Our May 2 meeting was held via Zoom with 17 participants. David Waite set up the Zoom meeting and moderated the discussion. Here is a list of the books and other works discussed, along with notes from participants or relevant websites:
Here, in the order presented, are the book discussed during our 2020 Zoom Bookshare program:
Ed Miller: “Mere Christianity,” by C.S. Lewis.
Participant comment: This book, published in 1952, is based on a collection of BBC radio broadcasts by Lewis during World War II and highlights some of the themes that Lewis regards as essential, or fundamental to Christianity. Its support of ecumenism is as relevant now as it was in the mid-20th century.
Mary Ketl: “The Hidden Gospel,” by Neil Douglas Klotz.
Amazon: In The Hidden Gospel, Neil Douglas-Klotz employs the approach he pioneered in two previous books translating directly from Aramaic, the language Jesus spoke, to decode the spiritual and prophetic messages hidden within key words and concepts in the sayings and stories of Jesus. We learn to our delight, for instance, that when Jesus spoke of “goodness” he used a word which in Aramaic means “ripe” and refers to actions which are in time and tune with the Sacred Unity of all life. The Hidden Gospel aims to bridge the gap between the historical Jesus of the scholar and the Jesus of faith of Christian believers. It will appeal to everyone looking for an alternative spiritual vision of Jesus and his message.
Anne Loy: “Falling Upward: A Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life,”by Richard Rohr.
Amazon: In the first half of life, we are naturally preoccupied with establishing ourselves; climbing, achieving, and performing. But as we grow older and encounter challenges and mistakes, we need to see ourselves in a different and more life-giving way. This message of falling down — that is in fact moving upward — is the most resisted and counterintuitive of messages in the world’s religions.
“Falling Upward” offers a new paradigm for understanding one of the most profound of life’s mysteries: how those who have fallen down are the only ones who understand “up.” We grow spiritually more by doing it wrong than by doing it right, and the disappointments of life are actually stepping stones to the spiritual joys in the second half of life.
George Smith: Headspace.com, a computer site that teaches meditation and mindfulness.
Comments: Headspace.com is a website that is billed a “Mindfulness for your everyday life: stress less, move more, sleep soundly. It offers “hundreds of articles for any mind, any mood, any goal.” The website charges $95 a year for a full subscription but offers free access to several things and free support during the Corona Virus Pandemic.
Theresa Nardi: “The Interior Castle,” by St. Teresa of Avila Study Edition. Translated by Kieran Kananaugh O. C. D.& Otilio Rodriguez O.C.D. and :St. Catherine of Siena: Mystic of Fire, Preacher of Freedom,” by Paul Murray, O.P.
Goodreads: The Interior Castle is more than a book. It is a powerful image of the mystery of the human person. It is the soul of St. Teresa of Avila, who journeys through the castle from one dwelling place to another mapping out a feminine, yet warlike, program for the Christian spiritual life. It is also the last book Teresa wrote, in 1577, five years before she died, she recorded, to the best of her knowledge, the experiences for which she praised God.
Reading Teresa herself is indispensable. The authors of this study edition designed it as a springboard to reading and understanding Teresa’s text. They present a chapter of Teresa’s book, followed by a review of the progress of her thought and the principal ideas in each chapter. Next they give interpretive notes: doctrinal, historical, and sociological. Then because Teresa wanted her writings to be in harmony with sacred Scripture, they point out scriptural texts that support her ideas.
Finally, the authors show how teachings of the present-day church demonstrate both how Teresa’s basic notions were correct and how we can apply her principles to our times.
Michael O’Connell: “Almost Holy People,” by Dorothy Wilt and Theresa Nardi.
Comment: “Almost Holy People” is a novel written by two longtime SOS participants. Michael described how the novel in a way traced his own journey from Milwaukee, Wis., to the banks of the Tennessee River in Knoxville followed that of the novel’s protagonist, Julian Schmidt. The story, often told through letters between Julian’s two daughters, Mary and Martha, traces the spiritual journey of the three women in their sometimes messy lives to wind up in an ecumenical-inter-faith center for quiet prayer and meditation. The book can be ordered from Healthyselftn.com.
