Lexington Books Awakening: Exploring Spirituality, Emergent Creativity, and Reconciliation

Even if all of the elements we know to be significant in the process of reconciliation were present, reconciliation would not necessarily take place. Reconciliation is a nonlinear, nonalgorithmic process that involves "matters of the heart." From emergent creativity and its links to mysticism, to the evolution of emotions as drivers of thought, Awakening weaves cutting-edge discoveries in complexity theory with philosophical reflections on consciousness and language, drawing on Lonergan and Wittgenstein. Awakening as a phenomenon takes on a vibrant vitality as an aspect of transpersonal psychology and it manifests as imperatives to take responsibility for our relationships, to address complex challenges of justice, and to adopt a heart-based approach to peacebuilding. Review Awakening offers a wide range of inquiries and conversations pursuant into reconciliation in an ever more polarized and fragmented world. Stuart Kauffman's framing chapter focused toward the potential and pillars of re-enchantment coupled with extraordinary reflections and responses across disciplines, provide ever more compelling evidence that imagination with inner-outer awareness, heart-based, and relationship-centric understandings of transforming conflict are not peripheral but form the very DNA of peacebuilding practice. An extraordinary book that evokes reflection and offers courage to take up the emergent learning beyond the far too-often narrow and mechanistic views of peace practices.--John Paul Lederach, Professor Emeritus University of Notre DameVern Neufeld Redekop and Gloria Neufeld Redekop's edited book Awakening: Exploring Spirituality, Emergent Creativity, and Reconciliation illustrates that spirituality is relational, diachronic, and part of tacit knowledge that empowers a person to develop the inner resources of creativity, empathy, forgiveness, and reconciliation in order to transform the most difficult situations in deep rooted conflicts. The book is a must read for those interested in the role of spirituality in peacebuilding, and in transforming conflicts constructively.--Sean Byrne, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, University of Manitoba About the Author Vern Neufeld Redekop is professor of conflict studies at Saint Paul University. Gloria Neufeld Redekop is former research coordinator for Saint Paul University.