July 22, 2016
What's Happening This Week at SpiritualityandPractice.com
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Editor's Pick
By Mark Nepo
The wisdom on the shining pages of this holy book is another luminous gift from a gallant, grateful and imaginative spiritual teacher. He reminds us that "giving our all can lead to moments of fulfillment and grace. And those moments of full living can sustain us."
In this excerpt, Nepo writes about what he learned about cultivating wonder while vigiling with his dying father.
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Practices
The iconic and heroic American aviator -- who felt that "the lure of flying is the lure of beauty" -- gives us wind under our wings when we want the courage to realize our potential or to cheer on someone else's efforts.
More Practices: Birthday of Gerard Manley Hopkins
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E-Courses
An e-course by Mary Ann and Frederic Brussat
August 1 - September 9, 2016
Let nature teach you. Touch the earth. Salute the sun. Laugh. Carry someone in your heart. See all as your sisters and brothers. What better messages could we hear in August ... or for that matter, at this point in human history? Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/PSNativeAmericans
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A new e-course by Judith Favor
August 8 - September 2, 2016
Spiritual journaling guides us to see how Sacred Presence is right here, right now. Faithfully done, it assists us in responding to the subtle movements of God in relationships with self, others, money, work, society, and nature just "as it is." Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/AsItIs
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Starts Sunday, July 31, 2016
When we take pictures to express our commitments and to recognize signs of the sacred, photography becomes a spiritual path. Explore with us the contemplative potential that abounds in this form of expression. You are welcome whether or not you have been part of the original group. Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/ContemplativePhotographers2
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Films
Directed by Alex Gibney
"Someone has used a new weapon, and it can't be put back into the box," says Michael Hayden, the former head of both the CIA and the NSA. He's talking about cyberwarfare, the use of computer viruses and worms aggressively to attack systems within another country. This weapon of war is capable of taking out a country's power grid, water supply, or defense system without being detected or traced back to its creators.
This incredibly important documentary about one instance of cyberwarfare waged by the U.S. and Israel against Iran is now in theaters and is also available for streaming on Amazon Prime and other video-on-demand channels.
More Films: Hooligan Sparrow, Our Kind of Traitor, Star Trek Beyond, Summertime
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DVDs
Directed by Jean-Marc Vallee
In this unconventional dramedy, a widower with an empty heart tears nearly everything apart until he is pulled back into the land of the living by his father-in-law, his newfound friend, and her gay son.
More DVDs:
A Perfect Day, Sworn Virgin, Rio, I Love You
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Books
The Online Abbess of the Abbey of the Arts and one of our
Living Spiritual Teachers, Paintner probes the correlations of twelve monks and mystics to movements of Spirit through the archetypes. For instance, Francis of Assisi as the Fool, King David as the Sovereign, and Mary as the Mother start her list.
Read this excerpt on poet Rainer Maria Rilke's advice for handling life's difficult times.
More Books: Altruism, The Jewish Book of Grief & Healing, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Vigil: The Poetry of Presence
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Arts
By Mark Tobey
This lively tribute to the energy, movement, and dynamism of New York City's most famous and popular milieu is luminous, like its subject. It honors the mystery as well as the motion of the city.
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Quotes
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat and Darren C. Polito
"Empathy is the starting point for creating a community and taking action," writes Max Carver. "It's the impetus for creating change." Immerse yourself in these 12 reminders of a quality that can create a revolution in human relationships.
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Blogs
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Guidance is needed for voters and candidates alike as the United States presidential nominating conventions happen. We ask for insight to choose as leaders those who can tell strength from power, growth from greed, leadership from dominance, and real greatness from the trappings of grandiosity.
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By Darren C. Polito
How vows got folded into flowers as a visual reminder of love and blessing makes a beautiful, true story -- as well as an idea that you may want to carry forward into your own rituals.
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From Our Wisdom Archive
With its emphasis on social engagement and awareness of what influences our minds, the Insight Meditation tradition of Buddhism is valuable to revisit right now. These books, films, quotes, video clips, and more help you look out for the well being of all -- yourself included.
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A Thought to Carry with You
In times of rampant bigotry that takes a hundred shapes and forms, it's distressingly easy to focus on the problems "out there" and how to fix them. But an entirely radical, different approach is equally needed. In Simplicity, Fr. Richard Rohr reminds us that we're called to take the path of inner truth, "and that means taking responsibility for everything that's in you: for what pleases you and for what you're ashamed of, for the rich person inside you and for the poor one."
He reminds us of Francis of Assisi's phrase "loving the leper within us." Only from being hospitable to ourselves can we invite others into a safe, spacious, sincerely caring place. "If you learn to love the poor one within you, you'll discover that you have room to have compassion 'outside' too, that there's room in you for others, for those who are different from you, for the least among your brothers and sisters.
So this week, please consider: What is it about yourself that you are most inclined to shun? What if the circle of love is so vast that even that quality does not stray outside its bounds?
Blessings,
Your Spirituality & Practice Team
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Patricia Campbell Carlson
Darren Polito
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