January 13, 2017
What's Happening This Week at SpiritualityandPractice.com
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Editor's Pick
A new e-course by Frank Rogers, Sally Taylor, Ted Falcon, Jamal Rahman, Philip Goldberg, and Thomas Moore
January 16 - February 23, 2017
Starts on Monday!
We are honored to offer this unique opportunity to learn from and dialogue with six different spiritual traditions. If you have been sorrowing for the world or for those near to you; if you are in a caring profession like nursing, teaching, counseling, or ministry; if you have a hard time being kind to yourself; or if your vision for a more compassionate world exceeds the reality of what you see expressed around you, then this e-course is for you. Highly esteemed teachers cover core compassion practices from Christianity, Buddhism, Judaism, Islam and Sufism, and Hinduism, closing with teachings by Thomas Moore from the perspective of the Spiritually Independent. Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/PracticeofCompassion
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Practices
By Jack Kornfield and Patricia Campbell Carlson
Did you know that you can stabilize joy in your life through meditation practices that cultivate gratefulness? Here's a wonderful example from American Theravada Buddhist teacher Jack Kornfield, co-founder of the Insight Meditation Society and the Spirit Rock Center.
More Practices: Birthday of Albert Schweitzer; Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Day
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Films
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Set in 1635, this thought-provoking film based on the 1966 novel by Shusaku Endo Edo laments the clash between Japan and Europe and reminds us that the only antidote to enthnocentrism is spiritual education.
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DVDs
Directed by Deborah S. Esquenazi
This engrossing documentary hammers home the disquieting lack of truth and justice in many courtrooms and the widespread, insidious prejudice against lesbians.
More DVDs: Ali and Nino, Magnus, Peter and the Farm, Sold
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Books
Good Karma
By Thubten Chodron
In this enlightening work, a Buddhist nun and abbess takes us on an intimate journey through "The Wheel of Sharp Weapons," a 9th-century spiritual poem that reveals the clash between the ego and a selfless attitude that emphasizes liberation for all.
More Books: Love Hurts, Ordinary Goodness, The Paraclete Poetry Anthology, The Power of Meaning, Clearing Spaces, The Myth of Human Supremacy
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Children's Books
By Michelle Lee
This lively children's story with merry watercolor illustrations celebrates friendship, creativity, energy, and, of course, play.
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Arts
By Nicholas Lampert
With energy and passion, Lampert showcases the flinty integrity and wild creativity of activist artists who have contributed their work to support social justice and resistance movements from colonial times to the present. It is illustrated with over 200 images.
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Blogs
By Frederic Brussat
Awe takes our hand and leads us into the abundant fields of creative endeavor. There is no competition here, only caring and sharing.
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By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spiritually literate books are one way we can water the positive seeds within us even as we try in the outer world to cope with cyberwars, drones, racism, terrorism, and the other downers of our times. Books can bring us great joy.
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From Our Wisdom Archive
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
"War will stop when we no longer praise it, or give it any attention at all. Peace will come wherever it is sincerely invited," writes Alice Walker. We offer you these light-filled quotations on peace to help your own light shine.
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A Thought to Carry with You
These days it feels like a collective cry is going up to the heavens, more and more urgent: "What can we do to stem the tide of destruction and create peace as a living reality among human beings and all creatures?"
The question leads to specific reflections about what each of us can do day by day: Can I sustain an individual meditation or yoga or prayer practice that allows me to be present to myself and others during the day in a kind and loving way? Can I use less fossil fuel -- by driving less, by buying local foods that do not need to be transported long distances, by using alternative power sources? Can I explore the tasty and healthful benefits of a vegetarian or vegan diet, which makes more food available to others by sensible land use and which reduces the harm done to the four-footed, flying, and swimming creatures with whom we share the planet? Are there effective political avenues open to me? Can I donate money to organizations that make a direct difference to people in need? Are my skills ones which can be used in my vocation or as a volunteer to bring healing, mediation, education, food and shelter, or other needed resources to combat zones? How can I connect with others who share these concerns so that we act in concert and support each other?
These kinds of questions deserve our daily prayerful consideration, so that slowly and surely we can "turn round right," as the Shaker hymn puts it. At the end of each day, we can reflect on progress, let go of setbacks, and commit ourselves to moving ahead once again in the morning. When we do so, others take notice, gain hope, and begin their own turning.
Blessings,
Your Spirituality & Practice Team
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Patricia Campbell Carlson
Darren Polito
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