Finding God's Love: The Theory and Practice of Love and Devotion As a Spiritual Path
About the AuthorEthan Walker IIIWalker was a practicing counter-culture hippie in 1967 at the age of 18 when he began to explore eastern philosophy and the European mystery.  He spent two years in the Rosicrucian Order followed by four years under the tutelage of Mark Prophet, the founder of The Summit Lighthouse. He studied, lived and worked at that organization as a renunciate. After the death of Mr. Prophet, Walker had an intense spiritual experience while studying the teachings of Ramana Maharshi.  This prompted him to dedicate himself to the philosophy of advaita or non-duality and the practice of atma vichara or meditation on the formless Self.  This culminated in a deep understanding of the nature of the ego. A strong desire to be permanently rid of the ego arose within him. Shortly thereafter, Walker met his guru, Mata Amritanandamayi or Ammachi, the hugging saint, in 1988.Ammachi advised him that practicing non-duality alone is dry, like eating stones.  She directed him to practice the devotional path. She explained that non-duality is the goal and devotion is the means. Walker’s devotional practices began with the Divine Mother as the point of concentration. At this stage he saw her as a benign, loving and compassionate Mother Mary figure. This continued for several years until he began to focus on the Divine Mother in the form of the Goddess Kali who wields the compassionate sword of liberation.  As his devotional meditations continued, he developed a close relationship with and absorption in Mother Kali.  After several years of this, he began to see the Divine Mother in everyone and everything.  All along this journey,  Walker was guided by Ammachi.Throughout this 35-year spiritual odyssey, Walker has also maintained a deep interest in Buddhism with particular fondness for the Zen master Suzuki Roshi and the Tibetan tradition. Walker is greatly influenced by the Indian saints Ramakrishna and Nisargadatta Maharaj. Later in his practice, he pursued the study of Jesus, his life and teachings, and experienced deep devotion to the Master. Inspired by the similarity between Jesus’ life and teachings and the path of the eastern masters, Walker spent five years researching and writing The Mystic Christ.Walker is the author of two other books. Soft Moon Shining, is a collection of 230 devotional poems and over 60 illustrations that revolve around his relationship with the Divine Mother. Finding God’s Love is a how-to book exploring the theory and practice of the path of love and devotion.He was married in 1978 to his wife Marsha and has three children and two grandchildren. He hand-built the house in which he and his wife have lived for 27 years. He and his wife have owned and operated an electronics and software manufacturing company since 1990. He is also an accomplished musician and singer and composer.