SimplyNumbers

Book ideas: Poetry from Kevin Young

Previously, I've written about working with poetry for grief, healing and growth. The poetry collections of Kevin Young can help you to delve deeper into your own healing process and can be an important part of your collection. He is an established and published poet, who finds inspiration from seeming unlikely sources such as jazz and blues. He's written and edited several collections, and was a finalist for the National Book Aware for his collection "Jelly Roll" . His collection "Dear Darkness" was named one of the Best Books of 2008 by NPR's All Things Considered

NPR explains how Kevin sought out a collection of poems that might help him to handle the death of his own father. Unfortunately, he was unable to find a suitable collection, but this inspired him to write his own. 

His yearning for a collection of poetry that actually dealt with grief and regret is where the "Art of Losing: Poems of Grief and Healing" was born. The "Art of Losing" contains sections of poetry on various topics, including recovery, regret, remembrance and ritual. It also spans an ecclectic group of poets from contemporary to historical.

 

"I listen to the blues to feel better, not worse—it transforms us as listeners, takes our troubles away not by pretending they don't exist (like much other early pop music) but by naming them." ~ Kevin Young, interview with Bold Type

 

Resources:

Kevin reading poems from Jelly Roll
Kevin reading poems from The Art of Losing

Introduction to Marc Gafni

“Living your story is about expressing the originality of your commonness. It is about making the ordinary extra-ordinary.” ~ Marc Gafni


Marc Gafni, author and spiritual teacher, talks about creating meaning in your life and finding ways to live passionately.  Although early in his career he tried to find a way to communicate how the mystic, intimate and sacred worlds can be connected and help us to live more fully, he became most successful with his communications as he stepped into a study of mysticism.

His teachings about the importance of love and connection to the inner world, comes through in his books “The Mystery of Love” and “Soul Prints”.  He teaches through the lens of Myth, faith, the Bible and the Kabbalah. The essence of what he talks about in these books is about the importance of living up to your dreams. But, in order to live up to your dreams, you need to accept both your successes and failures. And, you need to be able to “live your story”.

He has undergone many changes in his career. Over the span of his career, which began in his early twenties, he has been a teacher, spiritual speaker, and trainer.

“We all have sacred stories, with great mysteries within us.”  ~ Marc Gafni

If you’re ready to take a step toward looking deeper into your busy life and finding ways for allowing time for finding meaning within your life, then his work can help you to open new doors. Regardless of your your denomination or religious affiliation, these books and Mr. Gafni’s teachings can help guide you to a process in which you are open to listening and looking for the mysterious, spiritual and sacred within your life, and finding ways to connect all of this with your love for yourself, others and your life.

Introduction to Frances Vaughan

"I think of the spiritual path as a journey from fear to love, from bondage to freedom and from ignorance to understanding. I believe love is a universal experience. Although concepts of love can be narrow and distorted, the experience of love is vital to healing and wholeness. I value integrity, honesty, and authenticity in relationships, and I think we need to be true to our deepest experience of the sacred. Qualities such as kindness, generosity, caring and respect flow naturally from a commitment to living in accordance with truth and love."

Frances Vaughan, Ph.D. is a psychologist, and author and co-editor of many fascinating books and articles which explore the realms of spiritual growth through the lens of psychology. She has also extensively lectured and conducted workshops throughout the United States, South America, Asia and Europe.

As a founding faculty member, she helped to establish the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. The role of ITP is to help guide transpersonal learning, and to foster the development of individuals, organizations, and societies toward their fuller potential for wisdom, health and wholeness.

Recently, Frances was a featured speaker in the “Mystery of Love”, which is a PBS documentary detailing the different kinds of love that help to support us in life, and give meaning to life.

She says, “...we see how difficult it is for people to let go of the past, and start over. And yet, I think that’s what we’re challenged to do, just as those of us who have had personal experiences of loss and disappointment, we have to be willing to put that to rest before we can love again...”

Book review: The Mayan Factor

The Mayan Factor: Path Beyond Technology - By Jose Arguelles

This book is absolutely necessary for anyone studying the Mayan culture. Jose Arguelles presents a detailed but easy to understand explanation of the Mayan Calendar. The ideas that he presents are very interesting and thought provoking. You’ll have to put in a little effort to understand some of his terminology and depth, especially when it comes to mathematics.

If you're interested in a study of Mayan culture, then this book should be considered as a vital addition to your library. It shows that there can still be mystery and wonder in our history, and that there is more yet to understand about our growth and advancement to the culture that we have today. The views and ideas that the book provides may be unorthodoxed, but it gives the reader a new religious, spiritual and cultural perspective to take in.

"Though I write in this book of things that may seem culturally remote or transcendentally cosmic, it would be a mistake to think of the Maya as inaccessible. As I have found through my life, the Mayan experience with its wealth of artistic and scientific lore is not so much alien or different as it is strangely, hauntingly familiar, like the numerous coincidences of the word Maya and it cognates that are scatted across the civilized world. " ~ Jose Arguelles, Mayan Factor

The book was originally published in 1987. Arguelles was 47 at the time and had spent over 33 years learning about and researching the Mayan culture. As a young teen he had his first Mayan experience while visiting Mexico, which his family left when he was young. He says that being in the ancient city of Teotihucan, and in awe of it, he was compelled and inspired to uncover the mystery of what had happened there.

