Mira Prabhu's Blog, page 72

Is Romance Devolving?—50 Shades vs. No One Puts Baby in a Corner

Mira Prabhu:

Is Romance Devolving?���50 Shades vs. No One Puts Baby in a Corner — read what Kristen Lamb has to say on a complex subject….

Originally posted on Kristen Lamb's Blog:

I���d hoped I wouldn���t have to go here, but alas, here we are. Today, 50 Shades of Grey��the MOVIE will open for���*record screech* Valentine���s Day. Nothing says I love you like predatory emotional manipulation, sociopathy, abuse and non-consensual sex acts.

Find THAT on a Hallmark card.

And yes, I know there have been other kinky books like this, but 50 Shades sold over 100 million copies and the movie (despite ZERO plot) is expected to gross in excess of $60 million which means I just threw up a little in my mouth��this ���story��� has tipped from fringe to mainstream and that scares me more than a little bit.

No, I didn���t read the book. I don���t need to. Nor do I need to watch gang-rape prison porn to know it probably is unhealthy for the future of women (or even men). Guess what? I didn���t have to eat���

View original 1,526 more words

It Helps If You Are Completely Bonkers

Mira Prabhu:

George Orwell once claimed that all writers are vain, selfish and lazy…read what Jack Eason has to say in rebuttal of this outrageous statement…my personal opinion based on experience (self and others): most writers are workhorses committed to delivering a unique message….whether you like that message or not, next time you read a book, perhaps you could consider the effort invested to bring it to life? (And I’m certainly not saying there are not lousy books….just that all creative work represents much blood, sweat and tears). Thank you Jack Eason!

Originally posted on Have We Had Help?:

[image error]

Vain, selfish and lazy? Speak for yourself Eric Blair aka George Orwell. Most writers I know are none of those things. These days the only people you will come across like that are certain editors and literary agents as well as some professional critics. The latter category, especially the odd one or two who write for newspapers and literary magazines here in the UK, can definitely be said to be vain and selfish. To those two unsavoury qualities I would add a few others ��� condescending, snobbish, scathing and vicious, particularly when it comes to one leading newspaper���s literary critic and his deep loathing of Indies. Compared to him, internet trolls are rank amateurs.

As for the rest of what Eric is quoted as saying ��� writing is a long exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness, he���s perfectly correct. It is. With a few���

View original 297 more words

Monday Funnies

Mira Prabhu:

Start your week off by cracking up….thanks Story Reading Ape!

Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:

[image error]

[image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

View original

Meat is Meat

Mira Prabhu:

Jo Robinson speaks her mind on the subject of Meat…now this is a big, scary, volatile subject and cuts deep into the psyche of most people…whether for or against. Whatever our personal preferences are, and whatever we may choose to do, at least we can consider what we are doing rather than just accepting status quo…thanks Jo!

Originally posted on Jo Robinson:

Controversy ahead. As I���ve just said on a friend���s blog post ��� I don���t eat meat ��� I try to avoid using any animal products, and without being preachy, I���m against killing any sort of creature for any sort of reason these days. I do cook meat for the meat eaters in my life ��� freedom of choice has nothing to do with recipes as far as I���m concerned, and not my karma. I don���t hate them for eating it ��� I ate it for most of my life, so I get it. Bacon is fabulous on a plate of anything. I commented on a supposedly good friend���s remarks a good while ago about hunting critters (not to eat) that were endangered because of some flimsy thing, and was immediately unfriended and severely crapped upon before being blocked, so I���m a bit wary about posting about such a sensitive subject���

View original 433 more words

Speaking of Robes, Broken Vows and Imperfection…

[image error]When I moved to Dharamsala (seat of the Tibetan Government- in-Exile located in the foothills of the��Himalayas) on the eve��of the new millennium, my life changed overnight. You see, I had just left the world’s craziest city (Manhattan) for a small mountain town in northern India and was almost totally unprepared for what I was to encounter.

As my eyes opened to a new world of seeing, my views began to transform. For instance, I had long harbored a multitude of unchallenged assumptions about those who consciously enter the spiritual path;��one such assumption was that all those who wore monastic robes were blessed creatures emanating love and light. After all, I subconsciously reasoned, most had taken the Boddhisattva Vow in one form or the other���which is to become enlightened for the sake of all beings���and which therefore meant they had to be perfect, right? RIGHT?

