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The Importance of a Good Book

The last five months have been an immersion into self study and absorbing as many spiritual books as I possibly can.  My reading list seems to be getting longer by the day and at times I find I have up to five books on the go!

The catalyst for this time of such dense reading was “The Path of Practice” by Bri Maya Tiwari.  My roommate at the Anand Prakash Ashram recommended it so I headed off to one of the many bookstores on the banks of the Ganges in Rishikesh to purchase a copy.  It is probably the best 295 rupees I have ever spent!

“This is one of the simplest introductions to a step-by-step practice of sadhana for the uninitiated…. Her methods incorporate the healing nature of sound, food and breath and are easy to understand and follow to be in tune with natural rhythms.” – Book Reviews

“The Path of Practice” is an honest sharing of Maya’s experience of healing from her diagnosis of ovarian cancer at the age of 23 to her journey using Vedic healing practices.  She undertook to heal herself through meditation, the healing of her ancestral heritage, sound healing, silence, creating sacred space, breathwork and food sadhana.  This was a deep process taking Maya from America to Rishikesh where she became a practising Vedic monk devoted to developing and sharing her knowledge of healing techniques.

The book is an easy to follow, step by step guide which is part auto-biography and part healing manual.  For me the book gave me many “aha” moments, enabling me to journey deeper into my yoga practice, understand some of the practices that I was intuitively being drawn to.  We were practicing many of the sadhanas at the Ashram so it was useful to be practicing as well as intellectually understanding the processes.  Our sadhanas included full moon ceremonies to bask in the essence of the moon to heal shakti prana (feminine energies), holding ancestor ceremonies on the banks of the river Ganges, attending fire puja (rituals) to burn away impurities, chanting for healing and eating a sattvic (pure) diet.

“We are wellness. We are consciousness. That is our natural state. Disease is an impostor” – Bri Maya Tiwari

This book is designed for women by a woman but it does not preclude men.  Maya states that this book is a “course in healing and in living.”  She maintains that “all pain is a reminder that we have strayed from the natural rhythms of life,” and this book acts to guide us back.  An easy to follow programme containing a wealth of knowledge and the depth of experience.  It’s a profound read and calls us to get in tune with deeper universal rhythms.

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Book Review: Braving The Wilderness by Brené Brown

Book Review

‘The wilderness is an untamed, unpredictable place of solitude and searching. It is a place as dangerous as it is breathtaking, a place as sought after as it is feared. But it turns out to be the place of true belonging, and it’s the bravest and most sacred place you will ever stand.’ ~ Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW

Winter is the perfect time to retreat from the world and to spend time reading.  I’m working my way through books that have been on my wish list for ages.

I am currently reading Braving The Wilderness by Brené Brown and I’m having quite a few ah-ha moments.  This book is helping me make sense of some of the thoughts and ideas I have been developing and also sheds new light on the current global conversations.

I have been questioning and reviewing my ideas, releasing what no longer holds true for me or is no longer required.  Ultimately I realise that I am (re)discovering my true self.  This process can be confusing and sometimes messy but inner knowing is guiding this transition.

‘True belonging doesn’t require us to change who we are. It requires us to be who we are.’ ~ Brené Brown

This book is a mix of research, storytelling and honesty to encourage wider conversations.  Social scientist Brené Brown starts the discussion about the experiences that bring meaning to our lives – experiences of courage, vulnerability, love, belonging, shame and empathy.

Brown believes we are experiencing a spiritual crisis of disconnection.  In the book she offers us the clarity and courage we need to find our way back to ourselves and each other.

Brené writes, ‘True belonging requires us to believe in and belong to ourselves so fully that we can find sacredness both in both being a part of something, and in standing alone when necessary. But in a culture that’s rife with perfectionism and pleasing, and with the erosion of civility, it’s easy to stay quiet, hide in our ideological bunkers, or fit in rather than show up as our true selves and brave the wilderness of uncertainty and criticism. But true belonging is not something we negotiate or accomplish with others; it’s a daily practice that demands integrity and authenticity. It’s a personal commitment that we carry in our hearts.’

