I am an avid reader, a music lover and lover of poetry and inspirational stories. Below you'll find a list of some books that have inspired me (or made me laugh), music that enlivens my heart and stories and quotes on life, love and everything in between.
And if you see something not on my reading or music list that's inspired you, email it to me, always looking for fresh material.
I have been very blessed to have a great many people come into my life. Here are a few I'd like to mention.
Gurmukh Kaur, Guru Fatha Singh, Tania Frechette (Meher Kaur), Basia Going, Richard Freeman, Mark Darby, Paul Grilley, Michael Stone, Sarah Powers, Yogi Bhajan and B.K.S. Iyengar.
The 8 Human Talents by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa. A wonderful book describing the main chakra energy centres of the body and their positive beneficial attributes.
Follow Your Bliss. Reflections on the Art of Living. A Joseph Campbell Companion. Selected and Edited by Diane K. Osbon. Diane has woven together a collection of the best quotes and articles from Joseph Campbell, on his reflections on living mythically and magically in the world.
Light on Life. The Yoga Journey to Wholeness, Inner Peace and Ultimate Freedom by B.K.S. Iyengar. This one little book helped me to transform my yoga practise from its mere physical elements to something much more spiritual, to learning how to reach out from my heart and core. Iyengar is true inspiration considering his humble and challenging beginnings.
Christopher Moore. I have read all of his books so far, definitely crass, a little perverted, but hilarious. Lamb and Fool are by far the favourites, but his definitely not PG.
Conn Iggulden. The Emperor Series. Follow the development and rise of Julius Cesar from a young boy to Emperor of Rome. A gifted author who places in the world of early Rome, war and politics from the era.
Eckhardt Toll, A New Earth. This book spoke volumes to me about the ego, the mind and living simply in the NOW.
Ashtanga Yoga. The Practice by David Swenson. Most informative and useful book on the Ashtanga primary and secondary series.
The Mirror of Yoga. Awakening the Intelligence of Body and Mind by Richard Freeman. Much of text is from his 6-CDs The Yoga Matrix - but I have no other teacher (so far) like Richard Freeman who can weild sensitivity, knowledge, truth and humour about the practice. Definitely top of the list.
Snatam Kaur. All of her albums; Prem; Shanti; Grace; Celebrate Peace; Anand; Live;, To Heaven and Beyond. I have been blessed to see her in concert many times and be blessed by her presence.
Guru Ganesha Singh. Pure Ganesha. Got to listen to Ma, and he tours with Snatam Kaur. A warm beautiful soul.
WAH! Didn't know much about WAH! till I saw her at Ecstatic Chant in Rhineback NY, at the Omega Wellness Centre, she is phenomenal, and really knows how to bring the house down.
Krishna Das. Pilgrim's Heart; Breath of the Heart.
David Newman (Durga Das)
Jai Uttal. Kirtan. The Art of Ecstatic Chanting . Ganesha Sharanam and Shri Krishna are some of the most awesome tracks, though the whole album is great.
Deva Premal. The Essence; Embrace; Dakshina. Haunting and beautiful.
Norah Jones. All Albums. If you listen to hear, the words, the lyrics, you'll know.
Madonna. Really, need I say more?
Accept the fact that you are weird. - Yogi Bhajan
Spirit is stronger than the physical body. - Yogi Bhajan
Keep Up and Be Kept Up! - Yogi Bhajan
You only grow up once, but you have your whole lifetime to be immature. - Einstein.
I cursed the fact I had no shoes, till I saw the man who had no feet. - A Persian Proverb.
I love the recklessness of faith, first you leap, then your wings spread.
Let me respectfully remind you, life & death are of supreme importance. Time passes swiftly and opportunity is lost. Each of us must strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed, do not squander your lives." – Zen Buddhist quote on life and death
The True Meaning of Life. "We are visitors on this planet. We are here for ninety or one hundred years at the very most. During that period, we must try to do something good, something useful, with our lives. If you contribute to other people's happiness, you will find the true goal, the true meaning of life." H.H. the XIV Dalai Lama
More to Come....
Once upon a time, a small bird named Tasoo lived in a vast jungle. One hot summer day, a terrible wildfire erupted and the flames devoured many trees and animals living in the jungle. Other birds flew high into the sky and far away to safety, but Tasoo couldn't bear to leave her precious jungle home to burn. Day and night, she flew with all her might back and forth to the river, filling her tiny beak with water to drop on the raging fires. Tasoo's rare heart of courage and unshakable determination moved the heavenly gods to shed tears, and a great rain poured down upon the jungle, extinguishing the flames. And so it is that even the smallest actions of a determined spirit can change the world.
A man found a cocoon of a butterfly. One day a small opening appeared; he sat and watched the butterfly for several hours as it struggled to force its body through that little hole. Then it seemed to stop making any progress. It appeared as if it had gotten as far as it could and it could go no farther.
Then the man decided to help the butterfly, so he took a pair of scissors and snipped off the remaining bit of the cocoon. The butterfly then emerged easily. But it had a swollen body and small, shrivelled wings.
The man continued to watch the butterfly because he expected that, at any moment, the wings would enlarge and expand to be able to support the body, which would contract in time.
Neither happened! In fact, the butterfly spent the rest of its life crawling around with a swollen body and shrivelled wings. It never was able to fly.
What the man in his kindness and haste did not understand was that the restricting cocoon and the struggle required for the butterfly. To get through the tiny opening were nature's way of forcing fluid from the body of the butterfly into its wings, so that it would be ready for flight once it achieved its freedom from the cocoon.
Sometimes struggles are exactly what we need in our life. If nature allowed us to go through our life without any obstacles, it would cripple us. We would not be as strong as what we could have been. And we could never fly...