So I was both flabbergasted and upset when I saw how some in robes���both Tibetans as well as western renunciates��� misbehaved. Apart from the jewels that gleamed in their ranks, many were, I realized, just as flawed as I was���and some worse, because at least I was honest about my vices.

I spoke to a great lama about this. Geshe-la, I said, they���re wearing robes, and yet they act so petty, mean, vicious and jealous; they’re breaking their vows left, right and center. What���s going on here?

Smiling at me as if I were a bewildered child���which I was then and still can be���he said, Mira, those robes are a sign that these people know something is out of balance within themselves���and that they wish to right this inner wrongness. By putting on a robe, they indicate to the world that they have made a brave choice to evolve. The robe is their protection as they do their inner work. If you can see them this way, you will be much more happy and peaceful.

I thanked him deeply, for he had opened my eyes to something that had never struck me before. So the robe was protection while the inner being transformed itself! Like a vulnerable little grub or worm or caterpillar covering itself with spit or a cocoon to protect it from the burning sun and predators as it gradually metamorphoses into a gorgeous��moth or butterfly! What a difference this simple teaching made to my view and my attitude! And not just towards others, but to my own self, given to constant criticism of my own relative��imperfections.

Since then, I have heard so many say: oh, but how can so-and-so feel or think or act this way? It is terrible! He or she claims to be on a spiritual path!��The fact is that just because many of us make the decision to evolve, does not mean that that work is instantly accomplished. According to eastern teachings, to become completely free of desire and fear and to manifest as our true nature���which is existence-consciousness and bliss itself���is the work of thousands of lifetimes, if not eons.

In fact,��even��genuine but deluded seekers���brainwashed at times by so-called ���gurus������believe they have to suppress natural feelings that arise in response to the cruelty and injustice that rages, and has raged, all around us. They are conditioned to believe that turning inwards means they have to instantly become saccharine sweet creatures who unconditionally love all beings���including the serial rapist/murderer, the cold-blooded assassin, the pedophile and the brutal imperialist.

Based on decades of study and practice, I say NO!��Along this fascinating journey to the blazing center of reality, as we absorb the great truths, we must first process our instinctive feelings���and then allow them to be burned in the fire of wisdom���the wisdom that everything is actually perfect, though it looks terrible, and that a higher power is indeed running the show; it is good to know, however, that this higher power (call it what you will) is not subject to the pressure of human time and does its work at a divine pace��and��in a mysterious��manner��we humans cannot even begin to grok.

Why is this? Because,��in our human form, we manifest both Relative and Absolute.��While the Absolute is our true nature, it is our relative nature that needs cleansing and purifying���and on this often tumultuous path there is much each of us needs to process. In doing so, we often stumble and make mistakes���but it is very much a necessary journey.

Today, on the highest levels of consciousness, I do see that the��whole is perfect���for I accept that the laws that run the cosmos are unerring:��today’s��perpetrator is perhaps yesterday’s victim and so on and of forth in a��vicious chain ��known as samsara. Invisible laws rule this realm, and when we judge things on the surface as we most often do, we miss out on the roots.

And yet, especially on social media threads, it is impossible to adequately express my own convoluted journey to finding peace within this disturbingly violent planet. While intellectually and in terms of spiritual context I am serene,��old emotions still occasionally erupt and demand release; only when I have the courage to process��them am I free to return to a state of peace. But to suppress this churning negativity…to deny that relative evil happens, also arrests spiritual evolution: for the process of change involves first becoming��aware that something is wrong, then to accept it by whatever means necessary, and finally to trust that purificatory/cleansing action��will spontaneously occur due to the loving intervention of higher forces (which is no less than our own Self, and the essence of the cosmos itself).

So the next time you consider pointing a finger at a person who has turned away from the mainstream and decided to refine their insides���because that person appears to be angry or depressed or is harboring a grudge against the seeming villains of the world���remember that robe! It is protection while we do our inner work���and believe me, that work is going on, whether we can see it in others or not.

That said, I feel strongly that an intelligent person���armed with the resources to change, but who still chooses to hide behind the apparent sanctity of a robe in order to perpetrate evil��� does not merit my compassion. (If, say, a pedophile lurks behind the benevolent facade of a priest, then I strongly condemn the action���for��while it is no secret that most sexual predators are themselves the victims of predators, there is no excuse for educated adults not to seek appropriate help).

It is a gorgeous windy morning here and I am about to take the doggies out for their morning walk on the mountain path; for this simple pleasure, I am immensely grateful. Greetings from Arunachala, manifestation of the Wild God who promises to annihilate our ego so we can experience ourselves as pure consciousness and bliss!