Mary Jane Keim: “Being Peace,” by Thich Nhat Hanh (Arnold Kotler, editor)
Goodreads: Since its publication in 1987, “Being Peace” has become a classic of contemporary religious literature. In his simple and readable style, Thich Nhat Hanh shows how our state of mind and body can make the world a peaceful place. We learn to transform the very situations that pressure and antagonize us into opportunities for practicing mindfulness.
Mary Jane also cited YouTube TPH videos (ten percent happier meditation) and a website tenpercent.com, Ten Percent Happier: Meditation for a happier, healthier you. Learn to meditate from the world’s top mindfulness experts.”
Joyce Wyatt: “Christ in Crisis, Why We Need to Reclaim Jesus,” by Jim Wallis (2019).
Presenter’s comments: Writing in response to our current “constitutional crisis,” New York Times bestselling author and Christian activist Jim Wallis urges America to return to the tenets of Jesus once again as the means to save us from the polarizing bitterness and anger of our tribal nation.
In “Christ in Crisis” Jim Wallis provides a path of spiritual healing and solidarity to help us heal the divide separating Americans today. Building on “Reclaiming Jesus” — the declaration he and other church leaders wrote in May 2018 to address America’s current crisis — Wallis argues that Christians have become disconnected from Jesus and need to revisit their spiritual foundations. By pointing to eight questions Jesus asked or is asked, Wallis provides a means to measure whether we are truly aligned with the moral and spiritual foundations of our Christian faith.
“Christians have often remembered, re-discovered, and returned to their obedient discipleship of Jesus Christ — both personal and public — in times of trouble. It’s called coming home,” Wallis writes. While he addresses the dividing lines and dangers facing our nation, the religious and cultural commentator’s focus isn’t politics; It’s faith.
As he has done throughout his career, Wallis offers comfort, empathy, and a practical roadmap. Christ in Crisis is a constructive field guide for all those involved in resistance and renewal initiatives in faith communities in the post-2016
As a young man, strongly committed to the social movements of the day, but giving Christianity another chance, Wallis’ “conversion experience” came as he read the Beatitudes, and especially Matthew 25:31-46, the “in as much” passage. These verses continue to be central to his ministry. (See The Matthew 25 Movement for multiple formats.) His dedication to these teachings eventually led to the 2018 ecumenical movement and final document The “Reclaiming Jesus” Declaration” which follows a “We Believe” statement of faith followed by a “Therefore, We Reject” format. Written in 6 bold statements and commitments to major spiritual/social issues, the document is signed by a broad spectrum of Christian leaders.
Wallis well knows that any Christian social movement is only as strong as the spiritual commitment of the individual, and thus he calls for personal commitment to becoming “Salt, Light and Hope,” all teachings of our Lord. He suggests the following “Spiritual Practices”:
1. We need to start each day with a “yes’ to our faith and to our own personal and public integrity.
2. Then we need to have the courage to say “no” when that is required and do whatever is required.
3. Every day, we need for our “devotions” to hold our Bibles in one hand and the news in the other.
4. We need to answer the biggest challenges ahead by acting on our faith rather than reacting with our emotions.
5. Spend even more time with our families, not less because we are too busy.
6. Pray, and pray for particular people who will be playing critical roles in the outcomes of political and moral events in our country and the world.
7. The opposite of fear is trust, and when fear is the political energy of a nation, we need to rebuild the trust. So let us work and pray to grow in our trust of God, our friends, and our community.
Wallis is not only a world renowned Christian social activist and deeply committed Christian, but also known as “Coach Jim” to the Little League teams he has coached for 22 seasons, interracial teams which included his two now-grown sons.
