Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life by Henri J.M. Nouwen

Reaching Out: The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life Reviews

• 
  Tim

  I've completed this my first Nouwen book with the conviction that I waited far too long to begin reading this authorReaching Out is a simple straightforward deep and dense treatment of the inward outward and upward movements of the spiritual life The inner movement from loneliness to solitude involves letting go of expectations from others and being willing to be alone Once contentment is found there one can act in accordance with hisher deep desires rather than reactively and impulsively The outer movement from hostility to hospitality follows from the inner movement If we can avoid being desperate and impulsive we can focus on others and create free receptive space for them to grow Nouwen compares hospitality to parenting not clinging or controlling but enabling one's development and departure He adds that church should not be a place of coercion and conformity but feeding Pastors should be not people with answers but people who are able to listen Nouwen claims that the upward movent from illusion to prayer undergirds the other two We must identify and release illusions such as the immortality of our stuff and certain dreams and expectations Instead we must strive for true reality in prayer while also receiving it as a gift Nouwen recommends listening to Scripture spending alone time with God and having a spiritual guide He also mentions developing a heart prayer through meditationrepetition as well as communal prayer which keeps us from becoming too narrow and sectarian All in all you might not agree with every little point by Nouwen but such an approach would be missing the point Nouwen's strength is in his balanced perspective where he somehow is able to present both sides of every issue on a consistent basis He follows his own advice he is heartfelt rather than reactionary welcoming rather than divisive and God focused rather than oriented toward some lesser goal A must read for anyone with an appetite for soul searching
• 
  Keri Murcray

  Some favorite uotes“Only few ‘happy endings’ make us happy but often someone’s careful and honest articulation of the ambiguities uncertainties and painful conditions of life gives us new hope” “When we think about the people who have given us hope and have increased the strength of our soul we might discover that they were not the advice givers warners or moralists but the few who were able to articulate in words and actions the human condition in which we participate and who encouraged us to face the realities of life Preachers who reduce mysteries to problems and offer Band Aid type solutions are depressing because they avoid the compassionate solidarity out of which healing comes forth But Tolstoy’s description of the complex emotions of Anna Karenina driving her to suicide can give us a new sense of hope Not because of any solution they offered but because of the courage to enter so deeply into human suffering and speak from there Neither Kierkegaard nor Sartre nor Camus nor Hammarskjold not Solzhenitsyn has offered solutions but many who read their words find new strength to pursue their own personal search Those who do not run away from our pains but touch them with compassion bring healing and new strength The paradox indeed is that the beginning of healing is in the solidarity with the pain In our solution oriented society it is important than ever to realize that wanting to alleviate pain without sharing it is like wanting to save a child from a burning house without the risk of being hurt It is in solitude that this compassionate solidarity takes its shape” “We will never believe that we have anything to give unless there is someone who is able to receive Indeed we discover our gifts in the eyes of the receiver”
• 
  Jacob Aitken

  Key idea Nouwen teaches us how to convert our loneliness into solitude and our solitude into healing actionFirst Movement We are lonely as a society and we mask our loneliness by busyness As Nouwen says “We must find the courage to enter into the desert of loneliness and change it by gentle and persistent efforts into a garden of solitude” Nouwen 34 Solitude allows us to listen to and enter into the troubles of othersLove protects “and respects the aloneness of the other and creates a free space where he can convert his loneliness into solitude” 44Second movement From Hostility to HospitalityHospitality is “a fundamental attitude toward our fellow human being” 67 It is a “creation of a free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy” 71Indeed we resist these “open spaces” those moments in which we have nothing to doNouwen has some good criticisms of the bureacratizing of education though he would probably be horrified even at today’s standardization model In education we often give “solutions without the existence of a uestion” 85 Rather the best thing I can do is a teacher is open a space for my students to growHealing “healing means first of all the creation of an empty but friendly space where those who suffer can tell their story to someone who can listen with real attention” 95 “We let strangers become sensitive and obedient to their own stories” 96 It is the “receiving and full understanding of the story so that strangers can recognize in the eyes of their host their own uniue way that leads them to the present and suggests the direction in which to go”Lonely people cannot create the free spae they need
• 
  M Christopher

