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Spirituality and Religion May 2026 |
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Confronting Islamophobia in the Church: Liturgical Tools for Justice by Anna PielaReligious freedom is foundational to American culture. While many churchgoers and clergy are accepting of some religious pluralism, Islam is often misunderstood or even feared by US Christians. Anna Piela and Michael Woolf provide much-needed background information about the history of Islam, the origins of religious diversity as an American value, and examples of how Islamophobia impacts our culture negatively. They invite the church to counter these biases and misgivings through study, worship, and prayer, using liturgical tools linked with the lectionary. Begin this journey toward interfaith dialogue with your church today!
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| The Supreme Gift: Love Is the Greatest Thing in the World by Paulo Coelho, translated by Margaret Jull CostaWhat is love? In the 19th century, the young missionary Henry Drummond defined love as the culmination of nine elements: patience, kindness, generosity, humility, gentleness, dedication, tolerance, sincerity, and innocence. He laid this out in his sermon, “The Greatest Thing in the World,” which has become a classic and is, without doubt, one of the most beautiful texts ever written on love. Reflecting on this sermon and its subject, St. Paul’s Letter to the Corinthians, the admired spiritual teacher Paulo Coelho, author of The Alchemist, a fable of following your dream and one of Oprah’s “Best Self-Help Books of a Generation,” brings us on his own journey of deepening his practice of Love. Contrary to what we are used to hearing, the greatest treasure in the spiritual life is not faith, but love. No matter what your religious beliefs are, this feeling is, without doubt, the most rewarding way to live. In The Supreme Gift, Paulo Coelho adapts Henry Drummond’s text, offering a real and powerful message that will help us incorporate love into our daily life and experience all its transformational power in our lives. |
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Separation of Church and Hate: A Sane Person's Guide to Taking Back the Bible from Fundamentalists, Fascists, and Flock-Fleecing Frauds by John FugelsangFor more than two centuries, the United States Constitution has given us the right to a society where church and state exist independently. But Christianity has been hijacked by far-right groups and politicians who seek to impose their narrow views on government, often to justify oppressive and unequal policies. The extremists who weaponize the Bible for earthly power aren't actually on the side of Jesus--and historically they never have been. How do we fight back against those acting--literally--in bad faith? Comedian and broadcaster John Fugelsang ... offers the answers. In this ... book, [he] takes readers through common fundamentalist arguments on abortion, immigration, LGBTQ rights, and more--exposing their hypocrisy and inaccuracy through scripture, common sense, and deeply inappropriate humor. It offers practical tips on how to debate your loved one, coworker, or neighbor on the issues that divide us using that Bible they claim to follow.
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The Glorians: Visitations from the Holy Ordinary by Terry Tempest WilliamsIn this time of political fragility, climate chaos, and seeking beauty wherever we can find its glimmer, Terry Tempest Williams introduces us to the Glorians. They are not distant deities, but the ordinary, often overlooked presences—animal, plant, memory, moment—that reveal our shared vulnerability and interconnectedness with the natural world. The Glorians can be as small as an ant ferrying a coyote willow blossom to its queen or as commonplace as the night sky. But what they can collectively show us—about the radical act of attending to beauty and carrying forward against all odds—is immense. Journeying through encounters with the Glorians in the red rock desert of Utah during the pandemic to Harvard University where she teaches in the Divinity School, Williams weaves a story of astonishing personal and societal insight. As she grapples with the unsettled state of the world, she turns not to despair but to deep reflection. She sees how the Glorians are calling us to attention, not as an army, but as fellow inhabitants of our sacred, threatened home. They remind us of the power of contact between species and the profound courage—and awareness—it will take to dream a more cohesive future into being. Wise and lyrical, The Glorians is a testament to the power of witness, a field guide to finding grace in the unexpected, and a moving invitation to engage with one another and our surroundings with renewed intention. In a modern world filled with increasing noise and anxiety, Terry Tempest Williams offers honest sustenance for the mind and spirit and distinguishes herself again as a trusted voice to whom we can turn to more fully understand our times.
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Everything Happens for a Reason: And Other Lies I've Loved by Kate BowlerThirty-five-year-old Kate Bowler was a professor at the School of Divinity at Duke, and had finally had a baby with her childhood sweetheart after years of trying, when she began to feel jabbing pains in her stomach. She lost thirty pounds, chugged antacid, and visited doctors for three months before she was finally diagnosed with Stage IV colon cancer. As she navigates the aftermath of her diagnosis, Kate pulls the reader deeply into her life, which is populated with a colorful, often hilarious collection of friends, pastors, parents, and doctors, and shares her reflections on faith, friendship, love, and death. She wonders why suffering makes her feel like a loser and explores the burden of positivity. Trying to relish the time she still has with her son and husband, she realizes she must change her habit of skipping to the end and planning the next move. A historian of the "American prosperity gospel" -- the creed of the mega-churches that promises believers a cure for tragedy, if they just want it badly enough -- Bowler finds that, in the wake of her diagnosis, she craves these same "outrageous certainties." She wants to know why it's so hard to surrender control over that which you have no control. She contends with the terrifying fact that, even for her husband and child, she is not the lynchpin of existence, and that even without her, life will go on.