From the Sojourners setting in Washington, one of the poorest parts of the city but only some 20 blocks from the Capitol, Wallis and members of this community have collected and dispersed food items for the needy, many of them needy also. He tells of the deep spiritual impact of one of these members on his life — Mary Glover. Each week prior to giving out the food packages, the volunteers would pray together. “Mary Glover, a powerful Pentecostal woman of faith would always pray; she prayed like someone who knew whom she was talking to, and it was clear that she and her Lord were in regular communication. She prayed, “Thank you Lord, for waking me up this morning; that the walls of my room were not the walls of my grave; and my bed was not my cooling board.” Then Mary always concluded her prayer with these words: “Lord, we know that you will be coming through this line today, so Lord, help us to treat you well help us to treat you well. Amen”
Mary Glover had little formal education, was a cook in a day-care center and didn’t make much money, “but she was one of those spiritual leaders who holds neighborhoods together. She showed me where to find Jesus more than any seminary professor or academic theologian I had ever met or read. Mary knew you find Jesus among the most vulnerable members of society: the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, the prisoner — the people Jesus names in Matthew 25 when he says how we treat them is how we treat him.”
For those who want to follow Jesus’ teachings, Jim Wallis’ book is a provoking and evoking call to action, that of holistic faith and commitment. I highly recommend it.
Linda Rankin: “An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States,” by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz. It is the winner of the 2015 American Book Award.
Presenter’s comments: This book is quite a stark, brutal and necessary correction to what most of us have envisioned and been taught constituted the “settling” of this country. I am only a third of the way through and find it both enlightening and tragically validating of what I have long felt to have been the actual truth of the origins of this country.
Goodreads: Today in the United States, there are more than 500 federally recognized Indigenous nations comprising nearly 3 million people, descendants of the 15 million Native people who once inhabited this land. The centuries-long genocidal program of the U.S. settler-colonial regimen has largely been omitted from history. Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz offers a history of the United States told from the perspective of Indigenous peoples and reveals how Native Americans, for centuries, actively resisted expansion of the US empire. Spanning more than 400 years, this classic bottom-up peoples’ history radically reframes U.S. history and explodes the silences that have haunted our national narrative.
Michael Betz: “Lifetimes When Jesus and Buddha Knew Each Other,” by Gary Renard, Hay House Publisher, 2017.
Presenter’s comments: Renard also published the best seller Disappearance
of the Universe in 2002. Both support and parallel the content
of A Course in Miracles. The book traces Jesus and Buddha over six
lifetimes in 5 different countries over 750 years and how they awakened
from the dream we call life to attain enlightenment and ascend. We’re told that
both experienced about 40 lifetimes
together but only 6 are most relevant here. Neither believed in the dream as
much as most of us so it took fewer lifetimes to awaken and ascend. p31
These two knew and even helped each other awaken and move through four
stages or attitudes of learning we all will experience on our way back to
Source/God: from a dualistic view of the world to semi-dualism, to non dualism
(monism) to pure non-dualism where God/Source is the only Reality. This book
channels two disciples- Thomas and Thaddeus- who ascended since their time
with Jesus.
Here is a visual depiction of lifetimes examined in this book:
Year
Location Religion
Relationship Jesus Buddha
700BC Japan
Shintoism friendship male
male
600BC China
Taoism romantic
female male
5500BC India
Hinduism
cousins male male
500BC Greece
Plato’sAcad students
male male
450BC India
Buddhism child-parent
male male
0-55AD Judea pure
non-dualism equals male male
When and where were these six lifetimes?
When and where were these six lifetimes?
When and where were these six lifetimes?
1. In Japan, 700 BC, Saka (J) and Hiroji (B) were students of Shintoism. Shintoism is about
respecting ancestors and their connection to nature. Shintoism is dualistic with many rituals
of showing respect. Both experienced oneness at times; both were interested in the same
woman named Megumi who would later be Mary Magdeline in the New Testament. They
meditated and learned the importance of breath work. Skeptical about the validity of “life”,
they both already sensed that life was an illusion. They learned to communicate with animals
via mental pictures, sharing from the one mind shared by all creation. 23 They learned the
impt of forgiveness as an essential part of spirituality. (P25-6)
When and where were these six lifetimes?
