Merton's Palace of Nowhere

by James Finley, Henri J. M. Nouwen (Foreword by)

Overview

For forty years, James Finley’s Merton's Palace of Nowhere has been the standard text for exploring, reflecting on, and understanding the rich vein of Thomas Merton's thought. Spiritual identity is the quest to know who we are, to find meaning, to overcome that sense of “Is this all there is?” Merton’s message cuts to the heart of this universal quest, and Finley illuminates that message as no one else can.

As a young man of eighteen, Finley left home for an unlikely destination: the Abbey of Gethsemani, where Thomas Merton lived as a contemplative. Finley stayed at the monastery for six maturing years and later wrote this Merton’s Palace of Nowhere in order to share a taste of what he had learned on his spiritual journey under the guidance of one of the great religious figures of our time. At the heart of the quest for spiritual identity are Merton's illuminating insights—leading from an awareness of the false and illusory self to a realization of the true self.

Dog-eared, tattered, underlined copies of this book are found on the bookshelves of retreat centers, parish libraries, and the homes of spiritual seekers everywhere. This anniversary edition brings a classic to a new generation and includes a new preface by Finley.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781594713170
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	02/02/2018
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	917,014
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

James Finley is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Santa Monica, California. Finley spent a number of years under the spiritual direction of Thomas Merton, and they were contemporaries during Finley's six years at the Abbey of Gethsemani. In addition to his clinical practice, Finley leads contemplative retreats and teaches throughout the United States and Canada, and he is the author of many books.

Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996), one of the most popular spiritual writers of our time, was ordained a priest in 1957 in Holland. He wrote more than forty books, among them the bestselling Out of Solitude. He taught at the University of Notre Dame as well as at Yale and Harvard Universities. From 1986 until his death in 1996 he was part of the L’Arche Daybreak community in Toronto, where he shared his life with people with mental disabilities.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	6
	From The Author 25 Years Later	7
	Foreword to the 25th Anniversary Edition	9
	Foreword	12
	Introduction: Upon Learning to See	15
1	The Foundation of The False Self	27
2	The True Self in The World	43
3	The True Self in Religious Searching	61
4	The Realization of The True Self	87
5	The Insight	119
	Notes	149