Spiritual Living

May…the kingdom of the hawthorn in flower, the nightingale, dances around the Maypole, and a few good books. May 2008 finds Spiritual Living in a mood of optimism, perhaps even irrational exuberance. Among the Basics, we have James Diamond's immensely sensible and useful handbook for the reading of Torah portions, Pastor Michael D. Wuchter's graceful sermons, as well as Erik Kolbell and Matthew Woodley, each making an eloquent case for hope, joy, and laughter in the Christian's journey toward blessedness. In For Further Thought, we take note of Rex Weyler's carefully weighed interpretation of Jesus and his utterances, as well as Lynn Domina's collection of poets' responses to the ever-fresh Psalms. In Life Questions, our hats are off to Tsultrim Allione's clear and excellent confrontation with our inner demons and to Kathy J. Phillips's idiosyncratic, lovely, and touching vignettes, reflecting on artwork by the compassionate Kuan Yin.

Basics | For Futher Though | Life Questions

Diamond, who teaches in the Program in Judaic Studies at Princeton University, has created, in under 250 pages, one of the most accessible and broadly useful books ever published by the Jewish Publication Society. Neither a language manual nor yet another commentary on Hebrew Scripture, Diamond's work is literally a how-to for Torah readers of almost any age and level that addresses what Torah is, how to read (and reread) selected Torah portions, the pluses and minuses of differing critical approaches, and a step-by-step example of a reading of several Torah portions. Diamond's excellent guide includes assessments of different translations of Hebrew Scripture, as well as a useful but not overwhelming bibliography. Highly recommended.

This is Westminster's third title by Kolbell, former minister of social justice at Riverside Church in New York, after What Jesus Means and Were You There? Kolbell's notion is that Christian Scripture and tradition are stuffed with "re-" words—reconciliation, revival, resurrection, remembrance, and so on—and that this expresses God's desire to give us—and for us to give each other—second chances (with "re" taken to mean "again"). While Kolbell's premise is etymologically and historically dubious, he moves beyond verbal trickiness in a book that is full of hope and help. Includes "Questions for Discussion" in each chapter; for most collections.

Sin is no longer fashionable in modern pulpits, especially in this country: in today's mega-cathedrals, we prefer an upbeat Jesus who will tell us how to prosper in this life. It has taken the English theologian Tomlin, principal of St. Paul's Theological Centre and former member of Oxford University's Faculty of Theology, to remind us of the perils of the old seven deadlies—pride, envy, anger, gluttony, lust, greed, and sloth. Tomlin's writing shows us how these dangers persist in contemporary life, but his remedies rest on time-tested ideas—repentance, faith, forgiveness, self-control, respect for others, liberality, and desire for God. Tomlin's strong, simple style should appeal to many Christian readers. For most collections.

Woodley, senior pastor of Three Village Church on Long Island, NY, has written a moving and humble book about the humility and lack of self-consciousness that he sees as key to the spiritual lives of St. Francis of Assisi, Hudson Taylor, and Jesus himself: he hopes to motivate others to join the "motley band" of living and dead "holy fools," to "love Jesus with reckless abandon." Woodley's message is, in fact, well grounded in tradition, but his recasting of Christian dedication as holy folly is appealingly new. Includes "Questions for Discussion" in each chapter; for most collections.

Although its overall mood is one of light and openness, this volume is a memorial: its author, the pastor of the First Lutheran Church in Duluth, MN, died unexpectedly at the age of 54 in 2000. This is the third posthumous collection of his sermons, following Shining Through the Darkness and Uplifting Christ Through Autumn; its sermons range in date from the 1970s to shortly before Wuchter's death. Wuchter understood very well the curious mixture of the accessible and grandiloquent that characterize the sermon at its best. These sermons for the Lent and Easter season focus not just on the Resurrection but more humble themes like friendship and hiking; most poignantly, in light not just of Jesus' story but Wuchter's own, the final sermon reminds us, "We are all, of course, at any age, dying…the Spirit of truth will never abandon us as we face death." For most collections.
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Isaac Luria (1534–72) was one of the most important exponents of the Jewish mysticism of the Kabbalah in the modern world. For Luria, whose name and teachings led to the founding of a new school of mystical understanding, proper study of the Torah could lead the soul and ultimately the world toward healing and oneness with God. Weiser's new publication presents selections from Nathan Snyder's translations of Luria's teachings. Fascinating, complex, and gnomic, Luria (and the Kabbalah) are not for beginners, but this new gathering should prove important for the growing roster of Kabbalists in this country. For most collections.

Fischer, former abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center and a poet, has left Zen behind to join Odysseus in his long wander to Ithaca in this touching and curious book. Fischer uses any insight handy—Jewish, Christian, Buddhist, or otherwise—to uncover guides for enriched and conscious living in Homer's stories about his sea-tossed hero. In a way, Fischer's approach reaches back through Fenelon's Telemaque (1699) into the age-old tradition of allegorical reading, except that his lessons are not about the Christian life but the modern ecumenical spiritual life. Neither quite literary criticism nor theology of any stripe, Fischer's book may well appeal to readers not yet reached by more traditional approaches to spirituality. For most collections.

Music is a medium of spiritual communication that is arguably more popular and more effective than the spoken word: only images, from stained-glass windows to prayer wheels, could challenge its hold over the human imagination. Giles, a professional musician himself and vicar of St. Mary Magdalene in North London, has written a light and accessible series of reflections on a huge variety of anthems, canticles, and psalms through their musical settings, touching gently on the composers' lives and approaches. The music selected—to be heard on the accompanying CD, executed by the soundly competent Gloriae Dei Cantores—is by no means the obvious Bach, Handel, Haydn, and Mozart; Giles and the Cantores take on Lotti, Charles Ives, and Leo Sowerby, as well as William Byrd and Palestrina. This brief but charming book-and-CD set will remain timely through the Christmas season. Includes a four-session Group Study guide; for most collections.

