Another book on my list is from the National Council of Churches, God’s Earth is Sacred – Essays on Eco-Justice. It includes 13 essays by leading eco-theologians and an open letter to church and society in the U.S. from the Council.  God’s Earth is Sacred calls us to deep reflection on “our responsibilities as those who live within the USA - the part of the human family that represents five percent of the worlds population and consumes 25 percent of the Earth’s riches.”  It insists that our new understanding needs to be integrated “into our core beliefs and practices surrounding what it means to be ‘church,’ to be ‘human,’ to be ‘children of God.”  At its conclusion, we are urged to coherent and consistent action within the church community’s life and in the broader world “in restoring God’s Earth-the greatest healing work and moral assignment of our time.”

What eco books are on your reading list for 2012?  Please share them in “leave a reply” below and let’s grow the list begun here.

Schor advocates a time-rich, ecologically light, small-scale & high-satisfaction economy.  The Plenitude fundamentals she describes include four principles:

1. A new allocation of time  (work less)
2. “Self-provision” (make, grow, or do things for oneself)
3. “True materialism” (being aware of the impact on the environment of what we consume)
4. Restore investments in one another and our communities

Or, in more simpler terms “Work and spend less.  Create and connect more.”

The “create and connect more” part was something I had been putting to the side, focusing a lot on the “spend less” part of life.  Just thinking about creating more brought joy back front and center!!!

Have a look at this video where you’ll get an overview of the ideas Schor’s puts forward in her book:

You can download instantly the electronic edition or order the paperback edition with expedited shipping!

Paperback Edition, $9.95 plus shipping.  CLICK HERE to order.

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PRAISE FOR THE BLESSINGS OF A GRATEFUL HEART:

“Blessings of a Grateful Heart is a simple, delightful book that awakens and reinvigorates your mindfulness of being full of gratitude.  I have given this book as a gift and recommend it as a two-week practice to friends and acquaintances.  I feel the format is engaging and the reflections are transformative.” Sandy Kindt, Lexington, MA

“The Blessings of a Grateful Heart is a gentle two-week long invitation to enter into the spiritual practice of thanksgiving. Short quotes and simple questions guide you on a heart-opening journey through the blessings of your life and the gifts and treasures in the world around you.” Rev. Tony Lorenzen, Minister, Pathways Church, Southlake, Texas

“Carol Hohle’s Blessings of a Grateful Heart came to me at just the right time, when I was transitioning from one way of life to another: my kids had left home and I was moving across country to start something new. A critical part of acknowledging all that had gone before while embracing the next step was gratitude. Daily reading and journaling with Carol’s book helped me articulate to myself just how fabulous my life had been before, was then, and would be going forward. I recommend it to anyone wanting to get into the ‘gratitude habit.’” L.M., Santa Monica

“I found The Blessings of a Grateful Heart to be a really approachable way to expand my daily practice of gratitude.  It opened up ways of active, conscious gratitude that were new and powerful to me.  It’s a great resource for anyone who’s interested in living this awesome aspect of spirituality!” Miles Harbur, Christian Science Practitioner

I recently read Brene Brown’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are. It was a great read, but if I was her editor I would encourage her to rename it, “The Art of Letting Go.”

As a researcher/storyteller, Brown has studied shame, courage, authenticity and vulnerability for more than a decade.  Her findings have led her to be an advocate for wholehearted living and an impassioned speaker about embracing vulnerability, worthiness and imperfection. Her talk on TEDx – see below – is an engaging overview of her Wholeheartedness thesis where she ponders the questions:

How do we learn to embrace our vulnerabilities and imperfections so that we can engage in our lives from a place of authenticity and worthiness? How do we cultivate the courage, compassion, and connection that we need to recognize that we are enough – that we are worthy of love, belonging, and joy?

For me, the “secret sauce” I’ve been discovering about life has everything to do with the art of letting go.  Letting go of assumptions, letting go of the need to control, letting go of worry/doubt/fear.  And, instead, replacing all my energy spent on planning, controlling, doubting etc with a spirit of openness and compassion.

