More Book Reviews

Obviously, other things have been higher on my priority list lately than writing about the books I'm reading.  For awhile, there were things higher on my priority list than reading.  I know.  Shocking. I'm back to share a little about three fantastic books that I've finished in the last few weeks.

Faith:  Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience

This absolutely fantastic book by Sharon Salzberg explores the concept of faith from a Buddhist perspective.  I had heard people refer to this book a couple of different times, so when I found it at a book stall, I bought it.  I'm really glad I purchased the book instead of getting from the library because I highlighted most of the book (and libraries tend to frown on that.)  

Salzberg does a great job of weaving her own faith journey into the explanation of the Buddhist philosophies regarding faith.  You get to see real life examples of faith at work, and of her struggles with faith.  

For Buddhists, there are three kinds of faith:  bright faith, verifying faith, and abiding faith.  I found these concepts to be very interesting, and it definitely helped me understand my own faith journey more.  I also loved the idea of skillful doubt, and that questions are a part of real faith, not the opposite of it.  

I highly recommend this book for everyone.  

A Chosen Faith:  An Introduction to Unitarian Univeralism

This book is a collections of essays by two Unitarian Universalist ministers, John A. Buehrens and Forrest Church, exploring the six sources of their living tradition.   I found it fascinating.  For those unfamiliar with Unitarian Univeralism, here are the six sources:

• Direct experience of that transcending mystery and wonder, affirmed in all cultures, which moves us to a renewal of the spirit and an openness to the forces which create and uphold life;
• Words and deeds of prophetic women and men which challenge us to confront powers and structures of evil with justice, compassion, and the transforming power of love;
• Wisdom from the world's religions which inspires us in our ethical and spiritual life;
• Jewish and Christian teachings which call us to respond to God's love by loving our neighbors as ourselves;
• Humanist teachings which counsel us to heed the guidance of reason and the results of science, and warn us against idolatries of the mind and spirit;
• Spiritual teachings of earth-centered traditions which celebrate the sacred circle of life and instruct us to live in harmony with the rhythms of nature.

One of the things that I loved about this book was how different their perspectives sometimes were. I love the idea that we can believe and think different things and still get along and still learn from and support each other.

My favorite part of this book was Forrest Church's chapter titled, "The Cathedral of the World." The basic idea is that there is one light (truth, reality, God) that shines through all the windows of the cathedral, but there are different perceptions of that light depending on where we are in relationship to which windows.

In each the light and darkness mingle in ways that suggest meaning for those whose angle of vision is tilted in that particular direction.  (page 86)

Again, this is another book that I highly recommend, especially if you are open to finding light and truth from a wide variety of sources.

The Crucible of Doubt:  Reflections on the Quest for Faith

This book has been on my To-Read list since before it was released, and after reading several wonderful reviews, I decided I couldn't wait for it to be delivered, so I bought the Kindle version. There are things I love about e-books and things that I don't like so much.  For one thing, it took me longer to finish this because reading in bed was more difficult (angle, power source, etc.) Today, I pushed through and finished it.

As they did in The God Who Weeps, Terryl and Fiona Givens look at Mormonism through a wider lens, bringing in the words of poets, philosophers and mystics.  They present a view of Mormonism that is a little different from what I would assume most Mormons think on a regular basis, but in a way that is friendly to those who consider themselves active Mormons and to those that are more on the fringe of Mormonism.  Their message that doubts are normal and even helpful seems to be aimed at both the doubters and those who might harshly judge the doubters.

For me, the sign of a really good book is one that contains both things that I love and a few things that I disagree with or that challenge me in some way.  This book qualifies.  I did have issues with a couple of chapters, but overall, I loved the book.  It gives hope to those that struggle with faith or think they have none.

Book Review: Ruins

I wanted to like this book.  I really did.  I liked Pathfinder, the first book in the series.  And I've loved just about every Orson Scott Card novel I've read.  But this one just didn't do it for me.

