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John Andrew Gallery is a Quaker who draws inspiration from a wide variety of spiritual sources, and from many not normally considered spiritual at all. During the past twenty-four years he has written short reflections and longer essays that begin with his personal experiences then expand into thoughtful connections with the teachings of Jesus, Buddha, Marcus Aurelius, Thomas Merton, Leonard Cohen, and many others. Of the 56 reflections and essays in Alone with God, almost half are published here for the first time.
John began writing short reflections while participating in a prayer vigil for peace on Sunday afternoons in Philadelphia. Later at night, he sat in his apartment reflecting on the experiences of the day-his encounters with strangers during the vigil, or things he saw or heard. In a moving passage he writes: "I sat in a pool of light in that darkness, seemingly alone but not alone. There was another presence that was the source of the words that came to me." The result was poetic prose exploring various aspects of prayer and peace.
Twenty years later he had a similar experience while in self-isolation during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sitting in his apartment, once again he felt he was not alone. "God was present again and prepared to use other instruments to bring the words I needed to hear and to share." Books, statues, music, glimpses of nature became the starting point of thought-provoking reflections on such topics as the uncertainty of faith, the myth of Sisyphus, the life of the Spirit, and the death of friends.
In between those experiences and after 2020, random events in his daily life or suggestions from others, led to longer essays on the spiritual dimensions of temptation, forgiveness, fatherly love, and even the hidden spiritual messages found in certain films.
Although rooted in John's personal experiences, the reflections and essays in Alone with God touch on such a wide range of themes and connect with so many different spiritual teachings and traditions that, whether readers are seeking to deepen their own spiritual journeys or simply find inspiration in unexpected places, Alone with God offers spiritual nourishment, regardless of one's own spiritual orientation.
