jewish studies and professor of philosophy at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. Margaret Brennan Hassett has served on many not-for-profit boards including the Hazelden Foundation. After a short but snappy biography of de Mello, the main section of the book has chapters on:
• Preparing for Prayer
• Ways of Praying
• Finding a Loving God
• Who Am I?
• Loving Yourself
• Overcoming Fear
• Releasing the Child Within
• Becoming Who You Are
Each of these is processed with key phrases and practical exercises. In many of them we see flashes of de Mello's spirit. Casey and Hassett have also assembled a fine annotated bibliography.
