Encouraging Words

Two books I have really enjoyed reading this month, and would heartily recommend to you are:

Essential Spirituality: The 7 Central Practices to Awaken Heart and Mind. By Roger Walsh, M.D., Ph.D. New York, John Wiley and Sons, 1999. Index, bibliography, source notes, 306 pages. ISBN: 0471392162. "Exercises from the world's religions to cultivate kindness, love, joy, peace, vision, wisdom and generosity." Clearly written, full of insight, and overflowing with heart felt encouragement.

Daoism and Chinese Culture. By Livia Kohn. Magdalena, NM, Three Pines Press, 2001. Index, chronology, notes, 228 pages. ISBN: 1931483000. "Livia Kohn is a world-renowned scholar of Daoism and professor of Religion and East Asian Studies at Boston University." This book provides a balanced and through introduction to Daoism and its literary, communal, and self-cultivation dimensions, both past and present.

I'm now reading "Daoist Body Cultivation." edited by Livia Kohn.

"It is not merely enthusiasm that erodes when practice declines. Your body and mind can go out of tune. You are no longer a vessel of insight. The cardinal can sing; the wind can move the ironwood trees delicately; a child can ask a wise question -- and where is your center? How can you respond? It is time to put yourself back in tune, to be ready for experiences that make life fulfilling. Take up the advice for beginners. Put your zazen pad somewhere between your bathroom and your kitchen. Sit down there in the morning after you use the bathroom and before you cook breakfast. You are sitting with everyone in the world. If you sit only briefly, you will have at least settled your day."
- Robert Aitken, Encouraging Words

Quotations about Willpower