My Personal Journey with Books

I am taking part in the Write Tribe Festival Of Words 8th - 14th December 2013

So today's personal journey is with "Books"

I am convinced that books find us not the other way round. That when the Universe wants to give us a message, it sends a book our way.

Some years ago I went book shopping at lunchtime to buy one that someone had recommended. I can't remember the name of the book but I do remember that I never got around to buying it.

As I walked into the aisle and started browsing through the titles, this book caught my eye. However as I was on the lookout for another book, I gave it a glance, and walked off in search of the recommended book.

I couldn't find it anywhere. Instead, the other book came into view again and again. Until unexpectedly while reaching for another book, it just dropped out of the bookshelf and onto the floor near my feet. I was so drawn to it, that I finally picked it up, paid for it and walked out of the store. The recommended book long forgotten and never bought.

That book was Dan Millman's Way of the Peaceful Warrior. It's one of my favourite books and since then Dan Millman has become one of my favourite authors.

The way of the Peaceful Warrior was one of the turning points in my spiritual journey and at the time, summed up the meaning of life for me:

Where are you Dan?  Here

What time is it?  Now

What are you?  This moment.

There are some real gems of wisdom in this book. I read this often and each time I discover something new. But the peaceful warriors path is not an easy one at the start.

image source: wikipedia

Join me tomorrow on my next personal journey with Music

My Personal Journey so far:

Day 1 = Memories

Day 2 = Food

Check out some Day 3 posts and some Day 2 posts that I really enjoyed:

Kalpana's Food - Some interesting rituals of her grandmother.

Soumya's Ambrosia - Where can we find it?

Padmanabha's Food - Food in many ways - a touching story

Have a happy day

Warm Regards


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Friday Fives - Book 'Em

    As I am into reading right now this is a good one to attempt.
    (taken from Friday5.org)





1. What book did you struggle to get through but is something you're glad you've read?
     E.M. Foster's A Passage to India - was my book for Literature at University and was such a drag
     to read. Any book that you have to study is always a hard read. But I'm still glad I read it.


2. What's a book whose popularity has baffled you?
    Arundhati Roy's  God of Small Things - this book made no sense to me at all. Perhaps I should
    attempt reading it again.


3. If you could make everyone you know read one book, what would it be?
    Dan Millman's Way of the Peaceful Warrior - This book summed up the meaning of Life for me.


4. What book have you liked less and less as time has gone by?
    I don't think there is any book that falls into this category. I either like a book or don't.


5. What book have you loved more and more as time has gone by?
    Brian Weiss' Only Love is Real - a book that provides hope and an understanding of relationships
    from a spiritual perspective.


Please share your fives. Would love to read your answers.

Warm Regards

I Love Quotes - Dan Millman - 3 Rules of Life

Life has 3 rules - Paradox, Humour, and Change
Paradox - Life is a mystery; 
                 don't waste your time trying to figure it out
Humour - Keep a sense of humour, especially about yourself.
                 It is a strength beyond all measure
Change - Know that nothing ever stays the same.
                                  Dan Millman, Way of the Peaceful Warrior


Dan Millman is one of my favourite authors and I love this quote.

We all come with our own destiny and path. We may have a gut feel about the events that are to occur but we probably won't figure out how, when and where. If life isn't a mystery, there would be no fun in discovering it. So go with the flow.

Humour can diffuse a tense situation. Noticed how those who can laugh at themselves are the ones people want to be with. As they say, laugh and the world laughs with you; weep and you weep alone.

Change is constant (an oxymoron). Good times do not stay forever, nor do the bad times. Expect change and embrace it. It's when we resist change, that things become difficult. If life did not change constantly, it would be extremely dull.

Related Posts:
No Ordinary Moments
Paddle Downstream

List It - Karate - What it means to me.

When I started Karate 3 years ago, I took it up purely as a sport and martial art. To advance to the next belt was my only aim.

Then about a year ago it dawned on me that for me it was more than a sport and martial art and earning the next belt was no longer important or the focus for me.

I believe that we progress just enough to get what we require from an event or experience and I think I reached that with Karate a year ago.