The book started out great, with my only problem being trying to remember what had happened in the first book.  (And maybe I would like this better if I re-read Pathfinder.)  But then we reached an important moment in the book, and my brain just said, "Nope.  That ain't gonna happen."  And it was really hard to let go of that detail to enjoy the rest of the book.

Let me explain a little.  When you read a lot of science fiction and fantasy, you get used to accepting things that you wouldn't accept in everyday life.  And I had no trouble accepting the time traveling gifts of Rigg, Param, and Umbo.  But sometimes things happen and my brain just won't let me go down that path.

For example, when the new movie Hulk was introduced, I just couldn't buy that he was that big.  Sure, I could let myself believe that all the other characters had superpowers of some sort, but the CGI Hulk just seemed unrealistic to me.  And yes, I had grown up watching the Hulk being portrayed by Lou Ferrigno painted green, and I totally bought that.

In Ruins, the books from the future and the mice became my CGI Hulk.  Like in Divergent (which I also just read and didn't love) there is so much good material to work with--great characters, fabulous world building, social commentary, etc.--but it wasn't enough for me.  I won't be finishing this series either.  With so many great things on my "to-read" list, I can't justify time on things that are only semi-interesting.

Book Review: Divergent

This is a short place-holder review.  Hopefully I will return and write something with more depth.

I've heard wonderful things about this book from a lot of different people.  I had also seen the movie trailer and was really drawn in by that.  (I think I still might go see the movie.)  And maybe, I was expecting too much.

I love the concept, but the book took 150 pages to draw me in.  I moved through the rest of the book faster, but it never became a book that I couldn't put down. With me and fiction, that is really the test of how I rate a book.  It's not about literary quality for me.  It's about what pulls me away from this world into the world of the book.  It's why I can like the books of Stephenie Meyer and Dan Brown when my writer friends can't stand them.

When I finished reading Divergent, I thought, this was OK, I guess I'll read the rest of the trilogy, but within a few hours, it just wasn't important anymore.

Book Review: The Good Heart

Short version of this review:  I received The Good Heart:  A Buddhist Perspective on the Teachings of Jesus for Christmas and read it quickly.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT!!!!!!!

Now back to the regular review.

Every Christmas there is at least one really great gift that you immediately love and that becomes an important part of your life.  This book was one of those gifts.  My mom and I are both huge fans of the Dalai Lama, so when she found this book, she knew it would be perfect for me.

As I said before, I immediately loved this book, but as I looked at the table of contents, I was kind of disappointed.  Of the 200+ pages in the book, only about 100 were actually the transcripts of the John Main Seminar where the Dalai Lama spoke.  The rest of the pages were introduction, context, and glossaries of Christian and Buddhist terms.  I thought about just skipping to the main chapters, but the "read every word on every page in the right order" part of my OCD kicked it, so I started at the beginning.  And I'm so glad I did.  The "other" stuff was every bit as good as the main part of the book.

The Introduction by Laurence Freeman, OSB set the stage for the main body of the book, but also explained some concepts in ways that were new to me and that I found to be very helpful and beautiful. I particularly loved his words on friendship.  Freeman also wrote the section on the Christian context of the readings.  I'm interested in reading more of his work in the future.

For the 1994 John Main Seminar, the Dalai Lama was asked to give his perspective on several New Testament passages. His response reflected his character and integrity.

He accepted without hesitation, remarking only that , of course, he knew little about the Gospels. His comment struck me as a most impressive sign of his self-confidence, and of his humility. (page 4)

As the Dalai Lama discussed these various teachings of Jesus, he brought new insights to how similar our beliefs are, but also emphasized that there are important differences and we shouldn't try to make a "one size fits all" religion (my description, not his.)

One of my favorite sections was his discussion of John 12:44-50 and faith.  Sometimes these concepts that seem very simple to other people are not simple and easy to understand for me.  The Buddhist perspective here helped me to understand my own faith a little better.

