Best Spiritual Books of 2002
The Spirituality & Health Awards
Selected by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
We are pleased to announce our choices of the 50 books that have most impressed and inspired us in 2002. We have made this selection from the hundreds of books reviewed during the year on this web site. This has not been an easy task since we already have made one selection by reviewing a book in the first place. As you have probably noticed, we are decidedly positive in our reviews.
Still, some books stand out. Through diverse approaches, drawing upon the wisdom and practices of the world's religions, these titles explore the quest for meaning and purpose, wholeness and healing, commitment and community, contemplation and social activism.
We congratulate the authors and publishers of these exceptional contributions to today's spiritual renaissance.
ATTENTION
Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life by Philip Simmons (Bantam Books, hardcover) salutes the spiritual practice of attention as a passport to meaning in life.
COMPASSION
Small Wonder: Essays by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins, hardcover) is a searing collection of 23 essays that opens our hearts and minds to uncomfortable truths about the American way of life.
CONNECTIONS
The Cosmic Dance: An Invitation to Experience Our Oneness by Joyce Rupp (Orbis Books, hardcover) offers enthralling and reverent readings of the deep connections between humans and the natural world.
CHRISTIANITY
The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need by Peter J. Gomes (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) proves that the character-building virtues of the Christian path can provide both meaning and adventure to all our days and doings.
CREATIVITY
Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet by Matthew Fox (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) reveals how this faculty is the alchemy that can transform us as we move to the next level of evolution.
DEVOTION
A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life by Wayne Teasdale (New World Library, hardcover) presents practices that can be done in a city where pluralism, interfaith encounter, and a contemplative lifestyle stretch our souls.
DEVOTION
Prayer Notes to a Friend by Edward Hays (Forest of Peace, paperback) is a richly rewarding collection of devotional exercises for frisky Christians at play in fields of wonder.
DEVOTION
A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice by Michael Strassfeld (Schocken Books, hardcover) offers a rich smorgasbord of rituals, ethical insights, and devotional strategies for those seeking to uncover the depth dimensions of everyday life.
EASTERN ORTHODOX
Living Icons: Persons of Faith in the Eastern Church by Michael Plekon (University of Notre Dame, hardcover) examines the lives and writings of visionaries in this tradition who have been pioneers of the spiritual practices of hospitality and openness.
ETHICS
Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper by Barry K. Baines (Perseus, paperback) is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to bequeath a gift of meaning to others.
FAITH
Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience by Sharon Salzberg (Riverhead Books, hardcover) melds incidents from the author's life with a profound and always creative re-imagining of this important human faculty.
FAITH
Spiritual Innovators: Seventy-Five Who Changed the World in the Past Century edited by Ira Rifkin and the editors of Skylight Paths (Skylight Paths, paperback) pays tribute to a wide variety of prophets and activists from all the world's religions who have ably served their times.
GRACE
Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles by Marianne Williamson (Riverhead Books, hardcover) speaks cogently about a spiritual response to contemporary passions, fears, and yearnings.
GRATITUDE
Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection by Gregg Krech (Stone Bridge Press, paperback) is an invaluable resource for anyone who practices everyday spirituality.
HEALING
Healing Lazarus: A Buddhist's Journey from Near Death to New Life by Lewis Richmond (Pocket Books, hardcover) is part memoir and part spiritual resource on the lessons accompanying the author’s scary battle with a life-threatening malady.
HOPE
The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, Brett Johnson, and Brian Klocke (New Society Publishers, paperback) contains resources and plans of action for individuals and groups working for positive social change.
ISLAM
The Wisdom of Islam: An Introduction to the Living Experience of Islamic Belief and Practice by Robert Frager (Barron's, paperback) presents a rich and full-hearted overview of this religious path using a masterful mix of juicy quotations, insightful commentary, and devotional exercises.
JUSTICE
The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth by Sister Dianna Ortiz with Patricia Davis (Orbis Books, hardcover) is a remarkable memoir of an extraordinary woman of faith whose ardent quest for justice and truth is a shining light for us all.
JUSTICE
God in the Balance: Christian Spirituality in Times of Terror by Carter Heyward (The Pilgrim Press, paperback) challenges us to become warriors for peace and mutuality in a world caught in the clutches of escalating violence.
KINDNESS
Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart - The Buddhist Path of Kindness by Sylvia Boorstein (Ballantine, hardcover) is a primer packed with stories, teachings, and exercises about Buddha's Ten Paramitas.
