Bibliography
The following are books that have inspired my spiritual and creative journey
Armstrong, Karen. Sacred Nature: Restoring Our Ancient Bond with the Natural World. 2022.
A religious scholar, Armstrong has written a number of books that look at the religions of the world with insight and clarity. In this work, she teaches us about the pervasive understanding of the sacrality of nature in early spiritual belief and how it was suplanted by our current religions that support that idea that humans are superior to nature. Surpise -- the Golden Rule goes way back, well before the advent of the Judeo-Christian worldview. Armstrong is adament that need to reconsider those early understandings both to protect the planet, but also to reconnect with the very things that will give us the peace we long for. Readable and insightful. If you read nothing else here, read this!!
Beresford-Kroeger, Diana. To Speak for the Trees. 2019.
Celtic Folk-wisdom is borne out by science...what we knew all along. A delightful read.
Blackie, Sharon. The Enchanted Life: Unlocking the Magic of the Everyday. House of Anansi Press, Inc. 2018.
Blackie wants her readers to see and be nourished by is the sacred in the everyday, as evidenced by her reference to Abraham Maslow and his idea of "resacralisation" -- restoring a sense of the sacred to the everyday world.
Harjo, Joy. Poet Warrior: A Memoir. 2021
The latest from out first Native American poet laureate. A mixture of memoir and poems imbued with the knowledge of the ubiquity of spirit. "Humans are not the only ones with a spirit...Nor are we more important than everyone else."
Harris, Sam. Letter to a Christian Nation. 2006.
Yes. The infamous atheist. But what Harris lays out here is an cogent argument for the failings and dangers of religion as it interacts with and influences modern society. In short, it has not been helpful! Infact, Harris argues that it actually causes more pain and suffering, not less.
Harrison, Paul. Elements of Pantheism: A Spirituality of Nature and the Universe. 2013.
For those who want a container for spiritual orientation that finds the sacred in nature, Pantheism is the most likely one. Harrison does an excellent job of explaining what Pantheism is and its value to individuals and our contemporary challenges. Short, readable.
Hering, Karen. Writing to Wake the Soul: Opening the Sacred Conversation Within. 2013
Hering provides writing prompts to lead people in using writing as a spiritual practice which she calls "contemplative correspondence."
Jaffe, Lawrence W. Liberating the Heart: Spirituality and Jungian Psychology.
Jaffe outlines 4 main components of Carl Jung's message:
1. Mythlessness means that we have forgotten the purpose we live for, or more urgently, the purpose for which we suffer.
2. The affirmation of the reality of the psyche which validates the subjective experience and returns meaning to our lives.
3. Meaning is wholly subjective.
4. The importance of the affirmation of the feminine principle.
Johnson, Robert A. Owning Your Own Shadow: Understanding the Dark Side of the Psyche. 1991.
This book was extremely helpful in understanding exactly what the “shadow” is and how to work with it productively in seeking wholeness.
Levy, Naomi. Einstein and the Rabbi: Searching for the Soul. 2017.
This is an absolutely beautiful book and very readable. Rabbi Levy shares her own journey of awakening to her soul and brings the reader along on that journey.
Murphy, Amatha. The Way of the Seabhean: An Irish Shamanic Path. 2020.
Much beautiful wisdom here. "Each one of us is responsible for keeping the earth, our Great Mother, in balance...we change energy simply by being in it." There it is -- the way to be.
Nepo, Mark. Drinking from the River of Light: The Life of Expression. 2019.
Explores how creative expression is a path to our deepest selves, an idea that correlates with Jungian psychology as well.
Newell, John Philip. Sacred Earth Sacred Soul: Celtic Wisdom for the Reawakening to What our Souls Know and Healing the World. 2021.
This book offers hope and a clear articulation of what we knew in ancient times, how we've lost that knowing and how to return to it to save our own souls and that of the earth. Required reading for SBNR.
O’Donohue, John. Walking in Wonder: Eternal Wisdom for a Modern World. 2015
Anything by John O’Donohue is a blessing. This particular book, published posthumously, is no exception. A great quote: “One of the greatest sins is the unlived life, not to allow yourself to become chief executive of the project you call your life, to have a reverence always for the immensity that is inside of you.”
Raymo, Chet. When God is Gone Everything is Holy: The Making of a Religious Naturalist. 2008.
A quote that Raymo shares from Teilhard de Chardin sums: “Man has every right to be anxious of his fate so long as he feels himself to be lost and lonely in the midst of the mass of created things. But let him once discover that his fate is bound up with the fate of nature itself, and immediately, joyously, he will begin again his forward march.”
Sura. Sura Flow. 2021.
A look at a more gentle meditation practice from a feminine perspective.
Topa, Wahinkpe (Four Arrows) and Narvaez, Darcia, PhD. Restoring the Kindship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth. 2022.
INDISPENSABLE!! Many native voices all in one place and a sacred offering from Indigenous peoples to the rest of us, for the sake of this precious planet. It's about time we listened and took their teachings to heart. What moves me about this work -- how it's different from other things like it that I have read -- is that it seems to invite non-native peoples in. "All people are indigenous to Earth and have the right and the responsibility to practice and teach the Indigenous worldview precepts."
Wright, Robert. Why Buddhism Is True. 2017.
In this work, Wright takes a look at "why we suffer" through the combined lenses of psychology, neuroscience, and Buddhism.
Wikstrom, Erik Walker. Simply Pray: A Modern Spiritual Practice to Deepen Your Life. 2005.
An excellent look at prayer, especially for those who are iffy about prayer.