I love that Breen picks up on this theme of letting go!  In fact she even uses the phrase “letting go” in each of the ten chapter titles she calls “guideposts” in her book:

1. Cultivating authenticity: Letting go of what people think
2. Cultivating self-compassion: Letting go of perfectionism
3. Cultivating a resilient spirit: Letting go of a numbing and powerlessness
4. Cultivating gratitude and joy: Letting go of scarcity and fear of the dark
5. Cultivating intuition and trusting faith: Letting go of the need for certainty
6. Cultivating creativity: Letting go of comparison
7. Cultivating play and rest: Letting go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth
8. Cultivating calm and stillness: Letting go of anxiety as a lifestyle
9. Cultivating meaning work: Letting go of self-doubt and “supposed to”
10. Cultivating laughter, song, and dance: Letting go of being cool and ‘always in control’

Letting go without a safety net, or foundation that you trust, probably isn’t a wise idea.  And neither Breen nor I advocate a laissez fare attitude about letting go.  Instead we’re advocating a ‘letting go’ practice that nurtures qualities of authenticity, self-compassion and resilience.

Breen’s book, The Gifts of Imperfection, is a quick, worthwhile read.  And, if you don’t have the inclination to read the whole book then I definitely recommend this 20-min video – you’ll find all the major themes of her book embraced in this message.

Try the spiritual practice of “letting go.”  I think you’ll find it joy inducing!

In celebration of Kerry’s book publication, we asked Kerry to share some of her joys and inspiration related to the good works and difference she is making in the world:

1.  What do you do?
I am a Leadership Coach.  I work with executives and business people and help them to animate their vision — make it come alive and deepen it, so that they can inspire action that makes a difference to them, to their teams.  I also coach teams of people, so that the team becomes more than just a collection of people.  Instead, the team forms an alliance to create shared outcomes, and designs ways to promote positivity AND productivity, to flourish and create intended impact.  I am deeply engaged and transformed daily by the work of leadership, and I believe we are all leaders, when we choose to claim our leadership boldly.

2.  Why do you do it?
I do this work because I am a junky for human potential.  I see it everywhere, in everyone.  It makes me sing when I work with someone who engages in a meaningful challenge, perhaps something that they never thought they could accomplish — AND THEN accomplishes that and more.  And it whets their appetite for taking on bigger challenges, things that line up superbly with their values, things that make a powerful difference in the world. I know that there is always more to learn in leadership and in creating what is next and that the journey of it is the point, not the destination.

3.  How does “what you do” and your approach to life nourish you?
What I do constantly inspires me.  Often I will find that the subject that a client is working on applies to me as well.  As coach, I am  focusing entirely on my client’s positive outcome.  And later, on my own time, I might reflect on what meaning that issue has for me.  I am constantly learning about myself in the context of my coaching. Life-long learning is a very strong value for me — so my work and approach nourish me continually because I am in a continual learning mode.  One of my favorite motto’s is ‘Teach what you want to learn.’  If we learn along with our ’students’ we create a resonant learning environment that is more powerful than if we were to stand in the perspective of ‘expert.’  I am also really inspired when I hear from a client’s boss or colleagues about the transformation that this person has affected for those around them.

4.  In what ways do others find what you do nourishing?
My clients transform their lives through coaching.  And by ‘transform’ I mean change for good.  Change is something that is easily reversible, transformation is change forever and for the better.  Helping one person transform can have a huge ripple effect — people around them, work colleagues, families, see the change and they too experience transformation.  It’s catching in the most refreshing and lively way!

5.  What would you say is your biggest source of inspiration?
Nature is my biggest source of inspiration.  Nothing makes me vibrate more than getting into the outside world.  And looking, really seeing the trees, the sky, the way the breezes flutter the leaves.  I watch the birds feed outside my kitchen window, or swoop across my windshield when I am driving, and I know that I have just seen a tear in the veil of the universe.  Also, meditation inspires me.  And I get some of my grandest inspirations in the shower!  Laughing with friends is a great inspiration to me as well.  Laughter loosens my grip, so that I can relax and receive more easily.

6.  Where can I learn more?

You can learn more about me by going to www.kerryhamiltonllc.com.
Or my blog www.kerryh-blog.typepad.com.  Here you will find out a lot about the way the world unfolds for me.
Also, my book, The Leadership River: Translating Vision into Action, is available at Amazon in paperback and Kindle versions.

The reading list won’t be too extensive – it’s summer time after all – but it will be just long enough to easily mix in with your other summer reading.  … We might even include a few documentaries available online for the group to watch and discuss!

Fee:  $15.

Contact Carol if you have any questions or would like to sign up.  The group’s first conference call is Tuesday, July 26!

Meg Wheatley is a wonderful author and human being.  Her commitment to community & connection has been unwavering for decades.  Her latest book, Walk Out Walk On, is coming out in April 2011 and I’ve already pre-ordered my Kindle copy.

