Following is a sample of the books I’ve read in 2017. They are listed in some order, though I have yet to codify such the reason. Undoubtedly, I am sharing them with you because each has had a significant impact on the way I made my way through this most disturbing year. I’m not much into happy, so here’s wishing you a better new year.
"We Were Eight Years in Power: An American Tragedy" Ta – Nehisi Coates
What every black person in America wants every white person in America to know. Coates writing is precisely researched and exquisitely sculptured. From such a well-constructed platform, he implores white America to recognize their historical sin of slavery and consider reparation as the means of healing. “American prosperity was ill gotten and selective in its distribution. What is needed is an airing of family secrets, a settling of old ghosts. What is needed is a healing of the American psyche and banishment of white guilt…What I’m talking about is a national reckoning that would lead to spiritual renewal.” If you read one book in 2018, this could be the most important because within his powerful rhetoric lies the clues to becoming honest about white American racism, which is the first step in a way forward.
"A Season in Mecca: Narrative of a Pilgrimage" Abdellah Hammoudi
Hammoudi is a Princeton anthropologist. He was a nominally practicing Muslim, but decided to go on pilgrimage to Mecca in 1999. His story is rich, informative, and disturbing at times. Hammoudi discusses the secrets of the Islamic pilgrimage tradition of which all Muslim are expected to experience at least once in their lifetime. His work is provocative and self-reflective ,challenging me to reconsider my parameters of a life altering pilgrimage.
"Healing the Wounded God: Finding Your Personal Guide on Your Way to Individuation and Beyond" Jeffrey Raff and Linda Bonnington Vocatura; also by Raff, "The Wedding of Sophia: The Divine Feminine in Psychoidal"
Raff is a Jungian psychologist who studied under Marie-Louise von Franz, a student of Jung’s. Vocatura is also a Jungian therapist and an expert in working with the Ally, a personal guide who exists in the psychoidal world. The Ally is our psychic twin, the Holy Sophia, found within us all. Raff and Vocatura venture into the psychic dimension of unifying the masculine and feminine aspects of the divine within our own soul. If you’ve read Carl Jung’s The Red Book, these two books bring pragmatism (in a wyrd way) to the idea and practice of active imagination.
"Kabbalah: The Way of the Jewish Mystic" Perle Epstein
One of the most approachable books I’ve found concerning the complex world of Jewish mysticism. Epstein, is a descendent of Baal Shem Tov, a mystic rabbi and founder of Hasidic Judaism. This book provides a detailed, but brief, history of Kabbalah as well as outlining its practices. Kabbalahic meditation on The Tree of Life and its facets of the divine can expand the mind and one’s relationship with YHWH.
"The Enneagram and the Kabbalah: Reading Your Soul" Howard Addison
I met rabbi Addison at the International Spiritual Director’s Conference in 2016. I attended his workshop on dream analysis and the Enneagram. If you know very little about the Enneagram or Kabbalah, this book is an excellent entry point. If you do have some knowledge of either, this book brings the connection together in an enlightening manner.
"Tantric Jesus: The Erotic Heart of Early Christianity" James Hughes Reho
Reho is a scientist, author, and an Episcopal priest. He is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher. He brings his understanding of Eastern and Western spirituality to the page, helping us unpack the first few hundred years of Christian history in a fresh way. His thesis is that early Christianity was most influenced by Eastern mysticism and is recognizable in the New Testament. He astutely shines a believable light on what has been denied in modernity’s Christianity. By welcoming Eastern spirituality into the practice of Western Christianity and its spirituality, a place for some wondering pilgrims could be made available.
"The Gospel of Mary Magdalene" Jean – Yves LaLoup
LaLoup is an Orthodox theologian and prolific author. He has translated several texts from the Coptic, including the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary Magdalene. (LaLoup’s work has been translated from his native French into English by Jacob Needleman. Those of you who follow Cynthia Bourgeault will recognize Needleman’s name.) LaLoup’s perspective provides a psychological lens for an enlightened, though not critical, view of these non-canonical gospels. In particular, his book on Mary Magdalene provides some valuable insights into her mystical world and her indelible influence on early Christianity, which unfortunately patriarchalism tried to suppress.