Karate for me took on a different meaning. So what does Karate mean to me?

o  Keeps me in Balance
    Practicing kata (detailed patterns of movement) engage both the right and left side of your brain and
    body. It keeps me balanced

o  Takes me to a State of Zen
    When I am stressed or feel out of sorts, performing kata and the basic karate movements helps
    to relieve stress. The kiai (short exhalation during a strike) is particularly helpful at
    relieving stress as when done correctly, it channels the energy within into a destructive force. It
    requires timing and focus and hence a clear mind. Relieving stress takes me back to a state of Zen.

o  Sharpens the mind
    Karate demands focus as movements need to be undertaken with precision and right technique.
    In a class it also means keeping up in synchronized harmony with the rest of the karatekas.
    The mind must be engaged at every second. The same applies during kumite (sparring) as even a
    momentary lapse in concentration can lose the match for you.

o  Keeps me Fit
    Karate is very demanding on the body. My fitness levels absolutely soared after I first started.
    And I also lost a lot of weight.  It's a great fitness regime.

o  It's a Meditation
    Kata is meditative as it is a coordinated pattern of movements. As in the kiai, it requires timing,
    focus and clear thinking. After a while, it becomes quite hypnotic if you are in "the zone".

o  My Spiritual Practice
    Karate requires the synchronized engagement of body, mind and soul. Karate demonstrates the
    concept of "Be here now" perfectly which is the essence of a spiritual practice.
    Dan Millman illustrates this concept perfectly in his book "The Way of the Peaceful Warrior".
          Where are you Dan?  Here
          What time is it?  Now
          What are you?  This moment.
    To be in "the karate zone" you need to be here, now, in this moment.

o Teaches me to use circumstances to my advantage
    During kumite you always study and understand your opponent. Then you quickly learn 3 things -
        -  exploit your opponents weak points to make a strike
        -  use your opponents strengths to your advantage (eg defend instead of attack)
        -  take them by surprise - change the pattern
    You can apply the same to everyday circumstances. For example, at work,
        -  when in difficult situations use the strengths of a coworker to help you or
        -  if something isn't working and you've tried over and over again, change the pattern,
           try something different.
    In all honesty I do not enjoy kumite, I am not even good at it, but that's not important.
    What's important is that it has taught me skills that help me everyday particularly at work.

I love karate. I no longer strive for belts, I don't need to. Karate is now more a way of life for me.

Thank you Sensei Scott for introducing karate to me. You are an inspiration.

Osu.

  

Appreciate Life

No Ordinary Moments introduces this post ...


Just a little over a year ago my father passed away very suddenly, very unexpectedly. 

He was my rock and my guiding light and I think of him everyday.

All that I have learned in life, I have learned from him.

He taught me how to live -  simply, kindly, lovingly, gently, generously, compassionately and above all humbly. He was a living example of all these and much more.

The last hours of his life have taught me to care with compassion and to lovingly let go so he could depart in peace.

They are by far the most difficult moments of my life - watching someone you love so much in so much distress, slipping away from you forever.

I will never forget the struggle of his soul nor forget his eyes pleading with me to end his distress.

His death has taught me to appreciate life and the people who arrive and depart within it.

Be at peace Dad.

No Ordinary Moments

A few days ago I  had an interview at 9.00 am and decided not to chance being late by taking the bus.  So instead I indulged and took a taxi.

 I had allowed for 50 mins in case of slow traffic but found myself zooming into town and getting in with half an hour to spare.

I thought I would stop by and say hello to my daughter but found her shop hadn't opened yet so I decided to walk to my favourite shop - Farmers.

Instead I found myself turning into Borders and up the escalator to my favourite section - Mind Body and Spirit.

I turned into the aisle and stopped right in front of a book that jumped out at me - No Ordinary Moments by Dan Millman.

In the last 16 months I have been to Borders several times - no books have jumped out at me. The urge to go into the bookstore hasn't been there either.

So when my feet took me in and stopped dead in front of this book, I knew I had to buy it.

Dan Millman is one of my favourite authors and strange but true his other books also jumped out at me at Borders - Way of the Peaceful Warrior and The Journeys of Socrates. They belong to my collection of favourite books and No Ordinary Moments is also proving to be one I can add to that.

This post is triggered from a paragraph in the book. A distinct and strong urge to write this post came over me as I read it.


"Life comforts the disturbed and disturbs the comfortable. Sometimes, out of nowhere, Spirit lands a left hook that really shakes us up; we get slammed into the ropes, knocked to the canvas. Maybe the shock comes in the form of a financial crisis, a death in the family, a divorce, or an illness or injury. Hard times provide opportunities that don't come around when life is comfortable."


In the next few posts I will share some  of the major left hooks that Spirit has bestowed upon me, ropes I've slammed into and canvases I've been knocked into and the lessons each event has taught me.

Posts in this series:
What Seems Impossible Is Possible
Be Here Now
The Universe Sends Clues
Appreciate Life
The Lesson Must Be Learned
Paddle Downstream