Spiritual and Healing Book Club
Where Books Become Sacred Text
About
This book club offers a safe, intentional space for collective reflection, deep listening, and healing. Each gathering invites participants to move beyond discussion into emotional and spiritual exploration, using the books as catalysts for self-inquiry, awakening, and healing. Together, we create a community of practice—one that values authenticity, curiosity, and the courage to see ourselves and one another more clearly.
The texts we explore are spiritual and often mystical, drawn from a range of cultural, psychological, and religious traditions. While specific teachings or lineages may be referenced, our approach is non-dogmatic and inclusive. Every book is chosen for its ability to illuminate the universal human journey—through joy, grief, longing, love, and presence. Books may also explore mental health and trauma themes.
Guided by the lens of perennial philosophy—the understanding that all spiritual paths point toward a shared essence of truth—we honor the wisdom that transcends any single belief system. Participants are encouraged to explore what resonates within their own lived experience, and to let the readings serve as mirrors for personal insight and collective growth.
Ultimately, this book club is less about mastering ideas and more about embodying them: slowing down, reflecting, and engaging from the heart. It’s an invitation to read not only with the mind, but with the soul.
How to Sign Up
Email jeanielorretta@gmail.com to ask additional questions and sign up.
What to Expect
Each meeting is designed as a gentle yet profound container for reflection, dialogue, and inner exploration. Our time together moves at an intentional pace—balancing structure and spontaneity—to invite presence, authenticity, and connection.
You can expect:
Thematic discussions that weave the book’s insights with personal experience.
Reflective prompts or journaling invitations that open space for self-inquiry.
Breakout sharing or dyads that encourage deep listening and mutual respect.
Integration moments—Reflections, creative expression, or a brief somatic practice to anchor what emerged.
Topics We May Explore Together
While each book brings its own unique lens, recurring themes often include:
The nature of consciousness and awakening
The dance between ego, soul, and Self
The relationship between suffering, healing, and surrender
Love, attachment, and the spiritual dimension of relationships
Healing from trauma and mental health challenges
Creativity as a spiritual practice
Death, impermanence, and transformation
Dreams and dream work
Each session is less about intellectual analysis and more about embodied insight—a chance to let the readings come alive through shared presence, curiosity, and heartfelt conversation.
Upcoming & Past Book Clubs
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Details:
When: Wednesdays at 7pm: February 25th, March 4th, and March 11th.
Where: Zoom
Cost: $15-$50 suggested donation but no one turned away for lack of funds
About the book:
Depression, anxiety, chronic pain, and other struggles may not start with us—they can be inherited through generations. It Didn’t Start with You reveals how unresolved family trauma can shape our emotions, behaviors, and even gene expression. Drawing on groundbreaking research by experts like Rachel Yehuda and Bessel van der Kolk, the book shows how hidden emotional legacies can influence our health—and how awareness can begin to heal them.
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This book club is a supportive accountability group for those walking the path of The Artist’s Way. Each week, we gather to share progress, reflections, and creative challenges as we nurture our inner artist. Together we build consistency with morning pages, artist dates, and weekly tasks. It’s a safe, encouraging space to stay inspired, connected, and creatively alive.
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Undertorah: An Earth-Based Kabbalah of Dreams by Rabbi Jill Hammer is a book that offers a somatic and earth-centered approach to dream interpretation, blending personal narrative, oral histories, and ancient Jewish wisdom with contemporary ecotheology. It presents dreams as a deep, hidden well of truth and a sacred text, providing a practical and paradigm-shifting guidebook for individuals and communities to connect with the cosmos and foster healing
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Details:
When: Wednesdays at 7pm: January 14th, January 21st, and January 28th.
Where: Zoom
Cost: $15-$50 suggested donation but no one turned away for lack of funds
About the book:
Joel S. Goldsmith is a teacher and highly revered by Echkhart Tolle. His books are highly recommended by him. A Parenthesis in Eternity, describes the human experience of life between birth and death as a "parenthesis" of mental and material limitations. The book explores the spiritual path of transcending these boundaries to achieve a conscious union with God. Joal Goldsmith is a mystic, though he does use God language and refer to Christ in his teachings.
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Details:
When: Wednesdays at 7pm: October 29th, November 5th, and November 12th
Where: Zoom
Cost: $15-$50 suggested donation but no one turned away for lack of funds
About the book:
Adyashanti’s Falling Into Grace gently invites us to awaken from struggle into freedom, presence, and acceptance of life as it is. Through stories, teachings, and deep inquiry, Adyashanti shows how suffering can be a doorway to grace when we stop resisting and begin to see clearly.