"Healing Through Dark Emotions: The Wisdom of Grief, Fear, and Despair" Mariam Greenspan
Greenspan has traveled grief’s journey in her loss of a daughter who had suffered several disabilities. Her journey sounded very familiar to my own mother’s lifelong grief of having a disabled child. Greenspan’s book is very process orientated, offering guides to work one’s way through the dark emotions. She confronts the reality of the stinging effect of grief on a person’s life by never allowing us to avoid or deny our horrific pain of loss.
"Galilean Journey: The Mexican American Promise" Virgilio Elizondo
Elizondo was a Roman Catholic priest and one of the premier theologians who connected Jesus’ life with the mestizo experience. Living in a Southwestern border state, I found Elizondo’s work compelling and enlightening. Some have tried to dismiss Elizondo’s work because of his troubled life. That’s something every reader will have to confront within their own interpretation of the Christ, who was born of a woman and lived the complete human life.
"Alchemy: An Introduction to Symbolism and Psychology" Marie Louise von Franz
Often, I am asked to recommend a primer for alchemy. To my knowledge, no such book exists. Therefore, don’t be fooled by the lure of the word “Introduction” in the title. If you have, however read, Jung’s Memories, Dream, and Reflections and Man and His Symbols, this could be the next step.
Here are four titles you may also want to consider:
"The Holy Trinity and the Law of the Three: Discovering the Radical Truth at the Heart of Christianity" Cynthia Bourgeault
Bourgeault walks us through the convoluted philosophy of G.I. Gurdjieff and his use of the Enneagram in her attempt to decipher the elusive Trinity. Her efforts are lacking. She does her best to defend the unfortunate historical orthodox twisting of the Trinity into a masculine construct. She wagered that the reader would get the point that three always creates four and the fourth is the next natural emergence of the androgynous Holy. For some reason, she couldn’t get there. Interestingly enough, Richard Rohr, in his book The Divine Dance, bases much of his view of the Trinity on Bourgeault’s writing, though he only offhandedly referenced her book. Rohr, as well, falls short in the exploration of the Trinity; but so has everyone else. And maybe that’s a cause for a serious reflection on Trinitarian theology itself. That’s why reading Bourgeault is always worth the work—she is forthright about her authentic theology, from which I have learned a great deal.
"The Fourth Gospel: Tales of a Jewish Mystic" John Shelby Spong
This is not Spong’s most well written book. That said, he offers a few interesting insights about the characters found in the mythic story of John’s Gospel. Particularly, the role of Lazarus and Mary Magdalene.
"What is the Bible? How an Ancient Library of Poems, Letters, and Stories Can Transform the Way You Think and Feel About Everything" Rob Bell
If you have a tendency to read the Bible with a twenty-first century video captured theology, Bell’s book will open your worldview into a mythopoetic theology. St Peter’s Episcopal Church used this book for its well-attended Fall book study. One person told me, “I never knew I was supposed to build my own view of the biblical stories. I now feel compelled to study the bible in more depth and ask a whole lot more questions.” Bell’s book is very approachable. No prior knowledge of the Bible needed.
"Thomas Merton and the Celts: A New World Opening Up" Monica Weis
Weis does some excellent research into a few of Merton’s yet unmined journals. In Merton’s later years, he discovered a Celtic root. His private musings become filled with speculative connections between Celtic spirituality and Eastern mysticism. Weis’ conclusions are weighted on the side of a Roman scale, which is not surprising. She, however, does provide a more than slight opening into a yet unseen portion of the Merton opus. Purveyors of Celtic Spirituality will find this work a worthwhile addition to their library.
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