Add New PageReading Recos 2005

Rev. Marian Whiteman
Staff Minister, Pastoral Care

Cover to Cover [Fall 2005]
Ansel Adams wrote that nuance is the raw material whose distillation is the creative act. A book that is crammed full of nuance and “under cover” reading is Richard Bach's Running From Safety. This book is a Spiritual autobiography in which Richard Bach, as the adult he is, meets the nine year old child he was and probes timeless questions which need to be answered if either is to be authentically whole. The question that stays with me is, "Why is it that only by running from safety can we make our wildest dreams come to fruition?"

Thanks to the fine work of Yolanda and Chuck Flatt, many of us are getting a renewed interest in the science side of Religious Science. I find myself turning again to the work of John Briggs, (who wrote Fractals and The Fire in the Crucible) and am delving into Seven Life Lessons of Chaos. The new science suggests an individual and collective understanding of chaos may dramatically change our lives. Nature uses chaos in remarkable ways to create new entities, shape events, and hold the universe together.

Thanks to Richard Kingsley, I am embarking on James Redfield's God and the Evolving Universe and will also review his Celestine Prophecy. The most unique book on my reading stand is The Mirror Theory by Betsy Otter Thompson. Fascinate yourself and take the leap into these pages. Attention Students! The Roads To Truth by Sherry Evans is a must.

Let's Turn Up the Volume [Summer 2005]
It’s time to talk to you again about books. This gives me joy because the topic takes me into my favorite chat room with you very special people. Aren't you often surprised at how many volumes our bookstore holds? No matter what we are reaching toward, there is always a book waiting to satisfy our search.

Since we are in the process of launching a Grief Support Group, my thoughts turn to books for those who are in the midst of grieving. This leads me to the whole area of Compassion, which applies to us all. Marc Ian Barasch, the founder of the Compassion Project, sent us a galley copy of his forthcoming book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life (probably available by the time you are reading this article). I quote from his letter: “This book puts empathy under a microscope as well as a zoom lens.......It shows how forgiveness and altruism heal personal relationships, even the dire wounds of murder and war. I've drawn on people from many backgrounds and spiritual paths to give a flavor of what it means to live a compassionate life.......It's one thing to feel for someone else; it is another to, in some sense, become them.”

Holding Another's Hand (Facing the Transition called Death), edited by Richard Robinson, is a great compilation of the shared insight of some of the finest thinkers of this century, such as Gerald Jampolsky, Ram Dass, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Brugh Joy, John Strickland, and many more. Imagine my surprise when I came to page 33 and found a full article devoted to our own Fred Wiedenbeck! Patricia Sun shares this: “Through hundreds of experiences I have realized it is the very same healing energy you send to someone to get well as it is to die well.....It is just a great calm love.”

Children grieve also. We all need to be ready to answer a child's questions about death and transition. The Fall of Freddie the Leaf, by Leo Buscaglia, is inspired and deeply touching. It is an allegory illustrating the delicate and inevitable balance of nature. I have uncovered, through my work in the Hospital, the Nursing Homes, and the Rehabs, that one of the best ways for adults to come to terms with physical death and Eternal Spiritual Life is through simple, heartfelt children's books. Another gem is The Soul Bird, by Michal Snunit of Tel Aviv, Israel. This has been an international bestseller that has changed many lives. It is a tone poem in prose, accompanied by charming graphic art. It seems a logical flow to move from the above books to a fine 2003 publication, Reflections from Eden II, by Rev. Theodore C. Clarke. Rev. Clarke is a retired NASA scientist and engineer who served on the Voyager and Galileo Outer Planets Space Missions for 25 years. He is a staff minister at the Granada Hills Church of Religious Science. His pastor is Dr. Maureen Hoyt and his editor is Rev. Dr. Cynthia Cavalcanti (familiar to all of us who contribute to, or read, "Creative Thought" magazine"). We are told by the author that the sermons, meditations, and treatments of the book span his life from wanderer, to seeker, to prophet, to apostle. This book can bring solace in all areas of our lives. He clearly, succinctly, and beautifully reminds us that wherever pain seems to operate, the Presence of God is. Indeed, in choosing to read this book, you may feel that you have truly turned up the right volume!