Having books in my life has meant everything to me. They've been my friends, my guides, my entertainment, and my soulmates. I can't think of a better way to celebrate my 49th birthday today than to share my love of reading with 49 youngsters on their birthday. So e-mail your child's name, birthday, and the title and ISBN of any book (up to $12.99) from my online bookstore. I'll try to make sure your selection arrives by your child's birthday. My offer stands for the first 49 names I receive. I'll gladly accept the names of all siblings within a single family. Please add "Birthday Giveaway" to your subject line. Send e-mail to: crystal@leadingreads.com.
November 3, 2009
October 31, 2009
A kind word of thanks to those who commented
As I posted to Leading Reads yesterday, I noticed a few comments made this month by readers. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet established my settings to notify me of those remarks, so it was my first awareness of your comments. Since most people had profiles that didn't permit me to communicate with them, I'm sending this blanket thanks to everyone who took the time to write a few lines. How nice of you! Many thanks for your kindnesses. It really gladdened my heart!
October 30, 2009
Five things to love about yoga
It’s amazing how your view of things can change over time. When I was first introduced to yoga in 1996, all I could see was a pud form of exercise. I was attracted to it and enjoyed it, but I didn’t really appreciate its potential, probably because I wasn’t completely ready for it. I wish I had been. Life could have been better a lot sooner. This realization has made me feel obligated to share what little I know about yoga with others, in hopes they’ll discover its potential, too. Here’s what I’ve come to love about the yoga practice I’ve developed over the past few years.
1)Yoga makes you taller.
I feel a good two inches taller after practicing yoga. The reality is probably something far less than that, but all the work we do extending the spine and opening the body has a lengthening effect. It’s one of the first things a beginning student will notice after leaving their first class. After rounding the shoulders all day over computers, desks, steering wheels, and meals, it feels wonderful to counteract that.
2) All things are made clear through yoga.
Addictions, bad habits, unhealthy relationships, and imbalances are all laid bare in a faithful yoga practice. We come face to face with reality in a neutral way that somehow makes change more compelling. We are more drawn to studying sacred texts like the Bible and we see the world and ourselves through the lens of this timeless wisdom. Scary events and people have less power over us because we see them for what they are: delusions and distortions. Since we’re dealing more with reality, we’re less subject to lies—ours and other people’s. We don’t invest energy in things that aren’t real and true. That said, we respect the fact that our reality isn’t the only reality. We are less susceptible to work on changing other people, although we find that other people are often changed when we deal with reality. Since our egos are checked more rigorously, we know that we don’t have all the answers and we have no right to judge. That’s very liberating.
3) Yoga helps you connect with the protective power of God.
I used to meet God with fear and trepidation. No wonder I found it difficult to develop some discipline around prayer and meditation. My yoga practice has encouraged me to spend more time with God. After I pour out my heart, we spend a little time just hanging out together—and I don’t mean that in an irreverent way. Afterwards, I feel cloaked by His love. When I leave those meetings, I feel more prepared to face the trials of life. I’ve come to see them as a necessary part of my development. I resist them less. Less resistance, less stress.
4) Practicing yoga surrounds you with other people who want to be well and whole.
For the past six months, I’ve spent four hours a week studying yoga in a teachers’ training program with a dozen people. I’ve never felt more comfortable and safe in a group than I have with these people. Because we’re all striving toward similar goals, we’ve grown close, supporting each other through the burdens of life in the same way that my church family does. We pray for each other. Our study is intense so we move to the heart of most matters with clarity, speed and economy. This group has become like a force field in my life which I know will be with me well beyond the end of our class next February. Whether you intend to teach yoga or not, the deep connections you make with others are reason enough to enroll in a teachers’ training program. Yoga attracts people who are interested in being their best and being a positive force for good in the world. I’m not saying we have the market cornered on the pursuit of excellence, but when you join forces with that kind of energy, don’t be surprised at the improvements you can make.
5) Yoga helps you move through life more easily both physically and mentally.
The first and only time I swung a golf club this year, I was amazed at the fullness of my swing. I could move in a complete sphere. After a year of dedicated practice, I’m stronger and more flexible than ever—and not just physically. Noticing what’s going on in your body gives you a greater capacity to notice where you are tight and rigid in your life. As you learn how to turn loose physically, there’s a direct correlation to your ability to become more open and flexible in life. You bounce back from things easier. You greet challenges with more confidence. Conversely, you also know how and when to accept your own boundaries, understanding when you simply can’t go further safely.
