Contemplify NonRequired Reading List Email for March 31, 2018
The March NonRequired Reading List
Contemplatives,
Tomorrow is Easter in the Western Christian Church. Christ will rise, Lenten fasts will be broken, and hidden plastic eggs will be discovered in backyards. What a mysterious combination of events, I love it all. Happy Easter to all of you celebrating, and to those of you don’t collect yourselves in the Christian camp, I hope your Sunday morning is equally energizing and rung in with a full cup of coffee.
Here is this month’s NonRequired Reading List...
From Mindfulness to Heartfulness: Transforming Self and Society with Compassion by Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu (Get it at the Public Library or Indiebound)
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu is a subtle and winsome teacher. I had the privilege of being in the student seat last fall at a conference where he was teaching. The first words I remember him speaking were in reference to the Japanese word ‘ma’, which he translated as the space that is the space between things. Inviting each attendee to take on the practice of listening by feeling and holding the spoken words before responding. I remember letting out a big sigh of relief (and of celebration) and recognizing that he was not a typical presenter seeking to bombard listeners, but to create space. It takes a subtle artist to create space within another person, Murphy-Shigematsu is such a person. He expands the meaning of mindfulness into the embodiment of heartfulness, and structures the book in such a way to ground the reader in the basic elements of heartfulness and ways to cultivate heartfulness*:
Heartfulness describes a way of being in mindfulness, in compassion, and in responsibility. The word mindfulness, by itself, seems insufficient to explain how mindful consciousness extends into compassion and is expressed in active caring. Heartfulness portrays this expansive sense of living with openness and clarity, being true to ourselves, acting in sympathy with all beings, resonating with and being part of the world around us. (p. 14)
Hopefully, Murphy-Shigematsu’s work is a peek into the future, where mindfulness is transcended and included with heartfulness.
*3 Basic Elements of Heartfulness: mindfulness, compassion and responsibility, 8 Ways to Cultivate Heartfulness: Beginner’s mind, vulnerability, authenticity, connectedness, listening, acceptance, gratitude and responsibility.
WeCroak App (Check it out at wecroak.com)
This is the only app I have ever purchased. I find cell phones to be a necessary nuisance, helpful enough that I keep one, annoying enough that I keep it on silent. I don’t bemoan or resent anyone who has finally found love with their device. I get it. I just find it terribly distracting to the notes of life that I want to pay attention to. Then a friend (hat tip to Lee) forwarded me an article on WeCroak in The Atlantic. I immediately realized I had been introduced to the perfect app. The gist is this, after handing over a buck to WeCroak, you download their app and five times a day you receive the following notification:
Don’t forget, you’re going to die.
Five times a day. The only other feature beyond his mortal reminder is that when you tap on the reminder, a quote appears from a poet, philosopher, author, etc, such as:
‘Let me respectfully remind you: Life and Death are of supreme importance. Time swiftly passes by and opportunity is lost. On this night, the days of our life are decreased by one. Each of us should strive to awaken. Awaken! Take heed! Do not squander your life.’ (Evening Gatha)
I love this so much. I can’t even relay my excitement of when I am in a meeting that is dragging on and I check my phone out of sheer boredom to see the line, ‘Don’t forget, you’re going to die.’ This lights a thousand fires under my keister to participate fully because the meeting matters or to move it to a close because it is a waste of precious time. If this sounds like a useful contemplative tool, give it a shot. I need at least five reminders a day to keep my attention on the matters that matter.
(It gave me a good chuckle to recommend this in this month’s list cause I can’t imagine the next time a phone app will grace these pages)
Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life by Nassim Nicholas Taleb (Get it at the Public Library or Indiebound)
My first time reading Taleb was an article he wrote reviewing his book reviewers. He’s been applauded as a genius or off his rocker. My interest in his work was not for his economic or mathematical intelligence but his capacity to perceive reality from angles ignored by his peers. Taleb writes these new insights in plain speech, jokes, or metaphors that anyone could understand. This is intentional and out of respect for the regular person, and out of disrespect for academics (he calls ‘IYIs’, Intellectuals Yet Idiots). See, Taleb acts in such manner (for he has little time for beliefs, but all the time in the world for action) that integrity of character, or how one lives their life is the only value, what one believes or thinks only matters through their embodiment of that belief or thought in daily life. It is through tapping this vein that Taleb explores Trump’s rise to the presidency, religion, casinos, academia, weightlifting and on and on. So why recommend it here? The title Skin in the Game gets to the core of it, what you do and risk matters. I found it to be a deeply contemplative book, but with economic language. The exchanges you participate in, the rewards and losses you take on, the risks you own and those you pass on to others...they all point to your perception of reality, and thus, how you engage with reality. May this book disturb and enlighten you as it did me.
Contemplify Update
The three most recent episodes of Contemplify…
052: How Death Prepares You For Life: Buddhist Teacher Frank Ostaseski on The Five Invitations
051: Montaigne in a Deer Stand: A Roughneck Contemplative on Philosophy, Bon Iver, and Marriage with Michael Perry (Author of Montaigne in Barn Boots)
050: The Reverence Chocolate Evokes with Shawn Askinosie (Author of Meaningful Work: A Quest to Do Great Business, Find Your Calling, and Feed Your Soul)
(Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, Overcast, Google Play or Contemplify.com)
Til next time, contemplatives. May this find you with a full stomach and a cheery grin after a slow walk around the block. I hope April is full of hidden joys, deep insights and belly laughs for you and your loved ones. Thanks for tuning in!
Tossing another log on the Contemplify fire,
Paul
P.S. Did you see the trailer for the new Mr. Roger's documentary? Definitely worth you time, watch here.
P.P.S. Can you help spread the contemplative word? Please take a few seconds to rate and review Contemplify on Apple Podcasts or your preferred podcast player. And thanks to all who have already done so!