A New Way to be Human:
7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive
The Book
A New Way to be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive is your guide to living a spiritual life of purpose and meaning. It gives expression to the truth that God, or the Holy, existed before religion. Offering a spirituality of purpose for those who are spiritual but not religious, it celebrates a generous spirituality of love and compassion.
Anxiety caused by economic dislocation, alarm about environmental degradation, unease about the value and ethics of torture, the effects of globalization and the yearning of Americans to be re-engaged with the world underlies a substantive shift in the psyche of people today. “How can my life make a difference?” “What are our values, what are my values?” – are questions being asked with new urgency.
A New Way to be Human begins with the premise that each person is one of the many disguises of the Holy One discovered in such spiritual traditions as Buddhist, Native American and Hindu as well as the mystics of Christianity, Judaism and Sufism. The book offers daily practices, wisdom and hope for those struggling with disconnection from organized religion while remaining on a spiritual quest. Robert Taylor argues persuasively that to be awake and aware on the quest are ingredients for transformative living.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu has called this book is “a must have for anyone on a spiritual path…In a time when people are searching for values and meaning, this book will repeatedly inspire and draw you deeper and deeper into a spirituality of love and compassion for Creation, the human family and yourself.”
Nora Gallagher says A New Way to be Human will become a “wondrous companion” for those “searching to create a holistic spiritual framework of love, compassion, justice and mercy.”
If you seek a life of meaning and purpose, the courage to cross the boundaries of your life and religion and spirituality built on compassion and love, you will find A New Way to be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive an invaluable companion on your spiritual quest.
Robert Taylor
As a nationally known leader who is an openly gay, white South African Episcopal priest, Robert V. Taylor has navigated being part of the religious establishment while also being an outsider.
Sent to the United States in 1980 by his mentor, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, to avoid imprisonment for his anti-apartheid activity, Robert V. Taylor has spent a lifetime integrating personal spirituality with the question of how we each leave a footprint of compassion in the world.
Robert’s leadership of one of the largest Episcopal congregations in the United States combined engaging spirituality with a focus on personal and public action. He has worked for more than 20 years to end homelessness in New York and Seattle and served as a mediator between government and activist groups to help them resolve seemingly intractable problems. Robert also hosted the Gyuto Monks of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, on two week-long visits in residence in Seattle.
Robert has been at the forefront of creating inter-spiritual dialogue and relationship building. He co-founded Faith Forward, a multi-faith initiative for people of many spiritual traditions focusing on environmental and poverty issues. He also helped create Seeds of Compassion, a weeklong event in Seattle in 2008 which drew over 150,000 attendees and resulted in the Seeds of Compassion Network to help foster increasing compassion in society. He recently appeared together in Seattle with His Holiness, the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Discovering his own voice and crossing the lines which society often draws has brought him insights into compassionate living. Experiencing life as both an insider and outsider, Robert has learned firsthand that the courage to be who you are, freedom to discover your voice and trusting your imagination are important pathways to a meaningful spiritual life. He lives by his own belief that goodness and kindness are possible each day as we show up for life.
