Sailing Home: Using Homer's Odyssey to Navigate Life's Perils and Pitfalls
"We all sail across the wine-dark sea, andSailing Homegives humane, wise instruction for our voyage. In these pages, Zen master and poet Norman Fischer, beloved for his forthright honesty and kind heart, guides us to understand our own odyssey, our own hard-earned, vulnerable, mysterious life journey, with genuine compassion and newfound understanding." -- Jack Kornfield, author ofThe Wise Heart: A Guide to the Universal Teachings of Buddhist PsychologyandA Path with Heart"It is not so easy to come home to yourself, although it may be the most important journey any of us will ever take. This profoundly inspiring book reminds us of why the cultivation of awareness and kindness is so necessary and so difficult. By exploringThe Odysseyand tying it to the travails of our personal lives and to a very human understanding of Zen and Buddhist meditation from decades of practice and teaching, Norman Fischer brings it all to life, and us as well, so that we can remember what muses are best listened to, especially when we are so easily captivated by false dreams of security and attainment." -- Jon Kabat -Zinn, author ofComing to Our SensesandArriving at Your Own Door"Norman Fischer is a wise guide and wonderful companion who teaches us the essentials: that knowing when to set sail is an art in itself, and that our destinations will appear on the horizon when we are ready to see them." -- Priscilla Warner, coauthor ofThe Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew -- Three Women Search for Understanding"Sailing Homeis delightful and insightful. Reflecting on the wanderings of the wily Odysseus in light of the wisdom of the Zen tradition is surprisingly relevant to the modern heroic journey. The central narrative of Greek culture comes alive for modern readers." -- Sam Keen, author ofSightingsandFire in the Belly"This book reminds us that the great literature of the world and the great religions of the world share something in common. They each reveal us to ourselves. Fischer focuses on the actual experience of our life as an odyssey -- a journey toward our unknown fulfillment, which is welling up in the ground beneath our feet." -- James Finley, author ofMerton's Palace of NowhereandThe Contemplative Heart