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    <location>London, The United Kingdom</location>
    <website><![CDATA[http://lizw.livejournal.com]]></website>
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          <updates type="array">
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[is currently reading: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/541482.The_New_Becoming_Vegetarian_The_Essential_Guide_To_A_Healthy_Vegetarian_Diet">The New Becoming Vegetarian: The Essential Guide To A Healthy Vegetarian Diet (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/27050.Vesanto_Melina">Vesanto Melina</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47054046</link>
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    <updated_at>Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:12:15 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 2 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/761025.The_Serpent_Power">The Serpent Power (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/299403.Arthur_Avalon">Arthur Avalon</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/47053970</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178128971s/761025.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1677253</id>
  <name>Lizw</name>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1677253-lizw</link>
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    <updated_at>Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:11:42 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[This sounds like it ought to be one of Llewellyn's dodgier offerings, but is actually a serious translation by an Edwardian gentleman scholar (legal name Sir John Woodroffe) of two Sanskrit yoga texts and associated commentary, both describing chakras and associated concepts. Avalon's introductory c...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/This%20sounds%20like%20it%20ought%20to%20be%20one%20of%20Llewellyn's%20dodgier%20offerings,%20but%20is%20actually%20a%20serious%20translation%20by%20an%20Edwardian%20gentleman%20scholar%20(legal%20name%20Sir%20John%20Woodroffe)%20of%20two%20Sanskrit%20yoga%20texts%20and%20associated%20commentary,%20both%20describing%20chakras%20and%20associated%20concepts.%20Avalon's%20introductory%20chapters%20are%20longer%20than%20the%20works%20themselves,%20and%20I%20would%20advise%20readers%20to%20skip%20them%20or%20read%20the%20texts%20first%20and%20then%20return%20to%20them,%20as%20I%20found%20them%20considerably%20harder%20to%20follow%20than%20the%20texts%20themselves.%20These%20chapters%20contain%20some%20mild%20Orientalism,%20but%20nothing%20too%20egregious,%20and%20some%20ambiguity%20as%20to%20whether%20or%20not%20Avalon%20and%2For%20his%20informants%20think%20chakras,%20nadis%20and%20the%20like%20are%20to%20be%20understood%20as%20existing%20in%20the%20physical%20body,%20in%20a%20subtle%20one%20(in%20Western%20occultism%20usually%20known%20as%20the%20astral%20body)%20or%20as%20visualisations%20projected%20onto%20the%20body%20by%20the%20practitioner%20in%20order%20to%20better%20appreciate%20Vedanta%20philosophy.%20The%20book%20wasn't%20quite%20what%20I%20had%20expected%20-%20it%20was%20on%20a%20list%20of%20further%20reading%20in%20one%20of%20my%20Sivananda%20books,%20and%20I'd%20expected%20it%20to%20be%20in%20similar%20vein,%20i.e.%20presenting%20an%20introduction%20to%20the%20subject%20in%20terms%20suitable%20for%20a%20beginner.%20It's%20actually%20quite%20a%20tricky%20philosophical%20text,%20or%20possibly%20anatomy%20text,%20depending%20on%20which%20view%20you%20take%20of%20the%20aforementioned%20ambiguity.%20I%20found%20it%20comparable%20in%20difficulty%20to%20some%20of%20the%20books%20on%20Aquinas%20I've%20read%20lately,%20particularly%20Avalon's%20own%20sections.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 3 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/37405.Playing_in_the_Dark_Whiteness_and_the_Literary_Imagination">Playing in the Dark : Whiteness and the Literary Imagination (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/3534.Toni_Morrison">Toni Morrison</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/44612860</link>
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    <actor>
