Russill Paul is the author of one of my favorite books, “The Yoga of Sound.”  Now he has a new book out: “Jesus in the Lotus: The Mystical Doorway between Christianity and Yogic Spirituality.”  Paul, who trained as both a Christian Monk and a yogi, says that both of these powerful spiritual traditions offer important insights that can benefit each other.  Yoga is derived from Hinduism, the third largest religion in the world behind Christianity and Islam.  Yoga is far more than the practice of therapeutic postures that most Westerners associate with the term.  Yoga is universal in its application, and is not a religion.  But Paul says it is important to remember its roots.  “Jesus in the Lotus” presents a pathless path that blends the wisdom of Christianity and the spiritual teachings of yoga for a holistic daily spiritual practice.  By demonstrating that these two seemingly separate and irreconcilable traditions can actually unite in one person’s spiritual practice, Paul offers an alternative to religious intolerance and strife as well as a means for personal liberation.