Gary Green's Blog, page 8

Last Day for Free Book

Have you downloaded “Rebecca’s Initiation” for free yet? Today is the last day. Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W2UZ0V0

Also, the next in the series, “Rebecca’s Destiny”, is live today in both paperback and Kindle versions. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AJ4SYW

Great News!!!

Pip the gnome here. I’m so excited! The next book in the Redemption series, Rebecca’s Destiny, is available for pre-sale on Kindle now and will be available for purchase on Monday. Check it out here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B017AJ4SYW

To celebrate its release, the first book in the series, Rebecca’s Initiation, will be free all weekend through Monday. http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00W2UZ0V0

I have to say they are both pretty good books, but I think Rebecca’s Destiny is the best one. It’s twice as long as the first one so there’s twice as much of me. What could be better than that? Of course you get to hear about Rebecca, Naomi, Cedric the dragon, Lancelot and all the old gang. There are some new fun characters too. There’s a big battle and plenty of other fun stuff. Get them while they’re cheap.

Oh, I almost forgot. Lancelot told me to tell you there a few lessons in there too. That guy is waaaay too serious.

 

The Mindfulness of Flying

I returned last night from Miami where I attended the Readers Favorite book award ceremony. I received the bronze medal for “In Pursuit of Joy”. I have to say that one of the best parts of being there was meeting the other winners. There were a lot of very interesting people there. Even though there were a few famous and nearly famous people there, there was a positive camaraderie that transcended age, experience or social standing. On the whole, it was a very positive experience. Many thanks to Readers Favorite for this experience.

But what I want to talk about is something I learned about flying. While I wouldn’t say that my “concern” about flying rises to the level of a phobia, I did always get a tingling in my gut when I looked out the window and couldn’t sleep on a plane because my anxiety caused me to have terrible nightmares. So, I tried an experiment.

Since I couldn’t get a direct flight to or from Miami I had four flights to work with. During the first flight to Charlotte I decided to direct my attention to the present–as in the mindful practice of observation. I reasoned that the panic that comes when you look down from 30,000 feet is about the possibility, no matter how remote, that you could fall and be killed–something that could happen in the future.

I discovered that by directing my attention to the present I could appreciate the beauty of the clouds and the earth below. By the time I got to Charlotte, the view was breath taking. The sun was setting behind the mountains, the few clouds present were all colors from purple to orange and the trees, unlike in Minnesota, still had their fall colors and the sky was a brilliant blue. Beautiful.

That worked so well that I did it again on the next flight to Miami. Soon it became automatic. When I left Miami for Dallas I didn’t even have to think about it. We flew along the coast of Florida for a while and it was awesome to watch. On the next leg to Minneapolis I found I was so relaxed I had a hard time staying awake.

Mindfulness is a wonderful thing.

 

Humans Are Funny

Hello folks. My name is Pip and I am a gnome. I like to think I am a friendly guy and a snappy dresser. Some people think I talk too much and am over the top. I don’t care. I find joy in most things and most especially in being me. I play an important part in the stories “Rebecca’s Initiation” and “Rebecca’s Destiny”. By the way, “Rebecca’s Initiation” is only $.99 on Kindle and will be free Thanksgiving weekend. “Rebecca’s Destiny” is available for pre-order now and will be live on Monday, November 30—also for $.99.

But that isn’t what I came here to talk about. I want to talk about humans. Humans are funny; not funny as in weird—well that too—but “ha-ha” funny. You may not know this, but I can become invisible to humans. I see some funny stuff, believe me. I think the funniest thing about people is that most people think they have a broad understanding of how the universe works—but they don’t. If they did, the world wouldn’t be such a mess.

