Disciplines of the Spirit

by Howard Thurman

Dr. Howard Thurman (1900-1981)--minister, educator, philosopher, and poet--explores five major dimensions of the spiritual life: commitment, growing in wisdom and stature,suffering, prayer, and reconciliation.

Genres: Spirituality, Theology, Religion, Christian, Christianity, Nonfiction, African American

128 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Howard Washington Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century.

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Melody Schwarting · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disciplines of the Spirit is, yet again, one of those texts that must be read repeatedly to be mined for its riches. Thurman's disciplines are commitment, growing in wisdom and stature, suffering, prayer, and reconciliation.

Thurman's voice is very gentle (he was associated with the nonviolent movement), very personal. Disciplines read like listening to a wise person humbly explain himself. He puts personal stories to great use here. Sometimes, in spiritual books, personal stories function to explain the author's background, or add humor, or provide a break from a heavy narrative (all of which have their places). In Thurman's writing, however, I found his stories illustrating his ideas splendidly. Remembering the story becomes easy shorthand for remembering his points.

I'm eager to read more by Thurman. In his chapter on prayer, I found connections to Ignatian spirituality in particular, and I'm curious if he was aware of the Jesuit tradition. The final chapter on reconciliation was the best Christian advocation for nonviolence that I've read, and I hope he's written more on that topic. Thurman is a gentle soul and I cherish the chance to know him through his writing.

I've heard Thurman described as a mystic, and while I wouldn't have called him that based on Disciplines of the Spirit alone, he does refer to some "mystical" experiences. The basis for mysticism is present in his spirituality. I put "mystical" in scare quotes because it's such a hard term to define. He's not levitating like Teresa of Ávila. I find evangelicals are often suspicious of mysticism, but with my lengthy background in evangelicalism, I know mystical experiences are often encouraged in evangelical spirituality. Evangelicals use terms like mountaintop experience and speak of feeling (close to God, God's presence, et c.) and hearing from God directly. These are part and parcel of mysticism, though the mystical tradition has a much better track record of dealing with the valley experiences preceding and following mountaintop experiences. Evangelicals can be so unaware of the historic Christian tradition that one moment they'll say "God told me to ____" and the next moment say, "I just don't believe [insert mystic here] heard directly from God." Anyway. Thurman stands healthily in between these traditions. He offers a middle path between medieval mysticism--which is pretty intense for low church folks--and no mysticism at all.

[Ryan Motter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spend time sitting with the Discipline if Commitment. Truth is indeed in the timing.

[Dara Tinius · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an absolutely lovely and useful book. Howard Thurman is a beautiful writer and his thoughts feel perfectly applicable to modern life.

[Cameron Barham]

“All our life long we are fashioning a private pattern made up of the resolutions of the crises of growth. Such a pattern gives to each life a dominant trend which becomes an essential—not a casual—part of character.”, p. 55

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true mystic.

[Adam Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Exploration of spiritual disciplines from 20th century mystic Howard Thurman.

At the end of June I did a 8 day silent retreat with Jesuit Antiracist Sodality (JARS) at Ignatius House. As I have described it to others, it was the least silent, silent retreat I have done. That is not to say it wasn’t a silent retreat, but that it had more “content” than a standard retreat because it was themed. Each day there were three times of worship, a Morning Prayer service where the “witness of the day” had a passage read by or about them and there was a sermon. And then on the way out of this service, we would be given a guiding sheet about the witness of the day that had links to an audio or video or a written passage. Usually there was also a couple of songs that matched the theme and some directing questions to prompt reflection. Unlike the previous two silent retreats I have done, there was full music at every service, mostly gospel or spirituals with sung psalms and mass elements. Then just before lunch there was a full mass and Eucharist with another sermon and more music. This service sometimes went for 90 minutes. And then there was an evening service that included music again, but was primarily focused around a prayer of examen.

