Devotionals can be a great addition to our daily reading. Short, succinct – sometimes it may be the only reading we make time for out of our reading stack. Each day’s entry may be a single page, maybe a little more. Sometimes when we are hurried, it can be hard to commit to sit down and read, especially one of our non-fiction books. If we only have five or ten minutes to spare, do we want to even start, just to need to stop in the middle of a chapter?
Devotionals give us manageable bites of information, encouragement, inspiration, or beauty, without the added stress of needing to put a bookmark in the middle of a chapter and feeling disjointed when we pick up our reading later. Each entry is a concise thought and gives us something to chew on for the day.
When I think of devotionals, and I’m sure I’m not alone in this, I tend to picture religious devotionals – each day’s entry may contain a scripture and some commentary related to that day’s reading. Some devotionals work through a particular book of the Bible, others may deal with a particular interest – there are devotionals aimed at busy moms, parents, those in need of encouragement – various devotionals with a foundation of Biblical scripture.
But what about folks who want the devotional aspect – daily, bite-sized entries, but without the religious focus?
The Intellectual Devotion Series
The devotional that I have been reading each day is The Intellectual Devotional. Described as “365 Daily Lessons from the Seven Fields of Knowledge,” this devotional has daily entries in History (Monday), Literature (Tuesday), Visual Arts (Wednesday), Science (Thursday), Music (Friday), Philosophy (Saturday), and Religion (Sunday).
This devotional is undated, rather it starts at Week 1 – Monday, Day 1, so you can start whenever you wish. Each entry is packed with interesting facts about that day’s topic, and usually includes a couple of additional facts as footnotes.
To get a feel for what a week looks like, the topics for Week 1 include The Alphabet (History), Ulysses (Literature), Lascaux Cave Paintings (Visual Arts), Cloning (Science), The Basics of Music (Music), Appearance and Reality (Philosophy), and Torah (Religion).
This book, with a broad collection of knowledge, is actually part of a five-book The Intellectual Devotional series.
The other books in the series include
American History – read it on Kindle
Modern Culture – read in on Kindle
Biographies – read it on Kindle
*the individual books in this series are a little pricey so I’ve included links for the Kindle versions as well.
Intellect or Philosophy Focused
The Daily Stoic – 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art of Living. Daily entries include a quote and contemplation on that day’s topic.
Nature or Earth Focused
Earth Prayers – less a devotional and more a collection of prayers and affirmations from around the world, easy to read a single entry a day. Selections are arranged by topic but include a calendar schedule of reading that can be used.
Life Prayers – from the same author of Earth Prayers, with selections focused on the human experience.
Living Earth Devotional – Earth centered, Pagan aligned devotional, daily affirmations and activities.
The Celtic Spirit – following the Pagan Wheel of the Year, this book has daily entries drawing on Celtic and Druid tradition.
General Encouragement
Your True Home: The Everyday Wisdom of Thich Nhat Hanh A compilation of 365 daily contemplations from Vietnamese Buddhist Monk and spiritual leader.
Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life. Alcoholics Anonymous, and other recovery programs often have a spiritual component. For those who aren’t religious, this book offers daily contemplations for those recovering from addictions.
Books of Positive Affirmations
A Year of Positive Thinking A collection of affirmations and mantras. This is actually part of a series of “A Year of …” titles that include Gratitude, Self-esteem, and Abundance, as well as others. These would do great as a daily devotional. Bonus – these titles are currently available through Kindle Unlimited so you can read as part of your KU subscription.
I am a big fan of slowly chipping away at a book over several months, and a devotional is uniquely designed to fit this model perfectly. I encourage you to consider adding a devotional to your reading stack! And remember, Day 1 can always start tomorrow, so no need to wait until a new year to get started!
Have a suggestion for a secular devotional? I’d love to hear about it!
Kindle Books are available through general book searches on Amazon’s site, but if you want to take advantage of the Kindle Unlimited subscription plan, you can follow the link to see the plan offerings.
A new program Amazon is offering (currently in Beta) allows book purchases (print or Kindle) to earn Kindle points, which accumulate and can be used toward the purchase of Kindle books.
Also, if you take advantage of Amazon Primer delivery day – where delivery is pushed to a set weekday, rather than the two or three days it normally takes with Prime shipping, you can also earn credits that can be applied to digital purchases, which include Kindle books.
*Post contains Amazon Affiliate links.
Michelle Home Scholar 