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ABOUT THE SWEDENBORG LIBRARY
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Note: The Library will be closed from June 21-July 8, 2008 for the summer break. We will reopen July 9, 2008.

Where in Chicago can you join serious inquirers into spiritual topics, where all faith traditions are respected? The Swedenborg Library, located on the 17th floor of the First Methodist Church at Clark And Washington Streets, is one venue where you'll find an ecumenical approach to metaphysical questions and the opportunity to join in a variety of spiritual and healing practices.

Founded in 1871 by Midwestern Swedenborgians, the Swedenborg Library also offers books and programs on spiritual topics by contemporary authors to people of all faiths, and to those who may be uncertain about faith at all.

The Swedenborg Library community respects the religious choices of those who visit us, or who join in on programs. All are welcome. Any contact with us is confidential, and "no salesman will call." Reading Swedenborg's work can deepen your understanding of the Bible, and faith in your own religious traditions. This is how Swedenborg saw his work himself—it was not part of his goals to establish a church, although eventually readers did found what is known as "the New Church" in the 19C.

The Swedenborg Library is located in room 1700 of the Chicago Temple Building, 77 West Washington Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60602
Telephone 312-346-7003 Fax 312-346-7004

The Library offers lectures including the
Common Ground Chicago series, discussion groups, workshops, and art exhibits. The Library is open one hour prior to events, and on Wednesdays and Fridays from 12 Noon – 4 PM or by appointment. Call for more information. Researchers, note: a text-searchable version of Swedenborg's work is available via the Library's research computer.

The Library is located in downtown Chicago, directly across from Daley Plaza, at the southeast corner of Washington and Clark streets. See our "About Us" page for details about access by public transportation and low-cost parking in the area.

For information on upcoming programs at the Swedenborg Library, click here or scroll back up to the box above: Upcoming Events


Nearby parking includes lots at Washington St. at Wells St., and at Madison St. at Wells St. Red and Blue Lines: Washington St. stop; Brown & Green Lines: Lake St. stop. The #22 Clark Street bus stops between Randolph and Washington (in front of City Hall. The Swedenborg Library is located in the Chicago Temple Building (Methodist Church) at Clark & Washington St., Room 1700.

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PROGRAMS OF INTEREST:
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Start your day with QiGong practice Join QiGong master Jim Kobus at Oak Street Beach weekday mornings at 6 a.m. to bring in the good chi and remove the bad chi!

Above, a QiGong practitioner greets the sunrise.
Below, right: QiGong master Jim Kobus
(Photos by Michael Wilhelmi)

















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COMING FRIDAY, JUNE 13: RON MILLER
Does Suffering Disprove God?

Bart Ehrmann evolved from a Moody Bible fundamentalist to a liberal biblical scholar. And now, in his latest book, he reveals that he has become an agnostic. He finds himself unable to reconcile the idea of a God who is all-knowing and all-powerful with the suffering in our world. Although he does not embrace atheism, he identifies with the author of Ecclesiastes, enjoying the life we are given but uncertain about any statements attempting to locate that life in a larger context. Is there a viable response to his position within the context of religious faith?
$10 fee to Common Ground. Doors open at 6 PM; we'll meet in James Parlor, 2nd floor, 77 W. Washington St. Refreshments.




Ron Miller is a co-founder of Common Ground and Chair of the Dept. of Religion at Lake Forest College. For information on Ron Miller's classes in other locales, visit Ron Miller

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Wondering what that 18C scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg had to say that influenced many Americans, including John Chapman (Johnny Appleseed), Ralph Waldo Emerson, the James family, Daniel Burnham, Helen Keller, to name a few?

Below are some reflections from The Good Life, chapter 5 of A Thoughtful Soul: Reflections From Swedenborg by Rev. Dr. George Dole.

In the introduction to this chapter, George writes:
In his summary of Swedenborgian theology, "A Thoughtful Soul: Reflections From Swedenborg", George introduces Swedenborg's view of the good life this way:

"The views of human structure and human process...presuppose ethical principles. If our freedom is to have any meaning, there must be values that guide our choices. If the goal of this life is regeneration in the context of community, there is need of some notion of the discipline appropriate to that change.

"Swedenborgians have shied away from labelling Emanuel Swedenborg as a 'mystic', largely, one suspects, because he does not hold out enlightenment or altered states of consciousness as goals and does not advocate any meditative or 'spiritual' discipline. For him, the life we are designed for is a very down-to-earth life of thoughful and productive participation in human socieity. His own spirituality was grounded in such a life, as witnessed by his active participation in Sweden's political life well into his old age.

