Summer reading
Who says that only kids should have summer book lists? Perhaps for us adults, this is also the best time to catch up on some reading. After all, isn’t it during this time that our brains go on autopilot? Somehow when vegging out under the sun or in front of the DVD player, we can put all thought processes on indefinite pause.
Allow me to suggest a few titles. They may not be your run-of-the-mill novels or typical sci-fi epics, but it’s always good to try something new. You won’t be graded for it, grilled on the plot or even be required to write a book review. However, you may be surprised at what these seemingly simple books can unearth and perhaps, the different things in your life that may be up for actual review.
Enjoy…
The Law on Divine Compensation – On Work, Money and Miracles
By Marianne Williamson
Although more known for being quoted by Nelson Mandela during his inaugural address as well as books such as Return to Love and Illuminata, Marianne Williamson’s new book is equally amazing. Still based on her understanding of “A Course in Miracles†where “…nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists…†this book takes on a more practical application. She tackles the mundane concerns of job security vs. the concept of vocations, creating wealth and abundance as well as releasing anger and transcending fear in all forms.
Despite its terse 180 pages, every line is filled with simple wisdom. You can still expect the depth and poignancy of her writing, but with it an almost everyday guide on how to understand and apply this “Divine Law of Compensation†and have it work for you.
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Manifesting Change
By Mike Dooley
For those of you who are inclined to get a message in a more direct way, without fanfare or some sort of profound imagery, Mike Dooley may be your man. An international tax accountant turned entrepreneur turned writer and bestselling author of Notes to the Universe series, Mike Dooley has a unique voice.
Manifesting Change tackles the metaphysical mechanics underlying the concept of manifestation. He uses stories, exercises, and the introduction of the “Matrix†as teaching tools to help you understand what you really want, the reasons behind it and how to achieve it with the ultimate confidence. Using his own life as proof that you have it in you to change your circumstances, this book is a quick but valuable read.
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Expecting Adam
By Martha Beck
Some people do better with stories than with essays as means to understanding things. Expecting Adam is an excellent example. Written by Martha Beck, it is a true story of bearing and raising her exceptional child —Adam, a child born with Down syndrome. It is also the story of her own journey to understanding what really matters in this world and what is mere window dressing.
Despite her two Harvard degrees, she could not fathom why things happened the way they did. It all just didn’t seem to make sense. Yet as the story progresses, you become witness to the kindness and the wisdom of the universe as it weaves its magic into a deep knowing that in the end, as in the beginning, all is well.
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Living Beautifully with Uncertainty and Change
By Pema Chodron
Written by an American Buddhist nun in the lineage of the Tibetan meditation master, Chogyam Trunpa, Living Beautifully remains a favorite.
Pema Chodron speaks of the basic ambiguities of being human — the difficulties, the frailties but also all the power and potential. She introduces three “commitments,†guides as to how to bring peace into your life despite the tumultuous circumstances that may rage within it. The first speaks of not causing harm to others. The second tenet takes it even a step further by actually committing to take care of one another, and the third involves embracing the world just as it is — pockmarked, yellow-bellied, and ravaged.
It is a small book with a big heart. As featured in her overview, a quote by Agnes de Mille becomes very telling: “Living is a form of not being sure, not knowing what next or how. The moment you know how, you begin to die a little. The artist never entirely knows. We guess. We may be wrong, but we take leap after leap in the dark.â€
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Seven Thousand Ways to Listen: Staying Close to What Is Sacred
By Mark Nepo
For me, this is more a book of poetry than it is one of prose. So beautifully written, the amazing messages on every page seem almost more a bonus than the core. Mark Nepo speaks of three things: the work of being, the work of being human, and the work of love.
His own personal story is filled with cancer, with loss, with discovery. He talks about the lost art of listening, of hearing — a physical ability that has began to deteriorate within his own body. This is a book written with such humility and such wonder at the magnificence of life and the light each soul can bring into the world.
Listen to his dedication at the beginning of the book:
I didn’t know when I began this book on listening that my hearing was already breaking down. It’s been disorienting and yet freeing. I only know that my need to listen more deeply has been answered with an undoing that has made me listen with my eyes, my heart, my skin. Now I wonder softly: Does a plant listen by breaking ground? Does sand listen by accepting the waves it can never escape? And how do stubborn souls like us listen?
I feel like a painter who, after mastering certain brushes over the years, has come to the end of brushes; who in an effort to get closer to the light has thrown his brushes into the fire, to ignite more light. I am left finally to paint with my hands. I hope there is something helpful here.
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E-mail tcbautista@arkeology.org.