Also unusual for a silent retreat, there was an optional hour before dinner where people could come to debrief. And five of the nights had some type of video that we watched together, mostly documentaries. It was still a silent retreat, but there was more directed content than a usual silent retreat and there was both a good bit of singing and time for discussion in addition to a normal daily meeting with a spiritual direction (which we still had.)

Disciplines of the Spirit was the book that I slowly read over the week. It is a short book, only about 130 pages. There were five chapters. I am strongly influenced by Howard Thurman, but I do not universally love everything that he writes. I am frequently frustrated by some of the modernism of his approach or his theology. And he was writing mostly in the 1940-1970s, prior to the rise of Black Liberation theology and the Womanist critique of the early liberation theology.

The book starts with two chapters on commitment and growth. Overly simplistically, Thurman advocates for a deep commitment as part of our commitment to the spirit. And he has a full chapter to discuss the need for growth by looking at Jesus’ need for growth. If Jesus is a model for us (he is not only a model theologically, but being a model human is part of what Jesus is for us), then if Jesus needed to grow “in wisdom and stature” we should also expect that we need to growth. These two disciplines are essential to the last three disciplines.

The third chapter is a discussion of suffering as a discipline. The chapter on suffering is a backward response to the problem of evil. I think that is helpful reframing of the problem of evil by looking at freedom as a necessary part of love. If God is a god of love, then we have to have freedom to respond to that love. A byproduct of freedom is the possibility of failure and suffering. In this framing, freedom that does not have the possibility of failure and suffering would not really be free. I think there are some weaknesses to this approach if you press into it, but as a brief approach I think it is helpful. This is not unlike what I have heard from others about the necessity of struggle to achieve growth. A toddler cannot learn to walk without falling. Falling is part of how a child learns balance. And children start with rolling, standing and crawling to learn movement before walking. Falling is not itself a wrong that should always be avoided. If we avoid all falling, then we would as a result avoid the end result of walking.

As I hinted at above, I think that the womanist critique of viewing meritorious suffering as an unalloyed good is an appropriate critique of the chapter even as I largely agree with Thurman’s approach here. I think if Thurman were writing later, he would have written this chapter (and the rest of the book) differently in response to not only the womanist critique around suffering, but in other matters like his use of masculine language to be universal. So while I don’t love the idea of suffering being a “spiritual discipline,” I do think that his framing of how suffering and struggle is part of the spiritual life is right.

The chapter on prayer is seemingly simple in comparison to the other chapters. Without mentioning it, Thurman seems to be drawing on the understanding of prayer that is in The Cloud of Unknowing. Maybe there is an independent Quaker source that is similar that he is drawing on instead. Thurman has the combination of mysticism and modernism that I think can be a bit opaque at times. But this seem clearer to me what come other areas. 

Prayer is communication. The key to communicating with God is to be on the same wavelength. Silence is key to getting on the same wavelength with God. Spiritual Disciplines are the work to remove that which keeps us from God. When we have the hunger that God plants in us become the dominant desire, then we are ready to pray. In the Ignatian sense this is detachment. Thurman tells a story of a woman expressing to God all of her memories and feelings about a question before her, and at the end, she has this sense of openness to all options because she has opened herself to God and she trusts in him. 

I have some issues with thinking about prayer this way. Because I am not sure that detachment is right, it feels too much like Greek philosophy that suggests that emotion is a problem. But Thurman isn’t quite saying this. He includes feelings and emotion as being essential to prayer. So I think it is that once those have been communicated, then we have to trust God. I think Ignatius had a different conception that he had to come to a place of acceptance and detachment from wanting a particular solution. Thurman is similar but slightly different in that he isn’t saying to not want the solution that you want, but that once you have communicated it to God, then our role is to trust. 

