The Spirituality of Gardening
Donna Sinclair
Northstone
Sinclair bids us know the connectedness between hoeing and healing, seasons of growth and the seasons of the spirit, gardening and Gaia (a living Earth). In an age of ever-increasing sensitivity to the fragility and vulnerability of our environment, Sinclair touches deep places within where we connect at levels that go beyond our understanding. "Gardens are our connection to the land and to the One who created it." She asks us to listen to modern stewards of the land, such as the Aboriginal peoples who nurture it and to ancient voices that take us back to the first garden in harmony with God and the world around us. And the reality is that all this is in danger. "We humans can alter Earth's intricate rhythm of rain and sun. We can destroy the delicate soil-making creatures on which her abundance depends. And then we would be orphaned."
The next time you are tempted to take all this for granted, listen to Rev. Stan MacKay, first Native moderator of the United Church who simply said, "This is the holy land."
Says Sinclair, "Gardens are about memory. They help us remember the good given to us by the Creator." Life shall become like a watered garden. The dream of returning to Eden, to 'home'. I wonder if Mary was completely wrong when she supposed Jesus to be the gardener when she went looking for death but found life?
The Spirituality of Mazes and Labyrinths
Gailand MacQueen
Northstone
This coffee table collectible is a how-to book from beginning to end, inviting the reader into the madness of the maze along with the potential to solve a problem or two along the way. And when computer-generated mazes add to the madness, you end up with Dungeons and Dragons or worse. The world of the maze is anything but soothing or reflective or relaxing. Most of the mazes had my stomach in more knots than the maze itself contained. Yes, the title is misleading – there really isn't much waiting for someone looking for the spirituality of mazes but maybe the labyrinth makes up for that. MacQueen begins and ends with the labyrinth, and suggests the labyrinth may prove a useful tool in talks with other faith tradition. "Here is an unthreatening tool, which most religions share in one form or another; here is a door to significant dialogue and mutual learning; here is a ritual we can celebrate together, without compromising anyone's faith." It is somewhat strange that this was written by Gailand MacQueen – he is something of a modern maze himself, holding advanced degrees in philosophy, theology and educational theory, while lecturing in Religious Studies. Then again, maybe he's more the labyrinth, finding his true centre in this ancient symbol. The pictures are intriguing, the writing is clear and concise and then there's all those maddening mazes (make certain you play the book maze which will bring you finally to the end.)
The Spirituality of Wine
Tom Harpur
Northstone
"The ultimate test of any spirituality is experience," says Harpur and he takes us on a test of the senses to experience the connection between wine and spirituality, a test far beyond the biblical encouragement to "taste and see that the Lord is good." All the senses get involved in the experience of wine. Indeed the whole being is necessary. "The reason our ancient ancestors celebrated every stage in the making of wine was that they saw in every step a mirror of their own lives. The analogy ran at several levels, from the purely social to the inner development of their unique lives." This coffee table collectible offers us a feast for the eyes as well as a feast of words and wisdom from the accumulated insights of the ages seen through an aged vintage or a respectable modern Australian or Canadian.
What is more spiritual experience than a lover's metaphor of wine's intoxicating power, "Oh, may your breasts be like clusters of the vine?"
Or a friendship's long lasting bond sealed with a glass of wine, "For a wine to taste like a real wine, it has to be drunk with a friend?"
And always, good Presbyterians that we are, we remember Harpur's adage: "Not too much. Not too fast." I think at the least Harpur's The Spirituality of Wine deserves a toast, so I'll drink to that!
L' Chayim!
