Deeper Splendor

Life's ultimate adventure--its grandest game and greatest challenge--is the spiritual transformation of the self. According to Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, personality and spirituality are interrelated, spirituality flowing out of individuality. Noting that people differ in fundamental ways, even though they possess the same instincts to drive them from within, Jung discovered that preference, rather than instinct, upbringing, environment, or genetic conditioning, is central to personality. The task of spirituality, then, is not to help us achieve correct doctrine or attain saintly status, but rather to help us best understand our humanity. This endeavor drives Deeper Splendor, a study of spirituality and personality in modern literature. We focus on modern literature, rather than on theology, philosophy, psychology, or sociology, because, as this volume makes clear, one of the best resources for studying transformative spirituality is great literature.

The great power of literature is that it speaks of human action and thought, not in the dry, matter-of-fact terms of history, ethics, psychology, or some other science, but in ways that are lively, uplifting, and productive. Engaging with great literature is like beginning a love affair. Such encounters may appear daunting at first, but when you fall in love, you want to know everything about the object of your love, and every encounter leaves you wanting more. When literature enhances spirituality--as is true in the dozen or more selections examined in Deeper Splendor--each literary moment renders us more fully alive.

Like its companion texts, Wading in Water and Deep Splendor, this volume is useful for individual or group study. Each chapter concludes with questions suitable for discussion or reflection.