Later in the chapter there is a good section on confession. He is suggesting that we have an innate need within us to confess our sin before God. Once we have laid bare our reality and properly acknowledged our role, then we can come away without guilt and know that our sin is forgiven and we are wholly known by God and loved. And while that does not mean that the impact of our sin is completely gone, Thurman says that in a way we can’t fully know, that it is like ‘a solvent’ begins to work on our sin so that we will move toward total healing. 

Again, I don’t think that Thurman would say that this is all that needs to happen. There is a role for human restitution and repair for the impacts of sin. But what he is talking about here is the way that sin binds us internally and harms our soul. It isn’t that God can stop loving us or that we can’t pray as a result of God’s withdrawal from us, but that our own internal make up is harmed by sin and that confession is part of the process of these repair. 

The final chapter is on the discipline of reconciliation. My comments here are already too long so I won’t spend too much time in this chapter, but I do want to note that the last five pages of the book are some of the best and most important writing on the concept of love that I have ever read. I would quote all of it if I could. Overly simplistically, these pages suggest that after everything that has come before, love is the true center. This is a long but beautiful quote: 

"Every man [one] wants to be cared for, to be sustained by the assurance of watchful and thoughtful attention of others.” Such is the meaning of love.

Sometimes the radiance of love is so soft and gentle that the individual sees himself with all harsh lines wiped away and all limitations blended with his strengths in so happy a combination that strength seems to be everywhere and weakness is nowhere to be found. This is a part of the magic, the spell of love. Sometimes its radiance kindles old fires that have long since grown cold from the neglect of despair, or new fires are kindled by a hope born full-blown without beginning and without end. Sometimes the same radiance blesses a life with a vision of its possibilities never before dreamed of or sought, stimulating new endeavor and summoning all latent powers to energize the life at its inmost core.

But there are other ways by which love works its perfect work. There is a steady anxiety that surrounds man's experience of love. It may stab the spirit by calling forth a bitter, scathing self-judgment. The heights to which it calls may seem so high that all incentive is lost and the individual is stricken with utter hopelessness and despair. It may throw in relief old and forgotten weaknesses to which one has made the adjustment of acceptance—but which now stir in their place to offer themselves as testimony of one's unworthiness and to challenge the love with their embarrassing reality. At such times one expects love to be dimmed, in the mistaken notion that it is ultimately based upon merit and worth.

Behold the miracle! Love has no awareness of merit or demerit; it has no scale by which its portion may be weighed or measured. It does not seek to balance giving and receiving. Love loves; this is its nature.

This goes on for pages about the role of love and the importance of being seen and rooting that love in God. He returns again, like in his sermon The Sound of the Genuine to Psalm 139. We can love because God has loved us and will not leave us. And we can love others out of gratitude for that love. 

Thurman notes that we can want this type of love from others, but then not be willing to give it to others. God can empower us to love in this way if we ask and most often we get to love another this way by seeking to understand the other. Generally, we have to condition ourselves to have leisure (or at least appear to have leisure) to love others so that we are joyful to listen to others and truly know them. 

I wish Thurman were a bit easier for me to read. I tend to get bogged down in his reading and it is really someplace like a silent retreat where I can read longer works by him. I didn’t have any problem reading his autobiography. And I like his sermons and short devotional writing, but I never seem to finish collections of those. I think I am going to read his book on the spirituals next. I am about finished with a collection of essays about Thurman. And I want to pick up Howard Thurman: The Mystic as Prophet by Luther Smith at some point this year.

This was originally posted on my blog at https://bookwi.se/disciplines-of-the-...

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard Thurman was a philosopher, theologian, and educator whose writings influenced many civil rights leaders, notably Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I bought this first edition in 1963, little knowing that its writer was a wise man and a very unusual Baptist - the kind who studied philosophy under a Quaker mystic and went on to found a multi-cultural church. It's phrased with deceptive simplicity and eloquence but its insights reward careful study. I didn't have the patience for it when I was younger...