Poet and teacher Domina has edited a lovely and varied collection of essays written by poets about the Psalms. Poets are naturally and perhaps inevitably drawn to the Book of Psalms, the Bible's long collection of poems of praise, victory, wonder, and despair, and the encounter is almost always fruitful—witness The Poets' Book of Psalms (1999) and Chapters into Verse (1993). Carl Philips and Alicia Ostriker are perhaps the best-known poets as poets here, but the centerpiece of the book may be three very different responses to the imperishable 23rd Psalm by Catherine Sasanov, David Citino, and Angie Estes. This book should delight open-minded seekers and readers of poetry alike. Highly recommended.

Weyler has impeccable credentials for spiritual readers: coauthor of Chop Wood, Carry Water and author of Blood of the Land and Greenpeace: The Inside Story, he is also cofounder of Greenpeace International. In The Jesus Sayings, Weyler is wonderfully effective at coming to terms, for the well-informed common reader, with the historically likely realities of Jesus, taking into account not only orthodox Christian resources but so-called apocryphal sources, historical criticism, and recent archaeology. The result is not a "Greenpeace Jesus" but a complex and historically more satisfying figure. For most collections.

Yogananda may not precisely be a household name, but his Autobiography of a Yogi, first published in 1946 and rarely out of print thereafter, is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential spiritual titles of the 20th century. Yogananda himself, sometimes called "the father of Yoga in the West," was certainly crucially important in the popularization of Eastern Yogic tradition in America and Europe. This work gathers several articles written in the 1920s and 1930s, at the height of his popularity, on the application of yogic principles to human relationships, including friendship, marriage, and parenting. For most collections.
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Allione, one of the first women in America to be ordained in the Tibetan tradition, as well as author of Women of Wisdom, has added considerably to the store of current wisdom herself in this appealing and important new book. The notion of feeding demons is in itself attractive to a certain temperament, but the demons Allione has in mind are not the horned and tailed terrors of many religions' hells but "our obsessions and fears, chronic illnesses, depression, anxiety, and addiction." Allione has a five-step method for encountering, understanding, and even befriending the inner demons that prevent us from being our best selves. Includes an appendix with an abbreviated five-step method; for most collections.

Lozowick is the founder and spiritual teacher of the Hohm Community in Prescott, AZ (hence Hohm Press), and was a follower of the "beggar saint" Yogi Ramsuratkumar. Lozowick believes that Ramsuratkumar's work and voice continue through him, and the core of his message is to free spiritual seekers from the grip of mind and emotions that delude them. Much of Lozowick's counsel is sound no matter what any individual reader's faith tradition—e.g., live in the present moment, be kind. The volume includes an essay by Regina Sara Ryan that discusses Lozowick's spiritual poetry. For most collections.

Like most really fine books, Phillips's Moon in the Water almost defies description—it is at once a memoir, a meditation on parenting a parent, art history, comedy, and poetry. Phillips begins each chapter with a description of or reflection on a real "Water-Moon" Kuan Yin painting, a genre that shows the East's favorite Boddhisattva of compassion looking into the water, waiting for the moon's reflection; she uses each painting and her own frequently hilarious take on it as a springboard for a vignette about the life she shared with her father as he approached old age and finally death. By turns witty, compassionate, wise, and intensely personal, Phillips's book is perfect for our "sandwich generation," facing the care of elderly parents and trying to continue spiritual journeys even in the face of the end. Included is a list of sources for the paintings reproduced or mentioned. Highly recommended. [See Q&A with author, p. 48.]

This is the latest of several accessible and attractive handbooks for spiritual life and practice from the mind of Christina Rodenbeck, following Madonna in My Pocket, Buddha in My Pocket, and My Inner Pilgrimage Journal. The central influence on Rodenbeck's text is the Buddhist tradition, although she discusses non-Buddhistic Eastern and Christian traditions of meditation as well. Carefully framed photographs of meditation postures illustrate and supplement Rodenbeck's text, which also includes advice about meditation in transit, bringing a meditative spirit to the workplace, and relaxation at home and on vacations. In the final pages, the author suggests how readers can bring meditative practice to their own spirituality or religious life. Librarians should be aware that Rodenbeck discusses "sexual healing" as well and that those two pages include photographs that impressionable readers and the young might find suggestive. For most collections.

DailyOm is further evidence of the ever-changing dynamic relationship between the Internet and more traditional publishing: this is a selection of Taylor's articles, which appear every day on the web site, along with messages of hope, joy, community, and counsel. Taylor's meditations are not linked to any single spiritual tradition, but Hay House's history of publishing authors such as Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay suggest Taylor's spiritual ancestry. For most collections.

Psychotherapist Thoele (The Courage To Be Yourself) has written a book whose time has come (and it may even be overdue, although we can hardly fault Thoele for that). She has noticed that many women—like herself—are both full-time workers and full-time caretakers of husbands, children, and parents and thrash themselves for being less than perfect at all of those roles. Her remedy is a mixture of awareness, meditation, and positive psychology, with a stiff helping of Buddhist "non-attachment." Her book should speak powerfully to women of all faiths. Includes exercises ("Practice…" and "Throughout your day…") in each section. For most collections.
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