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ART’S READING – 2000 thru April
2001
My reading list is not much to shout about. It’s only published as an antidote
to Jean’s list. Most books were recommended by blue sheet readers. Some
were suggested by my winemaker’s reading group. Some are much better than
others. Here goes, in order of reading. |
| A.N. Wilson, God’s Funeral |
Charles Powers, In the Memory
of the Forest |
| Scott Peck, Golf and the
Spirit |
Brian Morton, Starting out
in the Evening |
| Jonathan Raban, Passage
to Juneau; A Sea and Its Meanings |
Tristan Jones, The Improbable
Voyage (Into, through, and out of the heart of Europe) |
| Aaron Elkins, Loot (Art
Treasures of WW II) |
Dick Francis, Second Wind |
| Thomas Cahil, Desire of
the Everlasting |
Hills Patrick Walsh, The
Prostate |
| Larry McMurtry, Roads |
Skye Kathleen Moody, Habitat |
| Jeffrey Hogue, O’Keefe:
The Life of an American Legend |
Walter Mosley, Workin’ On
the Chain Gang |
| Barb Delinsky, Coast Road |
Kathryn Lasky Light, Atlantic
Circle |
| Thich Nhat Hanh, Going Home |
Dava Sobel, Longitude |
| Thich Nhat Hanh, Jesus and
Buddha as Brothers |
Dava Sobel, Galileo’s Daughter |
| Barb Kinsolving, Poisonwood
Bible |
David Duncan, Brothers K |
| John Shelby Spong, Here
I Stand |
Thomas Lynch, Bodies in
Motions and at Rest |
| Marcus Borg, Jesus and Buddha |
Mary D. Russell, The Sparrow |
| Daniel Quinn, After Dachau |
David Chadwick, Crooked
Cucumber |
| Stephen Coots, The Cannibal
Queen |
Michael Connelly, The Poet |
| Ram Dass, Still Here |
Olive Ann Burns, Cold Sassy
Tree |
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There may have been brief comments on some of these books in the blue sheets.
Additional reading includes The Christian Century, Friday Wall Street
Journal, Modern Maturity, National Geographic, Car and Driver, Sierra,
VIA (AAA), Columns (Univ. of Washington Alum), Nature Conservancy, Nor’Westing,
and others. I have also read innumerable articles, pamphlets, papers and
books about the diagnosis and treatment of Prostate Cancer. Many books
have been recommended, although it has not been possible to read all. Jean
keeps a list for me and has a book or two ready at all times. |
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Did I mention Newsweek? Probably not, since I rarely read it except
while in some waiting room as per chance I was at my dentist’s. The cover
jumped out at me, “GOD AND THE BRAIN — How We’re Wired for Spirituality.”
(Newsweek, May 7, 2001)
I was pretty sure I already knew what the article was going to say. In
fact, I included the same research in my last paper for the Association
For Theological Discussion a couple of years ago. In that paper (“G. Hayden
Stewart, The Life and Thought of a Modern Mystic”) I raised the question
of whether the “mystical experience” might be the result of stimulation
of a certain part of the brain. My source was an article by David O’Reilly
on “The Physics of Meditation” that reported the research of two doctors
at the University of Pennsylvania hospital. In brief, they located places
in the brain that respond to stimuli with feelings of wonder, awe, sense
of “absolute unity of being,” and other mystical sensations. |
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As reported in my paper, acts and symbols of liturgy connect to parts of
the brain that transmit feelings of spirituality. Liturgy was created
to help people repeat previous moments of spiritual feeling. To the dismay
of some church folks, the very same sense of spiritual or mystical feeling
may be elicited by way of meditation, music, nature, fire-watching, and
innumerable unexpected “moments.” |
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Some argue that God created the brain in such a way as to experience the
sacred moments. Others suggest that the brain is constructed in such a
way as to create a sense of God. |
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Others argue that religion is more than “feeling,” or emotional response
to a spiritually stimulating event. Note how people who never had a “spiritual
moment” have felt driven to stand up for human rights and all sorts of
humanitarian causes. Spiritual or religious behavior does not require a
mystic revelation. The left brain can find a worthy cause without the inspiration
of the right brain. |
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Aren’t we grateful, however, for whatever it is that creates moments of
inspiration, awe, wonder, and mystic connection to life? Whether you get
it from sacred liturgy to the tune of a grand pipe organ, sitting in silent
meditation, or from a summer sunset, doesn’t seem to matter. As they say,
“whatever turns you on.”
— Art Morgan,
May 2001
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