In the Buddhist tradition we speak of three different types of faith.  The first is faith in the form of admiration that you have toward a particular person or a particular state of being.  The second is aspiring faith.  There is a sense of emulation; you aspire to attain that state of being.  The third type is the faith of conviction.  (page 112)

He then explains each type further.  He includes information about testing faith that reads almost like Mormon scripture.  He also talks about how faith and reason are both necessary.

In addition to hearing the Buddhist perspective from the Dalai Lama, this book also provides other perspectives that give voice to ideas that I did not grow up with.  Freeman's comments, both in the extra parts of the book and within the dialogue of the seminar, helped me learn more about what contemporary Catholics believe.  Other participants in the dialogue brought not just their Christian faith experience with meditation, but their academic knowledge and background in history, literature, and psychology.  

This book and the seminar it represents are exactly the kind of thing that I would like to participate in more.  I love the idea of conversing with people who have different beliefs but can respect and learn from each other.  This book is one that I will definitely be returning to in the future.

Book Review: The Universe in a Single Atom

I read this book for two reasons.  First, because I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Dalai Lama.  He really is compassion personified.  Second, after reading another book comparing and contrasting Buddhism and science (The Quantum and the Lotus), I was interested to see what the Dalai Lama had to say about it.  

In The Universe in a Single Atom:  The Convergence of Science and Spirituality the Dalai Lama shares his interest in science and how it relates to the principles of Buddhism that have been taught for centuries.  He begins by telling the reader about his education in and exploration of science.  As a world leader, he has had the opportunity to talk to and learn from many scientists, and he is clearly eager to learn and to compare this new knowledge with his training in Buddhism.  Chapters in the book give his understanding and perspective on important concepts like quantum theory, the big bang theory, and evolution.  Perhaps the most interesting chapters though were the ones on consciousness.  Neither science nor Buddhism can give us a complete picture of what consciousness is, and the Dalai Lama calls for science and Buddism to bring together third-person objective and first-person subjective methods of investigation to learn more about consciousness.

While most of the chapters required a great deal of concentration and effort to glean all that was there, the final chapter on the ethics of science and his conclusion were very clear.  Perhaps, that was because he and I share very similar views here.  For example, I think this comment on ethics is spot on.

In a nutshell, our ethical response must involve the following key factors.  First we have to check our motivation and ensure that its foundation is compassion.  Second, we must relate to any problem before us while taking into account the widest possible perspective, which includes not only situating the issue within time picture of wider human enterprise but also taking due regard of both short-term and long-term consequences.  Third, when we apply our reason in addressing a problem, we have to be vigilant in ensuring that we rein honest, self-aware, and unbiased; the danger otherwise is that we may fall victim to self-delusion.  Fourth, in the face of any real ethical challenge, we must respond in a spirit of humility, recognizing not only the limits of our knowledge (both collective and personal) but also our vulnerability to being misguided in the context of such a rapidly changing reality.  Finally, we must all--scientists and society at large--strive to ensure that whatever new course of action we take, we keep in mind the primary goal of the well-being of humanity as a whole and the planet we inhabit.  (pages 200-201)

Unlike some religious leaders who may fear what science has to offer, the Dalai Lama not only encourages scientific inquiry, but believes that it should also have an effect on our religious and spiritual beliefs.

My confidence in venturing into science lies in my basic belief that as in science so in Buddhism, understanding the nature of reality is pursued by means of critical investigation:  if scientific analysis were conclusively to demonstrate certain claims in Buddhism to be false, then we must accept the findings of science and abandon those claims.  (pages 2-3)

For the Dalai Lama, there is no conflict between science and spirituality.  They are simply different ways of investigating and explaining things.  Although I've seen the effects of religions that won't trust science or scientists that won't trust religions, I've never personally felt a conflict between the two worlds.  I grew up believing that God was a scientist.  What made him God was his knowledge of how things worked.  Miracles were simply God acting in a scientific manner that we do not yet understand.  And I think that is what initially drew me to the study of how Buddhism and science are related. This book is one that I would like to return to in the future.  Neither science nor spirituality are one time stops.  There is always something new to learn and explore, even while revisiting something that we have already explored.  I'll leave you with these words from the Dalai Lama.