Here are a few examples:

A lot of people think that joy or satisfaction come from getting what you want—be it money, things or whatever. Really, joy is the default state of the human mind and is sustained by having work you love so much that it is fun and having a few people you love so much that you let them be who they are and they offer you the same courtesy.
Humans generally are afraid much of the time but don’t admit it to themselves or others. This leads to acts of violence. People who are full of joy and love from the work and people they love generally do not commit acts of violence. So, how do you get rid of the fear? First you must admit it. Then you talk about it with someone you trust will listen with unconditional acceptance. Sometimes just talking about your fears is enough to take their power. If not, you can make your decisions based on the reality of the situation and not just emotions.
There is a natural tendency for humans to be judgmental about everything and everyone. However, they are always happier when they can face life with unconditional acceptance—that is, be aware of things, but don’t pass judgement. I find this one particularly hilarious.

I could go on and on–really. But I won’t. They told me I had to be brief. So, I’ll close by saying you can get a free copy of “Rebecca’s Initiation” by subscribing to my mailing list. You can do this by clicking the “Sign Up” button under the “My Facebook Author Page” on the right.

Have a joyful day. I plan to.

Some News and Cedric Speaks

Greetings readers. I have news. First, the second book in the Redemption series, “Rebecca’s Destiny”, is now available for pre-order on Amazon. Here’s the link: http://www.amazon.com/Rebeccas-Destiny-Redemption-Book-2-ebook/dp/B017AJ4SYW/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1446573298&sr=8-2&keywords=REbecca%27s+Destiny “Rebecca’s Destiny” is a fast-paced adventure that picks up the story where Rebecca’s Initiation left off. We learn why Pan wants Rebecca dead. Rebecca travels to the Oracle to learn her destiny. There are new characters and a few surprises. My wife says it is better that the first one—and I’m sure she’s not biased at all.

November is going to be a busy month for me. There is the annual deer harvest. Then I will be traveling to Miami to pick up my Reader’s Favorite Bronze Medal for “In Pursuit of Joy”. Here’s the Amazon link: http://www.amazon.com/In-Pursuit-Joy-Gary-Green/dp/1631354213/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?ie=UTF8 Then there is Thanksgiving. Also, I have begun work on the third book in the redemption series: “Rebecca’s Coronation”. Last, but not least, there are all the last minute preparations for winter. So, I have decided to let some friends of mine post for me. I’ll be starting with Cedric.

Hello, I’m Cedric. I suppose I should mention for those who don’t already know, I’m a dragon. I don’t want to brag, but I play a pretty big part in Rebecca’s stories. I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking I must be the villain, or at least mean and scary. Nothing could be further from the truth, I assure you. Like I told Naomi, “I’ve never eaten anyone who didn’t deserve it.”

Anyway, I’ve been around a very long time and I’ve seen a lot of things. I believe people are basically good and I try to help whenever I can. Gary told me I had to keep this short today so I’ll just offer a small piece of advice: Living in the present moment is not the same as living for the present moment. Live in the moment.

Rebecca’s News

I haven’t posted for a while because I have been very busy finishing the first draft of “Rebecca’s Destiny”, the second book in the Redemption series—Yay!!!!! To Celebrate this event, as well as getting another 5-star (5-fang, actually) review for “Rebecca’s Initiation”, I will be giving away “Rebecca’s Initiation” for free on Amazon this weekend. Check it out: http://bookgoodies.com/a/B00W2UZ0V0 .

Also, for those that prefer a hard copy, I’m doing a Goodreads giveaway of “Rebecca’s Initiation”. https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/158213-rebecca-s-initiation Sign up for a chance at one of 5 signed copies.

As we all know, reviews are the life-blood of authors these days. So I am making an offer to send free PDF review copies of either “Rebecca’s Initiation” or “Rebeca’s Destiny” to anyone who is willing to do a review. Contact me through this website.

 

Compassion Wins

This morning I watched a segment on the morning news about a young woman in Florida who got arrested because she was video streaming her drunk driving. You may have seen it too. The reporters expressed the full array of judgmental thoughts about this person, pointing out how dangerous not only drunk driving is but also the dangers of video streaming while driving. Certainly these things are dangerous.

I just thought that this story was a god example of the wrong way to handle this situation. The comments come off sounding judgmental of the person. Certainly this person exhibited some bonehead behavior. I think we need to be careful to condemn the behavior and not the person.