This book came out of his teaching at Boston University as Professor of Spiritual Disciplines. The first semester of his course studied religious experience with an emphasis on Christianity. The second was "a study of suffering, tragedy, and love as the disciplines of the spirit through which an individual may be ushered into the Presence of God."

The chapter headings are: Commitment; Growing in Wisdom and Stature; Suffering; Prayer; Reconciliation. The final chapter, Reconciliation, deals with violence and nonviolence in a most concrete and realistic way, building on the insights of the earlier chapters.

The chapter on suffering is the heart of the book. Thurman bypasses metaphysical examinations of the problem of evil and cuts right to what all sufferers want to know: "How may my suffering be managed or overcome?...Must I finally be overcome and destroyed by it?" His answer is not in books "or even in the ritual or ceremonies of religion." Rather he believes it "is to be found in the testimony of the human spirit."

"The man who suffers must say yea or nay, in his utterance feeling himself sustained, supported, and confirmed, or undermined, deserted and denied. If the answer to his suffering is to face it and challenge it to do its worst because he knows that when it has exhausted itself it has only touched the outer walls of his dwelling place, this can only come to pass because he has found something big enough to contain all violences and violations -- he has found that his life is rooted in a God who cares for him and cultivates his spirit...He knows that even in his own strength he never quite explores the limits of his endurance, and beyond all this there is the possibility of a reinforcement of his life that transcends all the vicissitudes of his fortune...To seek to know how he may enter into such a grand fulfillment is the essence of all wisdom and the meaning of all human striving. Of course, he may be mistaken. But to be mistaken in such a grand and illumined undertaking is to go down to his grave with a shout." pp. 84-85

The chapter on prayer sees the hunger for God as "an expression of the givenness of God...the trysting place where the God and the soul of man meet."

The chapter on reconciliation deal with forgiveness, yes, but not superficially. Nonviolence is founded on reconciliation - "the inner reconciliation that an individual experiences when he feels that his life is bottomed by another's caring." What it feels like to confront violence with nonviolence - we see through the eyes of those who have done this and lived to tell the tale.

"The spirit of retaliation must be relaxed and overcome" and the only way this can happen is for the reconciliation to occur within one's own spirit. "Violence feeds on fear...the fear it engenders in those against whom it is directed" and especially physical fear. "If the highest premium is placed upon life, the fear of its loss or injury enables violence to maintain itself in active control...If there is no fear at this point, then the power of violence is critically undermined."

And so the man who has learned to suffer well can perhaps rise above this fear and stand against violence.
A discipline worth developing...

[Jennifer Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings about this book. I really enjoyed it and thought that the author had some important points to make and yet I had a really hard time getting through the book. The writing was a bit antiquated reminding me that it was written several decades ago and yet the message was relevant for today-especially the section on reconciliation.

[Danny Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is too much to say about this book. Not only is this one of the best books I have ever read, but Thurman is the most inspiring man I have ever encountered. He emanated Jesus in every action of his day. I wish I could sit at his feet because I am sure being near to him would have shown me Jesus.

Read this book. Read all of his books. He asks you three questions: Who are you? What do you want? How are you going to get it?

It was all about finding your identity in Christ and surrendering more every day. Look at your motivations and see how they point to Christ!

[Katrina Warner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 out of 5 stars largely because the Prayer chapter is amazing and some of the reconciliation chapter was also illuminating. Though thoughtful and well written, I struggled with the first three chapters and how it relates to my faith. I definitely recommend the Prayer chapter for every one, though.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The experience of love is either a necessity or a luxury. If it be a luxury, it is expendable; if it be a necessity, then to deny it is to perish. So simple is the reality, and so terrifying. Ultimately there is only one place of refuge on this planet for any person-that is in another person's heart. To love is to make of one's heart a swinging door."

[Carmen Fox davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

The most profound book I've ever read. It is a hefty read because the language is dense. If you're patient in breaking through the language of the era in which the work was written, you'll mine diamonds of wisdom. I'll be reading this book over again yearly, and going over my highlights frequently.