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    <updated_at>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:30:23 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/4791248.Balti_Britain_A_Journey_Through_the_British_Asian_Experience">Balti Britain: A Journey Through the British Asian Experience (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/89341.Ziauddin_Sardar">Ziauddin Sardar</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43900941</link>
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    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1677253</id>
  <name>Lizw</name>
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    <updated_at>Wed, 28 Jan 2009 02:29:13 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Sardar uses the history and experiences of his family and friends to explore the complexities of British Asian identities. I found it particularly interesting to learn more about the different religious affiliations of London mosques and the differences in religious makeup between the Muslim Council...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Sardar%20uses%20the%20history%20and%20experiences%20of%20his%20family%20and%20friends%20to%20explore%20the%20complexities%20of%20British%20Asian%20identities.%20I%20found%20it%20particularly%20interesting%20to%20learn%20more%20about%20the%20different%20religious%20affiliations%20of%20London%20mosques%20and%20the%20differences%20in%20religious%20makeup%20between%20the%20Muslim%20Council%20of%20Britain%20and%20the%20British%20Muslim%20Forum,%20but%20the%20book%20also%20touches%20on%20Jain%20and%20Hindu%20communities.%20The%20vignettes%20of%20Sardar's%20family%20and%20friends%20are%20fascinating%20and%20at%20times%20touching.%20He%20argues%20that,%20to%20the%20extent%20British%20Asian%20identities%20are%20problematic,%20it%20is%20largely%20because%20white%20British%20society%20and%20institutions%20have%20failed%20to%20recognise%20centuries%20of%20common%20history%20and%20persist%20in%20treating%20as%20newcomers%20people%20whose%20ancestors'%20fates%20have%20been%20intertwined%20with%20those%20of%20white%20Britons%20for%20centuries%20-%20a%20thesis%20that%20fits%20well%20with%20the%20original%20work%20of%20Ted%20Cantle%20on%20community%20cohesion,%20subsequently%20sadly%20misused%20and%20distorted%20by%20the%20Labour%20Government.">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 2 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/577402.Un_Lun_Dun">Un Lun Dun (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/33918.China_Mi_ville">China Miéville</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43900909</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1175961601s/577402.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1677253</id>
  <name>Lizw</name>
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  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1677253-lizw</link>
</actor>

    <updated_at>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:52:06 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[Children's fantasy book, which I got because I was in a mood to read things set in unusual versions of London. At first the obvious parallels with Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere irritated me, but that eases off after a few chapters. I mostly enjoyed the story and liked the main character a lot, but UnLond...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/Children's%20fantasy%20book,%20which%20I%20got%20because%20I%20was%20in%20a%20mood%20to%20read%20things%20set%20in%20unusual%20versions%20of%20London.%20At%20first%20the%20obvious%20parallels%20with%20Neil%20Gaiman's%20Neverwhere%20irritated%20me,%20but%20that%20eases%20off%20after%20a%20few%20chapters.%20I%20mostly%20enjoyed%20the%20story%20and%20liked%20the%20main%20character%20a%20lot,%20but%20UnLondon%20wasn't%20recognizable%20to%20me%20the%20way%20Neverwhere's%20London%20Below%20was.%20To%20me,%20it%20read%20like%20the%20way%20C.S.Lewis%20might%20have%20imagined%20a%20future%20London%20rather%20than%20the%20way%20London%20seems%20to%20me%20now.%20The%20young%20people%20in%20it%20don't%20talk%20anything%20like%20the%20young%20Londoners%20I%20know,%20and%20the%20main%20character's%20grammar%20lurches%20from%20King's%20English%20to%20mockney%20in%20a%20rather%20disturbing%20fashion%20that%20seems%20to%20have%20more%20to%20do%20with%20the%20author's%20ability%20to%20keep%20up%20the%20pretence%20than%20it%20does%20with%20the%20code-switching%20real%20young%20people%20engage%20in.%20%0D%0A">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1297043.The_Buddha_from_Brooklyn">The Buddha from Brooklyn (Hardcover)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/55612.Martha_Sherrill">Martha Sherrill</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/43900894</link>
