Stumbling Upon A Prayer

In a tangible example of "life must go on," I tried to drag myself out of bed and remind myself that I had chores to do. Yep, this morning was just another of those usual lazy, boring days. I just couldn't get out of bed and quite automatically, I pointed the remote on the TV to watch my morning favorite, The Ellen DeGeneres show.

But something pulled my eyes to the bookshelf beside the tv. Made of dark-colored wood and missing one leg, the bookshelf had housed my mom's old literature titles, three sets of encyclopedia, and now, it's a hodgepodge collection of contemporary literature, inspirational titles and business books. I found myself scanning every title, and my eyes surprisingly stopped to study one book, as if I haven't seen it before. It had become one of those "shelf-help" books, gathering dust, dirt and mites over quite a couple of years now since I bought it. "Powerful Prayers" by Larry King...the white letters against the black spine were glaring at me. I hesitatingly picked it up (thinking a day without TV wouldn't hurt anyhow) leafed through its already browning pages, and very surprisingly I just couldnt put it down.

In the book, the famed talk-show host Larry King, decides to embark on an odyssey with Rabbi Irwin Katsof. An agnostic himself, Larry King gets a myriad of answers by interviewing celebrities, world leaders and religious people.

It's amazing how different people feel about prayer. Some say it's a conversation with God, or with your inner self. For some, it's a duty, for some it could be a waste of time, and for some it's repetitive words work, for some merely listening provides answers. Interestingly, in one way or another, everybody prays. And inspite of all the differences, through prayer, we acknowledge our powerlessness, our vulnerability.

It's really comforting to know, that as we bow down our heads in prayer, we are joined by Margaret Thatcher, The Dalai Lama, Muhammad Ali, Rene Russo, Goldie Hawn. Big names, but just a few of the billions of hushed voices, thoughts resonating. Yes indeed, however different our language is or our prayers are..we are one.. as we humble ourselves before a higher spirit.

We are living in a world profoundly shaped by the mass media, and new technologies. We become what society dictates us to be. Prayer tells us : who we are inside, all we need to do is listen.

Oh yes indeed, "life will go on". We may trip or stumble along the way. A prayer in our pocket would make a difference.

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10 Rules To The Game of Life

I'm becoming more domestic nowadays. This morning I decided to dejunk the bodega. While moving out piles of boxes, I come to this smashed beat up box that show that it is holding piles of old books and magazines. The first book that sprung out of the box is, tadah, "If Life is a Game, These are the Rules" by Cherie Carter-Scott. I let my fingers leaf through its yellowing pages, eyes scanning familiar life lessons. I remembered that that this book has uplifted my spirits more than once. Though it is short, and an easy-read, it is life changing and a gem of a book. I will not junk this book. It is one I will want to revisit--often.

I just want to share with you the 10 Rules to the Game of Life...

1. You will receive a body. You may like it or hate it, but it will be yours for as long as you live. How you take care of it or fail to take care of it can make and enormous difference in the quality of your life.

2. You will be presented with lessons. You are enrolled in a full-time school called Life. Each day you are presented with opportunities to learn what you need to know. The lessons presented are often completely different from those you think you need.

3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error and experimentation. You can learn as much from “failure” as you can from “success”.

4. A lesson is repeated until it is learned. A lesson will be presented to you in various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it (as evidenced by a change in your attitude i\and behavior), then you can go on to the next lesson.

5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no stage of life that does not contain some lessons. As long as you live, there will be something more to learn.

6. “There” is no better than “here”. When your “there” has become a “here” you will obtain another “there” that will again look better than your “here”. Don’t be fooled by believing the unattainable is better than what you have.

7. Others are merely mirrors of you. You cannot love or hate something about another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself. When tempted to criticize others, ask yourself why you feel so strongly.

8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources you need. Remember that through desire, goal setting and unflagging effort. You can have anything you want. Persistence is the key to success.

9. The answers lie within you. The solutions to all of life’s problems lie within your grasp. All you need to do is ask, look, listen, and trust.

10. You will forget all of this at birth. unless you consistently stay focused on the goals you have set for yourself, everything you have just read won’t mean a thing.

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The Secret Life of Bees

The central character of the book is a young girl named Lily Owens, who lives with her abusive father. Her mother died in a tragic accident and Lily is thirsty for more information about her mother’s life and death. She has a few of her mother's belongings that she clings to and imagines the stories of how these items came to be in her mother's possession. She is close to her care-taker, Rosaleen, who is a big strong black woman. However, loving a black woman is hardly seen as proper, as Lily is living in South Carolina in 1964, in the midst of racial tension and deep rooted discrimination.

The story really takes off when a series of unfortunate events leads Lily to take the risk and run away from home with Rosaleen in tow. What happens next inspires and delights as you go with Lily to discover what life is really about. It is a tremendously inspiring and healing journey with beautiful and colorful characters.