One of the main issues identified through her research was the feeling of being ‘spiritually disconnected,’ a diminishing sense of shared humanity. What seems to bind us together now is shared fear and disdain, not common humanity, shared trust, respect or love. Emerging from the responses in her research, Brown describes four elements as ‘true belonging.’

1. People Are Hard to Hate Close Up. Move In.
2. Speak Truth to BS. Be Civil.
3. Hold Hands. With Strangers.
4. Strong Back. Soft Front. Wild Heart.

I found this a powerful and inspiring book.  It unpacks our contemporary ways of being and the disconnect that is experienced on a global & personal level.  This book seems to connect with our desire to be our true self even if our true self has been deeply buried during our journey through life.  We can experience trauma, upsetting events, get stuck in life situations or end up completely lost but our deeper knowing will continue to give us messages to guide us back on track.  Our inner wisdom pushes us towards finding our true self again.

We have a collective and individual desire to belong.  It is what makes us human.  Brown writes “We are wired for connection. But the key is that, in any given moment of it, it has to be real.”

Braving The Wilderness encourages us to build courage, resilience, review ourselves, move in, be civil, be our true self and to find our true voice.

Watch Brené Brown discuss Braving The Wilderness with Marie Forleo.  “How to Brave The Wilderness” with a particular focus on some powerful truths about belonging, courage, and why we all desperately need to change the way we talk about our enemies.

Also watch Brené Brown’s inspirational TED talk “The power of vulnerability”.  One of the most watched TED talks with 40 million views to date (TED website & YouTube views).  Brené Brown studies human connection – our ability to empathise, belong, love. In a poignant, funny talk at TED, she shares a deep insight from her research, one that sent her on a personal quest to know herself as well as to understand humanity.

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Book Review: Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke

Book review

“And now we welcome the new year, full of things that have never been” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Recently in a discussion with a friend he quoted from Letters to a Young Poet as we discussed embracing isolation, experiencing solitude and the impact this can have on the process of creativity.

I was intrigued and purchased a copy of this book to find out more…

In the early twentieth century Rainer Maria Rilke wrote a series of letters to a young officer cadet, Franz Xaver Kappus, advising him on writing, creativity, love, sexuality, suffering and he shared accounts of his travels around Europe.

“Believe in a love that is being stored up for you like an inheritance, and have faith that in this love there is a strength and a blessing so large that you can travel as far as you wish without having to step outside it.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

This thought provoking book gives an insight into the life of a writer as Rilke gives kind advice to his friend.  Letters to a Young Poet illustrates the determination that artists require to stick to their path and to create.

Rilke shares wisdom and insight into the human condition.  This is a book for those that wish to explore living to their fullest potential, to explore the inner and outer worlds, to experience solitude and the growth this can bring and to become more connected in the process.

“But your solitude will be a support and a home for you, even in the midst of very unfamiliar circumstances, and from it you will find all your paths.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Solitude is discussed with great wisdom and how stepping away from life and busyness can allow an exploration of the inner world.  This time and space can allow for the answers to come from within.  It is not to say that this process is easy, invariably it can feel very uncomfortable at the start.  A place of unfamiliarity, maybe with its own difficulties, possibly bringing up deep seated fears and emotions.  This maybe a slow and intense path but in the process of acceptance and surrender deeper awareness can be achieved.

“Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart.   …live in the question.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

This book is a useful read for anyone wishing to explore creativity, artistry, spirituality and deeper ways of living.

“If your daily life seems poor, do not blame it; blame yourself, tell yourself that you are not poet enough to call forth its riches; for to the creator there is no poverty and no poor indifferent place.” ~ Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet

Sunset by Rainer Maria Rilke

Slowly the west reaches for clothes of new colors
which it passes to a row of ancient trees.

You look, and soon these two worlds both leave you
one part climbs toward heaven, one sinks to earth.

leaving you, not really belonging to either,
not so hopelessly dark as that house that is silent,
not so unswervingly given to the eternal as that thing
that turns to a star each night and climbs–

leaving you (it is impossible to untangle the threads)
your own life, timid and standing high and growing,
so that, sometimes blocked in, sometimes reaching out,
one moment your life is a stone in you, and the next, a star.