Books in Brief
By ANDREA MILLER The Magic of Awareness
By Anam Thubten
Snow Lion Publications 2012; 160 pp., $16.95 (paper)
In The Magic of Awareness,
Anam Thubten teaches that enlightenment is always available. Indeed,
it’s our birthright. Regardless of our culture or religion, every single
one of us has buddhanature, and—whenever we are ready—we can awaken to
it. According to Anam Thubten, embracing real life is key. Many of us
are lost in our heads, in thoughts about the past and the future. Yet
real life—the life that is presently unfolding—is much more interesting
than our fantasies and ruminations. Anam Thubten grew up in Tibet and
trained in the Nyingma tradition. Now he is the teacher and spiritual
advisor for the Dharmata Foundation, a nonprofit based in northern
California, which is dedicated to making the Buddha’s teachings
available to everyone regardless of background. He is also the author of
the best-selling book, No Self, No Problem.
The Now Effect: How This Moment Can Change the Rest of Your Life
By Elisha Goldstein
Atria Books 2012; 288 pp., $23 (cloth) In
the introduction to this new release, Elisha Goldstein quotes the
psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl: “In between stimulus
and response there is a space, in that space lies our power to choose
our response, in our response lies our growth and our freedom.” The Now Effect is
about developing awareness, or mindfulness, of this space and thereby
recognizing and letting go of habitual ways of living that don’t serve
us well. Benefits, according to Goldstein, include being able to focus
better at home and at work; feeling more connected to ourselves and
others; and relaxing more effectively in moments of distress. The book
is choc-a-block with resources—questions to reflect upon, handy cheat
sheets, and practices that are at once straightforward and profound. For
those with a Smartphone, Goldstein teaches some of these practices in
videos, which can be scanned using the bar code images featured in
several chapters.
The Science of Yoga: The Risks and the Rewards
By William J. Broad
Simon & Schuster 2012; 336 pp., $26 (cloth)
Do
you want to cultivate health and happiness? Do you want to be slim and
attractive? Do you want personal growth, love, sexual satisfaction, will
power, or longevity? Whatever you want, somebody has claimed that yoga
can deliver it. But are the claims true? In this groundbreaking book,
William J. Broad unpacks what scientists say are yoga’s real risks and
rewards. The most alarming of Broad’s findings is that certain postures,
including shoulder stand and plow, can cause stroke by reducing the
blood flow through the vertebral and basilar arteries. But on a brighter
note, I’m apparently not crazy for feeling so good after doing asana.
Yoga, according to scientific studies, will not necessarily help people
lose weight or improve cardiovascular health, but it does make people
feel measurably better. Even those new to yoga experience significant
rises in the GABA neurotransmitter, which fights depression, along with
improved moods and lessened anxiety.
The Mindful Writer: Noble Truths of the Writing Life
By Dinty W. Moore
Wisdom Publications 2012; 152 pp., $12.95 (cloth)
World Enough & Time: On Creativity and Slowing Down
By Christian McEwen
Bauhan Publishing 2011; 368 pp., $22.95 (paper)
Memoirist
Dinty W. Moore was frequently asked how Buddhism had influenced his
writing, yet he never gave what he felt was an adequate response. Then
Moore had an epiphany: the river of influence actually ran in the
opposite direction. It was his struggle to write that had enabled him to
recognize the wisdom of the four noble truths. In The Mindful Writer,
Moore explores the role of mindfulness in the writing process. The book
is composed of a series of quotations from writers, artists, and
thinkers, each followed by a pithy, thoughtful response from Moore.
World Enough & Time is
about how our creativity is nurtured by slowing down— when we do
sitting practice, or take a leisurely walk, or write a letter instead of
firing off an email. Christian McEwen has a rich, lyrical voice and she
deftly weaves together her personal experiences with the fascinating
wisdom of Henry David Thoreau, Meredith Monk, Matthieu Ricard, and a
host of other contemporary and historical figures.
Everyday Enlightenment: The Essential Guide to Finding Happiness in the Modern World
By Gyalwang Drukpa
Riverhead Books 2012; 188 pp., $25.95 (cloth)
According
to His Holiness the Gyalwang Drukpa, there’s only one blessing in life—
to possess genuine understanding and compassion. “From compassion
springs kindness, generosity, patience and, of course, happiness,” he
writes in Everyday Enlightenment.
“Asking for any other kind of blessing in life—for luck, for a boy or a
girl, for money or success—all these things are temporary. Ask instead
for a light so that you may see the world in an understanding way, and
that’s all you will ever need.” Gyalwang Drukpa is the head of the
thousand-year-old Drukpa order of Tibetan Buddhism. His humanitarian
work includes promoting gender equality, establishing medical clinics,
and rebuilding heritage sites in the Himalayas. Additionally, he’s the
founder of the Druk White Lotus School in Ladakh, India, which grounds
local children in their own culture while simultaneously equipping them
to thrive in the modern world.
Emotional Chaos to Clarity: How to Live More Skillfully, Make Better Decisions, and Find Purpose in Life
By Phillip Moffitt
Hudson Street Press 2012; 304 pp., $25.95 (cloth)
Phillip Moffitt was editor in chief of Esquire magazine
when he abruptly resigned. Friends and colleagues thought this was a
strange decision, yet he felt it was refreshingly authentic—he never
again wanted to get stuck in overvaluing worldly accomplishment. Now
Moffitt is a co-guiding teacher at Spirit Rock Meditation Center in
Northern California, and the founder of Life Balance Institute, a
nonprofit organization that helps people find direction and meaning in
their lives. Drawing on his own experiences, as well as on the
experiences of his students, Moffitt helps readers develop inner
strength and happiness. There are three parts to the book. The first
lays the ground by addressing what it means to be human and reconnecting
us to what really matters, the second focuses on developing the
behaviors necessary to meet life more effectively and authentically, and
the third offers strategies for overcoming obstacles on the road to
clarity.
Thai Taxi Talismans: Bangkok From the Passenger Seat
By Dale Konstanz
River Books 2012; 159 pp., $30 (paper)
Earth Meets Spirit
By Douglas Beasley
5 Continents Editions 2011; 112 pp., $34.95 (cloth)
Author
and photographer Dale Konstanz moved to Bangkok in 2003. After several
years of getting rides in rainbow-hued, heavily ornamented taxis, he
began taking photos of them. Thai Taxi Talismans is
the culmination of Konstanz’s efforts—a fun and colorful visual feast,
as well as an engaging cultural study of Thai beliefs and popular
design. Bangkok cabbies decorate their vehicles with everything from
artificial blooms to stuffed toys, but Buddhist iconography plays a
major role: Bodhi leaves dangle from rear-view mirrors, sacred symbols
and scripts adorn steering wheels and taxi roofs, and Buddha statues
lend themselves to dashboard altars.
Another book of photography, Earth Meets Spirit,
presents images of sacred places such as the Buddhist monument
Barobodour in Java, Indonesia, and the Temple of the Jaguar in Tikal,
Guatemala. Photographer Douglas Beasley interprets “sacred” in the
broadest of senses, in the sense that sacredness is all around us, in
the everyday. Some of his most haunting shots are of dead birds, trees
reflected in water, and the strong, soft back of a horse in South
Dakota.
|
