January, 2003
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Moving
Into Prosperity Intelligent spirituality is what is offered in these three CDs by Rev. Dr. Kathianne Lewis of the Center for Spiritual Living in Seattle, Washington. These CDs offer a surprising blend of deep inspiration and impeccable scholarship to spearhead spiritual change. Moving Into Prosperity combines discussion and prayer treatment to uncover and dissipate the many blockages we tend to place in the way of accepting our good. The gentle and refreshing musical background engages the soul. The CD finishes with affirmations and a journey through laments or “sacred complaining” where all the things we say about our difficulties are brought out, and turned around to faith and knowledge that prosperity is, indeed, our Divine inheritance. Prayer--Treatment approaches the healing of specific challenges. There are specific prayers for health, freedom from debt, loving relationships, clarity, and forgiveness that correct the errors in thought that tend to bring these conditions about. The beautiful musical accompaniment makes this CD a truly healing spiritual experience. A Comprehensive Look At Forgiveness is comprised of four amazing and insightful talks that cover forgiveness from every angle of the human experience. Rev. Dr. Lewis combines scholarship and deep spiritual insight to achieve revelations about forgiveness as the most necessary element to human spiritual growth and the realization of peace. These CDs are a must have for any person serious about their spiritual journey. —Patricia J. Gentry
Living Spiritual Communities To be spiritual…is being able to see the nature of inter-being between people, nations, races, and all forms of life. Spirituality is not a luxury anymore; we need to be spiritual in order to overcome the difficulties of our time.” This is an anthology of essays on living in Buddhist communities, or Sanghas. Simply put, a Sangha is a group of people who practice mindfulness together, as inspired by the Buddha, in either residential or non-residential settings. Sangha is one of the “Three Jewels”—Buddha, Dharma (Buddha’s teachings) and Sangha. As Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh alludes to in the quote above, the 21st century is a time of choice. As he states in this book, “It has been said that the twenty-first century will be a century of spirituality, and I think it must be a century of spirituality if we are to survive.” The hard work and personal effort required to participate in a Sangha, in particular, can prove fruitful in terms of building safety in the larger world, in learning how to establish true communication and trust between cultures and between nations. Sanghas are not “perfect” communities and, in fact, this is part of the path. “In the Sangha there must be difficult people. These difficult people are a good thing for you—they will test your capacity of Sangha-building and practicing… That is why you should not be tempted to eliminate the elements that you think are difficult in your Sangha…You suffer because your understanding and your compassion are not yet large enough to embrace difficult people, but with the practice you will grow, your heart will grow, your understanding and compassion will grow…And thanks to the Sangha practicing together, thanks to your model of practice, these people will transform.” In reading these essays and first-hand accounts by Thich Nhat Hanh and others, the possibility of living together in unity and peace seems closer to becoming a reality. —Jan Suzukawa
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