So I'm not always a fan of spiritual writing because a lot of it is boring or irrelevant or just, I dunno, dumb, I guess. But I've only read the first chapter of Falling Upward and I'm thinking maybe there is truly something here. Rohr posits that life has two projects--the first the creation of our 'container,' the self disclosing our identity, security, sexuality and gender. Though necessary, if we move no farther ahead than the creation and maintenance of this 'container,' then we remain an adolescent, which is how he describes our culture, generally. The second half of our life's project is a changed consciousness. As Einstein said, "No problem can be solved by the same consciousness that caused it in the first place." That process of change is the journey to the True Self, as Rohr puts it (I'd opt out of the capital letters, but that's just me). I'm interested in seeing where he goes, but wanted to share my early sense that, unlike much spiritual pablum and jargonizing, Rohr's got some creativity and sensitivity to offer in the service of the project of living life. "No Pope, Bible quote, psychological technique, religious formula, book, or guru can do your journey for you. If you try to skip the first journey, you will never see its real necessity and also its limitations; you will never know why this first container must fail you, the wonderful fulness of the second half of the journey, and the relationship between the two." --Richard Rohr