Since beginningless time humans have wandered the Earth in search of love. Today, even in the midst of so much violence, addiction, and other manifestations of separateness, our collective human consciousness is growing in wisdom and openness, and we have begun to seek more deeply the love that created and sustains us. Moving beyond psychological/emotional need and “romantic” projections of love, more and more of us seek our sacred companions -- within and without.
From this soul-longing arises the latest book by spiritual teacher and author Megan Don, Sacred Companions Sacred Community: Reflections with Clare of Assisi. Embodying the guiding wisdom of Saint Clare of Assisi, spiritual companion and teacher to Saint Francis of Assisi, this book gently illuminates our personal, sacred journeys toward the Beloved within, through the mirrors of partners and community.
The thirteenth-century life of Saint Clare is a peerless example of the path to God and the relinquishing of the ego-self, expressed both through her personal relationship with Francis and in her role as founder and leader of the radical Poor Clares. Don’s impeccable research and personal pilgrimages to Assisi bring to light long-overlooked teachings of great beauty and practicality for us today.
The focus of the book is not facts and history, but feeling and contemplation. Divided into six sections of seven short chapters each, according to the five physical senses and the mystical “sixth sense” whose source is oneness, Don’s radiant prose and thoughtfully chosen quotations support each of us to enter into sacred relationship with the truth of who we are.
Each chapter begins with a quotation, followed by reflective passages and then two meditations, one for individuals or couples and one for larger groups. In this way, Sacred Companions explicitly supports not only individual work, but also group and community study and contemplation. These teachings are accessible to all: man or woman, partnered or otherwise, whatever your spiritual orientation.
Readable both sequentially and through the unsystematic selection of passages, this is a book we are meant to sit with in contemplation, allowing soul-lessons to come into focus. As Don suggests, “… invite the Spirit of God and Clare to be with you.” Alive in the magic of the heart-words on these pages, rest assured they will come.
You can purchase Sacred Companions Sacred Community online for $16.05 through the iUniverse website at http://www.iuniverse.com/bookstore/book_detail.asp?isbn=0-595-47068-8.
About the author: Megan Don is an award-winning author and spiritual counselor who leads retreats based on the Mystical Pathway. Megan also leads pilgrimages to Assisi, Italy to visit the sacred places where Clare and Francis lived and died. She currently lives in Portland, Maine. Please visit her website at www.mysticpeace.com.
