Interfaith Book Group discussion

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message 1: by Tracy (last edited Jul 20, 2025 10:54AM) (new)

Tracy Marks (tracymar) | 94 comments Mod
Whether on topic or off-topic, this is a space for respectful chat, comments, personal sharing, whatever you'd like to say or discuss here.


message 2: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Meditating.

I am interested in finding out what Meditative Practices people have followed or would like to explore? I have tried some and liked some but have never been able to establish a consistent daily practice. I am glad we are starting this group meditation as I am feeling I need meditation in my life so this happened at the right time.

I like doing inbreath count/pause count/longer outbreath count to calm, livingkindness meditation, walking meditation or guided meditation.

I also occasionally attend Quaker silent meeting and am trying to get back to doing this more often.


message 3: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments I am deleting an image I loaded.
too big. and I also failed to crop it properly so included things I did not intend. I am fully aware. Just need to get into laptop so I can delete c


goodreads is challenging my perfectionism today and causing me to lean into my mistakes and I actually am appreciating this right now.
perfectionism is my biggest 'cow' to release. thank you Tracy.


message 4: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments updated image after greatly resizing MUCH. smaller and cropping correctly
you can find it in the photos. it is the one with the butterfly.


often I will not know the purpose of a journal or the need for this until after the cover creation is done. sometimes even months later.

this practice seems to be evolving into a intuitive creation process similar to SoulCollage but making a journal cover rather than a card.
and my own process rather than following a method created by another that I was trained in.

seriously thinking of sharing this with others. I tried to do this before, held a class in making a gratitude journal. I think what was missing was trying to FORCE the journal into a specific intention rather than allowing people to discover the intention by decorating it and leaving it open to intuition.


message 5: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments This may seem far afield from our book discussions. but I was surfing Reddit the other day and came across a discussion, way over my head, about the Big Bang. one participant asked what happened before the Big Bang. the first one said, using a lot of science terms i did not get , that the question was meaningless because time started at the Big Bang. There was no "before". someone else then said that to them the only answer to that question was "God."
this makes me think about the limits of our current science. it is limited by our human minds. who are we to think we are capable of understanding all of how the universe works? to me, God, if there even is one, is beyond my understanding. S/he/They could not be understand by my merely human mind.
the entire above discussion is mind boggling and reminds me there will always be unanswered questions. it does not sound as if science ahd religion are opposites at all but it really comes down to the unanswerable.

I wonder if there are any books in which scientists describe their personal theology. if so it might be aj interesting read. as long as written for a lay audience as too many scientific terms i don"t know cause me to go into skip or scan mode, as do math formulas.


message 6: by Tracy (last edited Jul 26, 2025 10:38PM) (new)

Tracy Marks (tracymar) | 94 comments Mod
I view God or what I call the Source as completely timeless and having nothing to do with time as we know it.

I like Laurie's idea of reading about the spirituality of scientists who do have a personal theology. Was it John Glenn, or another early astronaut, who had a spiritual conversion after his time in space? Or maybe there were several.

What was the film about the woman astronaut who went into space and had a spiritual experience that did not correlate with her scientific knowledge or any scientific proof, but which transformed her and awakened her faith?

I have personally been influenced by and moved by the work of Amit Goswami, a Hindu quantum physicist with a very transpersonal perspective. He's written many books. I first learned about him 20 years ago through his superb documentary The Quantum Activist which I now have on dvd. I see that it's here on Youttube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipRa5...

I've also read the book and a few other books by him. Two of his titles: The Physics of the Soul AND Quantum Spirituality: The Pursuit of Wholeness.

I just noticed this intriguing title - The Physics of God (subtitle - How the Deepest Theories of Science Explain Religion and How the Deepest Truths of Religion Explain Science) but he only wrote the foreword to it. But it looks very good.


message 7: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Tracy, the books you mention on science and spirituality all sound very interesting.


message 8: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments I was unable to find "The Seven Mysteries of Life" in ebook. and just got it via Abebooks. the print size is at the level at is challenging to my eyes. fortunately I have a magnifier I used when I had a macular hole so temporarily found most books hard ri read.

but the plus side is short chapters. actually not even chapters. very short sections. and they seem interesting.
my method for this type of book is to count how many sections then divide the work into sections per day.
and I agree with the suggestion to start early.


message 9: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments yay!!! my magnifying glass works so i can read the Seven Mysteries easily now and enjoy it. glad in a way I had that vision issue years ago that gave me that tool.


message 10: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments it seems there is no legitimate way to obtain a digital copy of Seven Mysteries. I see there is an earlier shorter edition and perhaps that one will have a better font for me.
realistically unless that is the case and I have to read this edition I may need to zero on on the parts relevant to the posted questions rather than attempt to read the entire 700 pages by the meeting date. and then gradually read it later.
it is a matter of my right eye being affected by a vision issue but left eye fine so I have a very slight double vision which I never notice except when trying to read quite small print. I either have to patch the right eye then or else a magnifier screen which is ok for small books but not 700 pages.
I also , unrelated, get migraines and do not want to trigger one by eye strain

so unless other paperback is a better font realize I will not have Seven Mysteries finished by Oct. class but WILL eventually.


message 11: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Marks (tracymar) | 94 comments Mod
That's not good news about the size of the print. I can't read it if it's small type, am suffering eyestrain as it is, and need glasses for the firs ttime for closeup reading. But have to wait till December because my insurance only pays for glasses every 2 years. I may have to skip this one if it's small type. I ordered it last week but haven't received it yet.


message 12: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments it is probably on the low side of normal font. not tiny. I wonder if libraries might have it digitally?