So, what really happened here? This is an example of the Universe telling that young woman she needs to change her behavior. My guess is that there were hints prior to this event that she ignored. (If the universe is trying to tell you something and you’re not listening, it turns up the volume. –“In Pursuit f Joy”) I think our job here is to support that message.

As a society we want this risky behavior to stop. The message we need to send to this woman (and all others in her situation) is this: “You are a good person, but this behavior is unacceptable and must stop.” Our judgmental thoughts about the person actually mitigate against producing the change we all want.

Compassion wins.

 

4 Arguments in Support of Mindfulness

There is so much talk these days about mindfulness these days that I thought I would try to clarify things a bit. You may be wondering what my qualifications are to make these statements about mindfulness. To begin with I have been meditating regularly for about 40 years. I took the Transcendental Meditation course at that time as a way to deal with stress. I have read extensively on the topic since and practiced numerous techniques. Additionally, I taught mindfulness as a therapeutic technique when I was the director of a residential facility for mentally ill adults. While I’m sure there are people out there who know more about the topic than I do, I know there are quite a few who know less.

Having said that I want to address some of the negative things I have heard about mindfulness.

Mindfulness is a secularized Buddhist practice. I have seen people use this statement in two ways. First, people say that by separating mindfulness from its spiritual component you devalue it and limit its effectiveness. I have even seen the word McMindfulness used to derogatorily describe the practice. My answer to that is that we are not secularizing the spiritual, we are spiritualizing the secular. Mindfulness is a spiritual practice no matter how you package it. Second, there are people who think that you shouldn’t practice mindfulness because of its Buddhist origins. The truth is that there are mindfulness practices in every major religion, though they may call it something else.
Mindfulness is a waste of time. People who say this generally have not tried it. There is an increasingly large body of evidence that clearly supports the usefulness of mindfulness.
Mindfulness is dangerous. Generally, people who say that are referring to difficulties that can arise when someone who already has some mental difficulties tries mindfulness without supervision. My suggestion here—and this is a good idea for lots of reasons—is that we all quit being judgmental about people with mental illness and direct more resources as a society to helping them. Mindfulness is not dangerous for the average person.
Mindfulness is confusing. There is a lot of debate about what is and is not mindfulness, or how to classify the different types of mindfulness. I will say this: If something meets the definition of mindfulness then it is mindfulness. Mindfulness is directing your attention to one thing, this present moment, without judgment. I have noticed that people who want to say that their definition is the right one are usually trying to sell something. Mindfulness is simple. Getting good at it requires practice.

My advice at this point is this: in the long run don’t learn all your mindfulness from one source. Practice every day. Don’t sweat the small stuff. When you see positive changes in your life be grateful.

6 Ideas to Prevent Mass Murders

Ok, so here we go again. Once again somebody has decided that it is a good idea to kill a whole bunch of people and themselves—going out in a blaze of glory. Our president says this has become routine–and he is right. Clearly he is fed-up with this kind of thing and so am I. So, what do we do about it? I thought I’d do a little brainstorming on the topic and see what I could come up with.

