Falling Upward cover art

Falling Upward

A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life

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Falling Upward

By: Richard Rohr
Narrated by: Richard Rohr
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About this listen

In the first half of life, we are naturally preoccupied with establishing ourselves; climbing, achieving, and performing. But as we grow older and encounter challenges and mistakes, we need to see ourselves in a different and more life-giving way. This message of falling down - that is in fact moving upward - is the most resisted and counterintuitive of messages in the world's religions.

Falling Upward offers a new paradigm for understanding one of the most profound of life's mysteries: how those who have fallen down are the only ones who understand "up". We grow spiritually more by doing it wrong than by doing it right, and the disappointments of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys in the second half of life.

©2011 Richard Rohr (P)2011 Dreamscape Media, LLC Christian Living Christianity Spirituality

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Critic reviews

"[P]rovocative." ( Publishers Weekly)
"[A] trustworthy guide to the spiritual life." (BlogCritics.org)
"Understanding the spiritual aspects of aging is as important as appreciating the systems and biological processes that age us. Richard Rohr has given us a perfect guide to what he calls the 'further journey,' a voyage into the mystery mystery and beauty of healthy spiritual maturity." (Mehmet Oz, M.D., host of the Dr. Oz Show)
All stars
Most relevant  
epic. don't read this if you want to stay in your comfort zone! well read by Richard Rohr.

epic

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There are pearls of wisdom in every sentence of this book. So much to contemplate and guide us. You will have to listen to it more than once to savour and digest the bread on offer here. I am 57 and ready for this transformative experience, but my 27 year old daughter really relates to it too; how lucky she is to experience this guidance at such a young age. I intend to recommend this book to my 30 year old son too who will appreciate Richard's honest examination of our religious institutions which clears the way for the truth. I wish I had come across Richard's work years ago, maybe I would not have spent so much time in the wilderness.

Deep, honest, contemplative.

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Occasionally you read a book that has such an impact on you, that you find yourself talking about it all year round. This was one of those books.

Rohr's style is a sort of rambling, stream of consciousness , might irritate some people. But if you can cope with that, in his meanderings there are some real nuggets of wisdom, some great insights. Such as how God hides holiness, how the first half of life religions is obsessed with purity codes, how many of us settle for the brick and mortar of first stage survival.

I read it when I was in my early 40's - I'd just been to the doctor and been prescribed pills for blood pressure, so I was at a bit of a turning point myself, for the first time in my life I was having to take my health seriously. So the way Richard Rohr describes the different periods of our life was very helpful. Particularly it helped me to be more patient went working with young people in a culture where adolescence seems to be growing longer all the time.

He says some very wise things about masculine spiritual development, I found his comments about how Japan discharged their loyal soldiers fascinating and made my own observations about the culture wars.

A wise book to come back to again and again

Personally - A very helpful book

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give this book a chance. The bible is quoted a lot but it's not about the bible.

Great story, life changing and affirming.

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What a wonderful revolutionary book. I am from a different faith and this book fully resonates with me. Thank you so much Richard Rohr

Relevant growth

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I was thoroughly absorbed by this book and will come back to it again and again as it is a very meaty read.
Rohr is clearly a maverick and is unafraid to state the controversial. I found that very refreshing. There was a danger by differentiating between "first half of life" people and "second half of life people" that he would veer into elitist and exclusive ideology but for the most part I think he struck the right balance in what is quite a challenging subject.
I am not a church goer and arguably not a Christian in the conventional sense but I really loved what Richard Rohr has experienced, observed and subsequently written about in this book.
Liked the structure and Rohr's voice lends itself to allowing the listener to become throughky absorbed in the subject matter.
I took a chance with this book and came to it with an open mind - I'm glad I did. A big thumbs up!

Thought Provoking and Challenging

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This book is a must read for all who seek a closer walk with the God of their understanding.

Must Read

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enjoyed the book, alternative perspective on how our life can shift and how we can pivot. Religious aspects yet did not obscure the message. Recommend

a refreshing way to look at life

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first of all, this demands repeated listening.
secondly, I say challenging because (to me) it's borderline false teachings.
have a listen....
lastly I marked down performance because he doesn't pronounce his H's in anything lol human? nope Uman. humble? nah, Umble lol

challenging

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Richard Rohr is a quiet spiritual leader who offers wisdom and truth for a world in crisis.

Full of essential wisdom

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