I am waiting for the other paperback to come. the earlier 1978 edition with around 500 pages. maybe it is a bigger font.

for me, I think i will read but skip to sections covered by the prompts and anything that really intrigues me.

based on what I have seen of the content it is highly interesting.
but
it is not realistic for me to read the entire book in 2 months.

disappointed because science and spirituality is a topic I am excited to read about and know more.


message 13: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Tracy, in terms of content. there is so much wonderful stuff that I want to really drill down into and not enough time even with 2 months I find myself skimming to "get through it", my "need to finish" kicking in. I definitely do not want to skip this one. But I would benefit from a dual approach. if the facilitator could offer a list of suggested sections to focus on, as you did for Bowl of Light, i/we could read and think about these for the session then read at our leisure later.
it really is a lot like an encyclopedia of nature. and I do not want to miss the forest for the trees or thr trees for the forest by rushing. this book really deserves its own dedicated study group where the group read a chapter each month.


message 14: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Marks (tracymar) | 94 comments Mod
Laurie - Why don't you post a request in the discussion topic for The Seven Mysteries of Life asking for suggestions about which chapters to focus on when we read the book? Nina is facilitating.


message 15: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Tracy, that sounds like a good idea.


message 16: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Tracy: done.


message 17: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Our Article in Meditation Chapel

Meditation Chapel has written an article about our group in its newsletter for September so we may see some new people in the monthly discussion. Hopefully the article will familiarize them will our group and what we expect.

Due to the extremely short deadline notice , while I was able to send them personal info Smith was unable to.
(I hate short term sudden deadlines !)

But I feel they did a good job putting it together from what I sent and our group description from the calendar. BUT they still have Seven Mysteries listed as our October book! Hoping anyone coming in October will look to the updated book list in the Chapel .

Here is the article.

"NEW GROUP, INTERFAITH READING GROUP

Welcome to the Interfaith Reading Group, a chapel that promises to explore the variety within spirituality.  The group meets monthly to discuss the book chosen for that month.  Members are expected to read the book and be prepared for discussion. The books are chosen by the group’s book selection committee and represent a variety of faith traditions. Led by a different moderator each time, the Interfaith Reading Group discusses views on the book and closes with meditation.  Meditations are led by the facilitator of that month's book and may represent different  styles of meditation.  We welcome people of all faith traditions and all identities.  We do not advocate any specific faith or form of spirituality. 

Chapel members who might enjoy this group are those who love to read, are interested in spirituality, and are open to meeting and learning from others of different faiths. The books chosen for reading are by authors of different backgrounds and traditions.  The group offers a consistent structure but a variety of content. 

The following books have been selected and are on the calendar for the upcoming months:

OCT 2025:  The Seven Mysteries Of Life: An Exploration of Science and Philosophy
                     by Guy Murchie

NOV 2025:  If the Oceans were Ink: An unlikely friendship and a journey to the Heart of the Quran by Carla Power

DEC 2025:  Holiday Spiritual Slam (songs, poems, etc. submitted by group members)

JAN 2026:   I and Thou by Martin Buber

The group maintains a comprehensive list of its books, meeting times, and
related resources on Goodreads at Interfaith Reading Group .

The official Zoom hosts for the group meetings are Laurie Pollack and Smith Jackson, who hold the technical/virtual space for the group while the facilitator of each month's chosen book leads the group in discussion and meditation.  We do not have one leader but have a team of passionate dedicated folks who take part in various ways to help make things happen. 

The Interfaith Reading Group (G1182) meets on the third Thursday of each month at 1p ET in the Lotus Chapel.


Laurie Pollack lives near Philadelphia PA.  She is  a passionate reader, spiritual not religious, resonates with the cultural and ethical teachings of her Jewish heritage, Quaker silent worship, and earth centered spirituality. Creative Arts and writing are an important part of her spiritual path as is Tikkun Olam (healing the world/speaking out for social justice). 

What Laurie loves about virtual  hosting and facilitating is holding space for people to learn and grow, listen to each other, and be together across distance. It feels sacred to her. She is drawn to and appreciates the variety of offerings at the Meditation Chapel

 

Smith Jackson co-leads the group with Laurie.  You can contact Smith at sjacksons2022@outlook.com if you have questions.
"


message 18: by Tracy (new)

Tracy Marks (tracymar) | 94 comments Mod
Laurie - I informed them about the change in the October book, as maybe you did too. I also gave them the url of our site here. They said that they'd indicate it in their next newsletter later in the month, but that probably will be a week or so AFTER we discuss the book.

Anyway, I'm glad they mentioned us and imagine that we'll get new members as a result.


message 19: by Laurie (new)

Laurie Pollack | 63 comments Tracy i hope so too.


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