My Personal Influences

I have always sought spiritual inspiration and have been influenced by guidance from many different sources, probably because I am never content with an answer that doesn't make sense to me.  For a long time I struggled with a concern as to whether my approach was self-serving, but then a close friend, who is also an extremely wise spiritual leader, offered me this perspective: spirituality is only self-serving without investment and action.  That is something that made sense to me, as my definition of spirituality has always included how I relate to other living beings around me.  My spirituality demands that my interactions with others stem from a shared place of respect and mutuality – in other words, if they tilt towards obligation or sacrificing myself, then in the long run, one of the participants in the equation would be somehow diminished.  Integrative InSight is my investment and action.  

I am drawn to perspectives that challenge me to look at a situation from another perspective, and those who are willing to share their raw personal journey with me. I find that I avoid those authors who dictate a prescribed remedy to me simply because the sum of their experience, history, beliefs, and physiology is necessarily different than my own, and they can only speak with authority about their own. These are authors, books, and DVD's that have helped me form and sustain my spirituality. This is an ever-increasing list (in no particular order), which I hope will move you towards wholeness in your life, as they have done for me. Those books for which I've included book covers are those that I've meditated on through a Discussion Group.

How to Save the World: One Man, One Cow, One Planet (DVD) - Frank, my neighbor and avocado source at the local farmer's market, loaned me this DVD. Every week throughout summer, he would see me and mention that he had forgot to bring it, until finally in mid-September, he remembered. This documentary is mind-blowing. It is about the work of Peter Proctor, a New Zealand farmer, who moves to India to train rural farmers on the principles of biodynamic farming. So what is so mind-blowing about that? That it is truly a documentary about the adverse effects of globalization rarely reported by the media, about a nonviolent revolution reminiscent of Gandhi himself, about fair trade versus free trade and about a modern day real-life David-and-Goliath situation, where David is beginning to win in a society-transforming way.

• In Sweet Company: Conversations with Extraordinary Women about Living A Spiritual Life by Margaret Wolff – This book floored me when I read it. It is a collection of interviews with 14 women of different ethnic, professional, and religious backgrounds about their personal spirituality. What intrigued me was the variety of women interviewed: from faith leaders who offered me ageless wisdom; to women of different ethnic backgrounds, whose personal spirituality broadened, as well as refined, my own; to the career professionals, whose efforts to bring spirituality into everyday routine, serve as role models for me to do the same.

 

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell - I loved this book because it is describes the perfect practical, pragmatic reason why any businessperson should want to learn how to meditate. We get plenty of practice at being stressed, anxious, tight, constricted, overwhelmed. As described in this book, this is when your decision-making is impaired. The book clearly demonstrates that it is possible to teach yourself a different state of being … one where you aren't driven by instinctual response, which is when your intuition, or ability to think without thinking kicks in. The ability to create space between my thoughts, so that I can react thoughtfully and insightfully, is a little known side benefit to meditation, and a huge reason I routinely meditate.

• Nonviolent Communication: A Language of Life by Marshall B. Rosenberg, Ph.D. – This book has revolutionized my personal relationship with my husband. We now know how to connect and support each other, even in the presence of strong emotions. So many spiritual disciplines contend that the tongue is the most violent weapon we have – because we use it heedlessly. And yet, this is one of the hardest things to change in daily life because our communication patterns are so ingrained. Dr. Rosenberg has created a brilliant technique to allow us to become more aware of how we communicate – both speaking and listening – and how to connect with what is alive in others

Stretching Lessons: the Daring that Starts from Within by Sue Bender – This book is the last in a series of 3 books about the author’s struggles to reconcile her desire for simplicity with her usual frantic way of being.  While I enjoyed Plain and Simple and Everyday Sacred, this one spoke to me. Bender vividly describes how simple self-reflection and goose bump moments can convert normal life experiences into transformational InSights.  This book is an eloquent testament to the power of awareness and the mind-body connection. It is what I facilitate for others as I encourage them to focus, contemplate and grow.