About a year before his dealth, for example, he substantially enlarged a treatise on monetary policy that he had published almost fifty years earlier and published the new version in an effort to counter what he saw as short-sighted devices for dealing with unfavorable exchange rates. Heaven, for him, was a realm of active service rather than of passive contemplation; and an adequate foundation for heaven was therefore, to be found in active service here and now.

"Yet he was no advocate of activity for activity's sake, or for some kind of scorecard system that balanced good deeds against bad ones. The quality of motivation is absolutely critical. Service done for self-serving reasons simply confirms the individual's egotism and disrespect for others. Service done for truly religious reasons transforms the individual who performs it, constituting the solid foundation of a heavenly character. To take credit for one's good deeds is to cross from righteousness into self-rightiousness. Instead, we are to use our apparent independence thoughtfully, choosing deeds of compassion; and are, on reflection, to acknowledge that the ability to do so is a gift from our Lord and not our possession.

"Compassion is to be exercised with discrimination. In keeping with his principle of the inserparability of love and wisdom, Swedenborg insists that we are to use our intelligence to look as honestly as we can at the actual effects of our actions. Simply doing what other people want us to do, giving to all who ask, may do more harm than good. He would instantly have recognmized and endorsed the idea of "tough love," the kind of love that is not ruled by a need for approval.

"Formal worship and, we may suppose, church membership (which was not an issue when it was virtually universal) may plan a constructive role in this, but not as a ends in themselves. Consistent with his practical bent, Swedenborg sees them as useful only to the extent that they guide and support the living or constructive lives in "secular" society. The essential rules for such constructive living, rules analogous to the Ten Commandments, are to be found in every religion. When they are followed (again "for religious reasons") they work. In other words, every religion in its own distinctive way teaches the path to heaven."--introduction to Chapter 6, "The Good Life" from "A Thoughtful Soul: Reflections from Swedenborg"

A Thoughtful Soul and Sorting It Out by Rev. Dr. George Dole are available on loan from the Swedenborg Library. To request a copy of either, email us at info@SwedenborgLib.org.

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PAST PROGRAMS OF THE SWEDENBORG LIBRARY
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Rev. Dr. Jim Lawrence: Burning Hearts: How Mystical Readings of the Bible Reveal a Multi-Layered Spiritual Universe
In the “road to Emmaus” post-resurrection appearance, the two traveling companions of Jesus remark later how their “hearts were burning” while Jesus “opened the scriptures” to them as they trekked from Jerusalem to Emmaus (Luke 24:32). The earliest systematic model of scripture interpretation in Christianity was based on such “an opening” of the text, giving rise to mystical encounters with “inner senses” of the Judeo-Christian scriptures.
A long, venerable host of the sensus spiritualis boasts such figures as Clement, Origen, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory the Great, Cassian, Bernard of Clairvaux, Erasmus, Madame Guyon, Swedenborg, Charles Fillmore, and Carl Jung among literally hundreds of practitioners—a tradition that has in recent decades been newly excavated by hermeneutical historians. Exploring the mystical use of symbol and signification, this evening will revel in the riches of the sensus spiritualis as a window into historical spirituality and as a resource for new contemporary engagement of the ancient text.

Mandala Meditation, and The Dream Giver
led by Linda Voyles,RN, Certified Dream Coach
Author Bruce Wilkinson’s storytelling approach in The Dream Giver, designed to motivate you to achieve your dreams, is the basis for this condensed workshop. Reconnect with your purpose in life during this inspiring workshop.


The Mystical in Our Lives: An Exploration by Way of Kabbalah with Rabbi Menachem Cohen
Mystical things happen everyday in our lives. Running through the world's many religious and spiritual traditions are teachings and practices geared to help us tune in to the mystical nature of the world we inhabit. Participants of all faiths will use practices and meditations of Kabbalah to help them perceive the mystical in their lives and in the spiritual tradition they follow.

Mercy Gilpatric - Women Entering the Red Tents
We shall take a look at some of the women mentioned in the Hebrew scriptures to gain a better understanding of the role of women in our Judeo-Christian culture. The remarkable work of fiction, The Red Tent, describes the life of Dinah and the Jewish tradition of women gathering in the Red Tent during the time of their menstruation. While in the company of all the women of the community, rites of passage were celebrated and stories shared. In today's world, Red Hat clubs serve some of the same purposes - gathering women together to share stories and celebrate their lives. A red tent was recreated, and participants gathered for ritual and stories.

Mercy Gilpatric - The Scope and Themes of Folk and Fairy Tales
Women have always been the storytellers around the hearth or the kitchen table. Psychoanalyst Clarissa Pinkola Estes'exploration of folk stories sheds light on various aspects of what it means to be feminine. We will examine several of these stories and others that can be described as youth tales, middle age tales, and elder tales and explore their application to our contemporary world.

