Manifest Revolution Live Truth.

I read a lot. Suzuki Roshi said that words are like food for the mind; the mind needs some food, but not too much. I try to live the spirit of that by reading books that will force me to expand my thinking or experience in some way. But it can be difficult to find good books of that sort. So I'm going to start leaving my own trail of breadcrumbs in the form of brief reviews of books that I've read. I will give a very brief statement of what the book is about, who I would recommend it for, and my general response. Every one of this has the implicit disclaimer that IANALC (I Am Not A Literary Critic). YMMV. ;)

People love beliefs; especially when they come in groups and can be articulated in concise epithets. The reason for this is that beliefs seem to provide protection against the unknown. That's precisely why systems are considered better than individual beliefs--one stone makes a poorer wall than many. And that's also why the ability to easily state a belief is so important. How much protection can it give if it's too complicated to invoke?

There's a lot of talk about purpose these days. Whether it's finding your purpose or defining your purpose, it is an idea that's gaining a lot of popularity in both traditional and non-traditional circles. From books to blogs to forums, this idea is getting a lot of airtime. And while I think the idea has a lot of merits, I don't buy into it the way it's most often used. There I said it. Let the lynching begin.

I don't like talking about it for that matter. I think that all the talk of "my purpose is..." immediately drifts away from the inspirational ideal that purpose as a concept aspires to be. What starts out as the elevated inclinations of spirit are translated into the terms of the material world, and so the purpose is reduced to a pursuit of the incarnate form, no longer inspired.

So if I don't like it as a spiritual meme, and I don't like talking about it, then why am I talking about it?

There's a lot of talk about humanity reaching a new level of consciousness, the next stage of human evolution, leaving behind the fear- and ego-based patterns of the past for new compassion- and spirit-driven structures. I think it's a beautiful, idealist vision but that nobody really knows what they're talking about.

There is a lot of talk in the media about the sustainability of our environmental practices. This is a very important issue, and I believe very strongly that we need to care for the planet that gives us life. Samsara, the wheel of life and incarnation, is not an belief subscribed to by many Westerners, who tend to believe mortality is a one-shot deal. Even our cultural interpretation of karma anticipates reward or punishment within a single lifetime. The view that judgment occurs in a separate time and place from our mortal life provides no incentive to creating sustainable institutions and moral codes. I think this is no more evident than in present political and economic structures, and the various forms of backlash against them.