1. In Japan, 700 BC, Saka (J) and Hiroji (B) were students of Shintoism. Shintoism is about respecting ancestors and their connection to nature. Shintoism is dualistic with many rituals of showing respect. Both experienced oneness at times; both were interested in the same woman named Megumi who would later be Mary Magdeline in the New Testament. They meditated and learned the importance of breath work. Skeptical about the validity of “life,”they both already sensed that life was an illusion. They learned to communicate with animals via mental pictures, sharing from the one mind shared by all creation. 23 They learned the impt of forgiveness as an essential part of spirituality. (P25-6)
2. Around 600 BC, a girl (ShaoLi-J) and boy (Wosan-B) were born into neighboring families in a large village in China; they later became lovers, eloped and married. P26 Both Shao-Li and Wosan were psychics who were sought after by many who paid them much money for theiradvise.31 After eloping and living on the road, they heard about a wise teacher with both seeking to be his students. 32 That teacher was Lao-tzu (Taoism). In the non-dualistic view of Lao-tzu, all form is an illusion with the Tao being formless; oneness is true because beyond the illusion is the ONE. 27 They asked: how can we attain “oneness”? A: because the world is coming from the self, which is mind, almost all beings see themselves as victims of the world outside them. The thoughts are not from without but from within. So the only place where thoughts can be changed and truly dealt with is within the mind. Why does the illusion seem so real? Your dreams at night also seem real. Your allegiance to illusions make them real and your habitual actions/patterns strengthen them. Beliefs change from disciplined change inbehavior/action . 33 Lao-tzu taught non dualism but he emphasized renunciation of the world, unwittingly making the world real. The emphasis on ethics served the purpose of taming the ego. 34 They studied with Lao-tzu for 6 years, learned much, thanked him, left and had 4 children.
3. In a large village in India around 550 BC, Harish- J and Padmaj-B were male cousins who become close friends. As teenagers, they hear about a holy man who had no name. They both wanted to find this holy man and learn from him. The teacher was a Hindus- Vedante who also taught non-dualism: “The Real never is not. The unreal never is”. He taught the importance of pardoning/forgiving others who did things they disapproved of. Forgive, not because they really did something but because they hadn’t really done anything. This discipline helped undo whatever it was in their minds that was making them believe in the world of multiplicity, instead of the truth of oneness that existed just beyond it. They both lived to be only 27 years old because they didn’t take care of their own body- a common mistake. (Just because the world is not real doesn’t mean you don’t live as though you’re in it and to take care of your body so you have time to learn.)
4. Around 500BC, two young boys enrolled in Plato’s academy in Athens by the names of Takis- J and Ikaros B. They learned about the “Allegory of the Cave” where prisoners were chained \down inside a cave for a long time and couldn’t see outside into the light as they could only see shadows on the wall, thinking the shadows to be real. Plato was dualistic even though he thought the source of all was “the Good”. But he believed Source created an illusory world of only symbols of the Real and Plato’s solution was to train students in logic that would lead to self fulfillment and a better world. But enlightenment has noting to do with individuality for it requires the relinquishment of individuality- psychologically- ego wise. Fulfillment can only be found in oneness with Source.
5. In North India around 450 BC, a young prince named Gautama Siddhartha was born to a very protective king/ruler. Gautama was raised in a sumptuous palace and sheltered from death, aging and poverty. He was married off to a beautiful princess at 19 and they were very happy but Gautama wanted to experience life outside the shelter of the palace so he went outside and saw beggars, death and poverty. At age 27, he decided to slip out of the palace one night to search for the meaning of life. He joined a group of ascetics who meditated but after several years rejected this ascetic path and choose the moderate/middle path. He went off by himself and decides to meditate until he becomes enlightened which did happen. He travels and teaches and begins to attract followers. At age 47 the Buddha learns from a former servant from his father’s palace that his wife died and that he has a 20 year old son named Ruhula- J. He goes to find him, does find him and they travel together continuing to learn together. Buddha dies at age 82 and Ruhula at age 55.
6. In Nazareth, Palestine, Jesus, Nadav- B. and Mary Magdalene grow up together. At around age 20, they take to the road to teach on 3 continents.(Egypt, England, Greece, Turkey, India ) The three masters could speak the languages of these different peoples.
