!i$@ bee™: Books

Showing posts with label Books. Show all posts

7/6/10

Going through something? Practice this Buddhist meditation from Be Free Where You Are

The popular "Coexist" design

I've always considered myself more of a spiritual person than a religious one. This means instead of adhering to one religion, I pull inspiration from a variety of religious sources and practices and apply the ones I most agree with to my own life. The following passage is from a reading by the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh:

When a storm comes, it stays for some time, and then it goes. An emotion is like that too – it comes and stays for a while, and then it goes. An emotion is only an emotion. We are much, much more than an emotion. We don’t die because of one emotion.

So when you notice that an emotion is beginning to come up, it is very important that you put yourself in a stable sitting position, or you lie down, which is also a very stable position. Then focus your attention on your belly. Your head is like the top of a tree in a storm. I would not stay there. Bring your attention down to the trunk of the tree, where there is stability.

When you have focused on your belly, bring your attention down to the level just below the navel and begin to practice mindful breathing. Breathing in and breathing out deeply, be aware of the rise and fall of the abdomen. After practicing like this for ten, fifteen, or twenty minutes, you will see that you are strong – strong enough to withstand the storm. In this sitting or lying position, just stick to your breathing the way that someone on the ocean would stick to a life vest. After some time the emotion will pass.

This is a very effective practice, but please remember one thing: Don’t wait until you have a strong emotion to practice. If you do, you will not remember how to practice. You have to practice now, today, while you are feeling fine, when you are not dealing with any strong emotions. This is the time to begin learning the practice.

You can practice for ten minutes every day. Sit and practice breathing in and out, focusing your attention on your belly. If you do this for three weeks – twenty-one days – it will become a habit. Then when anger rises up or you are overwhelmed by despair, you will naturally remember the practice. Once you succeed, you will have faith in the practice and you will be able to tell your emotion, “Well, if you come again, I will do exactly the same thing.” You will not be afraid because you know what to do.

~ Be Free Where You Are*

I know what's been added to MY summer reading list...

*Publisher's comments:

Be Free Where You Are is a compendium of the core teachings of Thich Nhat Hanh, based on a talk given at a prison. It shows how mindful practice can cultivate freedom no matter where you are, and summarizes for the first time all of Thich Nhat Hanh's core teachings, making it an outstanding introduction to the ideas and practices of one of the foremost Buddhist teachers alive.

10/20/09

"He looks so very rapey."

Apparently, this photo of author Shel Silverstein ran on the back cover of his renowned children's book "The Giving Tree." Glad this was NOT on the back of my copy! ::shudders::

Some Gawker commenter put it best: "He looks so very rapey. I'd like to have never seen this."

Yeesh. On another note, potential Halloween costume?

3/28/09

The hair out there

I like Pam Grier. She reminds me of my mom circa 1970. Minus the terrible acting (Pam, not my mommy). [via jeloid]

Speaking of beautiful women with fros, Ammo Books has a cool new coffee table book out on the infamous Black Panthers, including...

Kathleen Cleaver

Cleaver in her lawyer's office

Huey P.

Newton behind bars

Bobby Seale, hard at work

Outside a California courthouse

This pic isn't in the book, but I figured a little more Huey P. Newton couldn't hurt... Mmmm

P.I.M.P.

This company's logo is !i$@ bee-approved. Plus, the English translation of their site is totally LOL-worthy:

Foolish bachelor man beware! Afro Lady knows the language of love. She’ll spend your money. She’ll break your heart. Bold, Black, and Beautiful. She wears her PHD on her t-shirt. Her fiya in her fancy pants. She is Africa to a Tee. She’s the new face of Afro Tea!

2/17/09

Interesting article of the day

[via Fumie Sasabuchi]

What one serial shoplifter will do for the labels he loves

I kinda feel bad for the kid in this article, he's obviously very smart. The sad part is, there are so many other kids out there like Kevahn, just replace "shoplifting" with drugs or violence or some other self-destructive mess. It sort of reminds me of this book Manchild in the Promised Land (if you haven't already, go read this book IMMEDIATELY).

On a side note, do you know what is so annoying? When people try to spice up regular names like Steven and Kevin by adding "ah" to the end. Like in MEAN GIRLS when the gym coach says his nephew's name is Anferny and he can't believe his sister named her kid Anferny. Fool, it's supposed to be ANTHONY!

2/2/09

Picture Books!

I've always been a visual kinda girl. I just got through browsing a blog whose author doesn't use any pictures at all, just blocks (and blocks, and more blocks) of text. Don't get me wrong, typography can be pretty interesting in terms of design. But if I'm supposed to be reading your life story on the internet, Imma need some pics please. Reading that wordy blog got me to thinking about how, even though I'm 23 and pretty well-read (after all, I was an English major), I still enjoy picture books.

One of my favorites has always been Edward Gorey's The Gashlycrumb Tinies. One writer described his work as "cutely disturbing," and I love it. The copy I received in elementary school is still sitting on my bookshelf.

Another favorite of mine is Ezra Jack Keats. I remember reading his books when I was in preschool (!). I love his illustration style and the fact that the children in his stories looked like me and were growing up in urban areas, just like me. Even though the stories he wrote could have been happening to any child in America, it was refreshing--now as well as back then--to see myself reflected in the books I read.

Peter wakes up to snow in A Snowy Day

Why Mosquitoes Buzz In People's Ears was also a favorite. Leo and Diane Dillon are great artists, and their visuals in the book really compliment the African folktale at hand.