by Roxanne -

Journey of the Universe

Photo NASA

Recently I had the good luck to preview the upcoming film – Journey of the Universe. While it was a bit anthropocentric (human-centered) because we are afterall, not the center of creation only one strand in its web, the film was engaging and informative. From emergence, creativity, complexity to the earth’s story and our own human story, beautiful photography mesmarizes the viewer.

From the film’s website:

JOURNEY OF THE UNIVERSE invites us to become fellow travelers on a journey no previous generation could have fully imagined. Through the astonishing achievements of science, we now know more about the history of the universe and the unfolding of life on Earth then ever before. We have a detailed account of how galaxies and stars, planets and living organisms, human beings and human consciousness came to be.  But what role do humans play in this 14-billion year history of the universe? And how do we connect with the intricate web of life?

Eco-theologian, Brianne Swimme is the narrator of this remarkable film. Check the film’s website here to find out when it will air on your local PBS station.

Photo Nasa Photo Journal

You may also like End of the World, Lunar Eclipse and Winter Solstice.

by Roxanne -

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life

As someone who reads more theology and books on spirituality than the average person – it’s wonderful to be able to hold up extraordinary books in this area. Especially since there is so much in bookstores that isn’t very good.

Hand Wash Cold: Care Instructions for an Ordinary Life by Karen Maezen Miller (New World Library, 2010) is about as deeply spiritual as you can get. Miller is a seasoned, spiritual writer in the Buddhist tradition who understands that “your life is your monastery” – a phrase from the book that I loved and remembered. It sums up her understanding of life.

If you have ever thought that it was necessary to get away to another world, maybe a monastery, in order to deepen your spiritual life – reconsider that idea. In a world where most theology and spiritual writing has been done by men in religious life, Miller uses real, ordinary life, even laundry – something most women know well – to lift up the transcendence of our existence found right in the most ordinary aspects of our everyday lives.

Just consider her chapter titles – Toughest Stains: Getting Out the Traces of Self or Spin Cycle: Changing the Ending. I smiled just reading them!

“Ever found yourself up to your elbows in the messy stuff of your own everyday life and wondered, ‘Is this all there is?’ Karen Maezen Miller answers that age-old question with a resounding ‘Yes.’ Read this deceptively simple, deeply wise little book not to change your life but to fall quietly, unequivocally back in love with the life you already have.”
— Katrina Kenison, author of The Gift of an Ordinary Day

Yes, this is it exactly – “fall . . . in love with the life you already have.” Miller writes clearly and with insight. This is a book you will want to reread and then give to someone else, as I did.

Our spiritual lives are not separate from our secular or everyday lives – rather our deepest spiritual life is present exactly in the midst of our daily life. It is we who are not present to the transcendent always with us.

The question is, “How do we become present to the sacred?” Miller’s Hand Wash Cold is a delightful guide.

You may also like Babette’s Feast, Come to the Feast and Labyrinths.

 

by Roxanne -

Mini CliffsNotes?

Photo: ArtsJournal.com

For those who are back in school and reading lots and lots, or those who don’t like reading entire books, or find CliffsNotes too much 😉  you might enjoy a break at this website DH forwarded to me featuring mini book summaries of the classics – the emphasis here is on the mini!

The main site is http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/

The Classics: http://www.rinkworks.com/bookaminute/classics.shtml

For example:

The Confessions of St. Augustine
By St. Augustine
Ultra-Condensed by Annie Berke

St. Augustine: I was a bad boy. Damn, was I a bad boy. Not anymore, though.
THE END

Or:
Hamlet
By William Shakespeare
Ultra-Condensed by Adrien Arnold

Hamlet: Whine whine whine…To be or not to be…I’m dead.
THE END

Or:
The Collected Work of Edgar Allan Poe
Ultra-Condensed by Samuel Stoddard and David J. Parker

Some Guy: Oh no. I’m buried alive!
Narrator: I died.
Raven: Nevermore.
THE END

Enjoy!

You may also like Six Word Novel, Antique Bookstores in Paris and Dancing Isuzus in Paris.

by Roxanne -

World-class Theologians at Your Fingertips

 

On this day of remembering, do something for yourself. Listen to the best Catholic theologians have to offer. Click over to Catholic Theological Union’s Learn@CTU website and listen to talks or read articles by their world famous faculty.

Here’s a recent talk by Rev. Steve Bevans, SVD – What Does it Mean to be Catholic?

Hear it for yourself! Then check out other podcasts and articles on topics that interest you. They are shown on the same page.

You may also like Thinkers Anonymous,and Tasting Caviar.

by Roxanne -

A Walk With God

Photo TheInterviewWithGod.com

Imagine taking a walk with God. This presentation will inspire and uplift you. God lives in the deepest part of our being. We can walk with God anytime we connect with our true self.

If you are interested in different ways of imagining God watch the film Quantum Activist with physicist Amit Goswami (Netflix Play Instantly), read John Haught’s 101 Questions On God and Evolution, the best selling novel The Shack or simply read the bible.

In the bible, God is portrayed as an architect and potter in Genesis, a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire in Exodus, even a burning bush. In the gospels, Jesus uses over 39 images for God including God as a woman with a lost coin, God as water that sustains us, and God as a vine.

In her book Models of God, theologian Sallie McFague presents us with the rich images of God as a mother, a lover and a friend. These images place God directly into the deepest and most intimate relationships we will ever have. While these images may be new for some, they are actually quite old. She has pulled these images directly from the bible. In the Book of Hosea, God is described as our mother and as Job’s friend in the Book of Job. An entire book of the bible is devoted to describing God as a lover – the Song of Songs.

What are your images of God? What new ones could you add?

You may also like The Fourth Dimension, Chronicles of Narnia and Happiness is a Choice.