 

Independent Spirit; A Conversation with TKV Desikachar by Leanna Wong (Fit Yoga, April 2008) - In March 2008, I attended the Symposium of Yoga Therapy And Research (SYTAR), where I had an opportunity to learn from international leaders in the field of Yoga Therapy. There are so many styles and approaches that have evolved, all of which embrace the essence of the yoga teachings. What amazed me is that the leaders of some of the most disparate styles paid homage to the same teacher, TKV Desikachar. How unusual given that yoga passed down from a living Indian guru, such as Iyengar or Bikram, is instantly recognizable! It is only through some research and reading articles such as this one that I've come to realize what a unique guru Desikachar is. As someone who has run as far away from dogma as possible, and who has always believed that "one size does not fit all", I hope I have the opportunity to study with Desikachar.

• The Faith Club: A Muslim, A Christian, A Jew – Three Women Search for Understanding by Ranya Idliby, Suzanne Oliver, and Priscilla Warner – I read this book after starting my discussion groups, and will most likely use this as the next book we read. For me, spirituality has necessarily included a whole lot of self-reflection – how else will I continue to grow and evolve? I find that my own self-reflection moves into high gear when I share with others. I appreciate the authors' commitment to honesty, at all costs – by looking at their own words and reactions; by trying to hear the others' concerns; by seeking outside support for a developing perspective; by their willingness to learn from each other.
• A Stroke of Insight (on-line video clip) - Jill Bolte Taylor is the speaker on this clip. Her brother's schizophrenia prompts her into a career as a neuroanatomist to better understand how the brain works. In this video, she describes her experience of having a stroke - as her motor functions slip away due to the damage to her left hemisphere, her awareness moves into her right hemisphere. There are two things that fascinated me about this video:

• First, notice how incredibly quickly the body-mind adapts to trauma ... as certain functions slip away, others become enhanced. How amazing is that? As we focus on the loss of what we believe to be "normal", other latent abilities become more pronounced. It's all in how we perceive the situation.
• Second, her description mirrors what mystics and meditators often describe as "bliss" or "rapture". But notice the debilitating sensory overload that she also experiences. It prompts the observation that residing predominantly in one side of the brain or the other is not what we're meant to do - what we need is balance. Westernized daily life puts us in our left brain most of the time ... so if you are seeking balance, check out my programs.

• What The Bleep Do We Know? (DVD) – I saw this movie at the end of Orientation week for the intensive portion of my Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy practitioner training. What blew my mind was that for the entire Orientation week, I had unknowingly lived exactly what is presented in the DVD. The week had been fraught with crises (broken-down rental car; stray dog arrives at our rental home; a lot of personal doubt about my ability to do the program). Each time a challenge arose, I made a conscious choice to approach the situation with a different perspective than my habitual reaction, respectively of panic, endless worry, and crippling self-doubt. My perspective does form my reality, but I know firsthand that it is possible to change that perspective. Consider receiving a Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy session from me for a personal experience with this.

My Grandfather's Blessings by Rachel Naomi Remen, M.D. – There is so much negativity that surrounds us, from our harsh internal dialogue to media coverage. In my personal experience, as I strive to refocus on the beauty in the world that surrounds me, I've noticed that my whole perspective has changed. Dr. Remen's personal stories of receiving blessings from her encounters with incurable cancer patients challenges us to broaden our perspective on where blessings can be found in daily life.