I realize that I have been long on claims and short on explanations, but everyone has to discover the transformative power of yoga for themselves. I hope that my story will motivate someone out there to step onto a yoga mat and give it a try.
Good resources for beginning yoga students
Yoga Basics: The Essential Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for a Lifetime of Health and Fitness, by Mara Carrico; 30 Essential Yoga Poses, by Judith Lasater; and The Pure Heart of Yoga: Ten Essential Steps for Personal Transformation by Robert Butera.
1)Yoga makes you taller.
I feel a good two inches taller after practicing yoga. The reality is probably something far less than that, but all the work we do extending the spine and opening the body has a lengthening effect. It’s one of the first things a beginning student will notice after leaving their first class. After rounding the shoulders all day over computers, desks, steering wheels, and meals, it feels wonderful to counteract that.
2) All things are made clear through yoga.
Addictions, bad habits, unhealthy relationships, and imbalances are all laid bare in a faithful yoga practice. We come face to face with reality in a neutral way that somehow makes change more compelling. We are more drawn to studying sacred texts like the Bible and we see the world and ourselves through the lens of this timeless wisdom. Scary events and people have less power over us because we see them for what they are: delusions and distortions. Since we’re dealing more with reality, we’re less subject to lies—ours and other people’s. We don’t invest energy in things that aren’t real and true. That said, we respect the fact that our reality isn’t the only reality. We are less susceptible to work on changing other people, although we find that other people are often changed when we deal with reality. Since our egos are checked more rigorously, we know that we don’t have all the answers and we have no right to judge. That’s very liberating.
3) Yoga helps you connect with the protective power of God.
I used to meet God with fear and trepidation. No wonder I found it difficult to develop some discipline around prayer and meditation. My yoga practice has encouraged me to spend more time with God. After I pour out my heart, we spend a little time just hanging out together—and I don’t mean that in an irreverent way. Afterwards, I feel cloaked by His love. When I leave those meetings, I feel more prepared to face the trials of life. I’ve come to see them as a necessary part of my development. I resist them less. Less resistance, less stress.
4) Practicing yoga surrounds you with other people who want to be well and whole.
For the past six months, I’ve spent four hours a week studying yoga in a teachers’ training program with a dozen people. I’ve never felt more comfortable and safe in a group than I have with these people. Because we’re all striving toward similar goals, we’ve grown close, supporting each other through the burdens of life in the same way that my church family does. We pray for each other. Our study is intense so we move to the heart of most matters with clarity, speed and economy. This group has become like a force field in my life which I know will be with me well beyond the end of our class next February. Whether you intend to teach yoga or not, the deep connections you make with others are reason enough to enroll in a teachers’ training program. Yoga attracts people who are interested in being their best and being a positive force for good in the world. I’m not saying we have the market cornered on the pursuit of excellence, but when you join forces with that kind of energy, don’t be surprised at the improvements you can make.
5) Yoga helps you move through life more easily both physically and mentally.
The first and only time I swung a golf club this year, I was amazed at the fullness of my swing. I could move in a complete sphere. After a year of dedicated practice, I’m stronger and more flexible than ever—and not just physically. Noticing what’s going on in your body gives you a greater capacity to notice where you are tight and rigid in your life. As you learn how to turn loose physically, there’s a direct correlation to your ability to become more open and flexible in life. You bounce back from things easier. You greet challenges with more confidence. Conversely, you also know how and when to accept your own boundaries, understanding when you simply can’t go further safely.
I realize that I have been long on claims and short on explanations, but everyone has to discover the transformative power of yoga for themselves. I hope that my story will motivate someone out there to step onto a yoga mat and give it a try.
Good resources for beginning yoga students
Yoga Basics: The Essential Beginner’s Guide to Yoga for a Lifetime of Health and Fitness, by Mara Carrico; 30 Essential Yoga Poses, by Judith Lasater; and The Pure Heart of Yoga: Ten Essential Steps for Personal Transformation by Robert Butera.
October 21, 2009
Five ways to improve your thinking
Brain researchers say growing old isn’t only a factor of a changed body, but of an unchanged mind. One of the healthiest things we can do for our brains is to liberate ourselves from the prison of traditional thought patterns, however comfortable they may seem. Here are five quick ideas for opening new pathways in your brain, gathered from the most current research on brain function and aging.
