Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose Vocation and the Ethics of Ambition [Paperback]

In the wise and often witty Forgetting Ourselves on Purpose, Brian Mahan considers the question of how it is possible to create a meaningful spiritual life while living in a culture that measures us by what we have rather than who we are. Drawing on nearly two decades of teaching experience. Brian Mahan shares stories of personal struggle and triumph that demonstrate how those who seek meaning and purpose have recalimed their authentic selves by resolving the inevitable tension between personal ambition and spiritual vibrancy.

Foreword by Robert Coles.

Preface--And an Invitation.

What This Book Is About.

What This Book Does.

How to Read This Book.

Acknowledgments.

One: Ask Me What I 'm Living For.

Doubting Pam.

Vocation and Ambition.

Compassion in Exile:Dickey 's Story.

Wanna-Be Saint.

Reawakening Our Epiphanies of Recruitment.

Practice: Ask Me What I 'm Living For.

Practice: Ask Me What I Think Is Keeping Me from Living Fully for the Thing I Want to Live For.

Two: Failing at Success.

My Dinner with Valentino.

William James and the Desire for Something More.

The Sisters of the Cenacle and How to Sneakinto Heaven.

Practice: Remembering to Forget Ourselves.

Two Practices: Finding Yourself by Losing Yourself.

Practice: Why Do We Do That?

Three: Ivan Ilyich,John Dean,and I:How We Deceive Ourselves.

Dean and Ilyich.

The Eraser and the Mendacious Mantra.

Practice: Rationalization: A User's Guide.

Four: If I 'm Reallóä