Best Spiritual Christmas gifts and Top Religious Holiday Presents

I've made quite a few pages on Wizzley by now, and it is time to gather them together by topic. On this page you find my spiritual gift suggestions - all very suitable for Christmas or birthdays.

You can perhaps imagine that this meant us growing up thinking for ourselves. Little did my parents realize that as I grew up I'd actually come back to those religious roots...

When it comes to Christian Christmas gifts, I fondly remember the idea of an advent calendar, though  I can't be sure we had one in our house. I do think we had one at my grandmother's house, where we unfailingly celebrated Christmas.

Judaism is of course the one religion in Europe that's both familiar and alien. Familiar because it's been around in Europe for centuries. Alien because it was not 'us'.

Since I grew up after world war 2, I grew up in a country with few Jews left: those who weren't killed generally emigrated to the USA or Israel or assimilated.

However, both my brothers had a Jewish friend growing up, so I did learn about their faith first hand. I distinctly remember the seperate fridges one of the two families had. 

With Islam there is another family connection: my grandfather, though a Christian minister by calling, became an expert on Islam later in life. He even became a professor of Islamology at Leiden university.

Now we come to my own interests: yoga is part of what we might call 'alternative spirituality' in the West today. I've done a bit of yoga here and there: as part of summer schools and seminars, and even a regular weekly class for a few months.

Yoga is the kind of exercise that helps one stay grounded and balanced. However, I find it makes a lot of difference who teaches it.

Here are some suggestions for Yoga Gifts for Christmas.

One of the more popular spiritual items for Buddhists and people into alternative spirituality is the singing bowl. It's beautiful, has a lovely sound and has that eastern feel to it.

In fact the sound - while tuned - is far richer than the Western musical tradition allows. In itself it transcends musical boundaries that help integrate the psyche. 

Does that sound too mystical? I think one of the draws of Eastern spirituality is that it helps us transcend the limited view of the human being that is prevalent in the West. And sound is essential the our psychology too: through words and music people have bonded together throughout human history. 

The tones of singing bowls - with their overtones and layered chords - speak to something deep in us. 

More about picking a singing bowl.

Spiritual Christmas gifts for men

Spiritual books for teen girls and boys

Top spirituality books, mystic texts and religious books

Best Religion and Spirituality Books Ever