LISTENING
The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice by Kay Lindahl (Skylight Paths, paperback) offers a rich and multidimensional understanding of this important spiritual skill.
LOVE
Chasing Rumi: A Fable about Finding the Heart's True Desire by Roger Housden (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) is an elegantly written love story about a young man’s pilgrimage to Rumi’s tomb that mirrors the mystical journey of the soul, exploring the depths of the heart while traversing the bounties of the imagination.
MEANING
The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders by Jacob Needleman (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) is an in-depth appreciation of history and the plenitude of perennial wisdom that informs the spiritual underpinnings of the idea of America.
MEANING
Words of Common Sense for Mind, Body, and Soul by Brother David Steindl-Rast (Templeton Foundation Press, hardcover) salutes proverbs as sources of cross-cultural wisdom and daily practices.
MYSTERY
The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives by John Anthony McGuckin (Shambhala, hardcover) showcases 300 relevant and Spirit-filled quotations that will stir your soul.
MYSTERY
The Haunt of Grace: Responses to the Mystery of God's Presence by Ted Loder (Innisfree Press, paperback) is an amazing collection of sermons that urge us to banish fear from our lives and step into freedom.
MYSTERY
9-11: Meditations at the Center of the World by Eugene Kennedy (Orbis Books, paperback) provides a series of sacramental probes on this catastrophic event and its reverberations on the national psyche and soul.
NURTURING
What's Happening to Home? Balancing Work, Life, and Refuge in the Information Age by Maggie Jackson (Sorin Books, hardcover) offers an incisive overview of the ways a job-centric culture has invaded our homes and challenges us to reinvent home through a better mix of flexibility and boundaries.
PEACE
The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World's Great Peacemakers by Scott A. Hunt (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) draws out our connections with all those who suffer while nurturing within us the spirit of nonviolence and compassionate action.
PEACE
I'd Rather Teach Peace by Coleman McCarthy (Orbis Books, hardcover) presents a forceful, dynamic, and prophetic case for nonviolence in a culture addicted to violence.
POETRY
Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West by Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Compass, paperback) will inspire you to expand your repertoire of spiritual practices and make playfulness a priority in your relationship with the Divine.
PRAYER
The Path of Prayer: Reflections on Prayer and True Stories of How It Affects Our Lives by Sophy Burnham (Viking Compass, hardcover) explores devotion as a mansion with many different and splendid rooms.
QUESTING
Caught in Fading Light: Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature by Gary Thorp (Walker and Company, hardcover) is an exceptional work of spiritual literacy showing the marvels that can be discovered through questing.
SILENCE
Keeping Silence: Christian Practices for Entering Stillness by C. W. McPherson (Morehouse, paperback) contains wise and helpful counsel on this important spiritual activity.
SOUL
The Soul's Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life by Thomas Moore (HarperCollins, hardcover) emphasizes mystery as essential to a soulful approach to our beliefs.
TEACHERS
One-Liners: A Mini-Manual for a Spiritual Life by Ram Dass (Bell Tower, hardcover) will jump-start your devotional reading with its spunky insights gleaned from the author’s regular practice and long-time study.
TEACHERS
Spiritual Genius: The Mastery of Life's Meaning by Winifred Gallagher (Random House, hardcover) is a watershed work on the way gifted, energetic, and inspiring individuals around the world are making a difference in the affairs of the planet thanks to their spiritual practices.
TIBETAN BUDDHISM
Blessings On the Wind: The Mystery and Meaning of Tibetan Prayer Flags by Tad Wise (Chronicle, hardcover) contains five prayer flags and an explanation of the history and significance of this devotional tool.
TIME
A Sideways Look at Time by Jay Griffiths (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) is a brilliant, inventive, and comprehensive masterwork of cultural criticism about spirituality and modern life.
TRANSFORMATION
No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life by Thich Nhat Hanh (Riverhead, hardcover) presents the Buddhist teacher's understanding of death and reveals freedom as one of the most important benefits of mindfulness.
TRANSFORMATION
The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment by Michael Berg (John Wiley & Sons, paperback) presents sharing as a practice that gives meaning to life and serves as an antidote to self-serving desire.
UNITY
Working with Oneness by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (The Golden Sufi Center, paperback) is a clairon call to spiritual people to practice mystical activism by moving beyond duality to unity.
