Synopsis
If you are looking for secrets, do not read this book, for I do not know a single secret. On the other hand, if you would like to enter deeper into Stillness, perhaps this book is for you. As I read the letters in this book, I felt moved by the power in them. I felt strength and hope surge in me. I felt truly stunned that I had written them. But mostly I felt humbled. In reading these letters, I see that I am a wise man. Or to be more exact, I sometimes stumble over wisdom and fall so hard that even I recognize it! But I am also just John, confused, frightened, and sometimes bumbling. As a young man, I was scarred by life; and that young man is in these letters. I was full of pain. I hurt everyone I loved. Lord knows I wanted to be a good man, but there was so much hurt and anger stored in me that no matter how much I tried to do the right thing, I would sabotage myself. I loved deeply, but my love was always mingled with a desperate need to be accepted. And invariably I drove away those I loved. But now, as I enter more and more into what I call Stillness, I feel somehow untouched by the hardships of my life. I feel young. I feel silly. I seek peace, but I am unafraid to speak my truth. I can love deeply with no expectation of anything in return. I am unpredictable. I am a little wild. I am intense, very intense. I love to hug and dance and sing. I am learning to treat myself with compassion, and as I do, I am healed. And as I am healed, my sense of Stillness deepens.
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About the Author
Raised in a small Oregon logging town where fighting, drinking, and God were the main entertainment, John had his first introduction to fighting and God in Sunday school. Drinking came later. Ever since those Sunday school days, he has argued endlessly with himself about what God is. And when he gets tired of arguing with himself, he argues with God. John began meditating when he was eighteen-years-old to impress his girlfriend. She found another boyfriend, but John, broken-hearted, continued to meditate, after punching his opposition in the nose. For many years John had a somewhat nomadic life. Hippie, soldier, commercial fisherman, student, drunk, newspaper reporter, freelance writer, insurance salesman, tree trimmer, cook, and construction worker were but a few of the jobs he tried. But throughout them all, he meditated. And he continued to argue with God. Now he, John, not God, thinks he has something worthwhile to share about meditation, life, and how to be, if not happy, less miserable. Does he? Maybe, maybe not. You be the judge. When he is not meditating or saving the world, John likes to walk in the woods near his home. He likes to play guitar and sing. He likes to dance like a wild man. And he likes to hug. He loves his family and his friends. He loves the two cats and the woman who let him live in their house. And whenever he thinks he is enlightened, he remembers how he often wants to yell at his neighbor when her dogs bark and bark and bark at nothing. Nothing? Perhaps they are Buddhist dogs and they are chanting Om Mani Peme Hung in dogese?
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Letters to My Friends: A No Guarantees Guide to Awakening
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Paperback. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Pages can have notes/highlighting. Spine may show signs of wear. ~ ThriftBooks: Read More, Spend Less. Seller Inventory # G0972753141I3N00