The Love of the Fifth Spiritual Paradigm

The Love is an interesting collection of poems, essays, and short stories by a series of well-known and upcoming writers recently released by the Oracle Institute Press that aims to identify the problems we face in the 21^st century as conquerable by the notion and practice of love. The idea of love, in all its varieties and forms, is tackled by a breadth of perspectives such as romantic love, love of nature and animals, love of self, love of God, and love as we apply and implement in our communities and our families.

The Love’s editor, Laura M. George, conjectures in the introduction that the obstacles we face in our lives and in our world rise from the drying of a collective spiritual well that can only be rejuvenated by love. An interesting idea she poses that as in our time, “sectarian strife has replaced skin tone, economic disparity, and national boundaries.” The Love’s writings ask for a personal inquiry of our own ideas about faith, displaying the act of love as a self-made religion of the 21^st century drawing from the five core religions of the world, from Buddhism to the Abrahamic religions.

This unique anthology includes the work of acclaimed New York Times best-selling authors and the generous contributions of Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners. The list of authors associated with The Love include Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Maya Angelou, Maxine Hong Kingston, Wendell Berry, David Suzuki, Barabara Hand Clow, Stephen Dunn, Andrew Cohen, and Brian McLaren.

Poems by Maya Angelou and Wendell Barry tackle love of community (in Alone) and love of nature (in Look Out). Barry’s Look Out examines greed in free verse, beckoning to the reader to gaze out her window at the divine spectacle of environmental creation and destruction. An essay titled “Let Me Count the Ways” celebrates the famed relationship between the 19^th century man and wife poetry powerhouse that were Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning by printing excerpt of their courtship by post through tender love letters.

If you liked Robert Solomon’s Spirituality for the Skeptic: The Thoughtful Love and Life and Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat, Pray, Love, you will thoroughly enjoy The Love.

Submitted by Thea Chacamaty.

SAVOR Contest: Please Try This at Home

Most of us would probably agree with the statement: My diet isn’t terrible but it’s also not great.  We could all put a little more thought into what we eat because food not only determines our appearance but more importantly our health and well-being.   This means we have a serious amount of control over our health, happiness and overall wellness.  Now, accepting that should be a relief until you realize the amount of responsibility that will be.

The answer, however, is simple mindfulness and SAVOR is your guide to exactly that. Applying basic Buddhist fundamentals with science-based facts, Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh and Harvard nutritionist, Dr. Lilian Cheung offer practical advice for becoming more mindful in your eating, exercise, and other day-to-day activities.

CONTEST: Become a fan of HarperOne on Facebook and five fans will win a copy of SAVOR. (This contest will be open from 3/8 to 3/12. Five winners will be chosen. Don’t forget to read the rules!)

The following excerpt from Savor is a mindfulness meditation about eating an apple. This introductory sample reminds you to be aware of the present moment, why you do what you do and start changing your behavior.

Quick Reads: I Swear to Good You are God at This

Recently we received a fun and fully illustrated 72-page book from a bootstrapping, self-made music publicist who found what he loved and has done it ever since.   I Swear to Good You are God at This is a collection of creative inspiration featuring 25 creative people and their mind-blowing projects was put together by Dave Brown, founder of Holiday Matinee an independent design and creative consulting company.

Inspired by his own experience of finding something he loved and running with it for it was worth, I Swear to Good You are God at This introduces us to quirky, entrepreneurial ideas that worked including Baggu – stylish and compact reusable bags and DoGood, a free iphone app that deliver 365 collective acts of kindness such as using less water or creating a green spot in your home.

The book comes complete with a list of inspiring websites to peruse and each page is brandished with bold illustrations or photography underneath cathartic calls-to-action like: “Today is a PERFECT DAY to start investing in you.”  It’s the perfect thing to keep on your desk, coffee table or fire escape – wherever you go to be creative – to remind you of your own potential and possibilities.

Visit Dave, his book and Holiday Matinee at www.holidaymatinee.com or @holidaymatinee.

Guest post: Author Dani Shapiro Discusses the Inspiration Behind Devotion

Cover: Devotion by Dani Shapiro

When I began to write Devotion—or rather, I should say when I began the search for meaning that led me to write Devotion—there were only a few things I knew for sure: first, that I wasn’t looking for answers to life’s big questions.  I was highly suspicious of answers.  And second, that I wanted to work with the materials of my own life, using myself and my surroundings as a laboratory of sorts, because I had a feeling that what I was looking for was right in front of me.  I had only to open my eyes.

In a mixed tape my husband made me for my yoga practice, one of the songs is Procul Harum’s “A Whiter Shade of Pale”, and when I’m in the middle of my practice, I often hear this lyric, standing out as if in neon: “And although my eyes were open, they might just’ve well been closed.”  I knew that feeling, that sense of looking but not really seeing.  And I wanted, more than anything, to see clearly.

