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Readings from Quaker Poetry (1963-11-29)
In a message reflecting on his visit to Quaker meetings, Thurman reads from Quaker poetry about the emphasis on silence, inner reflection, meditation, and seeing God's presence in the world around us. He also reads an excerpt about practicing faith for oneself instead of as a demonstration to others.
The Idiom of Brotherhood (1963-11-15); The Big Dream, the Little Act (1959-05-29)
In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads from his text Meditations of the Heart. He tells a story of a 69-year-old woman who had come to realize that she did not know much about the black community and decided to go to the library to educate herself on black history. After her time in the library, she was committed to telling the "facts" about black people while she was on the bus and around town. Thurman reflects upon the role that responsibility plays in relation to…
Albert Schweitzer (9), 1962 Jan 14
This sermon is the ninth of nine in a series of sermons given in Marsh Chapel that are titled "The Inward Journey." In this sermon, it appears that Howard Thurman intended to speak of Albert Schweitzer's work in relation to mysticism and religious experience; however, what we find in this sermon is Thurman reflecting upon the call of the religious leader in a time of societal unrest. He notes that there are two major events happening at this time: smallpox infesting Pakistan, and the murder of…
St. Francis of Assisi (5); Plotinus (6), 1961 Nov 12, 26, Side B
This sermon is the sixth of nine in a series of sermons given in Marsh Chapel that are titled "The Inward Journey." In this sermon, Thurman explores biographical and theological elements of Plotinus, the 3rd century philosopher. The pinnacle of this sermon rests at a moment where Thurman explains that Plotinus' thought tells the listener that the entirety of creation is a creative expression of God. Thurman continues that it is in a movement of faithful pursuit of the said creative expression,…
Conversations with Howard Thurman, September 1980, Parts 1 and 2, Side B
This recording is a part of a wider series of conversations from September to October of 1980 where Howard Thurman met with a variety of young men and women who were discerning their calling to ministry. Thurman poses the intent of this group as an opportunity to "open up for one's self the moving, vital, creative push of God, while God is still disguised in the movement of God's self." In this recording, Howard Thurman reflects with the participants what it means to live into one's calling as…
Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 3 (continued), 1971 February 11
The third installment of Thurman’s lectures concerns the religious professional’s prayer life. Thurman emphasizes that the act of praying must be more than a demonstration of professional skill, it is a practice, rather, of “cultivating the soul.” Thurman illuminates the dangers of limiting devotion to oratorical instrumentation or reducing the related practice of love to a technique. He encourages the religious professional to devote time to the private life and to employ meditation as a method…
Dilemmas of Religious Professional, Part 3, 1971 February 11
The third installment of Thurman’s lectures concerns the religious professional’s prayer life. Thurman emphasizes that the act of praying must be more than a demonstration of professional skill, it is a practice, rather, of “cultivating the soul.” Thurman illuminates the dangers of limiting devotion to oratorical instrumentation or reducing the related practice of love to a technique. He encourages the religious professional to devote time to the private life and to employ meditation as a method…
The Big Dream; the Little Act (1959-05-29)
In this recording within the We Believe series; Howard Thurman reads a meditation that speaks of two men who were once enemies sharing the same prison cell. From this meditation, he asks the question of what it means to overcome evil, and anticipate the Kingdom of God? He continues that it is in the disruption of barriers of hatred that humanity builds against itself that one can begin to anticipate the inbreaking of the Kingdom of God. He continues, when we put our lives at the disposal of…
On Mysticism, Part 9 (University of Redlands Course), 1973
This recording is the sixth lecture in our collection of ten that Howard Thurman gave at the University of Redlands in 1973 on the topic of mysticism. Thurman indicates that this lecture functions as a means to point the listener towards practical approaches to mysticism through lenses of psychology, philosophy, and religious experience. In this recording, Thurman reflects upon what it means to make sense of one's own transcendent "center." The center to which Thurman is referencing is held in…
A Sense of Presence, Sense of Self, 1974 July 18
This is a recording of Howard Thurman reading from his text "Deep Is The Hunger" (1951). Thurman explores a parable of a poor laborer who invests in expensive glass from a high end antique store. From this parable, Thurman discusses what it means to live with only that which is best and beautiful, that which is one's treasure. He continues by juxtaposing this idea of treasures by lifting up the nature of tragedy, which lures one from that which makes their life most beautiful.