Falling Upward: A Spirituality For The Two Halves Of Life

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In Falling Upward, Fr Richard Rohr offers a new understanding of one of life’s most profound mysteries: how our failing can be the foundation for our ongoing spiritual growth. Drawing on the wisdom from time-honoured myths, heroic poems, great thinkers and scared religious texts, the author explores the two halves of life to show that those who have fallen, failed, or ‘gone down’ are the only ones who understand ‘up’. The heartbreaks, disappointments and first loves of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys that the second half has in store for us. The most common one-liner in the Bible is, "Do not be afraid." Someone counted, and it occurs 365 times.”

This free fall calculator is a tool for finding the velocity of a falling object along with the distance it travels. Thanks to this tool, you can apply the free fall equation for any object, be it an apple you drop or a person skydiving. I thank God for Richard Rohr's sage-like presence in our culture: I honestly don't know where I'd be without it.' Technically, such a jump doesn't fulfill all the requirements of a free fall – there is substantial air resistance involved. In fact, a real free fall is only possible in a vacuum. Nevertheless, this is as close to the actual experience as you can get on Earth 😉

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The value of this book lies in the way Richard Rohr shares his own aging process with us in ways that help us be less afraid. We begin to see that, as we grow older, we are being awakened to deep, simple, and mysterious things we simply could not see when we were younger. - Jim Finley, Merton scholar and author of The Contemplative Heart But if this is the case, what do we mean by “two halves,” and how do we know that these halves exist? Finally, Rohr seems to propose that our development is really through a transformation of consciousness through the "falling upward" experience, perhaps aided by the Spirit of God, rather true spiritual rebirth. There is language of "union with ourselves and everything else" that seems more the language of pantheistic monism than of being "at-one" with God in Christ. In fact, it seems at times that Rohr is among those who say that all religions are really saying the same thing and that those who say otherwise are guilty of "either-or" thinking. I would contend that the difference between a "both-and" view that wipes out distinctives and the Christian faith is that the Christian faith is a faith of reconciliation--a third way between "either" and "or" that doesn't wipe out distinctions but reconciles them in Christ.

Maybe being a grandparent and seeing parents in their later years gives me pause to ask "where do I fit in? What will yield the fruit I am to produce?" I have been doing some Falling Upwards work through Alanon and my new franciscan based church community where Rohr's "everything belongs" is a motto. His "Both/And" inclusionary philosophy is biblically referenced which strengthens my love for the pursuit of that spirit which is within us all. Being a fan of biographies, I want to read Merton, Dali Lama, Helen Keller, and others who lived a full second half life. It is no secret to those who know me well that I have become increasingly dis-enfranchised with my church experience in recent years. Rohr explained for me much of my dissatisfaction within this "upward falling" phenomenon. In fact, his treatment of much of organized religion, although indicting, was also quite gracious. He suggests that "most groups and institutions (including churches) are first-half-of-life structures that are necessarily concerned with identity, boundaries, self-maintenance, self-perpetuation, and self-congratulation". If we recognize this, it guards us from losing hope by having false expectations and expecting, or even demanding, what these groups cannot give. It follows, of course, that to judge or condemn these organizations is proof that we are still likely first-half-of-life people. Rohr goes on to suggest that "in the second-half-of-life, you can actually bless others in what they feel they must do, allow them to do what they must do, challenge them if they are hurting themselves or others - but you can no longer join them in the first half of life." This reflected very closely my recent ability to inwardly bless and wish my best friend success in his recent joining of our church board - the same church board that I recently left for what I now sense are many of the reasons Rohr seems to cover in this book. More suffering comes into the world by people taking offense than by people intending to give offense.” – Ken Keyes Thomas Merton, the American monk, pointed out that we may spend our whole life climbing the ladder of success, only to find when we get to the top that our ladder is leaning against the wrong wall.”I've finished reading "Falling Upward" by Fr. Rohr. Not only that but also, I am familiar with much of his research material. I’ve read Bourgeault’s "Centering Prayer;" Chodron’s "Start Where You Are;" rather much of the Jung, the Xavier, and Pearson’s "Six Archetypes We Live By." When you read a Kindle edition, you don’t usually find the bibliography until last. There isn’t a huge option for an early thumb-through.

In free fall, an object moves under the influence of gravitational force only. The only acceleration is the acceleration of gravity g. No other force, including air resistance, is acting on such an object. When you get your,’Who am I?’, question right, all of your,’What should I do?’ questions tend to take care of themselves” Many people don’t realize that there is a second half to life; they remain in the first half their whole lives. There are many reasons for this, which we’ll get into in the next chapter. But no matter which half you’re in, knowing where you stand is beneficial: that knowledge can help you transition out of the first half or, if you’re in the second, it can be a comfort – a reassurance that you’re exactly where you should be. He comments on the fact that many other religions do a better job of understanding God and man, yet remains a “Catholic” because of the “tools” the church gave him. Tools which apparently allowed him to deny all of that church’s doctrine and still call himself a priest. We live in a “first-half-of-life culture.” It’s nothing new. It’s been this way throughout history. Our main purpose has always been to survive, so we concentrate on building our identities: establishing a home, a relationship, friendships, and a community.Falling Upward is one of his most well-known books, and takes a spiritual approach that can be read universally for any religion. Even if you aren’t religious, many of the concepts in this book still appeal to a spiritual center.

A Short second reading review: I still think that this is an overall helpful book. But I was more irritated by the platitudes this read. There are wisdom all over this book. The overall theme is a good and important one. But because you sound esoteric, does not mean you are wise. There are lots of instances where I just wish he would speak clearly without so many 'wise' quotes. Some of those quotes really are helpful. Although he does some things in humility, his hubris is frustrating and laughable at times: “The only people who do not believe that the Enneagram is true are those who do not understand it or have never used it well.” So we can’t believe any faith is the end all be all, but the Enneagram is? What a difference seven years can make. I recently re-read this book as an anchor point of a silent retreat and it was profoundly helpful to me. For the right person at the right time (anyone wrestling with the sometimes disorienting and isolating elements of passing the existential midpoint of life) this book can be a powerful guide. However, if the dogmatism of my previous review below resonates with you, maybe hold off. ;) Richard Rohr is a Franciscan priest who is also an incredibly popular author and speaker. He has been a priest for several decades, and is therefore heavily immersed in spirituality.Short review: This is a book about embracing maturity. Age is not maturity, we all know immature people that are advanced in years. Rohr believes that we need to embrace the different parts of life. Our younger years are concerned with identity (what we do, who we marry, etc.). Our older years should be concerned with meaning. So if we properly understand how to mature, we live inside the structures of of life in our younger years and then we learn when to leave the structures of live in our older years. First for the insights I most appreciated, which I think come out of long pastoral work with people seeking to grow in their faith throughout life. There are two key insights that are important: His exegesis of the (admittedly many) Bible passages cited is gut-wrenchingly bad. He takes so many passages out of context and obscures the meaning or rips out a pair of verses out of the context a passage to give it whatever meaning he wants. He does this so often I can’t cite all of the examples here. The worst is when he mentions Jesus saying to let the wheat and the weeds grow together (Matthew 13:29-30) as an argument for universalism, ignoring the end of verse 30 when Jesus says to bundle up the weeds to be burned.