expand with elizabeth ann
; a reading journey
An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith
Barbara Brown Taylor
“From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to deep meditations on topics like prayer and pronouncing blessings, Taylor reveals concrete ways to discover the sacred in the small things we do and see.”
One of my most beloved aspects of walking away from the fundamentalist faith of my childhood is learning how to make everything holy, and what better way to begin a new year than with a cozy book about just that. This dharmic wisdom from Barbara Brown Taylor certainly offers expansion, should we be open to growth.
spiritually renovating forevermore,
E
Welcome to the Collective!
this online dwelling began with a desire to pay homage to the wise souls inspiring me - researchers, spiritual teachers, poets, activists, rebels, historians, authors, etc., with the hope that anyone visiting would feel empowered to surrender a little deeper into their own wholehearted self-love. Because recovery is always the goal anywhere I am, and because I revere the power of literature for its ability to soothe, rally, build community, and teach, I knew in those first days of exhalation that a book club would be essential to continue the mission. I'm excited you're here!
The plan is to read a book each month, a selection that has contributed to my own recovery whether that be through momentary reprieve, awakened imagination, or expanded awareness. If you are reading with us, please also join in over on our social media!
Let's get reading, shall we?
Ordinary Mysticism: Your Life as Sacred Ground
Mirabai Starr
“You do not need to trek to a remote shrine in the Himalayas, enroll in expensive seminars, or convert to a new religion to connect with spirit. Your life is holy ground. And you are a mystic.”
My favorite love stories are those about healing the self and fostering personal relationship with divinity. While bookstores and social media push romance novels this month, I’m here saying let’s read a book that cozies us closer in love with ourselves and spirit.
I first learned of Mirabai Starr when I read Wild Mercy, and quickly added her to my list of spiritual gurus. I’m excited to share this book with you this month and hope you gain a new perspective on the blessing of knowing how to harness that internal pulsing love within you.
let's all truly love ourselves,
E
Sacred Earth Sacred Soul
John Philip Newell
“Our work is to help reawaken the sense of the sacred that is already deep in the human soul, our primordial relationship with nature, our ancient mother love of the earth. We can be part of its rising again.”
Embracing Celtic wisdom feels like answering a call from ancestors reminding me where I've come from. So much in this realm of understanding makes sense on a soul level. I am grateful for this book and am excited to add it as the read for the month. If I ache for the modern church to be rooted in mother earth and by extension, honor the divinity within that interconnects us all, I know there are more out there that feel the same.
Whether or not you are the type to drink green beer in March, please also be the type to reawaken ancient ways of knowing about your relationship with the earth so that we may all cultivate a much needed collective healing.
A resounding yes to Mother Earth as Church,
E
A Victorian Flower Dictionary
Mandy Kirkby
Blessed Spring! Blessed Poetry Writing! This month we will delightfully read a dictionary that will contribute to poetic symbolism, metaphor, & florality in whatever we write after enjoying this beautiful lexicon.
“Daffodils signal new beginnings, daisies innocence. Lilacs mean the first emotions of love, periwinkles tender recollection. Early Victorians used flowers as a way to express their feelings—love or grief, jealousy or devotion. Now, modern-day romantics are enjoying a resurgence of this bygone custom, and this book will share the historical, literary, and cultural significance of flowers with a whole new generation.”
Written as a companion to Vanessa Diffenbaugh's novel, The Language of Flowers, The Victorian Flower Dictionary features a dual dictionary of flora and meanings alongside lavish illustrations of each flower featured, all which will certainly inspire a poem or two.
please note:
i) gifting flowers to communicate a
sentiment is dreamy
ii) writing poetry steeped in floral metaphor
is swoonworthy
iii) we survived winter
May the flowers have their way with us,
E
Emotional Inflammation
Lise Van Susteren, MD,
& Stacey Colino
Initially I had selected Dear Mother by Bunmi Laditan to be the book for May. This poetry collection is the only book I’ve read that has highlighted so honestly the messy, complicated, tremendous experience of mothering. As May crept closer, I couldn’t imagine posting poetry about motherhood all month long however, because I know how raw the relationship to mothering can be, and want exhalations to be a space of safety. For the record though, if you are jonesing for a book of poetry about the intricacies of motherhood, Dear Mother comes highly recommended by me.
About this month’s read: While so much of my physical health journey involves focusing on anti-inflammation, I have longed for a term to explain the emotional puffiness I feel when I am stressed. When I saw Lise Van Susteren’s Emotional Inflammation on the shelf at the library, I knew the universe had answered my call.
What I appreciate most about this book is everything; the acknowledgment of modern stressors such as climate change, and divisive politics, with guidance to listen to your body, and tune into nature. At the end of each chapter, there are simple recommendations to make our emotional anti-inflammatory journey restorative.
May we all be less puffy,
E
The Hidden Spirituality of Men:
Ten Metaphors to Awaken the Sacred Masculine
Matthew Fox
The church of my childhood bolstered the power of men, claiming patriarchy as the only way forward to meet God, while not providing any real guidance to support spiritual health outside of a fundamentally religious paradigm. Growing up in this space hyper-tuned me to the harmful impact of dysfunctional masculinity. All around me, men inflicted pain on others that they were afraid to sit with in themselves.
In my trauma recovery, I yearned for a masculine presence that was safe, nurturing, and supportive. Learning this book existed was the answer to hundreds of desperate prayers.
The Hidden Spirituality of Men is an invitation to expand what you know about spirituality; to find holy balance between the sacred masculine and divine feminine.
“A male archetype is not about men, nor are female archetypes about women, but all archetypes describe aspects of being human. The ten archetypes I offer are ten stories, ten images, ten ways that men and boys, women and girls can relate to the masculine inside themselves."
Recovery through Reverent Recalibration,
E
#expandwithelizabethann