1) Whatever you normally do in a given situation, do just the opposite.
When the same irritating event repeats itself in life, resist your first impulse and consider the opposite reaction. We can invite a world of possibilities and solutions to old problems when we depart from habitual, automatic responses. Easier said than done, I know.
2) Change the channel.
If you think Glenn Beck holds a mirror on the world, tune in to National Public Radio for your news at least one day a week. Read the International Herald Tribune or another newspaper with a global perspective. Likewise, if you can’t tolerate Beck’s rhetoric, give yourself at least one weekly dose. A friend of ours was horrified to discover that my husband gets his news from the local newspaper. She saw nothing wrong with the fact that her main news channel was Glenn Beck. He couldn’t imagine how she could think Glenn Beck was a reputable source of news. See what I mean?
3) Change your routines.
If you sleep on the left side of your bed, reverse the pattern. If you have nailed a morning ritual that works for you, dare to change it. Move your furniture around—in your head and in your house, and see what happens.
4) Travel.
Ever notice how your life sparkles after returning from a vacation? Changing your surroundings has an effect on the brain. Okay, maybe now isn’t the time to schedule that trip to Europe. But you can visit a new neighborhood. Try a new sport. Walk through a new neighborhood. Shop in a different grocery. Try a new recipe. Use your imagination. You’ll come up with something that constitutes traveling without going to the moon.
5) Practice suspending judgment.
All the great spiritual texts of the world address the problem we humans have with attachment. When you find yourself clinging to an opinion too dearly, know one thing: you don’t have to change who you are or what you believe to listen with understanding for a period of time. Try to listen to an opposing position without laying your personal veil on top. Appreciating people for who they truly are is a pleasurable experience. Resisting the reality of the world is a major cause of stress. The moment we judge how a person, a situation, or an issue ought to be, we can’t really appreciate what is. Life is just too short for that.
1) Whatever you normally do in a given situation, do just the opposite.
When the same irritating event repeats itself in life, resist your first impulse and consider the opposite reaction. We can invite a world of possibilities and solutions to old problems when we depart from habitual, automatic responses. Easier said than done, I know.
2) Change the channel.
If you think Glenn Beck holds a mirror on the world, tune in to National Public Radio for your news at least one day a week. Read the International Herald Tribune or another newspaper with a global perspective. Likewise, if you can’t tolerate Beck’s rhetoric, give yourself at least one weekly dose. A friend of ours was horrified to discover that my husband gets his news from the local newspaper. She saw nothing wrong with the fact that her main news channel was Glenn Beck. He couldn’t imagine how she could think Glenn Beck was a reputable source of news. See what I mean?
3) Change your routines.
If you sleep on the left side of your bed, reverse the pattern. If you have nailed a morning ritual that works for you, dare to change it. Move your furniture around—in your head and in your house, and see what happens.
4) Travel.
Ever notice how your life sparkles after returning from a vacation? Changing your surroundings has an effect on the brain. Okay, maybe now isn’t the time to schedule that trip to Europe. But you can visit a new neighborhood. Try a new sport. Walk through a new neighborhood. Shop in a different grocery. Try a new recipe. Use your imagination. You’ll come up with something that constitutes traveling without going to the moon.
5) Practice suspending judgment.
All the great spiritual texts of the world address the problem we humans have with attachment. When you find yourself clinging to an opinion too dearly, know one thing: you don’t have to change who you are or what you believe to listen with understanding for a period of time. Try to listen to an opposing position without laying your personal veil on top. Appreciating people for who they truly are is a pleasurable experience. Resisting the reality of the world is a major cause of stress. The moment we judge how a person, a situation, or an issue ought to be, we can’t really appreciate what is. Life is just too short for that.
October 14, 2009
The President's letter: a librarian's plan runs afoul
President Obama wrote my library kids a letter this summer. He was responding to a package I mailed the White House last spring, containing letters and drawings from 10 boys in kindergarten through fifth grade. They had drawn and written to the President as part of a library program I planned called “Dear Mr. President” intended to explore similarities between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln. I had another motive for the program: encouraging kids to become part of the democratic process by expressing a point of view. Their letters ranged from the serious to the trivial, covering war, abortion, and a request that the President’s daughters write them back.
This summer I wrote letters to all my state and national representatives to express my views on health care reform. I received only one reply, so I couldn’t imagine that the boys would receive anything for their effort—other than a lesson about living in a free society. When the President’s response to the boys arrived in June, I was beside myself with happiness and surprise. I used to work in the PR field where I frequently performed such ghostwriting tasks for leaders. Please don’t think I am so simple that I believe the letter was written by the President’s own hand, although it is possible.