Walk Out Walk On specifically addresses the economic challenges communities – families, neighborhoods, cities, regions and nations – face today.  Seven communities are profiled.  Each of them walked out of limiting beliefs and assumptions and walked on to create healthy and resilient communities.

Joanna Macy is a philosopher of ecology, a Buddhist scholar, and an exquisite translator of the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke.  She is also the author of one of Inspiration House’s favorite book, World as Lover, World as Self.

Check out the 9/16/2010 program page, “A Wild Love for the World,” and download or listen online to the program.  And, be sure to check out some of Joanna’s poetry reading – it’s a treat for the soul!

We asked Connie to share some of her joys and inspiration related to the good works and difference she is making
in the world:

1.  What do you do?

As author, speaker and practitioner of spiritual healing, I devote my life to helping others find lasting solutions to obesity and other issues.

2.  Why do you do it?

I look at why I am devoting my life to helping others through the lens of my own experiences.  It is the lessons I continue to learn in my own life that give me the impetus to respond to others.  People who know me agree that I have always had an innate desire to help people in a variety of ways, i.e. supporting and caring for the young and elderly, and prayerfully helping people think more deeply about their relationship to God.  Most recently my focus is the obesity crisis in this country.  Having dealt with obesity for most of my life, I feel that I have firsthand experience and insight that allow me to help others find a solution to this problem.

3.  How does “what you do” and your approach to life nourish you?

My work nourishes, inspires and brings me great joy when someone is helped.  And subsequently my approach to life continually grows.  One recent epiphany from my work with the obesity issue is the vital importance of looking within and making changes that will make me a better person.  I am discovering that my desire to see a better world, have more respect for our environment and pave a more responsible path for future generations has to start at home.  It goes back to being honest with ourselves and it is through self-examination that we grow.  All of this contributes to my commitment to a life of service.

4.  In what ways do others find what you do nourishing?

Most tell me that my approach allows them to feel “safe.”   They don’t feel judged or criticized, but supported and loved.   I am also strong in my convictions and like one reader of my book indicated, I didn’t give up on myself and I don’t give up on others.

From my perspective what helps people most is helping them realize that they aren’t alone with their problems and that there is a solution and/or resolution to whatever is causing them despair, fear or concern.

5.  What would you say is your biggest source of inspiration?

My biggest source of inspiration is my deep belief and faith in God.  It is also the personal experiences of those who are benefited.

6.  Where can we learn more?

My website:  www.reallifeweightloss.org

“Do we build God a house in lieu of having God stay at ours?”

This question by author Barbara Brown Taylor sums up the whole book!

Taylor, a former Episcopal minister, and now religion professor, is also a prolific author.  She writes easily — as if she is having a conversation with you.  It is no wonder her books are so popular.  I first learned of her writing when her first memoir, Leaving Church, came out in 2006.

An Altar in the World, her second memoir, is about the importance of spiritual practice: “Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right,” Taylor declares.  But, rather, “Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right, and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds and when it fails.”

Describing spiritual practices as basic as walking, carrying water, being with other people, and saying blessings, Taylor moves the sacred out of the church’s walls and into everyday life. “Human beings may separate things into as many piles as we wish – separating spirit from flesh, sacred from secular, church from world.  But we should not be surprised when God does not recognize the distinctions we make between the two.”

In advocating for a more holistic spiritual view, Taylor discusses eleven different spiritual practices:

1. Reverence
2. Incarnation
3. Walking
4. Wilderness
5. Community
6. Vocation
7. Sabbath
8. Physical Labor
9. Pain as Breakthrough
10. Prayer
11. Benedictions

A couple new ideas from reading the book, for me, had to do with Sabbath and Incarnation.  Sabbath is a lovely practice for taking time out, but I hadn’t thought about it as a practice for “saying ‘no’” and how important it is to know how to say “no.”  Karl Barth equates it with freedom – “A being is free only when it can determine and limit its activity.”

Incarnation, or as Taylor refers to it – “wearing skin,” is a curious and intriguing idea to me.  Incarnation, I suppose, is about the relationship one has with the divine.  Some theologies speak of it as the fleshly form of God in a very literal sense.  For me, I’m not so sure about that.  But, I do feel something other-worldly, almost divine, when I’m in nature.  There is something so holy to me about the natural world, and I feel I come close to understanding incarnation when I’m engaged in the practices of walking and reverence!

Have you read An Altar in the World OR been engaged in one or more of the spiritual practices discussed in the book?  Please share your thoughts and submit a comment below.