Mercy Gilpatric - Goddesses in Every Woman
Women are growing more aware of the powerful forces within them that influence their attitudes and behaviors. Psychoanalyst Jean Shinoda Bolen has written books on this topic including Goddesses in Every Woman and Goddesses in Older Women. The ideas in these books were used to explore the archetypes at work in women of all ages and how these archetypes are a source of dignity and pride for today's women.

Mercy Gilpatric: Synchronicity:
Inner Guide Meets External Circumstances
Synchronicity, when important things emerge within the ordinary circumstances of life—did you ever wonder about the circumstances that lead to your parents meeting each other? What about a book you read that changed your attitude or direction in life? How about the circumstances that brought you to the job you have. Chances are synchronicity was part of the process. We will explore these happenings and their meaning. We will be introduced to the inner guide that influences our personal lives through the surprises, big and small, that occur in ordinary life with extraordinary consequences. Learn to recognize synchronicity at work in your life. Explore the meaning of synchronicity at work in the world.

Kristen Schaffer, PhD. - Burnham, Swedenborg, and The Chicago Plan; co-sponsored with National-Louis University - 122 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd Floor Atrium
Co-sponsored by National-Louis University at Chicago
Understanding the 1909 Plan of Chicago has in large part been determined by point of view and availablility of information. By simply looking at the published Plan, modern architects reacted against the classical architecture depicted in the rendered perspectives but appreciated the clarity of Burnham's vision of the city.
Planners responded favorably to his understanding of the city as an integrated organism, one that included the larger metropolitan area. Both audiences made their determination; in large part it seems, by looking at the images and captions and not by a close assessment of the text.
Historians looked at the text more carefully, but sometimes discounted the words when they appeared to conflict with the images. My own research on Burnham's handwritten draft of the Plan allows me to expand our understanding of the published work. The draft reveals an expansive social program for the less advantaged citizens of Chicago, one that was omitted from the final published version. This knowledge permits us to interpret and assess the Plan in terms of a disguised social agenda that still lingers in the text. And research into Burnham's Swedenborgian religious beliefs expands our comprehension further.
Knowledge of Burnham's Swedengborgianism enables us to ponder Burnham's intentions for the city and its citizens. It adds depth of understanding to the man and his work, allowing us to better explore his motivations. Knowing about his faith, and its emphasis on usefulness, allows us to assess his sincerity. Such an awareness and understanding focuses our attention more on his desire to serve and improve the city he loved, and less on his external successes.
The largest and most public of his works, the Plan of Chicago was also Burnham's most personal. A study of his Swedenborgianism gives us an insight into the beliefs, and values of Chicago's most famous city planner and his plan.
Kristen Schaffer lectured at the Graham Foundation on June 29, 2005.

May Eagle Seyle—Feng Shui:Harmony in Your Home
Our homes and offices are an extension of who we are. They say who we are. They can support us and nurture us or they can make life difficult. In this workshop, Seyle explored ways to apply Feng Shui principles to your home which help you create a healthier, more creative and abundant life.

Marc Ian Barasch - Field Notes on the Compassionate Life - A Search for the Soul of Kindness
Marc Ian Barasch presents a riveting, persuasive argument that compassion powerfully transforms our psyches, our relationships, our health, and our society. What if, he asks, the driving force of human progress is not "survival of the fittest" but rather "survival of the kindest"? With a keen balnce, hope, and skepticism, Barasch tells of his encounters with empathetic apes; with meditating monks in brain labs, with a man who donated a kidney to a stranger and another who forgave his daughter's murderer; and with astronomers trying to send a missive to E.T., that we're not only clever but kind.


Ron Miller: The Paradox of Paul
The second most important person in Christianity after Jesus himself, Paul remains an enigma. Does he faithfully transmit the message of Jesus or does the Messenger become the Message? Was he the only interpreter of Jesus, and if not, why did the other interpretations fall by the wayside? How can we best appreciate his contribution without falling captive to his limitations? These are just a few of the provacative questions raised by the paradoxical figure who has become almost synonymous with Christian orthodoxy.

Ron Miller: A Revolution in Religion?
The German philosopher Karl Jaspers spoke of an "axial age" some twenty-five hundred years ago, a time when there was a revolution in the nature and understanding of the religious enterprise. Is another such revolution occurring in our time? And, if so, what are some of its parameters and promises?