My plea is that we bring our spirituality, the full richness and simple wholesomeness of our basic human values, to bear upon the course of science and the direction of technology in human society. In essence, science and spirituality, though differing in their approaches, share the same end, which is the betterment of humanity.  At its best, science is motivated by a quest for understanding to help lead us to greater flourishing and happiness.  In Buddhist language, this kind of science can be described as wisdom grounded in and tempered by compassion.  Similarly, spirituality is a human journey into our internal resources, with the aim of understanding who we are in the deepest sense and of discovering how to live according tot he highest possible idea. This too is the union of wisdom and compassion.  (page 208)
 

Book Review: Entering the Castle

I've read other books by Carolyn Myss, so when I found this one, I figured it was worth exploring. Entering the Castle:  An Inner Path to God and Your Soul is a handbook for how to apply the principles from St. Teresa of Ávila's The Interior Castle to a contemporary life.  I have 2 confessions to make.  First, I may have gotten more from this book if I had read it side by side with The Interior Castle, comparing and contrasting Myss's ideas with Teresa's.  Second, this is a book full of exercises, and although I thought through several of them, I didn't really invest the time to work through all the exercises completely.  With books like this, I generally read straight through once just to get the generally idea and then I go back and work through some of the exercises if they interest me.

I have very mixed feelings about this book.  There are some pages that I highlighted multiple places because it made so much sense to me and fit so well into where I am currently in my spiritual journey.  Then I'd turn the page and read a little more, and respond with, "No!  Really??"  More than any other book I've read in recent memory, this one was filled with moments that brought incredible insight and peace, followed by moments that crushed your soul.  Yes, I do think it is totally to do with where I am and what I need right now.

Although the approach of this book is very Christian and God centered, I was struck by how similar the exercises were to what I've been reading about Buddhism.  In fact, the book jacket even says this

This exciting new teaching of contemporary mysticism is also a brilliant synthesis of the psychology of consciousness and of Eastern and Western mystical traditions.  

Perhaps the most helpful parts of this book were those places where she talks about a concept that I was familiar with already, but gives new life to it through descriptions and imagery that is new to me.  One example is this description of grace.

Grace is divine fire, cosmic power, that runs through your being, calming your body, inspiring your thoughts, healing your physical pain, preventing you from an accident, guiding your inner journey.  Grace is the indescribable breath of God entering into your being while you pray.  Grace is the energy you call upon to help another person in need of comfort, healing, or inspiration.  To embrace grace, become aware of its presence in your life, mindful of the reality of this divine substance.   (page 307-308)

This book took a long time for me to get through, but even with the things I disagree with, it was not wasted time.  No book is ever wasted time.  You may disagree with the premise or even find that the writing style was poor (which this one was not), but seeing those things helps clarify what you believe or how you write.

On the plus side, this book introduced me to a saint that I was not familiar with before.  Plus, I was enough interested in her work, that I would now like to read Teresa's text and explore it for myself. Carolyn Myss gave me one way of exploring the text through a contemporary lens.  I wonder what wisdom and insight I might find on my own.  

 

Book Review: Untie the Strong Woman

Warning:  This review will contain language that may make some people uncomfortable.  I'm only including it here to show the potential for transforming the coarse and vulgar into something truly beautiful.  

I've been busy with other projects and other books, so it has taken me a long time to get through this book.  Last year I read Clarissa Pinkola Estés book Women Who Run With the Wolves and loved it, so when I found Untie the Strong Woman:  Blessed Mother's Immaculate Love for the Wild Soul at Half Price Books, I figured it was worth the investment.  Although she primarily focuses on Mary, the mother of Jesus, the boundaries are fluid between her ideas about Mary and her ideas about the Feminine Divine in general.  In many ways, Mormons could read these words and be reminded of Heavenly Mother.

