In his sprightly introduction to this paperback, which was reissued in 1999 with two new chapters, Matthew Fox salutes Brother David Steindl-Rast for inviting us all to be mystics again. Brother David, who has been a monk of Mount Savior Benedictine monastery in upstate New York for more than 50 years, challenges us to see that "any sensuous experience is at heart a spiritual one: a divine revelation." This may come as quite a shock to some traditional Christians who have studiously avoided giving free play to their senses. A nefarious Puritanical overlay continues to prevent these believers from relishing the blessings that abound from sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

Brother David would have us make full use of the radar-net of our senses and give abundant thanks to God for the feeling textures of life. He celebrates the fragrances that come to us as transient whiffs, the joys of walking barefoot, and the pleasures of using our hands in simple and useful ways. But, he recognizes, we have to train ourselves in this kind of appreciation and gratitude. "What our senses are after is sense," according to Brother David. "The goal of all our striving is meaning. Only in sense, in meaning, do our restless hearts come to rest. This end and aim of all our endeavors is also the goal of every ascetical practice. We need asceticism, because our senses do not automatically yield sense." Once we begin to practice sensuous asceticism on a daily basis, we can tap into the underground reservoir of wonder and joy that is at the core of the Christian path. Try bringing all of your senses alive during a shared holiday meal or at a worship service. Banish old and anachronistic notions that relishing the delights brought to you by your senses is a nasty and evil thing. The author reminds us: "Any place is sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine presence."

Brother David also challenges us to practice wholehearted listening: "Our eyes see, but only our heart looks through things to their meaning. Our nose registers scents, but only our heart will track like a hound its ethereal quarry. Our tongue tastes, but only a heart can feast. Skin touches skin, but being in touch is a matter of heart. Our ears hear, but only a listening heart understands." This inspiring passage lifts our spirits and helps us soar on the wings of grace. The listening heart, a heart welling up with love and compassion, is what connects us to the threads that tie us to other human beings, nature, animals, and things.

And the listening heart is the organ that sends us into each day with a yen to read the world spiritually. For Brother David, lectio divina is not only a substantive way of reading sacred texts, it can be used for all reading: "What makes it sacred is not what, but how we read. What matters is a quiet, unencumbered mind that allows blessing to arise from the page . . . In fact, this kind of reading is not restricted to books. With the same attitude, a monk will 'read' the grain of wood in a piece of lumber and release the flow of blessing as he guides a plane." Read this devotional work in this way, and you will receive the flow of blessing.