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In this third installment of Disciplines of the Spirit, Thurman is lecturing about personal stability. In this lecture, personal stability is defined as the experience through which an individual passes when he thinks he has that which is of most importance to him. An additional definition of personal stability used in this lecture is private morale, which is the belief in one’s cause, whatever it may be. At times personal stability rests on the instability of others which has and continues to…

In this fourth lecture of Disciplines of the Spirit, Howard Thurman discusses commitment and its significance. Deep within every man, there is a profound sense regarding the meaning of life itself. Those that believe that life is dynamic and essentially unfinished tend to also be of the mindset that there are always alternatives and options to be considered. In these instances, commitment becomes the experience through which a man passes when, deep within himself, he selects values and proceeds…

In this fifth lecture in the Disciplines of the Spirit series, Howard Thurman discusses the propensity to idolize perfection in our commitments. When we worship our commitment rather than that which we are committed, we give up the ability to be influenced by the vitality, power, and dynamism of that to which we are committed. This is especially true of our moral commitments which, when idolized, violates our experience of the living God.

In this sixth installment of Disciplines of the Spirit, Howard Thurman talks about commitment in the framework of good and evil. Commitment is a level of dedication that gives us structure, order, and provides a basis for integrated action in life. Commitment rises against whatever comes seeks to come between self and that which self is committed to. In this lecture, Thurman poses the question of whether there is any difference in the dynamics of the experience of commitment when the commitment…

In this seventh lecture in the Discipline of the Spirit series, Thurman uses Matthew 5:39 as a framework for discipline as it relates to our decision to act. Thurman reminds listeners of the responsibility to act or react in integrity centered around core values as we are responsible for the actions we initiate as well as the reactions we initiate in other people. One must always be careful when deciding to act lest our deeds are out of character with our core beliefs.

In this eighth installment of the Discipline of the Spirit, Howard Thurman uses Goethe's Faust to set the tone as he discusses the principles of dualism and redemption. Thurman goes on to discuss whether our contradictions in life are final considering the righteousness of God. The movement of the creator through the experience of man is also discussed.

In Part 1 of this sermon series, Thurman claims that freedom and failure are twins. The gift of life is also the gift of failure, which is also the gift of freedom. Without the ability to choose, there can be no failure. Thus, human beings are free and fallible creatures. The ultimate and inevitable failure for a living organism is death. Thurman says that the human spirit must confront death and failure. From this confrontation arises a new perspective on life, a renewed understanding of…

In this second sermon in the Freedom and Suffering series, Thurman adds grace into his discussion on freedom and failure. Human beings have the freedom to fail again and again, however we never fail totally and absolutely. In this there is grace. For Thurman, grace is our experience of something dealing with us beyond balance and beyond merit; it is an unexplainable outpouring that sustains, redeems, and reassures us. Grace is found in God who does not give up on us, who sees us beyond the…

In this third sermon in the Freedom and Suffering series, Thurman focuses in on the suffering aspect. Suffering is the common experience of human beings, and perhaps all living beings. Thurman says that the Christian tradition itself was born out of pain and suffering, and represents the human project of squeezing optimism from pessimism. Thurman adds that we are always trying to deduce the logic of our suffering, but even still there are times when the balance of reaping and sowing does not add…

In the fourth and final sermon of the Freedom and Suffering series, Thurman takes his exploration of suffering a step further. Thurman suggests that we must learn to be worthy of our suffering. We should not seek out suffering, but when it comes to us, we must search for the meaning and dignity in it. Thurman also considers that human beings can only suffer because we are capable of loving. To love is to identify with another's suffering, to enter into it and yet remain as ourselves. Religion,…