• Healing and the Mind by Bill Moyers – This is a series of interviews done by Bill Moyers for PBS in 1992. He interviews people who were at the forefront of introducing support groups, yoga, meditation, and viewing patients as individuals into Western medicine. Most interviewees were also conducting the necessary studies to support the efficacy of integrating these "whole being" approaches into mainstream medicine. While part of me was discouraged to realize that our perspective on healing has not progressed as far as I would have expected in 15 years, another part of me is hopeful that I will be part of the changes to come.
• Aligned, Relaxed, Resilient: the Physical Foundations of Mindfulness by Will Johnson - This book rocked me when I read it! I have always believed that there is nothing new under the sun - my perspective on meditation and yoga, while untraditional, is not unique. This book was the first time I came across someone with a similar perspective to mine. To have read this just before stumbling across Saul David Raye and Thai Yoga Therapy was either cosmic coincidence or divine intervention. Take your pick!
• The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle – I am not naive nor arrogant enough to believe that any concept that I teach has never been taught before. And yet, it wasn't until I received this book as a Christmas present did I find support for my perspective on meditation – it doesn't have to be about "releasing your thoughts", but rather it can be about being fully engaged in the moment.
• This I Believe, edited by Jay Allison and Dan Gediman – This is a compilation of essays, from people of all walks of life, which are aired on the NPR series of the same name and are archived at www.ThisIBelieve.org. I appreciated the diversity of contributors – from young to old; from famous to the next-door neighbor. The essays themselves ranged from raw to eloquent; from inspirational to heart-wrenching. Given the commitment to expressing beliefs in 500 words, essayists are challenged to weed through the superficial and determine what is truly important. In this time of polarizing politics and media, what struck me the most was the absolute absence of dogma. It is inspiring to know that candid sharing of beliefs can be a common ground on which people with perceived differences can come together and initiate a dialogue.
• The Secret (DVD) – While this movie was revolutionary for some, it reaffirmed what I was already experiencing in my life through Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy. While the first half seemed very materialistic to me, I did appreciate the second half of the movie. Consider this … becoming more aware of your thoughts is simply a form of meditation. If you are having difficulty doing that, then check the calendar to see when my next meditation course begins.
• Discovering The Body's Wisdom by Mirka Knaster - I wish I had read this book when I started my own healing journey! For lack of awareness and resources, my approach was haphazard - this book contains valuable information on spectrum of modalities, what to expect during a session, and what the focus of a modality is. I particularly liked Knaster's personal perspective on each modality covered, and the effective way that she categorizes modalities into Structure/Function; Energy; and Convergence. Her explanation makes it much easier to understand how certain modalities complement, rather than competes, with other modalities. I've included her sections on Traditional Thai Massage (which is another name for Thai Yoga Therapy), Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, and Yoga Styles.

Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert – I enjoyed this book so much that I read it three times within 6 months. I truly appreciate Gilbert's raw honesty and extremely wry wit. She is someone with whom I can relate – professional background, deep spiritual experiences which baffle as well as fill her, passion for food and other cultures.

 

 

• Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy, A Bridge from Body to Soul by Michael Lee – This book puts into words the journey that Michael Lee undertook that resulted in Phoenix Rising. Whenever I read this book, Michael's insistence that we each need to "take the leap to trust ourselves" resonates deeply with me. It is that spirit which underlies each private Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy session I give. It is what resonated, at an unfathomable level within me, when I did the training.
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver - This was an intriguing book about the current PC themes of 'eating locally' and 'slow food'. Kingsolver and her family move to rural West Virginia and take on the challenge of eating locally for a year in order to fulfill a book contract. What I liked was that she doesn't beat the reader over the head, but rather lays out a persuasive argument. What really made me pause was her contention that American cuisine is characterized by low price and convenience, rather than waiting for in-season quality; and how she changes her perspective from "all the things that I can't have" to "all the things that I can savor and appreciate in the moment". It makes me wonder why I continue to find it so hard to shift from one paradigm to the other!
• A Gradual Awakening by Stephen Levine – This book resonated with me at a time when I was struggling with a requirement to have a daily meditation practice. Even though the author is an experienced meditator, it is his descriptions of connecting with the wisdom within each one of us and learning self-forgiveness that paralleled my personal transformation during my Phoenix Rising Yoga Therapy training. Levine offers insight into the unspoken, intangible benefits of learning to meditate, regardless of whether you use the vipassana style as he does, or find another technique that works. Levine provides a forgiveness meditation, which is the basis of the free Guided Forgiveness Meditation that I offer the community.  If you read his book and are eager to explore different techniques, consider one of my meditation courses.