August 2003
 
Learning To Fall:
The Blessings Of An Imperfect Life
Learning to Fall
opens with the sentence: “This
book is for everyone who has lived long enough to discover that
life is both more and less than we hoped for.”
Philip Simmons
was diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s disease
at age thirty-five, and died ten years later. A college professor
in the Midwest, he returned to his native New England with his
family once his illness progressed, and many of the essays in
the book are set in the rural New Hampshire area where he spent
his last years.
“
You learn pretty quickly that even though you know you’re
dying, life goes on.” This, and other matter-of-fact statements
belie the poetry of this author’s prose. Simmons’ writing
is quiet in tone, but fully and beautifully realized in content.
The title refers
not only to Simmons’ loss of balance due
to his illness, but to the act of falling as metaphor. “We
fall on our faces, we fall for a joke, we fall for someone, we
fall in love. In each of these falls, what do we fall away from?
We fall from ego, we fall from our carefully constructed identities,
our reputations, our precious selves.”
In these twelve
essays, on topics such as solitude, wildness, and being present,
Simmons weaves his observations
with dry humor,
memories, and the ubiquitous New England landscape. Finding ultimately
that, “the imperfect is our paradise,” his prayer
is that, “if we are falling toward death, let us also fall
toward life.” This is a beautiful book.
— Jan
Suzukawa
www.meditationcenter.com
There seems little
doubt we exist in an “Age
of Anxiety.” With the introduction of the
computer, the fax machine, e-mail, and other such
current devices, everything accelerates—including
our lives—at a faster, more hectic pace. However, we have
available an ancient and effective means to slow
everything down—and bring us
some much-needed inner calm. In a word, meditation.
This appealing website makes no claim to give us
instant peace of mind, but it does make available
a large number of meditation techniques to place
us on the path. Instruction is available to those
who are new to meditation, as well as to those
more advanced. The site provides links to four basic meditations:
core meditations, which involve the use of the
breath and focusing on inner light; meditations
to relieve stress through relaxation; healing meditations;
and a centering meditation. Give this site a try.
You may find it almost as good as your morning
cup of coffee. — Cliff
Johnson
 
Why are We Created
Einstein
seemed to view God as dressed in questions more
than answers,” say
Sir John Templeton and Reverend Dunlap in this
marvelous, mind-opening
book. By raising questions about our life purpose,
the authors stimulate us to explore greater possibilities. Why Are We Created?
speaks compellingly to that sense within all
of us that we are more than we
seem; that we can do and be more than we are presently
expressing. Templeton and Dunlap pose their central
question—“What is the purpose of my
life and how may I fulfill it?”—in
a variety of ways, so we really hear this question
at a deep level, and are actively moved to respond.
While most of us have received wake-up calls in
one form or another, we tend to continue on more
or less in our familiar comfort zones; feeling
slightly dissatisfied with our lives but not sure
what to do about it. The value of Why Are We Created?
is its power to catalyze us into taking the next
step: understanding leads to action. The “Recommended
Reading” section alone makes this book worth
owning, since the list, though not long, comprises
an essential resource for anyone serious about
fulfilling his or her life purpose. — Kathy Juline
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