Reading list

I'm so grateful for each new day in Oregon. Part of the joy of grad school is the reading list. I get to read all these great books and reflect on how their message affects me personally and also how it affects the sustainable world at large. I keep asking, "What role does spirituality have to play in the sustainable community?"

What role has religion/ spirituality played in the past (esp. as I focus on lessons from the sustainable communities of the Middle Ages)? How important is spirituality in our modern world which seems so focused on technology and information, yet is more disconnected than ever from the earth and the rest of creation?

So here are a few books which I am reading for my classes in Spiritual Leadership, Permaculture, and Educational Research:

You Are, Therefore I Am by Satish Kumar
The Earth Path by Starhawk
The Courage to Teach: Exploring the Inner Landscape by Parker J. Palmer
The Tao of Leadership
Permaculture: A Designer's Manual by Bill Mollison
Gaia's Garden by Toby Hemenway
Educational Research - Competencies in Analysis (basic text book on research strategies)

If you are a teacher, you'll love almost anything by Parker Palmer as he delves into the internal process of being the best teacher you can be. He explores the inner lives of teachers.

I'm also throwing in a dose of Thomas Merton with a Book of Hours based on the writings of Merton for daily meditation and chewing on the concept of relationships (types of) in C.S Lewis' The Four Loves.

The basic concept of permaculture (permanent culture + permanent agriculture) is that we are all part of the whole. Where does man fit into the ecosystems? What roles do we play? How can we be connected while maintaining the ideal of "do the least harm" to the rest of the earth? Understanding relationships is KEY! When we see ourselves in relationship to others, to the earth, to God, how does that transform our actions, our attitudes?

Well, I'm off to do some more reading! Have a blessed day!