Ron Miller: Sex and Spirituality
Most of our major sacred traditions arose in a time of patriarchy when women and sexuality were relegated to procreational roles. Males were the desired offspring and female infanticide was not uncommon. Homosexuality played no useful role in this reproductive model. All of our religions are undergoing profound change today and a re-visioning of the role of sex, gender, and reproduction is in order. Brian McNaught worked for some fifteen years with a program integrating sex and spirituality and his novel, Sex Camp, provides a distillation of the wisdom of that experience. These insights will guide us in our discussion of issues that lie at the heart of some very heated religious conversations in our contemporary world.

Ron Miller - A Guide to Adult Spirituality: The Thomas Gospel
There are many religious institutions today that provide good religious schools for children but leave adults spinning on the same religious merry-go-round for decades. How are religious institutions addressing the spiritual needs of adults? Is there coherence between the way adults see the world and the way they relate to the narratives of faith presented to them through religion? What is needed to provide a framework for an adult spirituality? The ancient but only recently discovered Gospel of Thomas was used address these questions. Many of the gospel's teachings seem to capture the voice of Jesus himself; from that voice, Miller focused on concrete ways for individuals and groups to discover more developed paths of spiritual living. The Gospel of Thomas: A Guidebook for Spiritual Practice by Ron Miller was one of the Best Spiritual Books of 2004 by Spiritualiy and Health magazine.

Ron Miller: What Are We Praying For?
The question has an intended double meaning. Why do we pray at all? Do we believe in an interventionist God who occasionally dabbles in our mundane activities? And what kinds of things do we pray for, if we pray? Good weather, winning a game, solving world hunger? And are there other forms of prayer that are not petitionary at all? And if so, what are they? Join Ron for a fascinating and important discussion.

Ron Miller: Biblical Errancy: Why the Gospels Aren¹t the Gospel Truth
The watershed dogma dividing mainline Christians from evangelical and fundamentalist Christians is biblical inerrancy, the belief that the Bible is without error of any kind. This dogma leads people to some very dangerous ideas about God, sacred texts, families, gender issues, political stances,and ways of relating to people from other religious traditions, other countries, and other cultural backgrounds. The gospels are not 'gospel truth'. If they are understood as giving us actual transcripts of Jesus¹s teachings, then there is no way to move beyond a ³Jesus² who is patriarchal and anti-Semitic. The issue of errancy vs. inerrancy lies at the heart of virtually every serious theological discussion taking place in our world today. (This lecture is a special distillation of Ron¹s Wednesday morning workshop series.)

Ron Miller - When Religion Lies
The Latin motto reminds us: Corruptio optimi pessima. (The corruption of the best things is the worst kind of corruption.) Nothing corrupts like religion and our current age has seen the corruption of religion on several fronts. The deceits of televangelism continue to multiply. Catholic bureaucracies continue to cover up the abuse of children.

Clergy ignore their prophetic vocation because they might lose their jobs or see a decline in church attendance. Churches pass over the anit-Semitic content of Mel Gibson's movie because the film brings some people back to church.
It is through a culture of lies that religion has suffered a loss of credibility in the eyes of many of the formerly faithful, while the equally harmful lies of the Religious Right lure people to a false sense of security and salvation. What are we to make of it all in a time of cultural tension and transition?

Ron Miller: Revisiting Thich Nhat Hanh
From his work for peace during the Vietnam War to his latest book, Creating True Peace, this remarkable Buddhist monk has become a strong voice for centered living in a world living more and more on the surface of life. His teachings are practice and draw us to that hidden center of all religion, the deep mystical core where true dialogue can be shared and where compassion can be experienced.

Sarah Odishoo: Goddess is a Verb: The Divine Feminine in Action—in Literature, Film
This program explored images of the goddess in ancient mythology, and how those myths have been translated into literature and contemporary cinematic images. Examined were those aspects of the feminine using Jungian psychological theory to identify the goddess archetype and its historical characteristics in order to reveal contemorary images of the divine feminine with its ancient patterns.

Reverend Tom Lane -The Way of Ch'an / Meditation Practice
In the seventh century of our era, the Buddhist meditation heritage made its way from India to China, where it interacted with the indignenous Chinese philosophy of naturalness and spontaneity. The result was an incisive form of spiritual practice known as Ch'an, rendering into Chinese accent the ancient Sanskrit word for meditation, dhyana. Ch'an is the parent of the various Zen schools. (Zen is the Japanese pronunciation of "Ch'an".)
Tom Lane explored the meaning and experience the methods of meditation as developed by Ch'an, and told the stories and poetry of the ancient masters; participants learned to sit, walk, and bow as they did. The emphasis of the sessions was on nurturing mindfulness and serenity, which the practitioner then carries back into daily life, touching others with compassion, joy, and peace.


