Spiritual Journeys Summer Book Group

Stories can awaken insight, enlighten mind and quicken spirit. In this small group, we will read Long Quiet Highway: Waking up in America by Natalie Goldberg. Both the chosen book and the group sessions are designed to engage the head and the heart, open us to magic and possibility, awaken wonder and personal transformation.

Long Quiet Highway is a memoire of sorts, recounting moments in Natalie Goldberg's life "from the high school classroom where she first listened to the rain, to her fifteen years as a student of Zen Buddhism. Natalie Goldberg captures both the moments of illumination and the long discipline of daily practice, the hilarity of error and the grief of our resistance to change."

Alan Ginsberg says, “Long Quiet Highway is the autobiography of a thoughtful woman who grounded herself in Eastern thought and Western art– a precise history of Natalie Goldberg’s adventures as a poet, teacher, and spiritual student—a book full of sentiment and anecdote.”

Library Journal comments that the author of Writing Down the Bones shares her story of self-discovery through Zen Buddhism, in “beautiful and simple prose."

We will meet the 2nd and 4th Sundays at 7 pm, for six sessions, June 11 through August 27. Each session will take up the discussion of a chapter:

Jun 11: Introduction and Part One

June 18: Part Two

July 9: Part Three

July 23: Part Four

Aug 13: Part Five

Aug 27: A Biography of Natalie Goldberg

Offered in Partnership with GTUx

As part of our shared interest in fostering meaningful engagement around topics of spiritual exploration and discovery, Halcyon Arts New England is delighted to present this unique opportunity for GTUx community members to participate in our Spiritual Journeys offerings through the GTUx Connect program. Typically reserved for Halcyon Arts members, GTUx participants have the opportunity to sign-up for individual Spiritual Journeys offerings in the Summer and Fall 2023 cycles.

About GTUx

GTUx thrives at the crossroads of global culture and interreligious life, learning, and leadership, extending the GTU’s campus and furthering its mission by serving as a dynamic, digital learning resource for individuals and communities internationally to engage deeply with the world’s wisdom traditions. Providing unique online learning opportunities, virtual programs and events, and unparalleled digital collections and resources for the study of religion and theology, GTUx encourages encounters with spiritually-rooted study and engagement with the critical issues of our time to inspire transformational change

for the creation of a more equitable, compassionate, and sustainable world. gtux.gtu.edu.

The group sessions will be facilitated by Robert Bowler (Beau), Founding Director and Director of Spirituality Programs of Halcyon Arts New England. He managed Stone Church Arts, a concert series focused on world music from 2006 - 2020. He was also the Director of Stone Church Center, a retreat and conference center in Bellows Falls, Vermont. ​He majored in Religious Studies at Reed College with a focus on the western mystical tradition. He earned an M.Div. degree from the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California and is an ordained Unitarian Universalist minister. 

PLEASE NOTE: Tuition amount is flexible. The suggested donation is $25 for the six sessions. If this is not affordable (or you wish to offer more to support others who may wish to attend but do not have the funds), you can can donate any amount over $6. Alternatively, you can become a member of Halcyon Arts for one year for $55 and join any of our online groups for free.