April 15, 2018
What's Happening This Week at SpiritualityandPractice.com
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Editors' Pick
By Julie Davis
Lectio divina is an ancient practice of praying with a text. Its phases of guided reflections can be adapted to any situation that requires listening with the heart as well as the mind. Davis relates how she used this classic practice with high school students and with a difficult person in her own life. She provides step-by-step instructions for
Viewing Conflict with Lectio Divina and
Healing Conflict with Lectio Divina.
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Practices
By Habib Todd Boerger
"The Guest House," one of Jelaluddin Rumi's most frequently recited poems, carries a message of welcoming whatever life brings, central to self-compassion and compassion for others.
More Practices: Anniversary of Apollo 13 Moon Mission, Birthday of Amy Goodman, Birthday of Leonardo da Vinci
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E-Courses
A new e-course by Ed Bastian, Cynthia Bourgeault, Kabir and Camille Helminski, Rami Shapiro, Mirabai Starr, and Swami Atmarupananda
April 2 - May 10, 2018
Word of mouth is spreading about this heartfelt, insightful e-course by some of our most highly regarded teachers, and people continue to sign up. Won't you join us? Read more and subscribe: www.SpiritualityandPractice.com/CopingwithCatastrophe
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Films
Directed by Wes Anderson
What starts out as a movie about dogs abandoned on a garbage dump morphs into a flick poking affectionate fun at Japanese culture, while taking stabs at the contemporary world's fascination with authoritarian political leaders and conspiracy theories.
More Films: Big Fish & Begonia, The Heart of Nuba, I Kill Giants, King in the Wilderness, Shelter, Submergence
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DVDs
Directed by Feras Fayyad
This harrowing look at the heroic work of the Syrian Civil Defense's White Helmets -- civilian volunteers who are usually the first responders in the country's civil war -- was awarded the Grand Jury Documentary Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. As one of the most unflinching and heart-affecting anti-war documentaries ever made, it deserves all the acclaim it can garner.
More DVDs: All the Money in the World, Dolores, The Greatest Showman, Molly's Game, The Tribes of Palos Verdes, The Work
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Books
Ten Poems for Difficult Times
By Roger Housden
In the seventh volume in his bestselling Ten Poems series of gift book anthologies, Housden observes, "Poetry uniquely combines imaginative power and conscious intelligence, inspiration and hard work, and its effect is to illuminate our lives and breathe new life, new seeing, new tasting into the world we thought we knew."
More Books: Gratefulness, The Journey Never Ends, Kahlil Gibran's Little Book of Life, Transforming Communities, What Are We Doing Here?, A World of Three Zeroes
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Children's Books
Abracadabra!
By Maria Loretta Giraldo
This engaging story takes young readers into a school where little birds learn how to fly ... and how to try again after a setback. What a delightful way to learn about perseverance!
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Blogs
KidSpirit Youth Voices Blog
By Christopher Woods
A young Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic expresses appreciation for various traditions while sharing what he loves in his church, especially the exceedingly beautiful chants.
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Topics
Guns
Young people are bringing heightened urgency to calls for carefully legislated gun regulation. Here we offer articles, blog posts, book excerpts, films, poetry, prayers, quotes, spiritual practices, and more to give you a multi-faceted view of ways to increase understanding and decrease violence.
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Elder Spirituality
By Paolo Virzi
A couple who have been married for 50 years take off in their 1975 Winnebago camper -- unrestrained by their painful and bewildering bodily ailments -- for one last adventure together.
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The Practicing Democracy Project
Conversations allow us to bridge differences, develop empathy, and discover new pathways to constructive change. What could be more vital in creating a fulfilling life or in allowing democracy to flourish?
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From Our Wisdom Archive
By Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Every April is National Poetry Month in the United States. What is your personal experience of poetry? Here we share ours and also recommend seven collections of sacred poetry. Be sure to visit our homepage daily during April and read "Today's Poem for Poetry Month."
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A Thought to Carry with You
This week marks the 48th Anniversary of the Apollo 13 mission, a failed moon landing that became a test of courage and resilience. "Nobody gets everything he or she yearns for," writes Harold Kushner in Overcoming Life's Disappointments. "I look at the world and see three sorts of people: those who dream boldly even as they realize that a lot of their dreams will not come true; those who dream more modestly and fear that even their modest dreams may not be realized; and those who are afraid to dream at all, lest they be disappointed."
The three Apollo 13 astronauts -- James A. Lovell, John L. "Jack" Swigert, and Fred W. Haise -- and their NASA support team on earth had reached for the moon, and even without the intended landing, they went further into space than any human beings before them. To say it was a disappointment when an explosion crippled their spacecraft would be an understatement. In a matter of moments, the astronauts went from the mission's thrilling possibilities to the likelihood that they would not survive. But their attention did not dwell on devastation. It took extraordinary ingenuity, determination, and courage for them to make it safely home to earth.
"I would wish for more people who dreamed boldly and trusted their powers of resilience to see them through the inevitable disappointments," writes Kushner. This week, re-imagine a dream that you thought might be too bold. What would it take to reach for that dream and to generate a brilliant back-up scheme if it didn't turn out as planned?
Blessings,
Your Spirituality & Practice Team
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Patricia Campbell Carlson
Margaret Wakeley
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