Reading About Spirituality

Spirituality is our sense that we are part of something greater than ourselves, our search for meaning, and a sense of the sacred in our lives. Many people find answers to their questions about truth and meaning in a specific religious tradition, while others find it in other ways. Interspirituality is finding and connecting to spirituality across traditions.

Spiritual curiosity is a good thing. Even when one follows a very specific tradition with its own sacred texts, it is helpful and even beneficial to expand one’s awareness of other perspectives. True growth cannot occur without some expansion. Like a plant, it’s possible to be restricted by one's boundaries.

There are many ways to learn about how other cultures and individuals view the world. We have come a long way from the days when we only learned about new things from newspapers, magazines, and the accidental "stumble" upon an interesting new book at the library. The internet is full of wonderful informational articles and videos. The hardest challenge is probably in separating the good information from the bad information, or as the saying goes, "separating the wheat from the chaff."

Whatever we learn, we will decide for ourselves whether the information is useful to us. Before we can do that, though, we need to gather the information. One of the best ways to do that is from the suggestions of others.

A reading list

As an Interspiritual priestess, I’m often asked to suggest books that will help people to learn more about spirituality and interspirituality. Over the years, I've read a lot of books that have been both helpful and inspirational for me. While many of the books I’ve read were initially assigned to me during my educational process, some came to me as recommendations from other people. I’ve come upon more titles by accident or providence. I guess it depends upon one’s perspective.

Following is a list of some of the best books I’ve come across. Though this seems like a long list, it is not exhaustive. One of the pieces of advice writers are given is that if they cannot find a book that they would like to read, then they should write it. I have taken that advice to heart, and am brazenly including a couple of my own books in these lists.

The list

• The Sacred and the Profane by Mircea Eliade
• Encountering God by Diana L. Eck
• Without Buddha, I Could Not Be a Christian by Paul F. Knitter
• Going Home: Jesus and Buddha as Brothers by Thich Nhat Hanh
• One River, Many Wells by Matthew Fox
• The Power of Myth by Joseph Campbell with Bill Moyers
• The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religions by Wayne Teasdale
• RHIMES Interspirituality: A Guidebook for Practice by Craig Bergland
• Women, Earth, and Creator Spirit by Elizabeth A. Johnson
• She Who Is by Elizabeth A. Johnson
• Her Share of the Blessings by Ross Shepard Kraemer
• Making a Way Out of No Way by Monica Coleman
• Goddesses and the Divine Feminine by Rosemary Radford Ruether
• WomanSpirit Rising: A Feminist Reader in Religion by Carol P. Christ & Judith Plasko
• When God Was a Woman by Merlin Stone
• Gaia & God: An Ecofeminist Theology of Earth Healing by Rosemary Radford Ruether
• Sophia by Caitlin Matthews
• The Holy Thursday Revolution by Beatrice Bruteau
• Love Does by Bob Goff
• Love Wins by Rob Bell
• Mary, Mother of Our Faith by Suzy Jacobson Cherry
• Bipolar Faith: A Black Woman's Journey with Depression and Faith by Monica Coleman
• Grace (Eventually) by Anne LaMott
• Traveling Mercies: Some Thoughts on Faith by Anne LaMott
• The Dance of the Dissident Daughter by Sue Monk Kidd
• The River of God by Gregory Riley
• The Heart of Christianity by Marcus J. Borg
• God-Christ-Church by Marjorie Suchocki
• The Goddess in the Gospel by Margaret Starbird
• The Gnostic Gospels by Elaine Pagels
• Kissing Fish: Christianity for People Who Don't Like Christianity by Roger Wolsey

Most of these books will be available at your local library. Some will not be, but an internet search will easily reveal where they can be purchased.

Courageous reading will bring continuous learning. Have fun!