Jim Kenney, COMMON GROUND: Jamestown
400 years later, we're finally beginning to understand the fabled colony at Jamestown. The settlers' ordeal was extraordinary, as were their accomplishments. And recently, new discoveries have illuminated the complexity of that great gamble and great gain. We'll take a closer look at this all-but-forgotten American adventure.

Jim Kenney: Post-American America
Can we imagine an American future in which "America" is less central to our political thinking than "the world" is? It's a concept that lies at the very heart of 21st-century approaches to global cultural evolution. But what are the implications for patriotism, nationalism, ethnicity, and culture?

Jim Kenney: All in the Family: the Indo-European Languages
The Indo-European language "superfamily" includes nearly 450 languages And dialects spoken by about three billion people, including most of the major language families of Europe and western Asia (Bengali, English, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Persian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, to name just some of the most prominent members). Jim will serve as our guide for a fascinating linguistic world tour. Kenney touched upon the major sub-groups, the science of languages, and presented some fascinating aspects of our local (German-English) branch of the family.

Jim Kenney - The Alphabet Vs. The Goddess
In Leonard Shlain's, The Alphabet Versus the Goddess, he argues that the invention of writing - particularly alphabetic writing - is directly linked to a drastic decline in feminine values, women's status, goddess veneration, appreciation of nature, and representative art. For example, the European witch hunts followed closely on the invention of the printing press. The return of the image through the mediums of photography, film, television and the Internet have brought about a sharp rise in the values denigrated during the 5000 year reign of patriarchy and literacy.


Jim Kenney - Putin's World: Russia Today
Is Vladimir Putin a democratic reformer forced to proceed slowly, an ardent Russian nationalist, a KGB trained autocrat, all three, or something altogether differnt? Jim drew on his extensive experience as a student in and frequent visitor to Russia to illuminate the current situation in the former Soviet Union.

Jim Kenney - War is a Force that Gives Us Meaning
Chris Hedges' powerful new book has been assailed by some, but hailed by many, many more. It draws on his own experience as a veteran war correspondent as well as on the literature of war, Hedges crafts a compelling argument about the destructive and corrupting effects of war on society, politics, culture, and humanity. The book is a work of terrible power and redemptive clarity whose truths have never been more necessary.

Jim Kenney: Evolution, Creationism, and Intelligent Design: Whither Science?
The news is filled with talk of “Intelligent Design”. How does this new concept fit into the larger context of the evolution wars? Is “ID” a stalking-horse for creationism? Or is it a reasonable alternative scientific theory? Join Jim for some very clear answers, strongly inclined toward the science-as-science side of the debate. Still, we’ll hear from proponents of both sides of the argument. We’ll also ruminate on why a “sort of scientific” issue has come to the center of America’s political wars.

The Knights Templar, with Jim Kenney
The Da Vinci Code intrigued millions of readers with its glimpse of a world of secret societies and intrigues. While most of that plot was imagined, one element stands out as authentic and indubitably fascinating: the Knights Templar. Kenney discussed the history, mystery, and speculate about the uncertain dimensions of the Knights Templar, one of the most famous of secret societies, and traced the course of the Order and its Knights, from their roots in the Holy Land, to their famous persecution on Friday 13, 1307, to their reputed reemergence at countless significant points in history.

Ann McNamara Smith: Evolutionary Psychology: Why are you the way you are?
One of the sacred tenets for most of the 20th century has been that each person is born a "blank slate" – meaning that the mind has no innate qualities. Each individual then is molded, informed, shaped and directed by his or her environment. The new discipline called “Evolutionary Psychology” makes use of breakthrough findings in biology and neuroscience to modify that doctrine. While biology is not destiny, it nevertheless has a great impact on our emergence: on why we become who we are. Join this evening’s presentation/discussion and encounter a fascinating new field of scientific inquiry.

Voices: George Inness and Emanuel Swedenborg at The Art Institute of Chicago / Price Auditorium

This special VOICES program featured a two-person reading from the writings of the great American landscape painter George Inness and his key inspiration, the noted Swedish scientist, philosopher, and theologian, Emanuel Swedenborg. Slides and music traced Inness’ thinking about form and light and his process of investing his work with particular meaning. A tour of Inness’ work in the American Gallery followed the performance.
This program was co-sponsored with the Swedenborg Library of Chicago.


Managing the Holidays with John DeBerry, Bereavement Counselor and Consultant
As challenging changes enter our lives, celebrating the November-December holidays can be different than in years past. Such changes or "living losses" may include: the loss of a loved one, the losses/changes in vision, hearing and mobility. Illness and aging can affect our quality of life. As John DeBerry says, "Change is inevitable, growth is optional."

