Jim Sherblom

Are you a transcendentalist? How does an American transcendentalist live in the 21st century? Over a six-decade journey I matured from a naïve small-town Baptist youth to a spiritual mystic living transcendentally in Concord, Massachusetts. Now as a Concord transcendentalist author I offer books, retreats and workshops that help others to find their unique Way.

You were born to be a humble and joyful child of GodPart memoir, part philosophical history, and part manual for living, Spiritual Audacity will guide you from black and white to color, from formless to form, from dark to light, and from curious to enlightened.

I learned to say YES when spiritual adventure is offered.
As a venture capitalist and early investor in biomedicine, I sought to bring positive change to the world. But at the height of my career, I felt an inner calling to become a student of divine mystery. My second memoir, Spiritual Pilgrim describes that pilgrimage of spirit.

SPIRITUAL PILGRIM book launch

by jimsherblom

If you wish to spend a delightful evening swapping stories with religious mystics,and celebrate the launch of my second spiritual memoir, come join us at First Parish in Concord at 7:30 pm on Friday September 28, 2018

SPIRITUAL PILGRIM book launch

by jimsherblom

Come help me celebrate the launch of my second book: SPIRITUAL PILGRIM: Awakening Journeys of a Twenty-First Century Transcendentalist At First Parish in Concord at 7:30 pm on Friday September 28, 2018. The book is full of quotes from historical and contemporary mystics. To test your knowledge of how mystics relate to the divine mystery, here is a short quiz: Mystic Quiz In my book SPIRITUAL PILGRIM: Awakening Journeys of a Twenty-First Century Transcendentalist I quote many mystics about the nature of divine mystery. See if you can match each mystic with their words (at least five are Unitarian Universalist mystics): A: Teresa of Avila; B: Buddha; C: Bernard of Clairvaux; D: Confucius; E: St. John of the Cross; F: Meister Eckhart; G: Ralph Waldo Emerson; H: Abhi Janamanchi J: Jesus of Nazareth; K:Kabir; L: Lord Krishna; M: Mirabai of Jodhpur; N: Moses of Midian; O:Om Prakash Gilmore; P: Rabinadrath Tagore; Q: Henry David Thoreau; R: Jacob Trapp; S: Lao Tzu Loving yourself as a child of God unites you with God through...

Awakening Journeys of a Twenty-First Century Trancendentalist

by jimsherblom

Paddling Musketaquid

by jimsherblom

Approaching Concord’s wildness from the south or west is best done paddling on the rivers. The Algonquin indigenous people called this ancient river system Musketaquid. It is a land defined by its sandy esker ridges, left from the melting of the last ice age, and its plentiful waters. My house is a half mile from egg rock, on a street that ends at the Assabet river. I often paddle my kayak as a form of transcendental meditation there. Once I’m on the river, with only bird sounds to distract me, my heart rate slows, and I paddle gently with the current. As we circumnavigate rocky shoals and fallen limbs, the edge of Barrett’s Mill Farm, the final destination of the British troops on April 19, 1775 appears on the river’s northern shore. I am already drifting between Concord’s two revolutions, the eighteenth century civic fight for freedom and the nineteenth century transcendentalist reimagining of the role of reason and our senses in spirituality. This tranquil final mile of the Assabet River is mentioned often...

Walking Walden Transcendentally

by jimsherblom

A lecture for the Thoreau Society 2018 Annual Gathering by Rev. Dr. Jim Sherblom adapted from his soon to be released book (September 2018) SPIRITUAL PILGRIM: Awakening Journeys of a Twenty-First century Transcendentalist. What is a transcendentalist? Ralph Waldo Emerson in his 1842 lecture describing The Transcendentalist said: “As thinkers, [humankind] has been divided into two sects, Materialists and Idealists; the first class beginning to think from the data of the senses, the second class perceive the senses are not final, and say, the senses give us representations of things, but what are the things themselves they cannot tell.” The actual data of our senses represents just a small part of our experiences in life. So, how do we experience the underlying reality beyond what our senses perceive? What transcends our senses? Whether you approach Concord from the north, east, south or west, all directions pivot around this place. Walking, driving, cycling or paddling in Concord as a transcendentalist can be a journey across space and time. If you come on foot from the...