Listen to the Desert: Secrets of Spiritual Maturity from the Desert Fathers and Mothers, The Sayings of the Desert Fathers

Presents the ancient thought and lifestyle of the Desert Fathers and Mothers through traditional Wisdom Stories in which Characters, actions, and sayings address deep, universal human needs. Illustrated Gregory Mayers weds the wisdom of the desert to contemporary depth psychology and achieves genuine insight into the process and reality of contemplative practice and living. One comes away understanding some of the depth of wisdom contained in the sayings of the desert Abbas and Ammas selected, and just how contemporary it is as well. This is not a matter of psychobabble, but a sophistiocated understanding of what monastic life calls the true vs the false self, the drama and psychology of object relations, the need and struggle to let go of an ego-self, etc. It is true that this is not the book for someone who wants a superficial introduction to the piety of the desert Fathers, or who needs the profound linkages between the sayings and the underlying psychology spelled out in detail. Despite what it says on the back cover, it is better suited, perhaps, to those who have spent time meditatively with these sayings, appreciate their wisdom on a first-hand basis, and now wish to understand the psychology of the matter a little better. Like most things which are really simple (instead of merely simplistic), the sayings serve as doorways to a reality which is really complex and/or mysterious (too big to comprehend all at once). Look for something like John Chryssavgis', In the Heart of the Desert or, Waddell's The Desert Fathers, or, as another commentor mentioned, Merton's, The Wisdom of the Desert, if you desire something with more implicit psychological dimensions and more traditional spiritual language. On the other hand, use this as an intro if you are going to delve further into the psychological dimensions of contemplative life.