Forgetting ourselves on purpose : vocation and the ethics of ambition / Brian J. Mahan ; foreword by Robert Coles.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mahan, Brian.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Ambition.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 209 pages ; 21 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

San Francisco, CA : Jossey-Bass, [2002]

Summary:

What happens when we are asked to trade our worldly ambitions for our search for personal authenticity and a morally centered life? Is the choice truly either -- or? Is it possible to be true to sacred principles and meaning while living in a world that tells us happiness is measured by the price of the car in the garage, the school we attend, or the title on a business card? How can any of us become the authentic person we were meant to be? In the wise and often witty Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose, Brian J. Mahan considers the question of how it is possible to create a meaningful spiritual life while living in a culture that measures us by what we have rather than who we are. Drawing on nearly two decades of teaching experience Mahan shares stories of personal struggle and triumph that demonstrate how those who seek meaning and purpose have reclaimed their authentic selves by resolving the inevitable tension between personal ambition and spiritual vibrancy.

If you have ever experienced doubts about choosing the moral versus the material, this book's simple yet profound practices and explorations will guide you to find your own way through the cultural messages that tend to blind you to your true vocation. Throughout the book Mahan invites you to "forget yourself on purpose" so that you can uncover your dreams and discover (in your everyday activities) God's purpose for your life. Engaging, humorous, compassionate, and provocative, Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose will serve as a practical field guide for anyone who wants to look beyond the empty messages of contemporary culture and reconnect with their true purpose in life.

Contents:

1 Ask Me What I'm Living For 1

Doubting Pam 1

Vocation and Ambition 9

Compassion in Exile: Dickey's Story 14

Wanna-Be Saint 21

Reawakening Our Epiphanies of Recruitment 27

Practice: Ask Me What I'm Living For 32

Practice: Ask Me What I Think Is Keeping Me from Living Fully for the Thing I Want to Live For 34

2 Failing at Success 38

My Dinner with Valentino 38

William James and the Desire for Something More 45

The Sisters of the Cenacle and How to Sneak into Heaven 51

Practice: Remembering to Forget Ourselves 55

Two Practices: Finding Yourself by Losing Yourself 62

Practice: Why Do We Do That? 65

3 Ivan Ilyich, John Dean, and I: How We Deceive Ourselves 66

Dean and Ilyich 66

The Eraser and the Mendacious Mantra 77

Practice: Rationalization: A User's Guide 82

4 If I'm Really Something, You Must Be Nothing Much 89

A Short Tirade 89

The Hidden Fountains and Gardens of the Heart 97

Practice: Walker Percy and Spiritual Indirection 107

Three Lies: A Study in Spiritual Indirection 114

Practices: Mirroring Ambition 119

5 Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose 126

Insight from Sri Lanka 126

They're Not Hypocrites; They Just Forgot 137

Wounded Audacity 145

Beatitude: Feeling the Pleasure of God 148

Practice: Days of Remembrance 152

Remedial Practice 154

6 The Meritocracy Machine 156

Harvard and Other Problems with Admissions 156

Practice: Reasons and Rationalizations for the Admissions Committee 165

Harvard Divinity School and Other Problems with Acceptance 166

Practice: Alternative Reading Skills 176

Practice: Planning an Alternative New Year's Celebration 180

Afterword: Occupations and Preoccupations 183

Practice: Captain Midnight and Other Failed Projection Devices 187.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 189-196) and index.

ISBN:

0787956333

OCLC:

47831405