Reading Log 2010 - April

Channeling by Lita Alberdi

Quite an eye-opener!  This book has given me my first real look into the concept of ‘my higher self’, which I would like to find out more about.  It is about how to channel a guide (and contains some interesting meditations).  Such a way out and crazy idea to channel a guide, for me, so reading this book was great practice for me to keep my perspective open. I took a lot from this book.

• ‘It is through our thoughts and actions that we create our own karma, the accumulation of debts and credits in each lifetime’.  That’s an affirmation of my subconscious philosophy - be a good  person and life will be good to you!
• ‘Through the discipline of meditation we can come to move easily into a harmonized space where we can be in direct contact with higher aspects of ourselves.  Live with integrity from a higher place of awareness’.
• ‘Love – centered in the heart, not in the head.’  I realized that sometimes I try to love with my head!
• As the Buddha stated:  We should accept things, not just because they come from a sage or a famous person, but when they accord with what lies within our own heart.

o 

Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit by Daniel Quinn

This book stunned me and altered my view of humanity.  The ideas in it are very illuminating and intense and I didn’t feel like reading anything else for several days after finishing it.  I highly recommend it.  We left our copy with Paul, Gina and Steve in New York as we thought they’d also enjoy it.

How I perceive the message of this book (and of course you may perceive differently) is: For ten thousand years humans were living happily, sustainably and in harmony with other creatures and the environment.  Relatively recently (several thousand) years ago a group of humans surmised that they were the final step in the evolutionary trail and that God had made the land for them (us) to rule.  Thus they (we) could do with it what they pleased and began to kill any competition that got in their (our) way.  This started with early agriculturalist nations, who believed that this was the ‘only way to live’, either converting or killing the competition (usually either animals or hunter-gatherer tribes who were living in harmony with nature), and basically claiming and covering as much of the earth as they could with agriculture.

Oh my gosh I thought, yes on reflection, I too thought that we were the final step in the evolutionary trail.  I mean of course we are the most important creature on the planet.  Geez how bulged out of proportion that is!  We’re just a blip on the evolutionary map.  Billions? of years, and so many creatures have looked after the land, and now were screwing it all up, because we think that the land is for us, only us, to do with what we like!  The final chapter, the end point of all of evolution of the Earth.  Evolution is complete because Human Beings have finally been created.  Human Beings!  How big headed and chest puffing and ignorant is that?!  As if evolution is going to stop for us!

This is also when humans became spiritually lost.  Acting as ‘God’, ‘God’ was lost, (people became separated from nature) and people began to look for answers to believe in, outside of themselves.  Hence there are so many Gods out there…  This resonates with me as I’ve recently discovered that the ‘God’ that is most applicable to me is ‘Mother Nature’, her very radiant self!

Anyway the exciting thing is that there are two other books after this, and we have one of them, ‘The Story of B’, which Snowdon has read and loved.  I’ll let you know how it goes..

Michelle Obama: A Portrait of the First Lady by Life

It was lovely to get to know some of who Michelle Obama is.  She is a very accomplished woman and I look forward to seeing some of the difference she makes during her time as first lady.

(Note this blog was posted in July)