There is a special kind of writing style that speaks to a woman’s spirit and makes her soul rejoice. It can be difficult to find such a book, but when found it is a real treasure. In the novel, “The Secret Life of Bees,” by Sue Monk Kidd, I found myself laughing and crying along with the characters. I felt deeply connected to the women in the novel and was sad to see my new friends go when the story came to an end. Sue Monk Kidd truly breathed life into this book, in a way that takes tremendous talent. I find myself longing for a sequel, just so I can see what my beloved characters are up to now! If you are a woman, you are almost guaranteed to love this book! The writing style is distinctly feminine and beautiful. I thought to myself, “It is about time I read something from a powerful female perspective.” For me, reading this book came as naturally as breathing.

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The Four Agreements - Don Miguel Ruiz

Don Miguel Ruiz is known as a nagual, or shaman, of the Toltec tradition. The Toltecs were an ancient group of scientists and artists that was formed to explore and preserve the practices and spiritual knowledge of the ancient ones. It is not a religion, but a way of life that embraces spirit and honors all the spiritual masters who have taught on the earth. Toltec wisdom arises from the same essential unity of truth as other sacred esoteric traditions that are found all over the world.

Everything we do is based on agreements we have made. In these agreements we tell ourselves who we are, what everyone else is, how to act, what is possible, and what is impossible. What we have agreed to believe creates what we experience. When these agreements come from fear, blocks and obstacles develop keeping us from realizing our greatest potential.

Based on ancient Toltec wisdom ,the Four Agreements are very simple, but very profound. To embrace and live each of the Four Agreements is to find yourself experiencing personal freedom--possibly as never before. The Four Agreements are:

BE IMPECCABLE WITH YOUR WORD

Speak with integrity. Say only what you mean. Avoid using the word to speak against yourself or to gossip about others. Use the power of your word in the direction of truth and love.

DON'T TAKE ANYTHING PERSONALLY

Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won't be the victim of needless suffering.

DON'T MAKE ASSUMPTIONS

Find the courage to ask questions and to express what you really want. Communicate with others as clearly as you can to avoid misunderstandings, sadness, and drama. With just this one agreement, you can completely transform your life.

ALWAYS DO YOUR BEST

Your best is going to change from moment to moment; it will be different when you are healthy as opposed to sick. Under any circumstance, simply do your best, and you will avoid self-judgement, self-abuse, and regret.

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The Time Traveller's Wife

Henry DeTamble is a time traveler, although not by choice. A genetic mutation causes him to spontaneously travel through time, disappearing from view, leaving behind his clothes and possessions, and arriving naked in another time and another place. For the most part, this is a curse. Henry often has to turn to petty crime to feed and clothe himself when he travels, and must run from people, thugs, or the police. Eventually Henry returns to his present time, bringing only the bodily injuries he's suffered back with him. Sometimes he travels back in time and visits an earlier version of himself. One of the places to which he travels often is the meadow behind Clare's house, and throughout her younger years, Clare meets him there and falls in love with him.

This is a short preview of the Henry and Clare's story in Audrey Niffenegger's amazing debut model, The Time Traveller's Wife. Far from a sci-fi exploration space-time continuum, it is a heartfelt love story of two people who must live with this curse. Niffenegger amazingly, has seamlessly sewn the time travel technicalities into a wonderful love story.

The Time Traveler's Wife is also more than a love story between two people. It explores all the relationships of their lives: their parents, families, friends, and ex-lovers.

A highly recommended read. It will make you laugh. It will make you cry. It will leave you on the edge of your seat as Henry time travels. Once you're buried within this novel and fully immersed in their lives, you have to suffer their pain as well as celebrate their joys with Henry and Clare.

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Strictly from an avid reader point of view as opposed to a literature critic, I found the book completely engaging. The author built an intricate story of possibilities of character around several accurate historical facts. She absorbed me completely into the story and changed my perspective on Marie Antionette's absolute abandonment to a hedonistic life. Her character matured through the years as life began to give her experiences other than pleasure -- child birth, death of a child, hatred of the populace, and finally death by the guilloutine, where her last sights and sounds were of the madden mob shouting in victory and glee over her beheading. Naslund has an amazingly way with detail resulting in a very rich read.

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The Book was OK, leaning towards good. Here's how.

The basic premise of the book is the search for the Grail (yes, another one!). Of course all ideas are original, just that some are rather less original than others. Keeping snide remarks aside, the book does have its strong points, and one must give credit where it deserves.

Kate Mosse has successfully managed to weave a yarn, stretching over more than 800 years, involving some rather exotic themes and preparing a broth that at times looks like overkill. The story revolves around Alais who, towards the beginning of the 13th century gets involved in the safekeeping of the Grail, and Alice, who in the early part of the 21st century, stumbles (literally!) across the same.

While the plot might look convoluted to many if not most readers, it certainly does manage to hold attention for a majority of the book's 500+ pages. But there are times when the author's attention to detail just doesn't sell. Also, the fact that the story involves latent memory, and some really long-living characters doesn't help either.

All said and done, I would have loved this book if it had:
- been about 300-odd pages in length,
- avoided the 800-year time-span OR at least not drawn (unneccesary)parallels in the characters in the two eras

Be that as it may, the description of France of the 13th century is quite beautiful, and this is one aspect where the use of ten words instead of five (as the Mosse is sometimes prone to using) indeed does justice to the reading pleasure. Also, character development is good and coherent. The war scenes are also well-written and tempered.

The weakest link - the love story of Alice. I was taken off-guard when it happened.

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