Return of the Bird Tribes by Ken Carey

Evidently this lyrical and mythological tale has a cult following. For me, it was a hard book to read because I am not fond of fantasy and don't like the idea of angels (which in this case are birds.) I can admit to unknown forces in the universe, but to anthropomorphize them seems silly. However, beneath the mythological fluff of Carey's work there is a solid base of spiritual insight, summed up nicely on p. 169: "... all creatures inhabit and live within a single field of shared consciousness ... all are projections of a single Being ... all of us ... are differentiated aspects of one conscious and coherent whole." I am glad I pushed myself through Return of the Bird Tribes, but will probably not recommend it to others because the mythology is a little too woo-woo (not to say distasteful) to me.

The Wisdom Jesus by Cynthia Bourgeault

Cynthia Bourgeault is an Episcopal priest, a contemplative, and a renown writer and teacher of spirituality. Her book The Wisdom Jesus incorporates the most progressive thought about the nature of Jesus and what he taught. One interesting aspect is that Bourgeault tries (unsuccessfully, I believe) to marry modern thought to the Episcopalianism she loves. She starts off with the Nicene Creed and I couldn't help thinking, "Oh, the Bishop made her put it there," because she moves right into what you could call new age thought, the liberal religious tradition, metaphysical Christianity, mysticism (ancient and modern) or just plain spirituality. She even admits that "... Christianity was changed into a religion about Jesus rather than a religion of Jesus" which is what the liberal Christian tradition has said all along. Like Bishop John Shelby Spong, she seems to want to rescue her church from becoming obsolete by coaxing it beyond literal interpretation of creeds and Bible stories into a sophisticated spirituality (what Dawkins calls "Einsteinian religion") that doesn't expect logical and sensible people to park their intelligence at the door when they come to church. The Wisdom Jesus is a wonderful, wonderful book, well written in a thoughtful and erudite manner, yet very accessible.

Birthing a Greater Reality by Robert Brumet

Subtitled "A Guide for Conscious Evolution," this small book talks about how human beings are evolving in consciousness and how individuals can encourage that process in themselves. Emphasizing Oneness and personal growth, it summarizes and builds on the work of many spiritual thinkers with a conviction (like Teilhard de Chardin's) that human beings are still evolving. A challenging read that led to great discussions in metaphysics class.

Keys to the Kingdom and the Life You Want by Stephen Hawley Martin

Stephen Hawley Martin lays out his spiritual history and philosophy in a book that is worth reading whether you agree with his thinking or not. Sometimes he is too anthropomorphic for my taste, and he's also a little dualistic in how he presents God and mankind. This runs counter to my core belief in the creator and the created as one entity. He gets pretty specific about "morphic fields" and how karma and reincarnation work; I tend to question anything that's very descriptive of life after death, because I think it's unknowable. However, there is lots of good guidance on spiritual practices and his description of the four stages of spiritual life is interesting. Stage I = life that is chaotic, self-serving, and manipulative; Stage II = a religious life that is bound up in ritual and dogma; Stage III = a questioning and doubting life; Stage IV = a more mystical life that recognizes the universe as connected, a single organism. He also throws in a Stage V for emeritus mystics like Buddha and Jesus.