In Brief: Beyond Denial: Essays on Consciousness, Spiritual Practice, and Social Repair

By Anthony E. Acheson. Green Place Books, 2021. 302 pages. $19.95/paperback; $7.99/eBook.

Beyond Denial is an essay collection that sketches a spirituality for our time that is life-affirming and inclusive, intellectually viable, and socially responsible. The author integrates Judeo-Christian insights with the rich resources of the world’s other religions and wisdom-streams. He emphasizes the centrality of consciousness in spiritual practice. Such awareness comes, first, through fostering experiential awareness of our inherent inner divinity, and then through consciously perceiving—moving beyond denial of—whatever dysfunctional patterns may plague us both individually and collectively. The author invites the reader to look at a wide range of topics with curiosity, questioning, and compassion.