The Enlightened Heart - Edited by Stephen Mitchell

Okay. It's been awhile since the old girl did a book report. Of ANY kind!

And what's a book review but a gussied up book report? So where do I start?

I have to say that half way through The Enlightened Heart, I thought to myself what an unlikely book this was to start with. I've never been a poetry reader - unless it was assigned, or I happened to come across one that caught my eye in a magazine.

I have always been a fiction novel reader for the most part - through I never met a Arthur C. Clarke or Isaac Asimov short story I didn't like! (Or Anne McCaffery, etc. Looks like fantasy and sci-fic short fiction rocks the house with me!) But I have to say, I enjoyed this one. Not in the sense of a read that takes you to a totally different place. But because it was such a different type of reading experience for me.

The Enlightened Heart consists of verses from 49 different writers or sources. They include authors or sources that were familiar to me, at the very least by name (Emily Dickinson, the Book of Psalms, Walt Whitman) and those I have never heard of (Kukai, Kabir, George Herbert).

In looking at some of the names on the back of the book (all authors and sources are listed there) you can be forgiven for saying to yourself "What the heck is D. H. Lawrence doing listed in a book of Sacred Poetry?”. But every poem/verse in this book speaks to, or reflects upon the concept of God or what to make of life in a spiritual context.

I love the choice from William Shakespeare, a verse from the Tempest, which includes the line "We are such stuff as dreams are made on and our little life is rounded by a sleep" It is the contemplation of that life rounded by a sleep that all these authors/sources are reflecting on.

The editors choices range from the very short to the, perhaps overlong, (Rilke, I must say, I found both long and downright boring). But long or short, boring or no, I found food for thought in all of them, those I felt I understood and those I frankly did not. And getting the chance to sample from so many different spiritual traditions and viewpoints was definitely refreshing!

Looking at the ones I post-it flagged to remember (my book is a bristle with them!), I see I tend towards the more universal thoughts - no dogmatist I! ; - ) Admittedly, this book is light on the dark night of the soul poems that might challenge a bit more. That being said, I still recommend you pick it up if you're ready to have your mind pricked just a bit on both the poetic and spiritual tip. It left me thinking I would like to read more of some of these authors poetry.

It was a pleasant way to start my reading journey!