[Wes Van Fleet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow start but once Thurman gets going, he goes! Great little book on how certain disciplines like prayer and reconciliation are first from God and applied to real life stuff. I found this little book to be comforting and super convicting at times. Surprisingly, there were an abundance of nuggets on discipleship that I will remember and use with others.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

In five brief but dense chapters, the eminent, widely influential Christian theologian explores five major dimensions of the spiritual life: commitment, growing in wisdom and stature, suffering, prayer, and reconciliation.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

An amazing amount of wisdom packed into 127 pages!

[Colleen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read upon recommendation from a

[Ms. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a book that you cannot "skim". You must read it slowly. Do not lose patience with the prose. It is worth the effort, because there are jewels buried in that prose.

[Carl Williams]

Howard Thurman's words usually resonate deeply with me, but I struggled with this volume. Perhaps another time.

[Jeffrey N. Hora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Avery fulfilling work. I intend to read many more of his writings.

[Graydon Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had lots of great thoughts and deep truthful principles, but I had a harder time tracking it. I took a long break from reading it because it wasn’t connecting with me very well.

[Kali Cawthon-Freels · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always, Howard Thurman provides a wealth of mystic wisdom that challenges me in the best ways.

[Suzy G]

This one was harder for me to get through in my class readings. I did not read all of it, though the chapter on "suffering" is one I'll return to.

[Patty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richmond Hill is a retreat center overlooking the city of Richmond, VA. It has been a place of prayer for many, many years and it is also a place dear to my heart. I try to get there often for I feel peace every time I visit.

Richmond Hill is the first place I remember hearing Howard Thurman’s name. He was spoken of with awe. I eventually learned that he was active in the civil rights movement and was a mentor to Martin Luther King, Jr. He was a prolific writer and many of his books are still in print.

This is the first whole book by Thurman that I have read. I did a devotional study using a book with quotes from Thurman, but it took the Field Notes (https://sarahbessey.com/field-notes/) Book Club to get this book into my hands.

This is not an easy read. It was written in 1963, using language that is much more formal than what I am used to. Also, because of the time period, Thurman uses man to stand for all humans and refers to G!d as he. I know this is my bias, but I do not feel welcomed by such language.

However, I found Thurman’s words on commitment, prayer and reconciliation to be especially meaningful at this time. Thurman may have been writing in the 60’s, but his words continue to speak truth.

[Albert Hong · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was really excited about this book. Christian spirituality is by and large predominantly white, so I was excited to delve into spiritual disciplines through the lens of someone who encounters them while struggling with racial injustice.

I enjoyed his thoughts on nonviolence and there seems to be a good amount of wisdom here, but the language was so dense that there were large portions that I just couldn't follow.

[Sean Watkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took two years to finish this little book. Howard Thurman speaks softly but deeply on spiritual disciplines from a previous generation. He provides tremendous insights on what it means to walk with Jesus in the midst of tremendous oppression. Five simple chapters on Commitment, Growing in Wisdom and Stature, Suffering, Prayer, and Reconciliation. This book is phenomenal. I will return to it regularly.

[Ron · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maybe an extended period of idleness is affecting my reading ability, but I found Thurman's style somewhat obtuse at times. Granted, he was writing in the early 60's, and so when he references current events I have to remember my recent history. However, the final chapter, on Reconciliation, had some very good material on non-violence that will be worth a second read.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolute thought provoking, the chapters on Suffering, Prayer, and Reconciliation were amazing, I will search out further titles by this gentleman whose was one of Martin Luther King Jr.'s mentors.

[Bob Wolniak · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very wise thoughts that helped me understand the effects of anger and the disciplines of reconciliation.

[Rachel]

This book has SO much good wisdom packed in. Unfortunately at this time, my brain can't handle it, so I'm moving it to DNF but hoping to come back to it someday.