Herbert Bronstein - American Jewry and Israel
There has always been a wide range of views in American Jewish opinion with respect to the politics of the Middle East. Recently, however, we've witnessed "circling of the wagons" on this issue, even affecting the American political scene in ways that have changed mainline Jewish stances on various issues. Why is this happening? What has changed? What are the dynamics of this tectionic shift? Rabbi Herbert Bronstein gave an informative and provocative conversation on Israel, the Middle East, and American Jews.

Science & Synchronicity, with Chris Largent
Though traditionally opposed to each other, science and spirituality share a fascination with cosmic order—and whether we’re free to move within that order or not. Both scientific and spiritual thinkers have wrestled with destiny and free will. Now we have new intellectual tools from relativity, quantum mechanics, and chaos theory as well as from psychologist Carl Jung’s idea of synchronicity.

Mysticism, Science & Invisibility: A Path to Finding Our Higher Selves, with Chris Largent
Western esoteric training in the late 1800s and early 1900s included techniques for becoming invisible—energetically and physically. Comparing these techniques to the sciences and the mystic path, we discover ways to use our energy more effectively and learn something about our destinies at the same time. At the interface of science and mysticism, we may—surprisingly enough—discover higher dimensions of ourselves.

Paul Denney - Tarot: Embracing the Symbols of the Sacred Self
Long before Tarot cards were used for prediction, it is widely believed the images were used to transmit concepts of spiritual evolution that - had they not been hidden in a "harmless pack of cards" - would have been deemed heretical by the Roman Church. Today, the Tarot's rich mystical legacy continues to go unnoticed amidst its more popular association with occult mischief, hokum and party entertainment.

In this inspiring and interactive presentation, Paul Denney explored the Tarot as a vibrant catalyst for personal and spiritual development, and in the spirit of synchronicity, discussed only those cards that were randomly drawn by participants throughout the evening.

Paul Denney: Insights from Odd Sources: Exploring the Mystery of Oracles
The answers to the deepest questions about ourselves and our lives can come to us spontaneously in meditation, dreams, and intuitive flashes. These answers can also be received or “divined” through more deliberate means, such as oracles. Tarot cards, rune stones, and the I-Ching have become increasingly popular tools for oracular insight.

Richard Meade: Islamic Mystic Traditions
Islamic mystic traditions offer us an opportunity to understand the ecstatic path to God pursued by one of the world’s great faiths. Instead of focusing only on our disfferences with Islam and our fears, this discussion will give us a chance to focus on our common ground, as well as to grasp some of the unique contributions—such as Sufism, dervishes and Persian poetry—of Muslim mysticism.

John Stolfo: Who Was Rudolf Steiner and What is Anthroposophical Spiritual Science?
The life and work of Rudolf Steiner, one of the modern era's most intuitive and practical thinkers, and an influential individual, was the focus for this lecture. Steiner (1861–1925) founded Waldorf Education; he is being discovered anew today as questions of life quality, insightful living and thinking become increasingly more urgent globally.


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SPEAKERS AT THE SWEDENBORG LIBRARY: Past, Present, Future
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Julia S. Bachrach, author of the award winning book The City in a Garden: A Photographic History of Chicago's Parks, has served as the historian and preservationist for the Chicago Park District for more than 12 years and has led hundreds of popular tours of the city's hidden treasures. Julia has a master's degree in landscape architecture and is co-editior of The Alliance for Historic Landscape.

Marc Ian Barasch is a writer, editor, and television producer. He has been an editor at Psychology Today, Natural Heatlth and New Age Journal. His emphasis on political and cultural issues won a National Magazine Award.
His last book, Healing Dreams, was hailed by the Washington Post as "lucid...courageous...trailblazing." It won the Nautilus Award for Best Psychology Title 2001. His previous book, Remarkable Recovery, a study of spontaneous remission was a Literary Guild Main Selection. He is the author of the award-winning classic, The Healing Path, about which Dr. Larry Dossey has wirtten, "if you read one book about the mind-body connection, make it this one. It is a beacon of science, spiritualiy, and sanity."
In the television field, Barasch was writer/producer of the Emmy-nominated One Child, One Voice an international TV special for the Turner Broadcasting System. He has produced and wirtten telelvison specials for England's Channel Four and the Discovery Channel.
Barasch was educated at Yale University. He has taught at Naropa University, where he was one of the founders of the M.A. psychology program.

