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In his most recent book on spirituality, Dr. Lionel Corbett invites the reader to explore a spiritual pathway that leaves behind the citadels of organized religion and opens
doors to the direct experience of the numinous. The language and lens of perception which we traverse for much of the book is that of a depth psychological perspective. Dr. Corbett is comfortable and familiar with his subject matter and draws upon highly respected sources in support of this endeavour. The range of scholarship in the metaphysical realm is broad and includes Rudolf Otto, Jiddu Krishnamurti, Meister Eckhart, and William Blake, to note a few of the many who are cited. Additionally, he calls upon Judeo-Christian scripture in a somewhat exegetical discourse to illuminate some of the problems that reside in contemporary elucidations of those very tracts. His interpretations are often astute and penetrating.
Spirituality in this model ‘recognizes that there is no such thing as an exclusively valid approach to the sacred. Although this spirituality acknowledges that there are transcendent levels of reality, it avoids meaningless speculation about them. To be user-friendly, our spirituality must be psychologically relevant, non-dogmatic, not based on any particular scripture, not a matter of belief or opinion, and not uncritical, but able to doubt when necessary’ (p. 208). Dr. Corbett, throughout the book, privileges the unmediated, direct experience of the numinosum as the entry portal to the development of a spiritual life. He eschews reification of that experience, which he indicates has led to a systematized, often dogmatic religious ideology.
The book is written in two parts. The first three chapters focus on the development of a personal spirituality. Here he provides numerous examples of individual experiences of encountering a sacred, numinous, or transcendent reality; the range and depth of these reflect an attitude that values meaningful encounters with the sacred, often defying