  The late Henri Nouwen's works are always worth reading I was surprised however when this book seemed to start off slowly for me As I got into it I realized that the first two movements of the book's title promise The Three Movements of the Spiritual Life relate to things I've gone through some time ago though I probably will again The movement from loneliness to solitude is something that I've dealt with since I was a lonely solitary child The movement from hostility to hospitality has been a lifelong pursuit and one that I encourage now in others But the movement from illusion to prayer got me right where I liveAs with his other books that I've read Nouwen's writing here is full of simple wisdom helpful illustrations and poignant memories His relatively early death has been a loss to all those who seek the spiritual path
• 
  David Eiffert

  Hospitality means primarily the creation of free space where the stranger can enter and become a friend instead of an enemy Hospitality is not to change people but to offer them space where change can take placeHenri Nouwen gets 5 stars no matter what out of principleBut even if that weren't true it'd still give 5 stars to this book and Wounded Healer I mean come onWe love you Mr Nouwen
• 
  James

  Simply beautiful ‘Reaching Out’ has easily become a favorite of mine Chapters 5 and 8 were particularly practical I would certainly recommend this for anyone in a pastoral role but also for anyone who is interested in growing in their spiritual life with Christ
• 
  Audrey Bienek

  Since I started reading this book I have reccomended it to over ten different people We will be in the middle of friendly conversation and they will say something that will spark a connection to something I had read in the book and instantly I know that the answer they are looking for is found In life there is a time where you realize the person you are and the person you want to be This book embodies the person I want to be The growth I want to achieve in my faith This book doesn't provide you with an end result Instead it acts as a guide bringing together life examples and works from other authors to share in the journey of spiritual growthI've loved every second of this book It's an easy read that expands your vision of what it means to be a christian your idea of relationships your view of prayer and how you interact with the world If you want to have your eyes opened to areas of spiritual growth this is the book to do it
• 
  Stephen Hicks

  This remarkably slim book was my first entrance into Henri Nouwen’s writing The overall structure of the book consists of these three movements from one disposition to another much like opposing poles on a magnet The first movement from loneliness to solitude was one of the ambiguous ones Perhaps it’s my deep seated PresbyterianCalvinist leanings that cause me to struggle with the language of “inner life” and “deepest voice of yourself” Regardless I do think that by the end of the movement I was beginning to understand what he was getting at with the term “solitude” From my poor perspective solitude consisted of creating a space both physical and spiritual in which tensions can dwell without troubling your mind Nouwen referred several times to the modern insatiable drive to find solutions for every problem and tension that exists in our life Solitude seems to refer to the ability to live at peace with those inherent tensions within yourself The second movement from hostility to hospitality had some insightful connections as well particularly hospitality’s connection to solitude To be able to truly welcome in the stranger a certain peace is reuire within yourself this understanding that you are a fallen paradoxical person A lack of peace can cause you to place undue burden on the guest to fulfill unspoken expectations; which they will inevitably fail since they are a fallen paradoxical person as well I found this to be very helpful wisdom both when I am a host and a guest The third movement from illusion to prayer was important but not groundbreaking Nouwen sets up prayer as the language of the believer and the church The opposite of illusion would be reality and prayer is the posture from which the believer and the church as a community should understand what reality is To truly take a posture of prayer informs our understanding of who we are in light of God to whom we pray and to understand others This in turn informs how we find solitude and enact gracious hospitality Overall it was a good little book There were moments of good insight and also sections of extended anecdote which I didn’t care for I imagine I will read Nouwen again but this book didn’t exactly increase my interest drastically
• 
  Erin *Help I’m Reading and I Can’t Get Up*

  Not the Nouwen I'm used to A little less poetic; maybe the closest he ever came to a manual for spiritual formation Well conceived and meaningful 4 stars
• 
  Heather

  I will read this book over and over again