Radical optimism is our deepest response to the immense and threatening challenges of our contemporary world. In this profound exposition of the truths of an integrated life, Radical Optimism challenges the reader to confront difficulty with authentic spirituality. Meditation, the practice of silence, and the body of mystical experience are all effective forces that confound evil and give us the means to live a loving life.

Beatrice Bruteau is both a brilliant synthesizer and an original thinker. She brings to bear her knowledge of Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, and science in this exploration of how to embrace the spirit of optimism in a world grown increasingly dark and desperate. The deepest truth is our union with the Absolute, Infinite Being, with God. That's the root of our reality. And it is from that root that my optimism is derived, she states. This is a viewpoint that acknowledges evil, but puts it in its place. In Bruteau's view, evil is not simply the opposite of good, because goodness has the unique power to create, whereas evil can only react, distort, and destroy. It is the creative power of goodness that sustains us in our confrontation with evil.

Radical Optimism describes the value of meditation, leisure, relaxing the body, and keeping silent for a period of time--all within the context of the ordinary demands of life. There is a role to be played by imagination, mythology, and self-image in either promoting or interfering with our ability to find our base and our center in the sense of eternity and wholeness. As the founder of an international network for contemplatives of all traditions, Bruteau is able to present her practical spirituality in terms that all readers can understand, no matter what their backgrounds.

Radical Optimism also expresses the idea that our growing global interdependence--cultural, economic, and ecological--can help us to sense the reality of each person within the unity of shared life and thus be motivated to act in the interests of the larger community.

Radical Optimism shows us who we really are--a unique, precious, creative act of God--and with this understanding we can find the way beyond evil and suffering.

This is a book on science for Christians... However, you don't have to be a contemplative trinitarian Christian to find its basic metaphysical argument understandable. Everyone has to face the questions of the One and the Many, the infinite and the finite. My hope is to show religious readers that scientific knowledge of the natural world (which includes people and people's cultures) is important, is part of our religious life, our practice, the way we live the divine life. -From the Introduction

Can the world change from a culture of domination to one of friendship? Can human nature evolve for the better? Yes, says philosopher Beatrice Bruteau: The Holy Thursday Revolution shows the way.

In a time of increasing anxiety, the author of Radical Optimism breaks new ground as she explores the two teaching events of Holy Thursday: the Footwashing and the Supper, or Holy Communion. She shows how this new paradigm--a movement from Lord to friend--can dramatically alter our personal and social relations, our economic and political practices.

Drawing from a wide range of disciplines Bruteau presents a unifying vision of a world moving from economic and military domination to one of equality and sharing. She dares to offer hope for the future based on a revolution begun two thousand years ago with the spiritual power to make all things new.

Every age has its visionaries. Bede Griffiths, the gentle Benedictine monk who traveled to India to seek the other half of his soul was one such spiritual giant. Like Mother Teresa and Thich Nhat Hanh, Father Bede's spirituality transcends sectarian labels. His Shantivanam (Forest of Peace) monastery in India is Christian in faith but Hindu in lifestyle. The essays and stories in the moving tribute to Father Bede by such luminaries as Thomas Berry dissolve the boundaries between Christian belief and Eastern practice.

Top scholars examine the theories of Pierre Teilhard de Chardin through the lens of Beatrice Bruteau's pioneering work on evolution and consciousness. Contributors include Cynthia Bourgeault, Ursula King, Barbara Fiand, Kerrie Hide, Gabrielle Stoner, Kathleen Duffy, John Shea, Carla De Sola, and Joshua Tysinger.

In The Grand Option, renowned author Beatrice Bruteau advances her healing vision for humankind. This collection of beautifully written essays encourages readers to seek personal transformation based on heightened consciousness and Christian spirituality. Bruteau contends that this transformation will produce a profound sense of personal freedom, thus enabling individuals to commune with the Divine and with each other.

Bruteau's Trinitarian anthropology brings with it the potential for transforming humanity from a collection of individuals in conflict to a community of wholly developed persons working toward a shared vision. Her message is as compelling as it is concrete. Using the disciplines of philosophy, theology, psychological anthropology, and feminist theory, she interprets New Testament texts in ways that speak to contemporary readers. Bruteau also explores the central Christian symbols of the Imago Dei, the Incarnation, and the Trinity, as well as issues such as global spirituality, transcendent freedom, and contemplative insight.

The impetus for this book was a request from a group of Christian retreat directors who wanted to know what they could learn from Eastern spiritual traditions. Bruteau's response was a series of five easily accessible, nontechnical reflections on various aspects of Hinduism and Buddhism offered generally as interpretations of Christian practices or texts. Here, she has added two additional essays, Gospel Zen and The Immaculate Conception, Our Original Face. Both continue the interpretive application of Eastern traditions to Christian texts. The book's popular style is a strength as it is accessible to a broad audience. Bruteau's interpretations of Christian texts are often insightful and may spark further exploration and dialogue with the East

In The Grand Option, renowned author Beatrice Bruteau advances her healing vision for humankind. This collection of beautifully written essays encourages readers to seek personal transformation based on heightened consciousness and Christian spirituality. Bruteau contends that this transformation will produce a profound sense of personal freedom, thus enabling individuals to commune with the Divine and with each other.