Denise C. Breton is Executive Director of the Living Justice Press and the author of numerous books, includingThe Mystic Heart of Justice: Restoring Wholeness in a Broken World, The Paradigm Conspiracy: Why Our Social Systems Violate Human Potential and How We Can Change Them, Love, Soul and Freedom: Dancing with Rumi on the Mystic Path, and The Soul of Economies: Spiritual Evolution Goes to the Marketplace. The last three were co-authored with Christopher Largent.

Rabbi Menachem Cohen is the founder of the Mitziut Jewish Community of East Rogers Park, Chicago, a community that seeks significance and renewal in our tradition, and of Congregation B'nai ha Midbar, the organized Jewish presence at Burning Man. For 10 years he has studied and practiced Jewish healing prayer with Rabbi Douglas Goldhamer, who is the founder of Hebrew Seminary of the Deaf and has studied Jewish Shamanic Healing with Rabbi Gershon Winkler at the Walkingstick Foundation and at Elat Chayyim.

Phil Cousineau is a writer, filmmaker, photographer, and cultural historian. He is the author of 16 books, including Once and Future Myths, The Art of Pilgrimage, The Way Things Are: Conversations on the Spiritual Life with Huston Smith and the upcoming The Olympic Spirit. Among his many film credits are: The Hero's Journey: The World of Joseph Campbell, Ecological Design: Inventing the Future, and a collaboration with Huston Smith, A Seat at the Table: Struggling for American Indian Religious Freedom.

Paul Denney is an intuitive who brings to his work as a reader and teacher of the Tarot a lifetime study of metaphysics, mysticism, dream symbols, and Jungian psychology. He is the author of the forthcoming book A Deeper Conversation with Life: Tarot for Insight, Guidance and Growth. Denney is a former professional actor and an experienced presenter and facilitator, having for many years led Communications Skills training domestically and internationally for IBM, Xerox, McDonald's, Bosch, Unisys, and many other companies. He was recently listed as a "top talent" by Chicago Magazine.


Rev. Dr. George Dole is an ordained Swedenborgian minister with degrees from Yale, Oxford and Harvard. After serving at the Cambridge Church he joined the faculty of the Swedenborg School of Religion in Boston. He has worked extensively on translations of Swedenborg's work.

Dr. Jerry Donat is an accredited scholar of the history of religion. He gets right to the heart of the new interpretations of the Christian gospels. He spent ten years researching and writing in England.

Mercy Gilpatric was a Dominican sister for 10 years and taught in various high schools owned by the Sinsinawa Dominicans. After she left the order, she continued teaching in Chicago, married and had two children. She began a career in publishing as an editor, writer, and marketing and executive management that spanned more than 30 years. She is the author of several publications, writes a regular column in Marriage magazine, and has presented many workshops and seminars. Most recently, she has taught at Hope College (Holland, MI) in their HASP (Hope Association for Senior Professionals) program on topics related to the thinking of Carl Jung. She will be a teaching a course on Dreams in the fall at HASP.

Sarah Karnes specializes in Spiritual Nourishment. With her experience as a student, parent, partner, lover of life and practitioner of The Way of the HeartTM, she offers compassionate space, creative new possibilities and simple re-educations to help digest the raw ingredients/challenges of your life into harmonious energy that you can fruitfully use. Sarah stands for your Life and all it is asking you to become, to serve. Her vision is toward a world where all of humanity is mutually supportive, where the importance of authentic presence is truly valued and empowered, in the midst of our differences and likeness.

Rev. Tom Lane became attracted to Buddhism during a trek in the Himalayas of Nepal, the homeland of the Buddah. He is a director of The Buddhist Council of the Midwest, and inter-religious ventures such as the Chicago Buddhist-Catholic Dialogue and the Niagara Foundation and the Ch'an Institute located in Chicago's Chinatown. He is currently residing in China, where he is teaching English.

Christopher Largent taught philosophy and comparative religion at the University of Delaware for 23 years and lectures across the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. His work has been featured by the Leading Edge International Research Group and The Global Renaissance Alliance. His books include The Soul of Economies, The Paradigm Conspiracy: Why Our Social Systems Violate Our Potential & How We Can Change Them, Love, Soul, and Freedom: Dancing with Rumi on the Mystic Path. He was chosen by Rodale Press to do an article for the highly regarded 9/11 work, From the Ashes: A Spiritual Response to the Attack on America. He has authored a number of books with Denise Breton.

Erik Larson, author of the two bestsellers Isaac's Storm and The Devil in the White City, has written for Harper's, The New Yorker, The Atlantic Monthly and Time Magazine. He is a former staff writer for The Wall Street Journal.