My mother had died a few years back, and when she was on her deathbed, she turned to me one day, bewildered, and said “but I had just been getting my life together.”  That terrified me—the idea of a dying, eighty-year-old woman feeling that she hadn’t gotten her life together.  So how to be sure my eyes were open?  How to be certain that one day I wouldn’t feel like it had all passed me by and I had somehow missed it?

Thinking In Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism by Temple Grandin

HBO’s latest original film Temple Grandin is an inspiring biopic based on the life of Temple Grandin, an autistic woman born in 1947, a time when not much was known about the disorder.  The film offers insight into Grandin’s personal experience with autism – from her early diagnosis, to her troubled but determined journey through school to her emergence as a unique and talented young woman with a specialized sensitivity and understanding of animal behavior.

Throughout her childhood and teenage years, Temple was fortunate enough to be supported by a host of brilliant and patient friends, teachers and family members – most notably her mother who firmly but fairly urged Temple toward new challenges.  She went on to graduate from Franklin Pierce College and eventually earn her Ph.D in Animal Science at the University of Illinois.

Her research on the humane treatment of animals has revolutionized the cattle industry and she has become an advocate for autism and autism spectrum disorder education.  She is also an author.  Her autobiography is called Thinking in Pictures: and Other Reports from My Life with Autism.

Valentine’s Day Contest: Dates and Disasters

I haven’t been to the Valentine’s Day section of a stationary store in a very long time.   Like many people, I’m perplexed by the holiday: to celebrate or not to celebrate, that has been the question.  The meaning and significance of the holiday can be interpreted in so many ways and it feels the holiday reflects on all of us — whether single, married, dating, on the rebound, oblivious or anti-.

On February 14th, commercial symbols of love are everywhere.  There are hearts drawn in the sky, heart candy, chocolates, roses, stuffed bears, puppies, TV specials, radio stations devote their entire programming schedule to love songs and let’s not get into the romantic comedies.

Love is complicated, relationships are complicated, even being single is complicated… and possibly more so. Valentine’s Day takes all of that complication and gives us a specific day of the year to express it, publicly.  Results definitely vary.

So tell us your stories: have you had an amazing V Day? Was there a moment of weakness that in retrospect you’re secretly proud of it? Has it been an all out disaster that in retrospect still isn’t funny at all?  The best love story will receive a stack of pro-love books like Rumi’s The Book of Love and Arielle Ford’s Soulmate Secret.  The best sad but true story will receive a stack of anti-love books like Quirkyalone and Relationship Obits.

[This contest runs from 2/8 to 2/15.  Three winners will be chosen.  Estimated total prize value: $72. To be entered to win, leave a comment or email us at goodbooksinbadtimes at harpercollins.com. Don't forget to read the rules!]

Farewell to JD Salinger, Howard Zinn

It was announced today that beloved American novelist JD Salinger has passed away at the age of 91 in Cornish, NH.  His most famous novel The Catcher in the Rye soothed the idealistic souls of generations of adolescents and the Glass family introduced in Franny and Zooey were a unique picture of an middle class family of intellectuals with a leaning toward Eastern beliefs. 

Within all of his works, there could be found cryptic details of his own life – telling similarities between himself and his characters and though he was reclusive (rightfully,) fans of his work can feel as if they knew him better than he may have wanted.

News of his passing continues to cover the web today along with news of the passing of historian and activist Howard Zinn, author of A People’s History of the United States, a more ethical response to traditional revisionist histories.  His 1980 masterpiece inspired American high school and college students to re-learn the history of their country complete with  revolutionary struggles of impoverished farmers, feminists, laborers and resisters of slavery and war.  The credit goes to Zinn that these stories are included in today’s history textbooks.

Excerpt: The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini

The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini

Earlier this month, best-selling author, columnist, entrepreneur, financial advisor and motivational speaker, Robert Pagliarini published his third book, The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose – a guide to maximizing your time and getting the most from your 24 hours a day.

This book brings to mind the common maxim, “Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life.”   I’ve heard it many times and always accepted it as a gesture of goodwill more than practical guidance.  I imagine a good portion of Americans simply don’t have the luxury of doing what they love, and more likely they’ve found something they don’t hate and are glad it pays the bills.  They spend 8 hours at work, 8 hours sleeping and the other 8 hours doing… what, exactly?

The Other 8 Hours is reminder of those, well, other 8 hours of valuable free time that we spend maybe exercising, maybe cooking and quite probably vegging on the couch or obsessing over Facebook.  It’s a practical guide to organizing that free time so you can pursue the things in life that make you happy and, maybe, make a little money doing it.  Hmm, spare time and some spending money sound like the very two things we could all use a little more of…

The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth & Purpose (St. Martin’s Press; January 5, 2010; $25.99) is a whole new clear-headed, do-able way to live life to the fullest. It features stories from personal experience, profiles of other successful people, research, and self-analysis tools to help readers find and create their own opportunities with ease.

Find out more in this excerpt, compliments of Pagliarini. Excerpt: The Other 8 Hours by Robert Pagliarini