Contemplify Nonrequired Reading List Email for October 31, 2016
The October NonRequired Reading List
Happiest of All Hallows Eve' Everyone,
October tripped, stumbled and almost passed by before I was able to gather my NonRequired Reading notes. I came to realize that this October edition of the NonRequired Reading List reflects the foggy transitional nature of life through eyes that see a little clearer.
Radical Dharma: Talking Race, Love, and Liberation by Rev. Angel Kyodo williams, Lama Rod Owens with Jasmine Syedullah, PhD (Book)
The next generation of teachers sees the blind spots, the unacknowledged parts and the shadows that need to be addressed in Western Buddhism. Radical Dharma is an honest and striking account on the importance of communal awakening that transcends the individual. This book is for those seeking to reframe and refocus how Buddhism is engaged in a world through conversation and reflection on race, class, gender, sex and education. Radical Dharma is a conversation that you step into, an invitational story that will churn any preconceptions of the future of Buddhism on its head. If your curiosity is peaked, check out my conversation with one of the co-authors, Lama Rod Owens on the Contemplify podcast.
‘I Is Someone Else’ by Luc Sante (Article)
(This article was passed onto me by a friend who runs the website Ordinary Mystic, check it out here)
(This Reading List) We/I can not pass this month without a piece about Nobel Prize winner Bob Dylan. The man has shaped my thinking and way in the world in ways I am still coming to realize. Leonard Cohen may have said it best regarding Dylan’s win of the Nobel for literature, “To me, [the award] is like pinning a medal on Mount Everest for being the highest mountain” (good one, Leonard).
"I came across one of his [Rimbaud] letters called “Je est un autre,” which translates into “I is someone else.” When I read those words the bells went off. It made perfect sense. I wished someone would have mentioned that to me earlier."
This article pulls the poetic cadence of Dylan and plays with the mythic Dylan lore as it pivots through a reflection (more than a review) of Dylan’s autobiography, Chronicles, Vol. 1 among other Dylan books. Painted as the artist who steals from his heroes to create new a collage that is all his own, Dylan pulls off lyrical acrobatics to place rhymes above reason that ultimately land on the feeling of truth. “I Is Someone Else” is for the Dylan fans who are a little too fascinated by the way Dylan has shed his various skins over the years.
Love & Hate by Michael Kiwanuka (Album)
The album “Love & Hate” is a pilgrimage of self-knowledge. As that knowledge grows, rather than stay within a familiar route, Kiwanuka directs himself to the next horizon. The story of Michael Kiwanuka is at play here, from the trippy Pink Floyd-esque intro track “Cold Little Heart” to the soulful cliffhanger of an endsong, “The Final Frame”. I love this album, because it is a complete story, not just a mere collection of songs. I have listened to this album countless times this month from start to finish. I am hooked. I just finished it and can’t wait to start the journey over again. As my friend stated when he tipped me in Kiwanuka’s direction, “this is the album of our times”. Orient yourself to this album.
Contemplify Update
The two most recent episodes of Contemplify…
Next on Contemplify…
“Jenny Phillips is a cultural anthropologist, filmmaker, writer and psychiatric nurse. She has a psychotherapy practice in Concord, MA, specializing in crisis intervention, family and marriage therapy, behavioral medicine, and mindfulness training. In 2002, working with the Alabama DOC, Jenny successfully brought a Vipassana meditation program inside a maximum-security prison in Alabama. In 2008, Phillips produced and directed a documentary film, The Dhamma Brothers, with a national theatrical release and national broadcast on public television. Jenny is producer/director of Beyond the Wall.” (from beyondthewallfilm.com)
In this episode, Jenny shares reflections her two films on the inner lives and struggles of those who have been incarcerated. She also discusses two of the most important teachers of her life and offers some advice for young filmmakers seeking to bridge social action and film.
This episode will be available November 1 through Contemplify and these fine outlets: iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, Overcast or Google Play
Listen well + read often,
Paul
contemplify.com
Kindling the Examined Life
P.S. As always, I'm curious to know what you are reading or watching and what drew you to it. If you are so inclined, reply to this email with your own list.