Greetings, Friends. Reverence has long been one of our favorite practices in the Alphabet of Spiritual Literacy. We created an entire project on it. Describing it as a "transformational practice both for individuals and societies," we recommend books, book excerpts, films, poetry, rituals, and more. A section on spiritual practices covers reverence for God, life, self, others, nature, animals/plants, and things. We call it the path of radical respect, courtesy, civility, manners, awe, and amazement.

So naturally we were very excited when Dacher Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley, released this book filled with research upon the impact of awe-inspiring experiences. Awe, he has learned, “heightens our awareness of being part of a community, of feeling embraced and supported by others. Feeling awe, we place the stresses of life within larger contexts.” We'll be adding this one to the books listed in our Reverence Project, and we highly recommend it to you.

Salaam, Shalom, Shanti, Peace,

The S&P Team

Read our review and an excerpt from Awe

An Evening with the Mystics and Mirabai Starr

May 26, 5 - 6:30 pm PT on Zoom

Spirituality & Practice is honored that Mirabai Starr will be sharing some of her favorite readings from the mystics as a benefit for S&P's Website Redesign Fund. She has translated the works of many mystics and will be commenting on what their teachings mean to her. She will read short passages from the works of the great Christian mystics -- John of the Cross, Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Francis and Claire of Assisi, and Hildegard of Bingen -- as well as the Sufi saint Rabia, the Hindu poet Mirabai, and others.

Get your ticket to the benefit here by making a donation through the link below. Your ticket will also give you access to the recording of the event.

SpiritualityandPractice.com/MirabaiStarrEvening

Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret

Judy Blume's classic coming-of-age novel has been translated to the movie screen with all its charm and meaning intact. Eleven-year-old Margaret talks to God, her mother, and her girl friends about their changing bodies. She's also curious about religion, having not gotten any exposure to it in her home. In today's lingo, she'd be called "Spiritual but Not Religious."

Read the Review

Resources about Gun Violence and Gun Control

We've curated our resources to create a topic on guns, a subject that seems to be constantly in the headlines these days with school shootings, supermarket shootings, church shootings. The spiritual practices, articles, blogs, books and excerpts, film reviews, poetry, teaching stories, rituals, prayers, and quotes in this topic provide a multifaceted look at guns.

Explore the Resources

Discover More!

Ten Years with Pope Francis. From the Religion News Service, an assessment of the personality, ministry, and contributions of Pope Francis in his first 10 years as pope.
The Diplomat. An eight-part Netflix drama series revealing the multiple challenges faced by a woman ambassador.
Meet Maggie Oman Shannon. Advocate of creativity as a spiritual practice. Author, artist, and workshop and retreat facilitator. Ordained Interfaith/Interspiritual and Unity minister. The latest addition to S&P's Living Spiritual Teachers Project.
A Good Person. Touching story about three people who are able to face addiction and grief through their kindnesses to each other.
The Carpet. A children's book on the strength of hope and heritage expressed through a refugee family's carpet.
World Day for Cultural Diversity. On May 21st, celebrating the world’s cultures and issuing a challenge.
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