Comments on: The Spiral Staircase: Spiritual Memoir the Second and Third Time Around http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/ Because 99 just isn't enough Thu, 11 Mar 2010 07:16:56 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion: Memoir in Action | 100 Memoirs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-501 Karen Armstrong’s Charter for Compassion: Memoir in Action | 100 Memoirs Wed, 02 Dec 2009 01:02:23 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-501 [...] few months ago I read and reviewed Karen Armstrong’s memoir The Spiral Staircase here. At the time I never imagined that I would have the opportunity of meeting her. Imagine my delight, [...] [...] few months ago I read and reviewed Karen Armstrong’s memoir The Spiral Staircase here. At the time I never imagined that I would have the opportunity of meeting her. Imagine my delight, [...]

]]> By: Here If You Need Me: A Profoundly Beautiful Love | 100 Memoirs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-126 Here If You Need Me: A Profoundly Beautiful Love | 100 Memoirs Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:25:18 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-126 [...] memoir reinforces the stories told by Courtney Cowart and Karen Armstrong, also reviewed here.  In the midst of tragedy, look for the helpers, look for the love, build [...] [...] memoir reinforces the stories told by Courtney Cowart and Karen Armstrong, also reviewed here.  In the midst of tragedy, look for the helpers, look for the love, build [...]

]]> By: shirleyhs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-568 shirleyhs Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:25:32 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-568 Thank you, Chelsea, for the gift of this book. And for the second gift of adding these comments. You know how much fun it is to find these. :-) Thank you, Chelsea, for the gift of this book. And for the second gift of adding these comments. You know how much fun it is to find these. :-)

]]> By: shirleyhs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-569 shirleyhs Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:55:07 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-569 Susan, these thoughts are so true. What can we do to build resilience in children so that they will be able to live with the daunting challenges of their lifetimes--and turn them into wisdom? Susan, these thoughts are so true. What can we do to build resilience in children so that they will be able to live with the daunting challenges of their lifetimes–and turn them into wisdom?

]]> By: shirleyhs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-39 shirleyhs Mon, 27 Oct 2008 19:25:32 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-39 Thank you, Chelsea, for the gift of this book. And for the second gift of adding these comments. You know how much fun it is to find these. :-) Thank you, Chelsea, for the gift of this book. And for the second gift of adding these comments. You know how much fun it is to find these. :-)

]]> By: shirleyhs http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-38 shirleyhs Mon, 27 Oct 2008 12:55:07 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-38 Susan, these thoughts are so true. What can we do to build resilience in children so that they will be able to live with the daunting challenges of their lifetimes--and turn them into wisdom? Susan, these thoughts are so true. What can we do to build resilience in children so that they will be able to live with the daunting challenges of their lifetimes–and turn them into wisdom?

]]> By: Susan Allstetter Neufeldt http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-37 Susan Allstetter Neufeldt Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:46:39 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-37 You have done a remarkable job of describing Armstrong's journey and the bumps along the way. It is a tale that moved me enormously when I read it a few years ago. I continue to be intrigued by the role of suffering in the process of growth towards wisdom. How much suffering allows growth and how much is so overwhelming that growth becomes impossible? And then what are the traits and temperament of some individuals that enable them to take the growth path, which also can be known as the path to wisdom. The interaction between nature and nurture seems to flower into a journey when there is some solitude. Whatever the struggles of the convent, there is solitude in it. <br><br>Some might literally go mad in that setting, but some use that mental space to grow. I am intrigued by the nun's study (Aging with Grace by David Snowdon) which indicated that those who lived mentally intact and satisfied into their old age were those whose essays upon application to the convent were more complex, both in ideas and in writing. I’m not at all sure of what to make of this—only that we differ from an early age. <br><br>Many wise people I have encountered had periods of solitude in their lives, either built in because of quite summers of time alone to read and think or force on them, as with a long hospitalization and recovery. Those times of solitude seem to have combined with life’s struggles to allow growth—even when the person was unaware of it at the time. I will add these thoughts to my blog as well. You have done a remarkable job of describing Armstrong's journey and the bumps along the way. It is a tale that moved me enormously when I read it a few years ago. I continue to be intrigued by the role of suffering in the process of growth towards wisdom. How much suffering allows growth and how much is so overwhelming that growth becomes impossible? And then what are the traits and temperament of some individuals that enable them to take the growth path, which also can be known as the path to wisdom. The interaction between nature and nurture seems to flower into a journey when there is some solitude. Whatever the struggles of the convent, there is solitude in it.

Some might literally go mad in that setting, but some use that mental space to grow. I am intrigued by the nun's study (Aging with Grace by David Snowdon) which indicated that those who lived mentally intact and satisfied into their old age were those whose essays upon application to the convent were more complex, both in ideas and in writing. I’m not at all sure of what to make of this—only that we differ from an early age.

Many wise people I have encountered had periods of solitude in their lives, either built in because of quite summers of time alone to read and think or force on them, as with a long hospitalization and recovery. Those times of solitude seem to have combined with life’s struggles to allow growth—even when the person was unaware of it at the time. I will add these thoughts to my blog as well.

]]> By: Chelsea http://www.100memoirs.com/2008/10/the-spiral-staircase-spiritual-memoir-the-second-and-third-time-around/comment-page-1/#comment-36 Chelsea Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:29:32 +0000 http://www.100memoirs.com/?p=128#comment-36 So glad you liked it! I really loved this book too. I appreciated how she acknowledged her weaknesses and turned them into part of a stronger whole. So glad you liked it! I really loved this book too. I appreciated how she acknowledged her weaknesses and turned them into part of a stronger whole.

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