Follow Blog via Email

Enter your email address to follow this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Click the buttons below to SHARE if you liked this post.

Monday Funnies Bonus

Mira Prabhu:

For a good laugh…thanks Chris Graham!

Originally posted on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog..... An Author Promotions Enterprise!:

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

View original

Colleen McCullough

Mira Prabhu:

The author of The Thorn Birds passes on at the age of 77…and The Australian rustles up an obit that diminishes a great writer…read Jo Robinson’s comments…interesting!

Originally posted on Jo Robinson:

Colleen McCullough, author of The Thorn Birds died at the age of seventy seven on the 29th January. The Australian wrote this as part of their obituary:

���Australia���s bestselling author was a charmer. Plain of feature, and certainly overweight, she was nevertheless a woman of wit and warmth.���

Pardon?

Use whatever words you like, but you clearly just called her not pretty and fat with a nice personality in her OBITUARY. That���s where you say nice things people. She���d be charmed I���m sure. I loved The Thornbirds, both the book and the series ��� the drama, the forbidden love, the serious crush on Richard Chamberlain who played the priest, and the devastation when he came out and I realised we could never be���.. Ahem. Colleen McCullough was a stellar author, incredibly intelligent, and nice too. Twitter is currently abuzz with hilarious rude fake obits on the hashtag #myozobituary from all���

View original 259 more words

Depression, Understanding, and Finding Peace.

Mira Prabhu:

Ronovan writes fearlessly about “Depression, Understanding, and Finding Peace”… whether it’s ourselves or someone close to us, his touching frankness about his dance with the dark side can help us all to understand the shadows that fall upon us…and remember: to understand is to forgive…thank you, Ronovan!

Originally posted on ronovanwrites:

Year of Renewal. That���s what my theme for this year is. In reality that���s a theme for every day. For someone who has days that are very routine oriented, who needs days that are very routine oriented I surprisingly find myself starting over a lot.

Just when you think things in your life are possibly, just possibly on the right track���Boom! But that���s okay. If you look at my life, I���m kind of accustomed to things never being quite where I need them to be or like them to be or maybe it���s just that life is not where I expect it to be.

Talking About Depression.

First off, I am going to say that everyone is different. No two people have the exact same things about their depression. They may be similar enough to be helped but they are all unique. Also, how they are helped will vary. What���

View original 2,635 more words

The Willies

Mira Prabhu:

Jo Robinson on “The Willies”…thanks for a great post, Jo, and keep ‘em coming – always so authentic and interesting to read!

Originally posted on Jo Robinson:

Firstly I have to say that I���m not in any way religious. Not in the normal way at any rate. I do believe in a greater power, and I also believe that each of us has a purpose ��� something or things that we have to learn, do, or share along the way. So. I research a lot of old myths and legends for my Shadow People books, as well as ancient building sites and so on. I���ve been doing a lot of digging around about free will, death, the afterlife, reincarnation, angels and demons again too, and now I���ve given myself the proper willies. When I was writing Echoes of Narcissus I kept on thinking that some malignant narcissists are actually demonic entities inside. Having known my own, and seeing a couple of videos online they very often look and sound the part. Even if they���re physically gorgeous, it���s���

View original 625 more words

Make a Difference in the Writing Community

Mira Prabhu:

Here’s Tricia Drammeh’s great post on how to be a positive part of the writing community. Certainly the folks we meet along this fascinating journey are a glorious part of the process……and from our side, just a few words of genuine encouragement can inspire so many. All we have to do is to be willing to share each in our own unique way…thank you Tricia!

Originally posted on Tricia Drammeh:

Most authors at one time or another have dreamed of taking the writing world by storm with a��breakout bestselling novel. I���m sure most of us still harbor hope this will happen. Regardless of sales or monetary success, we can still make a difference in the writing community. Whether you���re published or��still writing your first novel,��you can make a huge impact. Here���s how:

Make connections. I recently read an excellent blog post by Susan Toy that discusses online connections and engagement. When it comes to Twitter and blog followers, some people mistake quantity for quality. Would you rather have 100 followers who regularly visit and comment on your blog, or 1000 followers you never hear from again? A huge number of Twitter followers or Facebook Page likes might look good on paper, but what does it really mean if you aren���t making connections with people? Visit blogs and leave���

View original 1,032 more words