EARTHTALKS

Earthtalks:Conjectures on the Spirit Journey is a collection of talks given by Charles Finn to the congregations of two churches in the Roanoke Valley, Unity and Divine Sciences, between 1983 and 1997.  While Finn’s own sense is that these talks are religious to the core, they do not espouse any particular creed or dogma (not surprisingly, the churches inviting him to speak incline away from doctrinal orthodoxy).  Enough of the talks touch directly upon natural phenomena, and contain passing if not extensive reference to Native American spirituality, to warrant the inclusion of Earth in the title.

Those understanding life to be a journey of spirit - grounded in wonder, deepening in trust, circle of inclusion ever widening, in and out of darkness and light, of seeking and finding and losing and seeking anew, of dying and being reborn - may resonate with the conjectures that follow from a companion on the stupendous journey.

Charles Finn spent ten years in the Society of Jesus after graduating from high school in Cincinnati.  With degrees in literature and psychology from Chicago’s Loyola University, he was a teacher and then a counselor before relocating in 1979 to Virginia with his wife.  He lives near Fincastle with his family and commutes to nearby Salem where he is a licensed professional counselor.

Finn wrote the internationally-known poem Please Hear What I’m Not Saying.  His website (www.poetrybycharlescfinn.com) gives information about Please Hear and several of his books of poetry.

All of Finn’s writings relate to the spirit journey.  His own has been grounded in Catholicism and nourished by Jesuit, Taoist, Native American, Creation-Centered and Quaker spiritualism.