For all you Harry Potter fans, this blogger created a fake journal for a character she made up who is attending Hogwarts and having trouble keeping up with her personal things. The artist has created a zine. For more and how you can own a copy of this delightful and charming fake journal: http://ephilog.blogspot.com/2010/05/ravens-journal-in-print.html
Here is a list of 40 blogs on Reiki. I haven't looked at them all so I can't say if I agree with this list or not but I thought I'd share it anyway. (I do know I see one listed for a blogger I find uses sensational and occasionally divisive language when discussing Reiki but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad resource.) http://current.com/1qci04c
The scheduling for the FREE watercolor course has been changed so if you thought you could not participate because you didn't learn about it soon enough--now it begins in July. You have two months to sign up and get ready. http://creativelive.com/courses/watercolor101/
I could link over to some or all of the blog posts I've made about vertigo, about how this condition has compromised my lifestyle. But if you've been reading my blog then you already know. If you haven't been reading my blog then you won't read this either.
I just really need some ideas. So far nothing I've come up with is any different from what I've already been trying to do to get some income. And I can assure you, those things haven't been successful at all.
I never considered that there might be discrimination against people with vertigo but apparently there is.
Or was. Good to know there are changes on the horizon.
Of course, none of this would be necessary if I could raise $10,000 but since none of my readers have suggested ways for me to raise money I am thinking that I am not the only one stymied by the logistics.
Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts
by Reb Anderson is a discussion of the precepts taught when a Buddhist takes
the Bodhisattva vows. The author’s voice
is familiar and his talent as a teacher is evident throughout. Anderson
manages to take concepts that are typically explained in ways that keep the
truths too esoteric for the average reader and breaks them down into
comprehensible and applicable concepts.
Infusing each chapter with personal stories and quoting from
literature brings even the most lofty ideas down to earth. Anderson
is not hesitant to share his own faults and is honest about the failings of other
leaders within the ZenCenter,
all the while never faltering in his own esteeming of his teacher. This book is not written for the person who
is unfamiliar with Buddhism and its precepts, however, so anyone interested in
learning some basic truths regarding Buddhism should probably look
elsewhere. For the person who is
familiar with Buddhism and is already practiced in meditation, who may be
pondering how to take their spiritual practice to a new and deeper level, this
book will be welcome.
But like even the best guest, a welcome can turn cold if the
guest stays too long and when Anderson
shares the failings of himself and his teacher’s replacement the reader is
reminded that there are no perfect answers.
If even the leaders are flawed does this make it easier for the
follower? I don’t know. But I seem to be reading so many books in
which the author shares about a leadership that is sexually irresponsible and,
while I appreciate the candor, I am getting weary of the reality. Of course, these men (and women, I suppose)
are the exception and not the rule. For
every priest or monk caught in sexual indiscretion there are tens and hundreds
who do nothing to violate their own morality.
I would have liked to read this book along with someone else
to discuss the concepts more fully. This
isn’t a book that I will buy but it is one that I would recommend.
PS: I would recommend, if you are not familiar with the scandal(s) that surround the San Francisco Zen Center, that you avoid learning about them until after you have finished reading this book. I think that if I had known about these things more fully (and a few clicks through a google search turned up a lot!), I might have been less gracious throughout my reading.
Yesterday Rob found this coffee maker on sale and came home with it as a surprise. I have yet to make a decent cup of coffee with it but that's because it typically takes me a few days to get the water to coffee grounds ration just right. So far I know that 8 scoops to 10 cups water set to "strong" is not a good choice for me.
The Brain That Changes
Itself: Stories of Personal Triumph From the Frontiers of Brain Science by Norman Doidge MD is about how the brain works with a focus on neuroplasticity and how the fundamental ways in which our brain is “wired” can be
changed.For centuries the brain’s being
broken down into territories with certain parts doing specific things has been
the guiding rule but science, which has been theorizing that perhaps there is
another way the brain works, is using technology—like CAT scans—to look beyond
the preconceived notions.
When I first started the book, I had an extremely hard time
reading beyond a few sentences or a paragraph without breaking into tears.The first patient discussed is a woman with
vertigo; her condition is worse than my own but my empathy was relentless.It wasn’t until I reached the part where a
doctor, Bach-y-Rita, was able to help this woman that I began reading with more
haste.
Then I put the book down altogether because she was cured
and I was determined to learn as much as I could about how she was cured and
whether or not the doctor was able to develop a tool that would break through
whatever nerve damage I have and restore my balance.
And that is why it took me weeks (no exaggeration) to get through
the first chapter because I kept crying and then forgot the book altogether as
I was doing research for myself.
For anyone who is interested in learning how the brain works—the
theories behind use it or lose it and neurons that fire together wire together—this
book is a great introduction, not so technically overwhelming that the average
reader won’t be engaged.Doidge shares
examples from his own practice along with the historical context for what
science used to believe and what discoveries are being made the more
information we have.
I confess, I had some difficulty reading about the research
that was conducted, especially when animals were involved.If I hadn’t been deeply committed to wanting
to read about brain plasticity for myself I wouldn’t have finished some of the
book.Nevertheless, the rest of the content
is fascinating.The truth is, for all I
know the reason I pushed through in spite of my disgust and dismay is simply because
I wanted to read something that would give me hope that the physical therapy
exercises may eventually help.Little
could I know that I would find something that promises a possible cure.An expensive one but a cure regardless.Anyone who knows someone who has experienced
brain trauma—whether as the result of injury or stroke or anything else—there is
information within these pages that will offer possible answers.If not inspiring, it is at least interesting
and a resourceful reader may find a miracle.
1945:Prayer for a Child, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones; text: Rachel Field (Macmillan)
1944:Many Moons, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin; text: James Thurber (Harcourt)
1943:The Little Houseby Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton)
1942:Make Way for Ducklingsby Robert McCloskey (Viking)
1941:They Were Strong and Good, by Robert Lawson (Viking)
1940:Abraham Lincolnby Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire (Doubleday)
1939:Mei Liby Thomas Handforth (Doubleday)
1938:Animals of the Bible, A Picture Book, illustrated by Dorothy P. Lathrop; text: selected by Helen Dean Fish (Lippincott)
So I don't know if you noticed but the books I read aren't actually Caldecott Medal winners. I guess they were nominated. I complain about my public library occasionally for the most random things but truly think this will be the winner of the most random complaint regarding my library because I actually went to to the site and clicked the "Caldecott Medal Winners" so I could choose only the books that won. I suppose I can't be totally begrudging on this one because I found that delightful book as a result of this error on the library's part. But they don't make it easy for someone to do something with focus by befuddling the information. Grrrrr . . .