Journal of Religion and Health, Vol. 46, No.

1, March 2007 (Ó 2007)

DOI: 10.1007/s10943-006-9097-7

GOD ON YOUR OWN: FINDING A SPIRITUAL PATH OUTSIDE RELI-

GION. By Joseph Dispenza. 249 pp. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2006. $20.

‘‘Oh, IÕm spiritual but not religious––IÕm more of a spiritual seeker.ÕÕ These are
the statements of faith heard with increasing frequency by practitioners and
even clergy today. While falling church attendance in America (and moreso in
Europe) indicate a decline in organized religion, an interest in mysticism,
yoga, and alternative medical treatments show ‘‘striking out on oneÕs ownÕÕ to
be an increasingly popular path in western society. Joseph DispenzaÕs book is
a personal reflection representative of the growing population of ‘‘seekersÕÕ
outside of traditional religion. Indeed, if only 3% of AmericaÕs 30 million
religiously unaffiliated individuals are avowed atheists, as Dispenza asserts,
what is happening with the unaffiliated? This book shares one manÕs experi-
ence of life as a spiritual seeker and seeks to offer an encouraging ‘‘roadmapÕÕ
to people considering a similar path.
Joseph Dispenza is no stranger to religion, having spent eight years in a
Domincan monastery until dissatisfaction with Catholic dogmas and prede-
termined answers became stifling to his faith. Comparing the process to Ku-
bler-RossÕ stages of grief/dying, Dispenza then goes on to chart the steps of
skepticism/tearing down, seeking, rebuilding and finally living out a personal
spiritual path. His account is very personal, but attempts to encourage people
considering this path that they are not alone, and that a religiously-inde-
pendent life can be deeply fulfilling. The book has a graceful introduction by
Thomas Moore, and shares the authorÕs struggles, interest in Jungian psy-
chology and his wide range of experiences with alternative medicine and
mysticism.
While I agree with Moore that the author seems a bit hard on religion, he
clearly values what he sees as its ‘‘spiritual core,ÕÕ while appealing to those
who may find themselves unable to remain within its boundaries. Dispenza
reflects on some of the same paradigm shifts observed by Hal Taussig in his
book A New Spiritual Home (Polebridge Press, 2006), and seems to have a
mature view of the potential ‘‘pitfallsÕÕ of seeking. Amongst these he notes
the danger of becoming ‘‘addictedÕÕ to endless seeking, the risks of seeing
spirituality as a ‘‘bypassÕÕ through serious emotional issues, and the impor-
tance of genuine spirituality expressing itself in service and ethical acts. Most
interesting is the creative manner in which he has adapted his monastic vows

171 Ó 2007 Blanton-Peale Institute

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to this new life, and his dream of independent seekers becoming a committed
band of ‘‘solitary monasticsÕÕ who might renew our culture.

Kieran Conroy
Psychology and Spirituality Studies
New York University, New York, USA