Thanks to everyone

Thanks to everyone for making our opening night a great success. Thanks to our speakers Revs Allan and Susanna who brought great knowledge, experience and artistic/poetic flavor to the evening.

One question that was brought up was where can you begin your interfaith "studies." One of my favorite books is a great place to start. It is called "Essential Spirituality: The Seven Spiritual Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind" by Roger Walsh. I've read it 4-5 times and love it every time. Roger looks to find the common threads through the world's major religions and takes some key practices to apply to your life today. Do you have any suggestions or favorites? Please feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments section of this post.

Here's the review from Amazon.com:
Psychiatrist and philosopher Roger Walsh looks at seven common practices of the world's major religions to tease out a guidebook for contemporary spirituality. With gleanings from Judaism, Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, Walsh offers seven chapters devoted to enlightenment. For example, "Practice 1" discusses how readers can reduce cravings and find the soul's desire (very relevant in an increasingly materialistic world). Once Walsh has laid out the goals and reasoning behind each practice, he offers an array of exercises, such as how to "Examine the Experience of Craving" or "Reflect on the Cost of Craving." Although this format is overtly self-help, Walsh has brought forth a wise and highly respectable book that integrates some of the best practices that the world's religions can offer. The introduction by the Dalai Lama gives Walsh great praise for helping readers become purer in motivation so that they can lead a more fulfilling life in service to love and compassion. --Gail Hudson