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About the AuthorPaul M. Martin writes with exceptional clarity about spiritual matters. His depth and breadth of first-hand experience allows him to speak compellingly to people across a wide range of perspectives on religion and spirituality. |
Personal Milestones
Childhood — Although he did not receive a strict religious upbringing, Paul's basic beliefs in God and an afterlife informed his childhood perspective. They resonated with his early responses to the world around him.
Youth — As honestly as Paul wanted to continue believing, he honestly could not. His teens and early twenties were a period of increasing despair.
Early Adulthood — At age twenty-three, Paul had a spontaneous experience of the kind that is often sought through meditation and prayer. It was immensely hopeful. It stood in complete defiance of his despairing world view. It was the primary source material for the rest of his life and the genesis of Original Faith.
Making a Start — Within weeks of the experience, Paul found himself writing notes for his personal use as he began to understand some of its implications. As the months passed, he noticed that they were falling into categories, started filing them, and realized he might be writing a book.
St. Joseph's Abbey — Within a year, Paul visited the Trappist monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts, where he learned meditation from the late Fr. Basil Pennington.
Divinity School — Within two years, he went on to receive an M.A. in religious studies from the University of Chicago. In the coming years, he would also earn an M.Ed. in counseling as his public school career transitioned from English as a Second Language teacher to elementary school counselor.
Disease Onset — At age thirty-seven, with Original Faith perhaps two years from completion, Paul experienced the onset of a condition that would never be diagnosed. He was forced to set the manuscript aside for the better part of the next decade as he combined full time work with extensive medical research and travel.
Back to Work — By May 2002, Paul's disability had become too severe for continued work outside the home and he resumed work on Original Faith. Between 2002 and 2006 he completed the book, along with two additional manuscripts, managing to convert his handwritten notes to Word documents before he lost the ability to walk and work with paper.
Commitment — Paul remains committed to demonstrating the power of a faith that is known and experienced first hand to move us beyond egotism so that we can act on love with consistency and emphasis for the sake of the larger world.