In Women Who Run With the Wolves, Estés told many stories, but the themes linked together well and transitioning from one chapter to the next was easy.  I love the content of Untie the Strong Woman, but the structure and organization is not as strong.  It's almost as if each chapter was a new and random, unrelated musing about Mary.  That did make this book harder to read, but should in no way keep people from the message of this book.

Some chapters of this book spoke to me and other did not.  I suspect that that is mostly due to my own knowledge, understanding, and experience with the topics.  There are a few chapters that will make some readers extremely uncomfortable as they make us look at things and people from a different perspective.  Estés' ideas about immigration, abortion, convicted criminals might be a challenge for some who have only viewed these issues from the outside.  But, the thread that connects the whole book is that the Mother is there and always will be there for any one who needs her.

In Blessed Mother's view, all are lovable; all souls are accepted, all carry a sweetness of heart, are beautiful to the eyes; worthy of consciousness, of being inspired, being helped, being comforted and protected--even if other mere humans believe foolishly or blindly to the contrary.  (page 2)

Estés is a scholar and a psychoanalyst.  She has studied the great stories and myths of the world and how they affect us.  But more importantly, she has lived the stories.  It's not just academic knowledge she shares, but memories of her childhood, growing up around women who knew the Mother.  And it's her own personal experiences of feeling the Mother's love and it's transformative power that make this book what it is.

It's one of these stories that I want to tell you about.  I can't give you all of the details.  You really need to read Chapter 11 for the full effect of this teaching experience.  Here is the short version. Estés was teaching class in a prison.  The girls were tough and crude and she was having trouble reaching them.  Many of them had the word "fucker" tattooed on their forearms.  In one class, she was having trouble reaching them and things were close to getting out of hand.

But, there was no stopping Our Lady's voice inside my voice.  Being literally inspired is like giving birth; there is a moment up to which you have control, and then a tilt occurs and you couldn't stop if you tried with all the strength in you--everything rushes out.
So that's how I came to lose my mind and blurt out this challenge to the girls:
"If I can tell you a better story about the real meaning of each letter of the word 'fucker,' will you consider changing the tattoo on your arms to something that lifts you instead of dealing you down low, the way is does now?"

Over the next several meetings, they talked, and they transformed the word.

The f was the shepherd's staff, a symbol of Jesus who came from the Mother, "this Capital M Woman," and she wrote and M over the letter f as she taught them about Christ and the Holy Mother.

I continued then, "Consider this u in the word 'fucker.' This u is actually a broken sun with only one little ray showing at the bottom because many people have forgotten the real story of the precious life shining like a sun.  But because this sun really belongs to the Great Woman I've been telling you about, now her other rays can show too..."

And she made the u into a circle and added rays of the sun all around it.  

She added a cross to the c.

"This is the Cross on the round-topped hill called Golgatha."
I told them about the God of Love being found guilty of loving humanity instead of following the orders of the rulers and authorities of His time.  They understood completely being forced to follow rules instead of learning the Rules of Love.  They understood the ill drive in some to kill love.  They had lived it.  They understood the idea of the Cross.  Being nailed.  Some cried softly to hear of the Child of Love who included the downtrodden in His care most of all--that He had been murdered.  

To the k she added two more crosses for the men crucified on other side of Christ.  One asked forgiveness and Jesus granted it.

The letter e became an eye because "Creator first and foremost was all-seeing, not to catch people doing wrong, but to look after them."

…the kids decided that r at the end of the newly minted work "Mother" would become Blessed Mother's roses--the sweetness of new life--and the freedom to grow free.  Truly free.

Estés ability to meet them where they were and love them opened a dialogue that changes the girls' lives.   Her own powerful testimony of the Holy Mother's love made a difference.

This book opened my eyes to new ways of thinking and broadened my perspective of what it mean to give and receive love.  It's not an easy read, but definitely worth it.