Join Qi Gong Master Jim Kobus for Qi Gong breathing exercises most Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6 am, at the gazebo at Oak Street and Michigan Ave. To confirm that Jim will be there a particular day, email him at emiton1@aol.com beforehand.



______________________________________________
The Swedenborg Library's collection of books on spiritual topics is available by appointment and prior to/following programs.

______________________________________________
UPCOMING PROGRAMS:
_______________________________________________



COMMON GROUND:
FRIDAY, SEPT. 17, 2010 7-9pm
JIM KENNEY: WHY IS MICHAEL POLLAN "DEFENDING FOOD?"
The author of the bestselling The Omnivore’s Dilemma is at it again. In response to the thousands of readers of Omnivore who asked him what they should eat, Pollan wrote In Defense of Food.

He takes on the “food” industry (most of what we eat isn’t food), nutritionism (he thinks that ideology has made us less healthy), and the erosion of our cultural appreciation of the shared meal. So what does he suggest? “Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

Surprisingly, Pollan is not a vegetarian and he’s definitely not a fanatic. You’ll be surprised and perhaps challenged by what he has to say, but you’ll find yourself agreeing with him most of the time.

Jim will fill us in on the arguments raised in Omnivore, in Pollan’s groundbreaking 2007 article, “Unhappy Meals,” published in the New York Times, and with his powerful In Defense of Food.
$10 fee to Common Ground. Bring a friend, and your friend is free (sponsored by the Swedenborg Library.) Location: James Parlor, 2nd Floor of 77 W. Washington St. (at Clark St.), Chicago. Doors open at 6 pm; refreshments provided; program begins at 7 pm.

SAVE THESE FUTURE COMMON GROUND DATES: Friday, October 15 and Friday, November 12. We will note the topics shortly.

FRIDAY, SEPT. 24, 2010 7-9pm
RON MILLER, JACK GILROY: WILLIAM JAMES
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the death of William James, one of our nation’s greatest psychologists and philosophers. Among the most influential of his works is the groundbreaking study of human spirituality The Varieties of Religious Experience.

Our September 24 program, will provide an overview of other works in which James addressed questions on God, faith, morality and immortality. Those works range from his early masterpiece The Principles of Psychology and lectures On Exceptional Mental States to well-known later works of philosophy, such as Pragmatism and A Pluralistic Universe.
The Western intellectual scene has long been viewed as one of conflict between religion and science, and much of James’ continued popularity has no doubt been due to his sympathy for the former despite his background in the latter. But it seems more accurate to say that as a pragmatist and ‘radical empiricist,’ James insisted that every field of human experience, from physics to psychical research, be appreciated for its unique contribution to our lives. A century after his death, James still has much of value to say about recurring debates between partisans who would force our experience into neat but distorting intellectual pigeonholes.

$5 fee to the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Location: James Parlor, 2nd Floor of 77 W. Washington St. (at Clark St.), Chicago. Doors open at 6 pm; refreshments provided; program begins at 7 pm.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2010 7-9pm
JOHN HALLER JR.:
MESMER, SWEDENBORG AND THE MIND/BODY CONNECTION
While most people think of alternative or complementary healing as a modern practice, its heritage goes back to the eighteenth century, writes historian John S. Haller Jr. in his new book, Swedenborg, Mesmer, and the Mind/Body Connection: The Roots of Complementary Medicine.

Emanuel Swedenborg was a Swedish seer whose visions of heaven and hell gave generations of thinkers a new view of the world of spirit. German doctor Franz Anton Mesmer developed magnetic healing techniques that required neither God nor faith in the afterlife. These ideas reached American shores and caught fire with pioneers exploring this new land, the two philosophies mingled and inspired a host of new movements, from utopianism to Spiritualism, mental healing, Christian Science, homeopathy, and New Thought -- the predecessors of the New Age movement.

John S. Haller Jr., emeritus professor of history and medical humanities at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, is the author of a dozen books on subjects including race, sexuality, and the history of medicine. He is the former editor of "Caduceus: A Humanities Journal for Medicine and the Health Sciences" and, until his retirement at the end of 2008, served for eighteen years as vice president for academic affairs for the Southern Illinois University system.

_____________________________________________
Recommended Reading:
For Ron Miller's upcoming June 11 program: The Unlikely Disciple by Kevin Roose.

Recommended reading for our Sept. 17 program: In Defense of Food and Food Rules by Michael Pollan.

More Reading Ahead....
In the autumn, Ron Miller and Jack Gilroy will team up to discuss William James...if you'd like to read ahead, we recommend:
Robert Richardson's biography of William James, William James: In the Maelstrom of Modernism;
Varieties of Religious Experience by William James, a recently published version with commentary from the University of Chicago's Martin Marty;
The Will to Believe by William James;
The Metaphysical Club by Louis Menand, a regular contributor to The New Yorker

Recommended by Jim Kenney in his Oct. 9 program, "God Evolves":
The Evolution of God
Nonzero: The Logic of Human Destiny
The Moral Animal: Why We Are the Way We Are
Learn about the archetypes and symbols of the tarot in Paul Quinn's new book, Tarot for Life, now in its second printing from Quest Books.

All of these titles are available on loan from the Swedenborg Library. Call first, 312-346-7003.

________________________________________________
Current Exhibit in the Library:
Daniel Burnham and The Chicago Plan
___________________________________________


To add your name to our mailing list and receive timely updates, call The Swedenborg Library ~ 312-346-7003


77 W. Washington – Room 1700
Chicago, IL 60602
312.346.7003