A Hidden Wholeness: The Journey Toward an Undivided Life

“There was a time,” Parker J. Palmer writes, “when farmers on the Great Plains, at the first sign of a blizzard, would run a rope from the back door out to the barn. They all knew stories of people who had wandered off and been frozen to death, having lost sight of home in a whiteout while still in their own backyards.”

A Hidden Wholeness is a rope for the moral blizzard of contemporary life. It makes the courageous claim that integrity is all-important in a morally-slippery world. It is the best book I have read this year.

I have been a fan of Parker J. Palmer since the mid-eighties when his book on the spirituality of educators, To Know As We Are Known, was recommended. Much of Palmer’s work in conferences and books is with show more educators. A Quaker, Palmer writes gently about the deep springs of human living.

A Hidden Wholeness begins with examples of the divided life. Dr Palmer then likens the soul to a shy deer needing solitude and genuine care to embolden it to emerge. But the soul, the true self, is needed for is regenerative powers. “When we catch sight of the soul, we can become healers in the world.” On our solitary journey in community, we can find our hidden wholeness and life more fully.

Palmer invites us to read this beautifully designed book reflectively. Each chapter begins with a quote inviting us to look below the surface and gain insight into how we might reconcile the opposites we see around us; opposites which have come into existence through confrontation. Integrity, on the other hand, works by non-violence and integrity, “sitting in the woods with each other” waiting for the “shy soul to show up”.

The wisdom of Parker Palmer is a rope guiding us sure-footedly home.

© Ted Witham show less

The author speaks to our yearning to live undivided lives―lives that are congruent with our inner truth―in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. Mapping an inner journey that we take in solitude and in the company of others, he describes a form of community that fits the limits of our active lives. Defining a “circle of trust” as “a space between us that honors the soul,” he shows how people in settings ranging from friendship to organizational life can support each other on the journey toward living “divided no more.”

Highly insightful exploration into one’s Soul, and learning to hear one’s Inner Teacher. Outlines steps towards an Undivided Life, where private and public lives cease to be different. Draws heavily from the Friends (Quaker) tradition, including Circles of Trust and Clearness Committees. Devolves a bit too deep into the “how to” on running these processes in second half but otherwise a compelling read.

speaks to our yearning to live undivided lives--lives that are congruent with our inner truth--in a world filled with the forces of fragmentation. Mapping an inner journey that we take in solitude and in the company of others, Palmer describes a form of community that fits the limits of our active lives.

The way Palmer describes them, how do any of us survive without the honest truth-telling found in his "circles of trust"? In this book, he very painstakingly walks us through the process of setting ip a circle. He vociferously maintains that each circle needs a strong, trained, group moderator. By another name, his circles of trust could be called "group spiritual direction."

great book, however it's a tough read because it asks you to look at who you are and how that you interacts with reality. However there is plenty of practical advice that will allow you to take the essentially Quaker traditions of silence and bring them and as a consequence yourself into a newer and more meaningful alignment with reality and your inner self.

In our multi-tasking world, Palmer invites us to welcome the Soul back into our lives. He offers insights as to how to live our lives authentically, aligning our private and public worlds. Palmer's compassion is evident throughout as he encourages readers to live a life "divided no more."