Disciplines of the Spirit

Howard Thurman's Disciplines Of The Spirit

I have been reading works by the American religious leader and philosopher-mystic Howard Thurman (1899 -- 1981) including this short, difficult 1963 book, "Disciplines of the Spirit", which is based in part on lectures Thurman gave in 1960 and 1961. The book consists of five short, dense chapters each of which discusses an aspect of human experience which Thurman considers universal and of special value for tutoring the human spirit in its understanding of God. The five areas discussed are commitment, growth, suffering, prayer, and reconciliation.

It is difficult to get a handle on this book because of the depth of Thurman's thought and because of the way his discussion flows. Readers who look for a logical, rigorous presentation will have trouble. Thurman tries to study human experience and he uses a variety of means to approach it. These include personal experiences and anecdotes from his reflective life. He makes great use of the Bible, particularly the New Testament and the Psalms. He also uses other books from his reading not so much in the way of argument but by means of illustration. He lists four books of particular importance in his Foreword, at least three of which are likely to be unfamiliar to contemporary readers. The medieval philosopher-mystic Meister Eckhart is cited sparingly but at key moments of Thurman's discussion. The South African author Olive Schreiner (1855 -- 1920) was of great importance to Thurman, and she is quoted many times in this book.

The most important discipline Thurman discusses is the first, commitment. He tries to show how individuals need a purpose in their lives to find love and connection and escape loneliness. This purpose extends through family and community and ultimately includes seeing the commonality between self, the universe and God. I was reminded of the American philosopher Josiah Royce and the emphasis Royce placed on loyalty.

A recent scholarly book on Thurman by Anthony Sean Neal, "Howard Thurman's Philosophical Mysticism: Love against Fragmentation" discusses Thurman's treatment of commitment and is worth quoting here:

"For Thurman, this is a living world; there is also commonality stemming from the agent of life, and this agent is also alive. This agent, which has its origin in God, is expressed in all things that are living. These premises are quite common to many, who can be thought of as mystics, but Thurman extends this line of reasoning to include the realization of the unity or commonness in all living things as they actualize their full potential. Thurman bases his acceptance of the fundamental unity of living things in the observation of the rhythm or repetition of basic patterns within all living things. For Thurman, living things begin to pursue their potential from a desire towards unity. Once unity is reach[ed], the living entities are now able to fully actualize their potential." (Anthony Neal, p. 39)

The remaining four chapters of the book offer their own insights but can be viewed as a deepening understanding of Thurman's view of commitment and of the interconnection of all life in reality. The portions of these chapters that most moved me were Thurman's discussions of suffering and his discussions of prayer. Thurman's discussion of suffering focuses on his understanding of death as a part of life. He stresses the inadequacy of philosophical efforts to deal with suffering through their consideration of the "problem of evil" but finds instead that suffering and death may best be faced through a person's reflection on experience and growth in understanding. Thurman understands prayer is the efforts of the individual to find unity in God and to find peace of spirit in face of the fragmentation and distraction of everyday life. I learned a great deal from his discussion.

The final chapter of the book, "Reconciliation" was written separately from the rest. Thurman explores and tries to unify a range of seemingly disparate areas in which reconciliation applies, ranging from a person's reconciliation with the course of his or her own life and reconciliation with God. The focus is on communal reconciliation and in particular reconciliation in terms of racial justice in the United States. People need to learn to love each other.

I was primarily interested in Thurman due to my interest in philosophical mysticism and idealism. I learned a great deal about these from Thurman and also learned how these philosophical commitments may lead to human solidarity and activism. Readers interested in mysticism and in the African American experience will benefit from reading Howard Thurman.

Robin Friedman