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| A World Appears: A Journey Into Consciousness by Michael PollanWhen it comes to the phenomenon that is consciousness, there is one point on which scientists, philosophers, and artists all agree: it feels like something to be us. Yet the fact that we have subjective experience of the world remains one of nature’s greatest mysteries. How is it that our mental operations are accompanied by feelings, thoughts, and a sense of self? What would a scientific investigation of our inner life look like, when we have as little distance and perspective on it as fish do of the sea? In A World Appears, Michael Pollan traces the unmapped continent that is consciousness, bringing radically different perspectives—scientific, philosophical, literary, spiritual and psychedelic—to see what each can teach us about this central fact of life. When neuroscientists began studying consciousness in the early 1990s, they sought to explain how and why three pounds of spongy gray matter could generate a subjective point of view—assuming that the brain is the source of our perceived reality. Pollan takes us to the cutting edge of the field, where scientists are entertaining more radical (and less materialist) theories of consciousness. He introduces us to “plant neurobiologists” searching for the first flicker of consciousness in plants, scientists striving to engineer feelings into AI, and psychologists and novelists seeking to capture the felt experience of our slippery stream of consciousness. In Pollan’s dazzling exploration of consciousness, he discovers a world far deeper and stranger than our everyday reality. Eye-opening and mind-expanding, A World Appears takes us into the laboratories of our own minds, ultimately showing us how we might make better use of the gift of awareness to more meaningfully connect with the world and our deepest selves. |
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Strength in Stillness: The Power of Transcendental Meditation by Bob RothA simple, straightforward exploration of Transcendental Meditation and its benefits from world authority Bob Roth. Oprah Winfrey and Jerry Seinfeld. Ray Dalio and Ellen DeGeneres. Gwyneth Paltrow and Howard Stern. Tom Hanks and Gisele Bündchen. What do they have in common? The answer is a Transcendental Meditation teacher named Bob Roth, who has spent the past fifty years helping many thousands of people access their innate creativity and power through this simple, nonreligious technique. Roth's students range from titans of business and the arts to federal prisoners, from war-scarred veterans to overworked moms and dads. Medical experts agree that the epidemic of stress is damaging our physical and emotional health at younger and younger ages. While there is no one single cure, the Transcendental Meditation technique is a simple practice that dramatically changes how we respond to stress and life's challenges. With scientifically proven benefits— reduced stress and anxiety, and improved focus, sleep, resilience, creativity, and memory, to name a few—this five-thousand-year-old technique has a clear and direct impact on our very modern problems. Once a skeptic, Roth trained under Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, the twentieth century's foremost scientist of consciousness and meditation, and has since become one of the most experienced and sought-after meditation teachers in the world. In Strength in Stillness, Roth breaks down the science behind Transcendental Meditation in a new, accessible way. He highlights the three distinct types of meditation—Focused Attention, Open Monitoring, and Self-Transcending—and showcases the evidence that the third, Self-Transcending, or Transcendental Meditation, is a uniquely accessible, effective, and efficient way to reduce stress, access inner power, and build resilience. Free of gimmicks, mystical verbiage, and obscure theory, Strength in Stillness offers a clear explanation for how Transcendental Meditation can calm the mind, body, and spirit.
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Cat on the Road to Findout by Yusuf Cat StevensFrom 1960s pop stardom to spiritual awakening, Cat Stevens traces the extraordinary journey of one of music's most beloved artists. Rising to fame with hits like "Wild World" and "Father and Son," Stevens' career was transformed by a near-fatal illness that sparked a lifelong search for meaning. His exploration of faith and philosophy ultimately led him to Islam, a new name--Yusuf Islam--and a life devoted to peace, family, and humanitarian work. This inspiring story follows his evolution from chart-topping singer to spiritual seeker and global advocate for compassion.
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Guided: The Secret Path to an Illuminated Life by Laura Lynne JacksonWho am I, really? Why am I here? How can I more fully understand my connections to others and the world around me? And how does that understanding reveal the magic the universe has to offer? According to Laura Lynne Jackson, to answer these questions is to live an "illuminated life." Jackson knows that her psychic gifts are not unique to her. She believes that everyone is capable of perceiving energy, identifying, and interpreting messages sent to us by the Other Side. In Guided, Jackson shows that our loved ones who have passed form our Teams of Light, and that they never stop sharing their wisdom with us. By embracing the connections they reveal, we are put on a path to our best life--a life that Jackson calls illuminated. An illuminated life is one characterized by connectedness and creativity. It is one of alignment with purpose. It is a life of peace and confidence. And it is a life every one of us can discover for ourselves, if only we are open to the guidance that is sent our way. In Guided, Jackson shares the unforgettable and moving experiences of regular people who have learned how to respond to the messages sent to them by their Teams of Light in order to discover their higher paths. Offering solace and comfort though times of grief, and chockfull of inspiring, motivating stories, Guided points the way toward an illuminated life for us all.
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Contact your librarian for more great books!
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The Public Library
501 Copper NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102
505-768-5141abqlibrary.org |
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