VISION
Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Lappe and Anna Lappe (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) presents an inspiring vision of what can be done to foster ecological sanity and community development around the world.
VISION
The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia by William Shannon, Christine M. Bochen and Patrick F. O'Connell (Orbis Books, hardcover) is the most valuable and definitive resource available on the life and work of this Trappist monk and Christian pathfinder.
WISDOM
Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen by Bernie Glassman (Shambhala, hardcover) is an inspiring and revolutionary interpretation of prajna wisdom as a compassoinate and fulfilling way of being in the world.
WONDER
Breakfast Epiphanies: Finding Wonder in the Everyday by David Anderson (Beacon Press, paperback), an Anglican minister, offers a fascinating and edifying tutorial on this spiritual practice.
WONDER
The Wise Earth Speaks to Your Spirit: 52 Ways to Find Your Soul Voice Through Journal Writing by Janell Moon (Red Wheel/Weiser, paperback) is an imaginative resource that can be used as a spur to creativity, self-examination, and wonder.
YOGA
Yoga Gems: A Treasury of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from Ancient and Modern Masters edited by George Feuerstein (Bantam Books, paperback) is an illuminating collection of spiritual and psychological quotations from ancient and modern yoga masters.
YOU
Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual Tradition by Alan Morinis (Broadway Books, hardcover) provides a superb introduction to a series of time-tested spiritual practices that foster self-awareness and elevate the soul.
ZEN
Being Zen: Bringing Meditation to Life by Ezra Bayda (Shambhala, hardcover) covers in capacious ways spiritual practices for dealing with anger, fear, pain, and suffering.
Selected by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
We are pleased to announce our choices of the 50 books that have most impressed and inspired us in 2002. We have made this selection from the hundreds of books reviewed during the year on this web site. This has not been an easy task since we already have made one selection by reviewing a book in the first place. As you have probably noticed, we are decidedly positive in our reviews.
Still, some books stand out. Through diverse approaches, drawing upon the wisdom and practices of the world's religions, these titles explore the quest for meaning and purpose, wholeness and healing, commitment and community, contemplation and social activism.
We congratulate the authors and publishers of these exceptional contributions to today's spiritual renaissance.
ATTENTION
Learning to Fall: The Blessings of an Imperfect Life by Philip Simmons (Bantam Books, hardcover) salutes the spiritual practice of attention as a passport to meaning in life.
COMPASSION
Small Wonder: Essays by Barbara Kingsolver (HarperCollins, hardcover) is a searing collection of 23 essays that opens our hearts and minds to uncomfortable truths about the American way of life.
CONNECTIONS
The Cosmic Dance: An Invitation to Experience Our Oneness by Joyce Rupp (Orbis Books, hardcover) offers enthralling and reverent readings of the deep connections between humans and the natural world.
CHRISTIANITY
The Good Life: Truths That Last in Times of Need by Peter J. Gomes (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) proves that the character-building virtues of the Christian path can provide both meaning and adventure to all our days and doings.
CREATIVITY
Creativity: Where the Divine and the Human Meet by Matthew Fox (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) reveals how this faculty is the alchemy that can transform us as we move to the next level of evolution.
DEVOTION
A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life by Wayne Teasdale (New World Library, hardcover) presents practices that can be done in a city where pluralism, interfaith encounter, and a contemplative lifestyle stretch our souls.
DEVOTION
Prayer Notes to a Friend by Edward Hays (Forest of Peace, paperback) is a richly rewarding collection of devotional exercises for frisky Christians at play in fields of wonder.
DEVOTION
A Book of Life: Embracing Judaism as a Spiritual Practice by Michael Strassfeld (Schocken Books, hardcover) offers a rich smorgasbord of rituals, ethical insights, and devotional strategies for those seeking to uncover the depth dimensions of everyday life.
EASTERN ORTHODOX
Living Icons: Persons of Faith in the Eastern Church by Michael Plekon (University of Notre Dame, hardcover) examines the lives and writings of visionaries in this tradition who have been pioneers of the spiritual practices of hospitality and openness.
ETHICS
Ethical Wills: Putting Your Values on Paper by Barry K. Baines (Perseus, paperback) is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to bequeath a gift of meaning to others.
FAITH
Faith: Trusting Your Own Deepest Experience by Sharon Salzberg (Riverhead Books, hardcover) melds incidents from the author's life with a profound and always creative re-imagining of this important human faculty.