I think we need to take a serious look at our relationship with weapons, particularly hand guns and assault rifles. It is true that our founding fathers put the right to bear arms in the Bill of Rights. It is also that at the time the height of firearm technology was the muzzle-loading rifle. Of course there were also cannons at the time but most people couldn’t afford them. The intent was to prevent tyranny. It has long been the habit of tyrants everywhere to forbid conquered people from bearing arms—even before the invention of firearms. But times have changed. The variety and power of our weapons has increased exponentially. We don’t let people own nuclear weapons or battleships. Clearly there is a line beyond which we will not allow private citizens to go regards weapon ownership. We just have to decide where that line belongs.
Everyone needs to vote. You may think this is not related but it is. Your vote is the BEST defense against tyranny. In a true, working democracy assault weapons are not needed. So, my message to all you people that advocate unregulated gun ownership is this: Accept that times have changed and as a society we can no longer afford to have such firepower unregulated. Put away the guns and pick up the vote.
MENTAL HEALTH IS EVERYBODY’S BUSINESS!!! Clearly at this point we all realize that everyone is at risk from attacks such as this. They occur with disturbing regularity and lethality. Every single time lip service is given to the mental health issue. A sane person does not commit mass murder. We live in the wealthiest country the world has ever known and yet the people who provide direct care to the mentally ill are often paid the lowest wages in a given community. I know that the vast majority of people with mental illness are not dangerous. I also know that people who commit mass murder are sick.
We need to look at stigma, what it really is and how to eliminate it—not just regards mental illness but all stigmatized segments of our society. Stigma is judgmental thinking, plain and simple. It is judgmental thinking that is so imbedded in our society that we often don’t know we’re doing it until it is pointed out or we decide to examine our own actions and thoughts. Yet it is this stigma that prevents people from voluntarily going for treatment. It is also stigma that prevents us as a society from allocating the resources needed to prevent good kids from growing up to be mass murderers. We can only purge our own individual stigmatizing thoughts. You can’t change how others think.
Every single one of us must work on becoming more compassionate and spiritual people. As individuals we tend to get so wrapped up in attending to our own needs that we let our fear push others away. I believe that if any of these mass murderers had enough compassionate and spiritual people in their life as they grew up they would not become murderers. This is not about saying “What is wrong with you?” It is about saying “What is wrong with me?”
We must modify our sense of group to include everyone. People who feel a sense of belonging to a group generally do not attack that group. We are all human beings after all.

I know these are long-term fixes, but I don’t think there are any quick ones. It seems to me that these terrible events are symptoms of deeper problems with our society. Fixing a society takes a lot of effort from everybody. Do your part.

A Visit From the Pope

Greetings to all my readers. I haven’t posted for a while; sometimes I just get too busy. Well, anyway, one of the things I have been doing is changing my website a bit; so please look around.

Other bits of housekeeping: I am doing a Goodreads giveaway of my award winning book “In Pursuit of Joy”. Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/155333-in-pursuit-of-joy Work continues on the next instalment in the Redemption series; “Rebecca’s Destiny”. Also, I’m expecting the revised edition of “The Mindful Lifestyle” to be out in a couple of weeks—exact date not set.

This morning I realized that my schedule for the next four days includes three funerals and a wedding. While there was a funny movie with a similar name a while back, I am not expecting there to be much opportunity for farce. In fact in the last two years I have been to a disturbing number of funerals. I suppose it has something to do with my age, and the fact that I have a rather large family. I have been trying to think of something profound to say about the upcoming weekend. All I can think of is that I need a break.

Well, enough about me. I want to talk about the Pope. I’m not catholic nor am I likely to convert. However, I do like Pope Francis—and I’ll tell you why.

I have noticed that many previous popes seemed to be much too concerned about the power of their office and protecting outdated dogma and not concerned enough about changing the world for the better. However, Francis addressed a joint session of Congress this morning and used the “bully pulpit” of his office to tell our legislators to stop this petty partisan bickering and work toward the common good. In my opinion this is the best and proper use of his office.

I also like that he is humble and sociable. I know that people responsible for his safety are not pleased about his tendency to be with “the people”. But, isn’t that what he is supposed to do? Isn’t he role-modeling how to express God’s love in the world? I suspect that his stand on security is that he will be doing the best job as he sees it until God decides he is done, whether he is killed by an assassin or dies of natural causes. And really, isn’t that the attitude he should have? In a larger sense, isn’t that the attitude we all should have?

So, for me, this weird week, with its abundant reminders of mortality and this historic message from this remarkable Pope reinforces my belief that we have reached the time in history when each of us must look inside and examine our lives. Are we doing what the universe wants us to do? Are we honest with others and ourselves about our motives? Are we working toward the common good? I believe that these are the kinds of questions we all MUST answer for ourselves.