Updated List of Books I'm Reading (with More Books!)

Last weekend, almost everybody that I hang out with was out of town.  At first, I was kind of bummed out about it but I took advantage of my free time.  I went through my apartment and donated about 1/3rd of the stuff I had.  

I also reorganized my bookshelf and found more books with bookmarks.  So, here's an update:

1.  Wind, Sand & Stars, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
2. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
3. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway*
4. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway*
5. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
6. Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer
7. The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea, Joseph Conrad
8. Afterwards, You're a Genius, Chip Brown
9. Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order, George Johnson
10. The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields and What's Behind It All, Bernard Haisch
11. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
12. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
13. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez*
14. The Abolition of Man, C.S. Lewis
15. Tortilla Flat, John Steinbeck
16. The Elegant Universe, Brian Greene
17. Celebrity, Laphram's Quarterly Volume IV Number I
18. Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Chuck Klosterman

I am actually pretty excited to finish all of these books.  I rearranged my bookshelves in such a way that my main shelf is color-coordinated (an idea I picked up from Kadin's sister) and the bookshelf next to my bed has a row of unfinished books, in the order I would like to read them.  

My "new" bookshelf! I am so proud of this.

One thing I am constantly working on in my life is making the effort to follow through.  This book project is kind of a huge deal for me... a big step toward being more focused.  So, I am going to try to not be discouraged that my list became 50% longer!

"It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through." - Zig Ziglar

Langston Hughes: Peace

Picture from my journal, April 2007

Marie Howe: Prayer

Prayer

Every day I want to speak with  you. And every day something more
calls for my attention - the drugstore, the beauty products, the luggage

I need to buy for the trip
Even now I can hardly sit here

Among the talling piles of paper and clothing, the garbage trucks outside
Already screeching and banging.

The mystics say you are as close as my own breath.
Why do I flee from you?

My days and nights pour through me like complaints
and become a story I forgot to tell.

Help me. Even as I write these words, I am planning
to rise from the chair as soon as I finish this sentence.

-Marie Howe

Feeling Stagnant and Book List Update

Yesterday I had the post-vacation blues. Nick and I did a very fun cross-state adventure over the holidays... it was something I had been looking forward to for a few weeks (really, I had wanted to do this trip for a couple of years).  It was so much fun!

Then, yesterday, I hadn't packed a lunch and therefore needed to buy something from a nearby restaurant. In that moment, I felt as if I had already tried everything I could eat with my "different" (not restrictive!) diet.

I expressed this to Nick via a text message.  A couple hours later, he showed up at work.  I still hadn't eaten lunch (because I couldn't pick anything I wanted to eat).  We took a walk, I ordered a vegan burger from The Shed, and we talked about how I was feeling.

During the walk, I remembered that Nick was playing an open mic at Second Street that evening.  I remembered that he is going to L.A. this weekend and I am going next week.  I remembered that there's actually a lot to look forward to in life.

White Sands National Monument, New Mexico

Such as:

- Next weekend is one of my best friend's birthdays and we'll be going to Ojo Caliente, Gabriel's, and snowshoeing to San Antonio Hot Springs 
- My parents are coming to visit next month and we will be skiing, hiking and visiting breweries
- My sister is coming to visit in March and we will be going to Ojo Caliente again
- My sister is getting married this year and I will be able to see my entire extended family on both sides
- Nick and I will be visiting my dear friend Ally later this year in Whidbey Island, Washington

And there's so much more.

"It is only in adventure that some people succeed in knowing themselves - in finding themselves." -Andre Gide

Also, a book list update:

1.  Wind, Sand & Stars, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
2. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
3. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway*
4. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway*
5. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
6. Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer
7. The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea, Joseph Conrad
8. Afterwards, You're a Genius, Chip Brown
9. Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order, George Johnson
10. The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields and What's Behind It All, Bernard Haisch
11. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
12. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
13. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez*

Books I am Reading

I have been known to read multiple books at a time, but this year things got out of hand.  Way out of control.  I have decided to compile a list of books I am currently reading.

1.  Wind, Sand & Stars, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
2. The Little Prince, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
3. The Sun Also Rises, Ernest Hemingway*
4. A Farewell to Arms, Ernest Hemingway*
5. The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien*
6. Under the Banner of Heaven, Jon Krakauer
7. The Nigger of the 'Narcissus': A Tale of the Sea, Joseph Conrad
8. Afterwards, You're a Genius, Chip Brown
9. Fire in the Mind: Science, Faith, and the Search for Order, George Johnson
10. The God Theory: Universes, Zero-Point Fields and What's Behind It All, Bernard Haisch
11. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life, Barbara Kingsolver
12. Anna Karenina, Leo Tolstoy
13. One Hundred Years of Solitude, Gabriel García Márquez*

* Reading for the second (or third) time

And I hereby declare that I will finish all of these books before starting a new one.

I have never limited myself like this but I think I need to teach myself a lesson about following through.  I am actually looking forward to eventually only reading a book (or two) at a time.

Then I shall go to Oxford and never return! 

Yogaville

After a three month long hiatus --

In May of 2011, my dear friend Ally came to stay with me before she got married.  She had just returned from a month-long yoga teacher training program in Yogaville.  Little did I know that my life would change forever right there in my living room as she taught my first Integral Yoga class.  Now I am a few days away from graduating with my certification to teach Integral Hatha Yoga, taking the same path that Ally did.

Me in Yogaville in front of LOTUS

Integral Yoga "is a scientific system which integrates the various branches of Yoga in order to bring about a complete and harmonious development of the individual", as quoted by its founder Sri Swami Satchidananda.    I am learning the yogic way of life, which includes a vegan diet, the asanas (poses), meditation, service, kirtan (chanting/prayer) and general guidelines for being a good person.  

Since I am doing 220 hours of yoga training in one month, the schedule here is quite rigorous.  My days begin at 5:30 am and end at 9:00 pm.  In that time, I am meditating, doing yoga, learning about how to teach yoga, learning about anatomy, health science and how to be yogis.  I am with a group of 11 other individuals of all ages and nationalities.  We have become a family and the ashram has become our home.  

Truth is One, Paths are Many

I find it difficult to describe the transformation that has taken place in everyone in my group, so I won't try.  However, I will say that yoga is so much more than I ever knew it could be.  

I will write more, probably after graduation!

You are the Universe