Training for the Life of the Spirit

by Gerald Heard

Introducing new reprints by Gerald The Creed of Christ The Code of Christ Training for the Life of the Spirit Prayers and Meditations "There was a period in my early thirties when these four small books by Gerald Heard served almost as my bible. I read and reread them, and invariably found them to be uplifting and inspiring." - Professor Huston Smith "Gerald Heard was an inspiring voice for the life of the spirit. Wipf & Stock is to be commended that Heard's remarkable work is being made available to a new generation of spiritual seekers." - Dr. William H. Forthman Required reading for those walking the spiritual path, Gerald Heard's Training for the Life of the Spirit methodically outlines the entire course of the aspirant's journey. Heard provides a time-tested roadmap for the "There is a purpose in evolution - to evolve consciously, to evolve consciousness. That evolution is achieved only by the skilled, conscious training of our spirits." The aspirant works to subdue their "For in so far as we are emptied of self, so far are we freed from accident. Our habit patterns, our moods…our natures can be reconditioned, re-freed. We will be inwardly reunited, our fissured selves re-fused." Training for the Life of the Spirit contains Gerald Heard's essential "Our whole life must become intentional and purposive, instead of a series of irrelevant events, adventures, and accidents, happy or unhappy."

Genres: Spirituality

100 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2008

About the author

Gerald Heard, born in London on October 6, 1889, of Irish ancestry, was educated in England, taking honors in history and studying theology at the University of Cambridge. Following Cambridge, he worked for Lord Robson of Jesmond and later for Sir Horace Plunkett, founder of the Irish Agriculture Cooperative movement. Heard began lecturing from 1926 to 1929 at Oxford University's Board of Extra Mural Studies. In 1927 he began lecturing for South Place Ethical Society. From 1929 to 1930 he edited "The Realist," a monthly journal of scientific humanism whose sponsors included H.G. Wells, Julian Huxley, and Aldous Huxley. In 1929 he published The Ascent of Humanity, an essay on the philosophy of history that received the prestigious Hertz Prize by the British Academy. From 1930 to 1934 he served as the BBC's first science commentator, and from 1932 to 1942 he was a council member of the Society for Psychical Research.

In 1937 Gerald Heard came to the United States, accompanied by Aldous Huxley, after having been offered the chair of historical anthropology at Duke University. After delivering some lectures at Duke, Heard gave up the post and soon settled in California where from 1941 to 1942 he founded and oversaw the building of Trabuco College, a large facility where comparative-religion studies and practices flourished under Heard's visionary direction. Trabuco College, 30 years ahead of its time, was discontinued in 1947, and the vast properties were subsequently donated to the Vedanta Society of Southern California.

During the 1950s, Heard's main activities were writing and lecturing, along with an occasional television and radio appearance. His broad philosophical themes and scintillating oratorical style influenced many people and attracted a legion of interested persons. But chiefly he maintained a regular discipline of meditation for many years, as the core of his mature beliefs centered around the intentional evolution of consciousness.

A prolific writer, Heard penned some thirty-eight books, the most important of which are his pioneering academic works documenting the evolution of consciousness, including The Ascent of Humanity (1929), The Social Substance of Religion (1931), The Source of Civilization (1935), Pain, Sex and Time (1939), and his last book, The Five Ages of Man (1964). He also wrote several popular devotional books, including The Creed of Christ (1940) and Training for the Life of the Spirit (1941-42). Under the name H. F. Heard (H. F. for Henry FitzGerald, his given name), he wrote a number of mysteries and fantasies, including A Taste for Honey (1941) and The Great Fog and Other Weird Tales (1944). Following five years of illness, Gerald Heard peacefully passed away at his home in Santa Monica, California, on August 14, 1971.

Reviews

[Shashank · Rating 5 out of 5]

A clear and elegant little book, ahead of its time. A insightful mixture of mysticism with an evolutionary religious philosophy. All grounded in practical spiritual training: intention and conduct. I'm sure his other works go more in depth, but this was a great introduction to his writings for me.

If you enjoy reading Ken Wilber, Huston Smith or the spiritual writings of Aldous Huxley I'd highly recommend this book. It's clear why all three of those writers found some inspiration in the writings of Gerald Heard.

[Jeffrey N. Hora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting little book (let me say first off that the quality of book binging is pretty mediocre....pages keep falling out....). I read it in tandem with the Autobiography of Teresa of Avila and found the parallels and commentary/descriptions of essentially the same experiences very helpful. While the centuries separate the two authors, the expression of Prayer and life in the Spirit combine remarkably.