Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe

This is an elegantly written memoir and meditation on the paths to enlightenment available to each of us. The author was a fairly conventional minister who felt that his religious tradition was only satisfying a modicum of his spiritual needs, that the focus of his church was on eternity (what happens when we die) rather than infinity (experiencing eternity - the fullness of our divinity - in the here and now). What you get here is a spiritual journey from a once conservative Presbyterian minister who felt compelled to look outside the church for spiritual enlightenment. Often using biblical texts as a starting point, Rademacher's quest ultimately takes him outside the church to discover the work of The Monroe Institute, where he is now the executive director. This is a book that will resonate with the readers of John Shelby Spong, Barbara Brown Taylor, and even Bart Ehrman - basically for people that grew up in the Christian faith and have either left and are looking for spiritual sustenance, or are feeling boxed in by creedal formulations. Part of the appeal of the book is that Rademacher uses the Bible in a way that resonates with non-fundamentalist seekers who respect that sacred text and are looking for new ways of using it as a source of wisdom.