1. In Japan, 700 BC, Saka (J) and Hiroji (B) were students of Shintoism. Shintoism is about
respecting ancestors and their connection to nature. Shintoism is dualistic with many rituals
of showing respect. Both experienced oneness at times; both were interested in the same
woman named Megumi who would later be Mary Magdeline in the New Testament. They
meditated and learned the importance of breath work. Skeptical about the validity of “life”,
they both already sensed that life was an illusion. They learned to communicate with animals
via mental pictures, sharing from the one mind shared by all creation. 23 They learned the importance of forgiveness as an essential part of spirituality. (P25-6)
2. Around 600 BC, a girl (ShaoLi-J) and boy (Wosan-B) were born into
neighboring families in a large village in China; they later became lovers,
eloped and married. P26 Both Shao-Li and
Wosan were psychics who were sought after by many who paid them much money for
their
advise.31 After eloping and living on the road, they heard about a wise teacher
with both
seeking to be his students. 32 That teacher was Lao-tzu (Taoism). In the
non-dualistic view of
Lao-tzu, all form is an illusion with the Tao being formless; oneness is true
because beyond
the illusion is the ONE. 27 They asked: how can we attain “oneness”? A: because
the world is
coming from the self, which is mind, almost all beings see themselves as
victims of the world
outside them. The thoughts are not from without but from within. So the only
place where
thoughts can be changed and truly dealt with is within the mind. Why does the
illusion seem
so real? Your dreams at night also seem real. Your allegiance to illusions make
them real and
your habitual actions/patterns strengthen them. Beliefs change from disciplined
change in
behavior/action . 33 Lao-tzu taught non dualism but he emphasized renunciation
of the
world, unwittingly making the world real. The emphasis on ethics served the
purpose of
taming the ego. 34 They studied with Lao-tzu for 6 years, learned much, thanked
him, left and
had 4 children.
3. In a large village in India around 550 BC, Harish- J and Padmaj-B were
male cousins who
become close friends. As teenagers, they hear about a holy man who had no name.
They both
wanted to find this holy man and learn from him. The teacher was a Hindus-
Vedante who
also taught non-dualism: “The Real never is not. The unreal never is”. He
taught the importance of
pardoning/forgiving others who did things they disapproved of. Forgive, not
because they
really did something but because they hadn’t really done anything. This
discipline helped
undo whatever it was in their minds that was making them believe in the world
of multiplicity,
instead of the truth of oneness that existed just beyond it. They both lived to
be only 27 years
old because they didn’t take care of their own body- a common mistake. (Just
because the
world is not real doesn’t mean you don’t live as though you’re in it and to
take care of your
body so you have time to learn.)
4. Around 500BC, two young boys enrolled in Plato’s academy in
Athens by the names of Takis- J
and Ikaros B. They learned about the “Allegory of the Cave” where prisoners
were chained
down inside a cave for a long time and couldn’t see outside into the light as
they could only
see shadows on the wall, thinking the shadows to be real.
Plato was dualistic even though he thought the source of all was “the Good”.
But he believed
Source created an illusory world of only symbols of the Real and Plato’s
solution was to train
students in logic that would lead to self fulfillment and a better world. But
enlightenment has
noting to do with individuality for it requires the relinquishment of
individuality-
psychologically- ego wise. Fulfillment can only be found in oneness with
Source.
5. In North India around 450 BC, a young prince named Gautama Siddhartha
was born to a
very protective king/ruler. Gautama was raised in a sumptuous palace and
sheltered from
death, aging and poverty. He was married off to a beautiful princess at 19 and
they were very
happy but Gautama wanted to experience life outside the shelter of the palace
so he went
outside and saw beggars, death and poverty. At age 27, he decided to slip out
of the palace
one night to search for the meaning of life. He joined a group of ascetics who
meditated but
after several years rejected this ascetic path and choose the moderate/middle
path. He went
off by himself and decides to meditate until he becomes enlightened which did
happen. He
travels and teaches and begins to attract followers. At age 47 the Buddha
learns from a
former servant from his father’s palace that his wife died and that he has a 20
year old son
named Ruhula- J. He goes to find him, does find him and they travel together
continuing to
learn together. Buddha dies at age 82 and Ruhula at age 55.
6. In Nazareth, Palestine, Jesus, Nadav- B. and Mary Magdalene grow
up together. At around age 20, they take to the road to teach on 3 continents.(Egypt,
England, Greece, Turkey, India ) The three
masters could speak the languages of these different peoples.
