How I Found God in Everyone and Everywhere Volume II
A Further Anthology of Spiritual Memoirs
Edited by Andrew M. Davis
Paperback
978-1-958972-43-4
US $23.99
eBook available
January 2025
The spiritual journey is interior to each person, but not meant to be walked alone.
Much can be gained from trailing the spiritual narratives of those who have traveled ahead of us, for the God they have found, we may never have considered. How I Found God in Everyone and Everywhere, Volume 2 again captures for a general audience the spiritual shift away from popular notions of a God “up there” and “out there” and toward immanent and inclusive understandings of a God in our very midst. It is built around the fascinating personal journeys of a close-knit group of prominent contributors, leaders including Christopher M. Bache, Jude Currivan, Amit Goswami, Kabir Helminski, Karen Johnson with Hameed Ali (A. H. Almaas), Sheri Kling, Beverly Lanzetta, Ervin Laszlo, Jay McDaniel, Raymond Moody, Peter Russell, Rupert Spira, and Becca Tarnas.
From dark nights of suffering and despair, to the joy of scientific and intellectual discovery, to the aesthetic beauty of music and nature, and the blissful—and at times dreadful—shock of psychedelic, mystical and near-death experience, these spiritual memoirs reveal exceptional encounters with the Holy Mystery—a universal Mind that exceeds but also includes our very own. And, unlike the first volume, this new book is deliberately catered toward group study with its “Questions for Discussion” and “Sages to Explore” sections at the end of each chapter.
Author Bio
Andrew M. Davis, PhD, is an American process philosopher, theologian, and scholar of cosmological wonder. He is program director for the Center for Process Studies where he researches, teaches, and organizes conferences. He is author and editor of several books including the scholarly Mind, Value, and Cosmos: On the Relational Nature of Ultimacy, and the popular first volume of How I Found God in Everyone and Everywhere (Monkfish, 2017).
Praise
“By the time I reached the second chapter of this unique book, I had started recommending it to others. By the time I reached the last chapter, I felt its deep impact on my own life. Such rich stories, such clear, insightful, and at times tender writing, with common themes arising spontaneously and enriching one another ... this book takes the old Evangelical practice of 'giving testimony' and elevates it to a theological and philosophical practice.” —Brian D. McLaren, author of The Great Spiritual Migration
“This is a book for people who, in spite of themselves, cannot stop dreaming about God.” —Rabbi James Ponet, Emeritus Jewish Chaplain and Divinity School Lecturer, Yale University
“There is a mystic in every person waiting to be acknowledged. In this text, a baker’s dozen of spiritual leaders tells the stories of their unique spiritual adventures. Their stories are authentic, honest, inspiring, and challenge the reader to embark on their own spiritual quest. This text reminds us that in this moment, right where we are, we can experience the Holy. We have everything we need to venture on the high seas of mystical adventure. The questions and suggestions that conclude each chapter make this book ideal for book groups.” —Bruce G. Epperly, author of The Elephant Is Running: Process and Open and Relational Theology and Religious Pluralism
“This collection of spiritual memoirs offers no conclusions as to the “what” of the spiritual path. Instead, each chapter highlights the personal “how,” “why,” and “who” of ongoing spiritual adventures. Since the dogma is missing, this anthology is a terrific companion to diverse individuals and groups of spiritual seekers who may appreciate the company of a few fellow sojourners along the way.” —Rev. Bonnie Rambob, pastor, public school teacher, writer, podcast co-host
“As a chaplain, I am witness to countless stories of spiritual journey. Each is unique and often they follow a winding road of arrivals and departures, each moment intertwining with the next. This anthology invites you into the inner sanctum of spiritual exploration, where leaders and seekers share their most intimate encounters with mystery. I share Andrew Davis’ hope that discussion groups will form and participants will explore together. My wish for readers is that they find fellow seekers for exploration in community, a renewed sense of wonder, and the courage to tell their own story of spiritual becoming.” —Kathleen Reevs, board certified chaplain
“Inspirational stories of people experiencing God are not limited to saints who lived long ago in a pre-scientific era of mysticism. Right here and right now, in our modern world, many continue to have surprising encounters with profound effects. This book testifies that experiencing God saturates and overflows our capacities, it remains an encounter that takes hold of us, transforms us, and helps us see the depth of beauty that we are all part of.” —Andre Rabe, author of Processing Memetic Reality
“As the river refracts the sunlight, so one’s story refracts the truth—a thousand different points of beauty. Given this anthology contains 13 stories, by my math, the reader must have access to at least 13,000 different points of beauty. From musicians to thinkers, philosophers to preachers, this is writing marked by a sense of spirit and truth.” —Jonathan J. Foster, author of indigo: the color of grief
“Physicists, medical doctors, professors, clergy, founders of spiritual centers and schools, musicians, and artists recount their unexpected personal encounters convincing them that God exists. Study questions and recommended exercises follow each narrative. Form a small group of four to eight persons to read these sacred encounters—love stories, personal hymns of praise—and undertake the exercises together. Continue to meet after you have completed all of the exercises and you will have the spiritual community you longed for but didn’t know how to create. This book is a marvelous and powerful work.” —The Rev. Dr. Thandeka, Unitarian Universality theologian; founder of Affect Theology
“This rich, inspiring volume will serve its readers not only as food for thought, but for the spirit as well. Its first-person accounts of spiritual illumination draw from a variety of traditional and non-traditional sources. It is a book that’s highly appropriate to our times, which are characterized both by an ever-increasing diversity of worldviews, and an ever-increasing need for true inspiration and grounding in the Real.” —Jeffery D. Long, Carl W. Zeigler Professor of Religious Studies, Elizabethtown College
