May 19, 2017

What's Happening This Week at SpiritualityandPractice.com

Editor's Pick   

Directed by Mark Benjamin and Marc Levin     

America has a crisis of incarceration, with more than 11 million people cycling in and out of correctional institutions every year. This honest, searing, prophetic, and motivating documentary -- hosted and produced by Bill Moyers -- takes us inside one of the most notorious jails through the testimonies of men and women who have endured incarceration at Rikers Island.

Practices   


You can get some sense of the immensity of Rose Hawthorne's influence when you realize that while reading her biography, social activist Dorothy Day decided to launch The Catholic Worker. Describing the choice to dedicate her life to helping impoverished cancer patients, Hawthorne said she found that "a fire was then lighted in my heart, where it still burns."

More Practices: Birthday of Mary Stevenson Cassatt, Birthday of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Ramadan Mubarak  
E-Courses   

A new e-course by Jamal Rahman     
May 29 - June 23, 2017

Invite joy, laughter, and playfulness into your life so that these become the sound of your soul waking up. Jamal Rahman's e-courses are known for their warmth, insight, and everyday practicality. Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/WisdomQuran 
A new e-course by Thomas Moore        
June 5 - 30, 2017

Learn to cherish aging as a series of initiations that draw you more fully into soulful living. We are honored to have Thomas Moore return for his sixth e-course with S&P. He is the author of 22 books on cultivating soul in every aspect of life. Read more and sign up here:
www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/SoulfulAging 
Films

Directed by Dominique Abel and Fiona Gordon
 
Three eccentric characters are caught up in an enchanting romantic comedy full of clever gags that remind us: When you fall down, get up as gracefully as you can.

More Films:
Abacus: Small Enough to Jail, Afterimage, The Woman Who Left 
 
Books   

By Laura Everett

This wonder-inducing book of everyday spirituality practices chronicles the insights of a minister whose life has become more beautiful, creative, and intimately connected thanks to her bike riding.

More Books:
Age of Anger, Be Still and Know, Joyce Rupp: Essential Writings, Soul Story, The Wisdom of the Body
    
Arts   

The Great Piece of Turf by Albrecht Dürer
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat

In Dürer's time, his choice of a wayward patch of vegetation as the subject of a watercolor masterpiece was a pioneering effort. The artist brings us to our knees so we can sense all the details in cock's foot, daisy, dandelion, germander speedwell, greater plantain, hound's tongue, yarrow, and more.
Quotes   

Curated by Frederic Brussat

Why are we so concerned about how much time we have (or don't have), what to do with our time, and how to get more time for what's important to us? These quotes address this question from a variety of angles.

 
Blogs   

Spiritual Literacy Blog
By Frederic Brussat

Human beings have a natural drive toward belonging and serving the common good. In an article about reclaiming the art of conversation, Olaf Werder suggests attentively trying to understand the roots of someone's position.

More Blogs: More Sleep Means More Happiness  
Teachers   


You may already know Rev. James Martin, SJ, either by his bestselling books or his appearances on programs like NPR's Fresh Air, FOX's The O'Reilly Factor, PBS's NewsHour, and Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. These quotes, articles, interviews, videos, and more remind us why his voice is so valuable today.

From Our Wisdom Archive   


Vaclav Havel defined hope as an "orientation of the heart." These readings and practices help you get in touch with hope's potency, much needed now.
 

 
A Thought to Carry with You  

"No one gossips about other people's secret virtues," observes British philosopher Bertrand Russell in On Education. But why don't we? If it's true that "it is almost impossible to throw dirt on someone without getting a little on yourself," as the advice columnist "Dear Abby" (Abigail Van Buren) told us, then why can it not also be true that when we take the time to notice and applaud considerate deeds of others, something of their thoughtfulness rubs off on us?

All except the most misanthropic among us take an interest in people, and so a certain amount of gossip is natural. Musicologist Joan Peyser went so far as to say that gossip is "the very stuff of biography."

So if there are people in your life you really don't like much, try this: Imagine that you are their biographer. Trying to write a balanced story, you are in quest of secret virtues of theirs that few people see. For starters, reveal those virtues to yourself. You may want to go so far as to share them with a mutual acquaintance, if you can find a genuine, unforced way of doing so.

Then, even though you will have "gossiped," you will have come one step closer to Titus 3:2, a Bible verse often used to dissuade us from gossip. It encourages us to malign no one, be peaceable and gentle, and show consideration to everyone. Such acts are veritably radical these days! 


Blessings, 
Your Spirituality & Practice Team 
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat 
Patricia Campbell Carlson 
Darren Polito