Spirituality: Reading, Music, Film etc.

Reading

No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend's were.

Each man's death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.---John Donne (24 January 1572 - 31 March 1631 / London, England)

The Generosity of Spirit Myths and Folktales

ttp://www.learningtogive.org/resources/generosity-spirit-world-folktales-and-myths

Overview

"From earliest childhood, we are captivated by the sounds of the human voice telling a story. There is an elemental, magnetic pull to hear the myths, fables and parables that are a part of our varied cultures. We learn early life lessons from these wise folktales with their colorful characters and episodes.

The Fetzer Institute's mission is to foster awareness of the power of love and forgiveness in the emerging global community. In collaboration with the Institute's Generosity of Spirit project team, Learning to Give brings you stories that speak to the gifts and challenges of leading a generous life. Whether teacher, parent, youth worker or religious instructor, these folktales form a cultural memory of who we have been. . . who we are . . . and who we might become.

Deceptively simple, these stories become amazingly wise, rich and deep upon discussion and reflection. To enrich your experience, a companion Reflection Guide has been developed. Lessons are also offered, created specifically for high school students or adults."

Key nonfiction spiritual writings of Leo Tolstoy

Narrative below is quoted from:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/russia/articles/the-10-best-books-by-leo-tolstoy-you-have-to-read/ A Confession (1882) read it free at: http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/a-confession/1/

By the time of his 50th birthday, Tolstoy had already written the hugely acclaimed novels that would guarantee his position as one of the giants of Russian literature, yet, on a personal level, he had succumbed to a profound moral and spiritual crisis. On the brink of suicide, he committed himself to finding the ‘meaning of life’ with a wide and voracious reading of major religious texts. The autobiographical A Confession is a painfully frank and extraordinarily honest account of this troubling time, and narrates his journey from deep moral crisis to his subsequent spiritual reawakening.

The Kingdom of God Is Within You (1894) (Free version: http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4602)

What I Believe (1885) also called My Religion (read it at: http://www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/my-religion/)

Tolstoy’s 1894 philosophical treatise, published after his deep spiritual crisis and consequent conversion to fervent Christianity, explores the crucial relationship – according to him – between pacifism and religion. It was Tolstoy’s unwavering belief in ‘turning the other cheek’ which, in actual fact, led this book to be banned in Russia since its message was deemed a threat to the Church and to the State. However, this did nothing to slow the spread of Tolstoy’s ideas on nonviolent resistance, and the themes explored within the pages of The Kingdom of God is Within You had a profound influence on some of the 20th century’s most pivotal figures, including Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Tolstoy’s follow-up to A Confession was one in a series of books published after the profound existential crisis suffered in his 50s. An exceptionally frank account of this tremendously turbulent period of his life, What I Believe is the non-fiction account of Tolstoy’s personal interpretation of Christian teaching and theology. Not being one of his easiest reads, What I Believe is a world away from his earliest works of fiction and charts Tolstoy’s disenchantment with the Russian Orthodox Church in particular, and the hypocrisy of organized religion more generally. Read this to gain a deeper understanding of the philosophy of one of the greatest novelists of all time.

Another one is his reflections on poverty and our response: What to Do? Thoughts Evoked by the Census of Moscow

It’s based on these Gospels:

And the people asked him, saying, What shall we do then?

He answereth and saith unto them, He that hath two coats, let him impart to him that hath none; and he that hath meat, let him do likewise—Luke iii. 10. 11.

Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:

But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light.

But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!

No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.

Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?—Matt. vi. 19-25.

Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? Or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?

(For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.—Matt. vi. 31-34.

For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle’s eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.—Matt. xix. 24; Mark x. 25; Luke xviii. 25.

Life is a Spiritual Journey: Exemplary Travelers in the Face of Adversity

Etty Hillesum (1914 – 1943, Dutch student and writer)

Simone Weil (1909 – 1943, French social and religious philosopher, mystic, activist)

Viktor Frankl (1905 – 1997, Austrian-born psychiatrist and theorist)

Óscar Romero y Galdamez (1917 – 1980, fourth archbishop of San Salvador, El Salvador)

John Perkins (b. 1930, American civil rights leader, writer, minister)

14th Dalai Lama (b. 1935, Tibetian Buddhist monk, international leader, peace activist)

Film

Spiritual Films (Western, non-documentaries)

• 12 Years a Slave (2013; nine Oscar nominations with 3 winners: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Supporting Actress)

• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• A Man For All Seasons (1966; Fred Zinnemann, director)

• Amadeus (1984; Oscar)

• Arrival (2016)

• Babette's Feast (1987, French)

• Boyhood (2014)

• Breaking The Waves (1996; Lars von Trier, director)

• Brother Sun and Sister Moon (1972)

• Chariots of Fire (1981; Oscar best picture)

• Cinema Paradiso (1998, Cannes Grand Prix)

• City of God (2002)

• Days of Heaven (1978; Malick director)

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004, Oscar Best Screenplay – Original)

• Fearless (1993; Peter Weir, director)

• Fences (2016)

• Gandhi (1982; 9 Oscars best picture, director, actor, best original score, etc.)

• Into the Wild (2007)

• It's A Wonderful Life (1946; Frank Capra, director; Oscar)

• Les Misérables (1998)

• Life is Beautiful (1997, Oscar winner)

• Of Gods and Men (2010, Cannes Film festival Grand Prix winner)

• Pay It Forward (2000)

• Places in the Heart (1994; Oscar best actress and best original screenplay)

• Saint Ralph (2004)

• Saints and Soldiers (2003)

• Schindler's List (1993, Oscars multiple)

• Seventh Seal (1957)

• The Book Thief (2013)

• The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)

• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

• The Elephant Man (1980; David Lynch, director)

• The Mission (1986; nominated for multiple Oscars; best cinematography)

• The Pursuit of Happiness (2006)

• The Shawshank Redemption

• Tree of Life (Terrance Malick director)

• Wings of Desire (1987; German version Der Himmel Uber Berlin; Wim Wenders, director; Best Director at the 1987 Cannes Film Festival.)