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Spiritual Literacy answers the universal question, "How can I live a spiritual life every day?" Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, who have been covering contemporary culture and the spiritual renaissance for more than twenty-five years, believe that we can read the texts of our lives and of the world around us for sacred meaning. All we need is spiritual literacy.
To illustrate their point, the Brussats present more than 650 "readings" about daily life from present-day authors - spiritual teachers, essayists, novelists, filmmakers, poets, naturalists, and social activists. This collection is unprecedented - an enthralling treasury of brief, "aha!" passages from such writers as Maya Angelou, Wendell Berry, Ram Dass, Annie Dillard, Clarissa Pinkola Estes, Robert Fulghum, Eduardo Galeano, Thich Nhat Hanh, Barbara Kingsolver, Jonathan Kozol, Kathleen Norris, Henri J. M. Nouwen, Anne Tyler, and many more. The Brussats add demonstrations of spiritual literacy based on their personal experiences and their interpretations of contemporary movies, songs, and television dramas.
These remarkable readings tutor us in the art of lingering with our experiences and seeing the world with fresh eyes. They offer spiritual perspectives on things, places, nature, animals, leisure activities, creative pursuits, work, body, illness, death, relationships, and community.
Spiritual literacy does not require that we become masters of certain religious texts or that we climb to a high rung on the ladder of enlightenment. Indeed, it is the very opposite of such elitism. At the end of each chapter, the Brussats invite their readers to practice spiritual literacy themselves through journal exercises, household projects, and rituals.