Knowing that didn’t change my enthusiasm for showing the President’s letter to my colleagues and the kids who had written. Originally, I had hoped to display it in the library to show our kids’ involvement. My enthusiasm was soon dashed by my respected colleagues’ thinly-veiled contempt toward the President. I shared the letter with my kids, but decided not to display it after all, hoping to avoid an affront. I filed it away in a folder. I had never considered the possibility that such a display would be viewed as a political statement. After all, he’s not running for office. He holds the office.
When I ran across the folder in my office yesterday, I was filled with remorse. It’s not that I think President Obama is the Messiah. He’s just a man. Call me old-fashioned. I still believe that the President deserves the respect of his office, whether I agree with him on a particular topic or not.
Like many of my brethren who aspire to be better people than we are, I know that the problems I find in the world are frequently problems that I have with myself disguised. The whole affair reminds me of attachment—my human tendency to lock-in on an idea and maintain my individual sense of rightness at all costs. A survey of spiritual texts teaches me that there are many good reasons to resist this impulse.
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still function. Realizing something is hopeless yet being determined to make it otherwise is one example. A writer’s world revolves around imagination and the ability to see the world through the eyes of many different characters. Good leaders do that, too. They have to be willing to consider opinions and views that conflict with their own, realizing there is no single reality. There is only perception. For every position, there is an equal and opposite opinion that’s also true. Whatever we believe about ourselves, the world, or others, someone disagrees and may prove us wrong in the future. Think of all the debunked science myths in your lifetime. Opinions change. Facts change.
If you find it irritating when people think they are right and you are wrong, then join me on a personal challenge to open some new pathways in your own brain and build a more nimble mind. The place to begin is with ourselves. Tomorrow, I’ll feature four ideas for opening new pathways in your brain. Meanwhile, please share your own thoughts about how to develop a brain (and a heart) that’s more open to others.
This summer I wrote letters to all my state and national representatives to express my views on health care reform. I received only one reply, so I couldn’t imagine that the boys would receive anything for their effort—other than a lesson about living in a free society. When the President’s response to the boys arrived in June, I was beside myself with happiness and surprise. I used to work in the PR field where I frequently performed such ghostwriting tasks for leaders. Please don’t think I am so simple that I believe the letter was written by the President’s own hand, although it is possible.
Knowing that didn’t change my enthusiasm for showing the President’s letter to my colleagues and the kids who had written. Originally, I had hoped to display it in the library to show our kids’ involvement. My enthusiasm was soon dashed by my respected colleagues’ thinly-veiled contempt toward the President. I shared the letter with my kids, but decided not to display it after all, hoping to avoid an affront. I filed it away in a folder. I had never considered the possibility that such a display would be viewed as a political statement. After all, he’s not running for office. He holds the office.
When I ran across the folder in my office yesterday, I was filled with remorse. It’s not that I think President Obama is the Messiah. He’s just a man. Call me old-fashioned. I still believe that the President deserves the respect of his office, whether I agree with him on a particular topic or not.
Like many of my brethren who aspire to be better people than we are, I know that the problems I find in the world are frequently problems that I have with myself disguised. The whole affair reminds me of attachment—my human tendency to lock-in on an idea and maintain my individual sense of rightness at all costs. A survey of spiritual texts teaches me that there are many good reasons to resist this impulse.
F. Scott Fitzgerald once said that the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in the mind at the same time and still function. Realizing something is hopeless yet being determined to make it otherwise is one example. A writer’s world revolves around imagination and the ability to see the world through the eyes of many different characters. Good leaders do that, too. They have to be willing to consider opinions and views that conflict with their own, realizing there is no single reality. There is only perception. For every position, there is an equal and opposite opinion that’s also true. Whatever we believe about ourselves, the world, or others, someone disagrees and may prove us wrong in the future. Think of all the debunked science myths in your lifetime. Opinions change. Facts change.
If you find it irritating when people think they are right and you are wrong, then join me on a personal challenge to open some new pathways in your own brain and build a more nimble mind. The place to begin is with ourselves. Tomorrow, I’ll feature four ideas for opening new pathways in your brain. Meanwhile, please share your own thoughts about how to develop a brain (and a heart) that’s more open to others.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
