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July 10
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Keleigh
gave
 
to:
Lying Awake (Paperback)
by Mark Salzman
bookshelves:
floatingether,
yearnings
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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read in July, 2008
Keleigh said:
"Salzman's writing is quiet and precise, as unobtrusive as a nun's rustling skirts. It went a little slow at first, but gradually I grew accustomed to the slow and meditative pace, and became entirely engaged in the cloistered life of his characters. ...more
Salzman's writing is quiet and precise, as unobtrusive as a nun's rustling skirts. It went a little slow at first, but gradually I grew accustomed to the slow and meditative pace, and became entirely engaged in the cloistered life of his characters. Sister John of the Cross faces a stark predicament involving a health condition, a form of epilepsy that produces rapturous mental states--a phenomenon shared by Dostoevsky, who described it in 3rd person in The Idiot:
"He remembered that he always had one minute just before the epleptic fit when suddenly in the midst of sadness, spiritual darkness and oppression, there seemed at moments a flash of light in his brain, and with extraordinary impetus all his vital forces suddenly began working at their highest tension. The sense of life, the consciousness of self, were multiplied ten times at these moments which passed like a flash of lightning. His mind and heart were flooded with extraordinary light... But these moments, these flashes, were only the prelude of that final second in which the fit began."
FD went on to say that regardless of the "abnormalcy" of his disease that those moments were of "the highest form of existence" and "the acme of harmony and beauty". He concludes with a Rumiesque phrase:
"at the very last conscious moment before the fit began, he had time to say to himself clearly and consciously, 'Yes, for this moment one might give one's whole life!'"
Salzman's realistic account of Carmelite mysticism was sensitive and sympathetic, but also maintained a sense of objectivity. Sister John's decision is not overly-dramatized, nor are her rapturous fits described with obvious overtones of "specialness." Reading this, I understood better what meditation teacher Shinzen Young describes in "The Science of Enlightenment": the underlying commonality of all mystical traditions being simple mindfulness and equanimity. Closeness to God through renunciation of self, in the least romantic sense of the term.
Check out an interview with the author on Salon.com after you read the book (truly a quick read), located here....less
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July 07
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Keleigh
is currently reading:
Compassion in Action: Setting Out on the Path of Service (Paperback)
by Ram Dass
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
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Keleigh
is currently reading:
Two Lives: Gertrude and Alice (Hardcover)
by Janet Malcolm
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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June 26
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Keleigh
gave
to:
Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind (Paperback)
by Shunryu Suzuki
bookshelves:
alwaysinthebackofmymind,
truth
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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read in June, 2008
Keleigh said:
"This book was recommended to me by various persons in different phases of my life, but I clearly wasn't ready to read it till now. Suzuki's talks on zazen are spare and direct, demystifying Buddhism as a religion or philosophy and continually bringin...more
This book was recommended to me by various persons in different phases of my life, but I clearly wasn't ready to read it till now. Suzuki's talks on zazen are spare and direct, demystifying Buddhism as a religion or philosophy and continually bringing the focus back to the simple and perfect practice of sitting--cleaning out your mind through meditation. Though we all choose different paths according to our culture and temperament, the ultimate desire is the same: for the soul or "big I" to freely express itself, released from delusion. Whether you meditate or not, Suzuki provides useful and illuminating truths for anyone interested in becoming more mindful. Here is one of my favorite passages:
"Each of us must make his own true way, and when we do, that way will express the universal way. This is the mystery. When you understand one thing, you understand everything. When you try to understand everything, you will not understand anything. The best way is to understand yourself, and then you will understand everything. So when you try hard to make your own way, you will help others, and you will be helped by others. Before you make your own way you cannot help anyone, and no one can help you. To be independent in this true sense, we have to forget everything which we have in our mind and discover something quite new and different moment after moment. This is how we live in this world."...less
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June 16
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New comment on Commonpeople's review of
Vibrator: A Novel
(see all 2 comments)
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June 06
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Keleigh
marked as to-read:
No One Belongs Here More Than You: Stories (Hardcover)
by Miranda July
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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May 30
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Keleigh
is currently reading:
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Paperback)
by Mark Twain
bookshelves:
currently-reading
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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July 07
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Keleigh
marked as to-read:
The Yoga of Jesus: Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels (Paperback)
by Paramahansa Yogananda
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Keleigh
marked as to-read:
Autobiography of a Yogi (Paperback)
by Paramahansa Yogananda
bookshelves:
to-read
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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Keleigh
marked as to-read:
Soul Mates (Paperback)
by Thomas Moore
bookshelves:
to-read,
unfinished
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my rating:
Added to my books!
add my review
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