Stepping Stones to a Higher Vision

Stepping Stones to a Higher Vision examines the development of religious consciousness from religion to spirituality to mysticism. This developmental path imaginatively described as "e;stepping stones"e; in the title of the book and as "e;elevators of religion"e; in chapter one, has its rewards but also its dangers and pitfalls. Intended for the non-specialist lay person interested in religion, as well as the scholar, the book focuses on Jewish tradition and its sources (Hebrew Bible, Talmud-Midrash, and Kabbalah), but in a broad cross-cultural interdisciplinary context. Ritual, prayer, including meditation and contemplation, ethics and morality, religious leadership, and the afterlife are analyzed in the context of sociology, science, and the history of religion.