"If I had not called the Harmonic Convergence and written The Mayan Factor which focused unprecedented popular attention on the Tzolkin, Haab, and all other aspects of the Mayan Calendar, including many original mathematical analyses, outside of the Day Keepers in Mayab, there would be no Mayan Calendar movement anywhere in the world today." ~ Jose Arguelles, Jose Speaks Out

Ultimately, the book is a good read and can be an excellent addition to your library. It can be an invaluable asset for those who are interested in learning more about the Mayans and 2012, and may even be a surprise help for you with your own personal practice.

Simone Weil

"Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring. Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating." ---  Simone Weil

Introduction to Susie Bright

Susie Bright, perhaps a modern “Dr. Ruth”,  is a vivacious and powerful sexuality expert who writes, directs, lectures, and does podcasts all on the subject of social and sex-related topics. Her audio podcast, In Bed with Susie Bright, is a popular program with a topical focus. She’s also acted for movies and television. You may have seen her on “Six Feet Under” where she played herself on the episode titled “Rainbow of her Reasons”.

Her books or audio programs may be a good starting place for any discussion regarding sex. She holds nothing back and her core belief is that sex, and relationships should be intertwined in everyday life. On her podcast she includes a section called "Try This at Home" that offers supportive sexual advice about sex and your sexuality. Her views may seem radical and may challenge some, but she does encourage you to lead a healthy and satisfying sexual life.

Available Resources:
Her blog:  http://susiebright.blogs.com/
Audible podcast: In Bed with Susie Bright
Amazon: Susie Bright's books

Introduction to Dr Judith Orloff

Dr. Judith Orloff is an author, lecturer and psychiatrist who has been in practice for over twenty years. She teaches that our beliefs set the tone for our own well being. She stresses the importance of maintaining a positive and centered attitude, which can help to foster and maintain physical and emotional wellness. The central focus of her books and lectures is that we all have the ability to quiet our mind chatter and change our dark emotions and find a way to feel better about ourselves. 

Her work also involves working with your own intuition. She says, "Intuition plays an indispensable role in self-diagnosis, pain control, immune response and recovery from acute and chronic illness. As you nurture your intuitive healing capacity your body then provides the energy needed to create holistic methodologies that assist you in creating breakthroughs in anxiety, panic, depression, and other emotional blockages. This approach can be a bridge between traditional and complementary medicine."

Her new blog is a great free way to learn more about her teachings.

Introduction to Dr Jean Houston

Dr. Jean Houston has written over 20 books.She focuses on the importance of working with and maintaining a rich inner life and active imagination. Many of her books work with intuition, imagination and myth to help the reader learn more about his life and finding ways to step forward.

Although she has seen success through her books and lectures there has been conflict in her career. One well publicized event came when Bob Woodward wrote about her and Hillary Clinton in 1996. Apparently, She helped Hillary to talk with Eleanor Roosevelt through imaginary meetings (Active Imagination) as a method for working with difficult issues.

The methods and exercises that she offers can make her books fun and informative to read, especially since she seems to go to great lengths to explain to the reader about the theory that underlies her teaching.
If you are at all interested in exploring your imagination and discovering how powerful it can be, then her books and teachings can be for you.

Introduction to Dr Andrew Weil

Dr. Andrew Weil is an author and a leader within the world of integrative medicine. He has degrees in biology and medicine from Harvard University. His innovative work has helped to change the way many people look at health and vitality. He believes that integrative medicine is an effective and intelligent combination of mainstream and alternative medicine. His central focus is that modern medicine does have a place, but that it is best purposed as a method of resolving a medical crisis. He believes that alternatives to medicine/alternative medicine can be most useful as a means to prevent a crisis from ever happening.

He has been writing articles and books for over thirty years. He has even had a column in Time magazine in which he answered the questions of readers. His books focus on ways in which you can become healthier by eating a simple diet. Also, He would have the reader look to replace all artificial flavorings and sweeteners with natural ones.

Names and Naming - part 1

Roy Feinson, author of “The Animal in You” and “Secret Universe of Names” has done extensive research around how our names impact our lives financially, charismatically, and spiritually. He may have found some of his inspiration from a saying in the Bible. It is, "Like his name, so is he," (1 Samuel 25:25) or, “kishmo ken hu,” which means that a person’s name can represent his or her true character.

Much of his work has been based on US Census Bureau studies. In particular the 1990 study in which he cross referenced 63 million names (the first, and last initials were provided) of the participants. He recognized that it was a small study, but came up with many fascinating results. For example, those people with the first initial of “J”, were almost 3 times more likely to be financially well off than those whose first initial was “N”. 

He also found that people whose first initial was B, T, J, C, K, or D (strongly pronounced letters) , were better at sports, and often proved to be highly successful within the sports world. Letters that showed leader leadership and strength (J, D, T, B, P, G, and I) helped people to climb to the top within business and politics.

He does recognize that there are a variety of sociological, psychological and demographic influences that account for the studies findings. However, the real importance of this study shows that our names can have a profound influence on our lives, and the letters in our names seem to have relevance to the way in which we forge our path in life.