An architect’s convincing blueprint for inner peace.
A comprehensive spiritual guidebook that offers a vision of tranquility and fulfillment.
The title of Cross’ new book will give readers the sense that he has some ambitious goals. There are no half-measures in this capacious volume, which aims to synthesize insights from psychology, medicine, cartography, religion, philosophy, and science. It’s a lot to unpack, but the throughline is freedom, which Cross, the author of The Architecture of Freedom (2014) and The Path to Personal Freedom (2016), describes as “letting go of those things in our lives that block us from experiencing our birthright, which is living fully within the flow of this infinite multiverse—a flow that is shaped and interconnected with a deeper type of Love.” Of course, ideas like these aren’t new; they have roots in time-tested Eastern religious practices that advocate detachment from the things of this world and a search for enlightenment and serenity. The strength of Cross’ book, however, is his attempt to put ancient ideas into a contemporary idiom. He’s able to do so because he’s trained in a very different field—architecture—and the fact that he’s a nonspecialist is not a weakness but a great strength. Like a traveler from another land who’s able to see things that longtime residents miss, Cross brings an outsider’s perspective to spiritual concerns and produces genuinely unique new insights. Among these is his central, titular concept, whole-ing, which is both a process and destination for the author; he defines the term as “the conscious illumination, acceptance, and integration of all that we are; all that we judge to be ‘good’ along with all of the ‘bad,’ so that we may become more of a ‘whole’ and complete being.” This fuller and more profound experience of life has many aspects, and Cross imagines whole-ing as having spiritual, physical, and psychological benefits. That he’s able to make these benefits seem so achievable is a testament to his powers as a writer and as a thinker.
An architect’s convincing blueprint for inner peace.Pub Date: May 20, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-9888344-9-1
Page Count: 420
Publisher: One River Press
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.
A compendium of charts, time lines, lists and illustrations to accompany study of the Bible.
This visually appealing resource provides a wide array of illustrative and textually concise references, beginning with three sets of charts covering the Bible as a whole, the Old Testament and the New Testament. These charts cover such topics as biblical weights and measures, feasts and holidays and the 12 disciples. Most of the charts use a variety of illustrative techniques to convey lessons and provide visual interest. A worthwhile example is “How We Got the Bible,” which provides a time line of translation history, comparisons of canons among faiths and portraits of important figures in biblical translation, such as Jerome and John Wycliffe. The book then presents a section of maps, followed by diagrams to conceptualize such structures as Noah’s Ark and Solomon’s Temple. Finally, a section on Christianity, cults and other religions describes key aspects of history and doctrine for certain Christian sects and other faith traditions. Overall, the authors take a traditionalist, conservative approach. For instance, they list Moses as the author of the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Hebrew Bible) without making mention of claims to the contrary. When comparing various Christian sects and world religions, the emphasis is on doctrine and orthodox theology. Some chapters, however, may not completely align with the needs of Catholic and Orthodox churches. But the authors’ leanings are muted enough and do not detract from the work’s usefulness. As a resource, it’s well organized, inviting and visually stimulating. Even the most seasoned reader will learn something while browsing.
Worthwhile reference stuffed with facts and illustrations.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2005
ISBN: 978-1-5963-6022-8
Page Count: -
Publisher: N/A
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2010
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
This a book of earlier, philosophical essays concerned with the essential "absurdity" of life and the concept that- to overcome the strong tendency to suicide in every thoughtful man-one must accept life on its own terms with its values of revolt, liberty and passion. A dreary thesis- derived from and distorting the beliefs of the founders of existentialism, Jaspers, Heldegger and Kierkegaard, etc., the point of view seems peculiarly outmoded. It is based on the experience of war and the resistance, liberally laced with Andre Gide's excessive intellectualism. The younger existentialists such as Sartre and Camus, with their gift for the terse novel or intense drama, seem to have omitted from their philosophy all the deep religiosity which permeates the work of the great existentialist thinkers. This contributes to a basic lack of vitality in themselves, in these essays, and ten years after the war Camus seems unaware that the life force has healed old wounds... Largely for avant garde aesthetes and his special coterie.
Pub Date: Sept. 26, 1955
ISBN: 0679733736
Page Count: 228
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: Sept. 19, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1955
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