Liz Parmalee: “Holy Envy,”by Barbara Brown Taylor.
Goodreads: Barbara Brown Taylor is an Episcopal priest who was also a World Religion professor. This book is about how the major religions are very much alike and how that should increase our faith in God. She recounts her moving discoveries of finding the sacred in unexpected places while teaching the world’s religions to undergraduates in rural Georgia, revealing how God delights in confounding our expectations.
Barbara Brown Taylor continues her spiritual journey begun in “Leaving Church” to finding out what the world looks like after taking off her clergy collar. In “Holy Envy” she considers the myriad ways other people and traditions encounter the Transcendent, both by digging deeper into those traditions herself and by seeing them through her students’ eyes as she sets off with them on field trips to monasteries, temples, and mosques.
Troubled and inspired by what she learns, Taylor returns to her own tradition for guidance, finding new meaning in old teachings that have too often been used to exclude religious strangers instead of embracing the divine challenges they present. Re-imagining some central stories from the religion she knows best, she takes heart in how often God chooses outsiders to teach insiders how out-of-bounds God really is.
Throughout Holy Envy, Taylor weaves together stories from the classroom with reflections on how her own spiritual journey has been complicated and renewed by connecting with people of other traditions—even those whose truths are quite different from hers. The one constant in her odyssey is the sense that God is the one calling her to disown her version of God—a change that ultimately enriches her faith in other human beings and in God.
Jim Ullrich: Prayer for a Pandemic by Cameron Bellm.
May we who are merely inconvenienced
Remember those whose lives are at stake.
May we who have no risk factors
Remember those most vulnerable.
May we who have the luxury of working from home
Remember those who must choose between preserving their health or making their rent.
May we who have the flexibility to ca re for our children when their schools close
Remember those who have no options.May we who have to cancel our trips
Remember those that have no safe place to go.
May we who are losing our margin money in the tumult of the economic market
Remember those who have no margin at all.
May we who settle in for a quarantine at home
Remember those who have no home.
As fear grips our country,
let us choose love.
During this time when we cannot physically wrap our arms around each other,
Let us yet find ways to be the loving embrace of God to our neighbors. Amen.
(Obtained from:
www.ccvichapel.org/post/prayer-for-a-pandemic-cameron-bellm
of the Chapel of the Incarnate Word, Incarnate Word Sisters, San Antonio, Texas)
Ghislaine Miller: “The Impact of God: Soundings from St John of the Cross,” by Iain Matthew.
Goodreads: St. John of the Cross
testifies to a God who longs to meet us in our deepest need. Whilst rejection
and imprisonment played their part in the life of this 16th-century Spanish
friar, John’s poetry and prose reveal the beauty and power of a wondrous God.
It gives us courage to believe in the possibility of change in our own lives,
however unlikely or impossible this may seem.
Father Iain Matthew uses this classic inspirational Christian writing as his
starting point, and offers five interpretations which make its richness
relevant to the modern reader.
David Waite: “The Ladder of Divine Ascent, or Ladder of Paradise” (Κλίμαξ; Scala or Climax Paradisi).
Presenter’s comments: This is an important ascetical treatise for monasticism in Eastern Christianity written by John Climacus in ca. AD 600 at the request of John, Abbot of Raithu, a monastery located on the shores of the Red Sea.
The Scala, which obtained an immense popularity and has made its author famous in the Church, is addressed to anchorites and cenobites and treats of the means by which the highest degree of religious perfection may be attained. Divided into thirty parts, or “steps”, in memory of the thirty years of the life of Christ, the Divine model of the religious, it presents a picture of all the virtues and contains a great many parables and historical touches, drawn principally from the monastic life, and exhibiting the practical application of the precepts.
At the same time, as the work is mostly written in a concise, sententious form, with the aid of aphorisms, and as the reasonings are not sufficiently closely connected, it is at times somewhat obscure. This explains its having been the subject of various commentaries, even in very early times. The most ancient of the manuscripts containing the Scala is found in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris and was probably brought from Florence by Catherine de’ Medici. In some of these manuscripts, the work bears the title of “Spiritual Tables” (Plakes pneumatikai).