    <image_url>http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1182570357s/1297043.jpg</image_url>
    <actor>
  <id type="integer">1677253</id>
  <name>Lizw</name>
  <image_url>http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-U-50x66.jpg</image_url>
  <link>http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1677253-lizw</link>
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    <updated_at>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:50:43 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[A journalist's account of her encounters with the laity, monks and nuns of Kunzang Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling (KPC for short, a Tibetan Buddhist centre in Maryland). KPC's founder, Jetsunma Ahkon Lhamo, was the first American woman to be recognised as a tulku (a reincarnation of an exemplary tea...<a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/A%20journalist's%20account%20of%20her%20encounters%20with%20the%20laity,%20monks%20and%20nuns%20of%20Kunzang%20Odsal%20Palyul%20Changchub%20Choling%20(KPC%20for%20short,%20a%20Tibetan%20Buddhist%20centre%20in%20Maryland).%20KPC's%20founder,%20Jetsunma%20Ahkon%20Lhamo,%20was%20the%20first%20American%20woman%20to%20be%20recognised%20as%20a%20tulku%20(a%20reincarnation%20of%20an%20exemplary%20teacher).%20She%20was%20a%20spiritual%20teacher%20even%20before%20she%20became%20a%20Buddhist,%20and%20Sherrill%20traces%20the%20development%20of%20her%20circle%20from%20a%20New%20Age%20movement%20to%20a%20Tibetan%20Buddhist%20sangha%20to%20a%20dysfunctional%20and%20ultimately%20abusive%20personality%20cult%20which%20the%20traditional%20Tibetan%20leadership%20did%20not%20know%20how%20to%20deal%20with.%20She%20manages%20to%20do%20this%20with%20great%20sympathy,%20showing%20how%20each%20step%20along%20that%20road%20seems%20to%20have%20been%20taken%20in%20good%20faith,%20but%20by%20flawed%20human%20beings%20who%20were%20often%20quite%20ignorant%20of%20authentic%20Tibetan%20Buddhist%20beliefs%20and%20practices,%20with%20very%20unpleasant%20results.%20I%20found%20that%20her%20ability%20to%20resist%20demonising%20her%20subjects%20made%20the%20story%20all%20the%20more%20chilling.%20She%20is%20careful%20to%20portray%20the%20good%20as%20well%20as%20the%20bad,%20giving%20nuanced%20pictures%20of%20each%20of%20her%20informants,%20for%20some%20of%20whom%20she%20clearly%20has%20great%20affection.%20She%20became%20a%20Buddhist%20herself%20in%20the%20course%20of%20working%20on%20the%20book,%20although%20she%20did%20not%20join%20KPC,%20and%20she%20includes%20quite%20a%20lot%20of%20information%20about%20Tibetan%20Buddhism%20that%20was%20new%20to%20me.%20It%20all%20makes%20for%20a%20fascinating%20read.%20According%20to%20the%20book,%20Jetsunma%20Ahkon%20Lhamo%20is%20no%20longer%20directly%20running%20KPC,%20although%20the%20website%20for%20the%20Nyingma%20tradition%20to%20which%20KPC%20belongs%20still%20lists%20her%20as%20its%20spiritual%20director.%20The%20management%20board%20she%20had%20appointed%20eventually%20resigned%20after%20criticisms%20became%20public%20(but%20before%20this%20book%20was%20published)%20and%20was%20replaced%20by%20a%20board%20elected%20by%20the%20members.%0D%0A">more...</a>]]></body>
        
    
  </update>  
      <update type="review">
    <action_text><![CDATA[gave 4 stars to: <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1048239.The_Sivananda_Companion_to_Meditation_How_to_Master_the_Mind_and_Achieve_Transcendence">The Sivananda Companion to Meditation : How to Master the Mind and Achieve Transcendence (Paperback)</a> by <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/521766.Sivananda_Yoga_Center">Sivananda Yoga Center</a>]]></action_text>
    <link>http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/42090511</link>
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    <updated_at>Thu, 22 Jan 2009 01:49:10 -0800</updated_at>
        
      
          <body><![CDATA[This was the recommended follow-up reading for the meditation part of an intensive yoga course I took part in over Christmas 2008. Full of useful tips and reminders.]]></body>
        
    
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