Russell Lewis has been on the staff of the Chicago Historical Society for seventeen years, and is currently the Director of Research and Collections. Russell is responsible for ensuring that the more that twenty million objects and documents in CHS's collection are preserved and are made accessible to all the citizens of Chicago. He is an expert on the history of the Collumbian Exposition.

Rev. Dr. Jim Lawrence is Dean of the Swedenborg House of Studies, at the Pacific School of Religion, Berkeley, California.

Richard Mead has been a poet, a publisher, a journalist, and a professor of literature, but he thinks of himself primarily as a teacher and a student. Forty years ago, he began a lifelong study of the world’s religions which took him to many continents and cities, including the birthplaces of Hinduism, Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Zorastriasm, and Bahai. His search for the origins and manifestations of the divine has led him to study the world’s mythologies in such places as Greece, Central America, Australia, Africa, and the Arctic. He has learned much, but like Socrates, realizes how little he knows.

John Moulder is a rare hybrid in the world of jazz - a musician and a priest - with equal commitments to both worlds. The Chicago Tribune called him "one of the most accomplished jazz guitarists in Chicago." John has performed extensively with leading jazz musicians around the country and with his own band at the Chicago Jazz Festival and regularly at the Green Mill. He serves St. Gregory's parish.

Sarah Odishoo, a professor of English at Columbia College Chicago, teaches Mythology and Literature. Her poetry and short stories have been published in many journals, most recently in 13th Moon, River Teeth, and The North Atlantic Review. She was a writer-in-residence at Woodstock Arts Guild, New York in 2002.

Gina Otto is a poet and photographer and recent author of the best-selling children's book, Cassandra's Angel. Marianne Williamson called the book " a beautiful affirmation of the Truth and Love within every child's heart." Leo Buscaglia said "I shall treasure Cassandra...keep sharing your magic."

Rev. Dr. Jonathan Rose was the articulate college chaplain who made so much of Swedenborg's thought crystal clear in Splendors of the Spirit: Swedenborg's Quest for Insight. He has since moved on to work as Series Editior for New Century Edition of the Works of Emanuel Swedenborg. Before taking on this magnum opus, he worked as Professor of Religion and Sacred Languages at Bryn Athyn College in Pennsylavania, and is also an ordained clergy of the Swedenborgian New Church.

May Seyle has been studying and practicing Feng Shui for seven years. She is a student of Katherine Metz, an internationally recognized Feng Shui teacher and is also a student. She is also a disciple of Grandmaster Lin Yun who introduced Black Sect Feng Shui to the United States more than 20 years ago.

Kristen Schaffer is a professor of architectural history at North Carolina State University. She has a Ph.D. from Cornell University and her expertise is 19th and 20th century American architectural history. Dr. Schaffer previously taught in the School of Architecture at Syracuse Universtiy. Dr Schaffer has authored Daniel H. Burnham-Visionary Architect and Planner and is currently writing a second Burnham book on The Plan of Chicago.
Schaffer's thoughtful new book on Daniel Burhham is $95, available through the Swedenborg Library.

Ann McNamara Smith MA in Religion, Yale Divinity; Director, Ethical Cartography (Charts and Maps for Moral Discourse); Scholar in Residence, University of Chicago. She is associated with Common Ground.

John Stolfo, an art professional since 1990, is an active member of the Rudolf Steiner branch of the Anthroposophical Society in Chicago. He owns and directs two businesses, Studio Auror and Lazure Architectural Painting Co., both based in the Fine Arts Building. He will offer this glimpse as a fellow collaborator in the pursuit of the free spiritual life in day to day living.

Brother Wayne Teasdale, Ph.Dis a leading spokesperson for the global interfaith movement. Ordained as a Christian Sunnyasi monk by Father Bede Griffiths in 1986, he has championed dialogue between Chirstians and Buddhists and is a close friend of His Holiness the Dalai Lama. He is the author of two books, The Mystic Heart: Discovering a Universal Spirituality in the World's Religionsl and A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life .


Linda Voyles, RN, author, speaker, and Certified Dream Coach, has just released her new book, Simply Successful Surgery: a holistic approach to a conventional procedure. In addition to her work as a surgical nurse, Linda has studied with dream coaches Marcia Wieder, author of Making Your Dreams Come True, and Dr. Bruce Wilkinson, best-selling author of The Dream Giver. Linda has led seminars on the Dream Giver process and coaches people toward finding and achieving their lifetime dreams.

Rev. Wilma Wake is a pioneering minister in the Swedenborgian movement, having built a ministry from scratch and opened a church in Portland, Maine where she now serves. She is director of Field Education and associate professor at the Swedenborg School of Religion in Newtonville, Massachusetts, and more recently completed the 2-year course in spritiual direction with the Shalem Institure.

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