FAITH
Spiritual Innovators: Seventy-Five Who Changed the World in the Past Century edited by Ira Rifkin and the editors of Skylight Paths (Skylight Paths, paperback) pays tribute to a wide variety of prophets and activists from all the world's religions who have ably served their times.
GRACE
Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles by Marianne Williamson (Riverhead Books, hardcover) speaks cogently about a spiritual response to contemporary passions, fears, and yearnings.
GRATITUDE
Naikan: Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection by Gregg Krech (Stone Bridge Press, paperback) is an invaluable resource for anyone who practices everyday spirituality.
HEALING
Healing Lazarus: A Buddhist's Journey from Near Death to New Life by Lewis Richmond (Pocket Books, hardcover) is part memoir and part spiritual resource on the lessons accompanying the author’s scary battle with a life-threatening malady.
HOPE
The Better World Handbook: From Good Intentions to Everyday Actions by Ellis Jones, Ross Haenfler, Brett Johnson, and Brian Klocke (New Society Publishers, paperback) contains resources and plans of action for individuals and groups working for positive social change.
ISLAM
The Wisdom of Islam: An Introduction to the Living Experience of Islamic Belief and Practice by Robert Frager (Barron's, paperback) presents a rich and full-hearted overview of this religious path using a masterful mix of juicy quotations, insightful commentary, and devotional exercises.
JUSTICE
The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth by Sister Dianna Ortiz with Patricia Davis (Orbis Books, hardcover) is a remarkable memoir of an extraordinary woman of faith whose ardent quest for justice and truth is a shining light for us all.
JUSTICE
God in the Balance: Christian Spirituality in Times of Terror by Carter Heyward (The Pilgrim Press, paperback) challenges us to become warriors for peace and mutuality in a world caught in the clutches of escalating violence.
KINDNESS
Pay Attention, for Goodness' Sake: Practicing the Perfections of the Heart - The Buddhist Path of Kindness by Sylvia Boorstein (Ballantine, hardcover) is a primer packed with stories, teachings, and exercises about Buddha's Ten Paramitas.
LISTENING
The Sacred Art of Listening: Forty Reflections for Cultivating a Spiritual Practice by Kay Lindahl (Skylight Paths, paperback) offers a rich and multidimensional understanding of this important spiritual skill.
LOVE
Chasing Rumi: A Fable about Finding the Heart's True Desire by Roger Housden (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) is an elegantly written love story about a young man’s pilgrimage to Rumi’s tomb that mirrors the mystical journey of the soul, exploring the depths of the heart while traversing the bounties of the imagination.
MEANING
The American Soul: Rediscovering the Wisdom of the Founders by Jacob Needleman (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) is an in-depth appreciation of history and the plenitude of perennial wisdom that informs the spiritual underpinnings of the idea of America.
MEANING
Words of Common Sense for Mind, Body, and Soul by Brother David Steindl-Rast (Templeton Foundation Press, hardcover) salutes proverbs as sources of cross-cultural wisdom and daily practices.
MYSTERY
The Book of Mystical Chapters: Meditations on the Soul's Ascent from the Desert Fathers and Other Early Christian Contemplatives by John Anthony McGuckin (Shambhala, hardcover) showcases 300 relevant and Spirit-filled quotations that will stir your soul.
MYSTERY
The Haunt of Grace: Responses to the Mystery of God's Presence by Ted Loder (Innisfree Press, paperback) is an amazing collection of sermons that urge us to banish fear from our lives and step into freedom.
MYSTERY
9-11: Meditations at the Center of the World by Eugene Kennedy (Orbis Books, paperback) provides a series of sacramental probes on this catastrophic event and its reverberations on the national psyche and soul.
NURTURING
What's Happening to Home? Balancing Work, Life, and Refuge in the Information Age by Maggie Jackson (Sorin Books, hardcover) offers an incisive overview of the ways a job-centric culture has invaded our homes and challenges us to reinvent home through a better mix of flexibility and boundaries.
PEACE
The Future of Peace: On the Front Lines with the World's Great Peacemakers by Scott A. Hunt (HarperSanFrancisco, hardcover) draws out our connections with all those who suffer while nurturing within us the spirit of nonviolence and compassionate action.
PEACE
I'd Rather Teach Peace by Coleman McCarthy (Orbis Books, hardcover) presents a forceful, dynamic, and prophetic case for nonviolence in a culture addicted to violence.
POETRY
Love Poems from God: Twelve Sacred Voices from the East and West by Daniel Ladinsky (Penguin Compass, paperback) will inspire you to expand your repertoire of spiritual practices and make playfulness a priority in your relationship with the Divine.
PRAYER
The Path of Prayer: Reflections on Prayer and True Stories of How It Affects Our Lives by Sophy Burnham (Viking Compass, hardcover) explores devotion as a mansion with many different and splendid rooms.
QUESTING
Caught in Fading Light: Mountain Lions, Zen Masters, and Wild Nature by Gary Thorp (Walker and Company, hardcover) is an exceptional work of spiritual literacy showing the marvels that can be discovered through questing.
SILENCE
Keeping Silence: Christian Practices for Entering Stillness by C. W. McPherson (Morehouse, paperback) contains wise and helpful counsel on this important spiritual activity.
SOUL
The Soul's Religion: Cultivating a Profoundly Spiritual Way of Life by Thomas Moore (HarperCollins, hardcover) emphasizes mystery as essential to a soulful approach to our beliefs.
TEACHERS
One-Liners: A Mini-Manual for a Spiritual Life by Ram Dass (Bell Tower, hardcover) will jump-start your devotional reading with its spunky insights gleaned from the author’s regular practice and long-time study.
TEACHERS
Spiritual Genius: The Mastery of Life's Meaning by Winifred Gallagher (Random House, hardcover) is a watershed work on the way gifted, energetic, and inspiring individuals around the world are making a difference in the affairs of the planet thanks to their spiritual practices.
TIBETAN BUDDHISM
Blessings On the Wind: The Mystery and Meaning of Tibetan Prayer Flags by Tad Wise (Chronicle, hardcover) contains five prayer flags and an explanation of the history and significance of this devotional tool.
TIME
A Sideways Look at Time by Jay Griffiths (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) is a brilliant, inventive, and comprehensive masterwork of cultural criticism about spirituality and modern life.
TRANSFORMATION
No Death, No Fear: Comforting Wisdom for Life by Thich Nhat Hanh (Riverhead, hardcover) presents the Buddhist teacher's understanding of death and reveals freedom as one of the most important benefits of mindfulness.
TRANSFORMATION
The Way: Using the Wisdom of Kabbalah for Spiritual Transformation and Fulfillment by Michael Berg (John Wiley & Sons, paperback) presents sharing as a practice that gives meaning to life and serves as an antidote to self-serving desire.
UNITY
Working with Oneness by Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee (The Golden Sufi Center, paperback) is a clairon call to spiritual people to practice mystical activism by moving beyond duality to unity.
VISION
Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Lappe and Anna Lappe (Jeremy P. Tarcher, hardcover) presents an inspiring vision of what can be done to foster ecological sanity and community development around the world.
VISION
The Thomas Merton Encyclopedia by William Shannon, Christine M. Bochen and Patrick F. O'Connell (Orbis Books, hardcover) is the most valuable and definitive resource available on the life and work of this Trappist monk and Christian pathfinder.
WISDOM
Infinite Circle: Teachings in Zen by Bernie Glassman (Shambhala, hardcover) is an inspiring and revolutionary interpretation of prajna wisdom as a compassoinate and fulfilling way of being in the world.
WONDER
Breakfast Epiphanies: Finding Wonder in the Everyday by David Anderson (Beacon Press, paperback), an Anglican minister, offers a fascinating and edifying tutorial on this spiritual practice.
WONDER
The Wise Earth Speaks to Your Spirit: 52 Ways to Find Your Soul Voice Through Journal Writing by Janell Moon (Red Wheel/Weiser, paperback) is an imaginative resource that can be used as a spur to creativity, self-examination, and wonder.
YOGA
Yoga Gems: A Treasury of Practical and Spiritual Wisdom from Ancient and Modern Masters edited by George Feuerstein (Bantam Books, paperback) is an illuminating collection of spiritual and psychological quotations from ancient and modern yoga masters.
YOU
Climbing Jacob's Ladder: One Man's Journey to Rediscover a Jewish Spiritual Tradition by Alan Morinis (Broadway Books, hardcover) provides a superb introduction to a series of time-tested spiritual practices that foster self-awareness and elevate the soul.
ZEN
Being Zen: Bringing Meditation to Life by Ezra Bayda (Shambhala, hardcover) covers in capacious ways spiritual practices for dealing with anger, fear, pain, and suffering.
