20201217 - "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland"

 

HaikuPrajna

Down a rabbit-hole / to the land of consumption. / Shrink, grow, and escape. ("Alice's Adventures in Wonderland")

Hello good readers,

The script for the second HaikuPrajna Collection is officially out of my hands! Some would say this means that "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories" has gone gold (I think I made this joke before). A few more steps until we have a solid release date, aiming for January 2021. Hope to have an official announcement tomorrow, and pre-release material later this week, so please follow this blog to be informed!

Goodreads #MyYearInBooks! Today's book is Lewis Carroll's "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland". I have been familiar with this story my whole life, but this was my first time reading the book. The nonsense of plot elements masks a curious depth of excessive meaning. I believe the way the reader interprets the logic and word play is what is important with this story, rather than what Carroll or anyone else thought. Alice's interpretations and experiences are just as subjective as the reader's. That is what I like about "Wonderland", it is almost a stimulus test in the form of a whimsical-yet-cutthroat short story. 

My Goodreads' 2020 #MyYearInBooks can be seen here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2020/83965332

Previews of the upcoming "SM-SARA" HaikuPrajna Collection can be found here:  https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/sm-sara.html

While I pitch my first novel, "Perennial City", the full first chapter along with rough-chapter previews can be found here: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

Please follow this blog via email by clicking the "Subscribe" button at the top of the page (or like us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram) to see more of these bite-sized insights, AND so that you can read these projects as they are being produced!

Linktr.ee/HaikuPrajna

Linktr.ee/ElectricArmchair

Books, art, music, poetry, prompts and a whole lot more from me and April (@electricarmchair)!

20201216 - "Mindfulness Yoga"

 

HaikuPrajna

Warrior, salute / the sun! and be thankful for / the path's unity. ("Mindfulness Yoga")

Formatting is complete on "SM-SARA, Poems and Other Stories". Virtually everything is finished, so the next step is to upload everything to the aggregating site, then we can start the pre-release hype-train!

For today's Goodreads' #MyYearInBooks, I present "Mindfulness Yoga: Awakened Union of Breath, Body, and Mind" by Frank Jude Boccio. This book combines the physical practice of asana yoga with the spiritual side of Buddhism, and has transformed my meditation practices with the inclusion of a daily yoga routine. "Mindfulness Yoga" combs over the Buddha's teachings, then details any asana you could think of with helpful breakdowns on how to perform the poses and how they relate to the dharma. While I still enjoy cultivating sit-down meditation, this habit has been absorbed into a larger yoga practice. 

If you are a yoga-mom or a secular practitioner, this book paves the middle way for unifying these two systems of mindfulness, insight and serenity. Well worth the read even if you only have a small interest in either mindfulness or wellness.

My Goodreads' 2020 #MyYearInBooks can be seen here: https://www.goodreads.com/user/year_in_books/2020/83965332

Previews of the upcoming "SM-SARA" HaikuPrajna Collection can be found here:  https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/sm-sara.html

While I pitch my first novel, "Perennial City", the full first chapter along with rough-chapter previews can be found here: https://haikuprajna.blogspot.com/p/perennial-city.html

Thank you for reading.

Until next time,

Allen W. McLean

Please follow this blog via email by clicking the "Subscribe" button at the top of the page (or like us on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram) to see more of these bite-sized insights, AND so that you can read these projects as they are being produced!

Linktr.ee/HaikuPrajna

Linktr.ee/ElectricArmchair

Books, art, music, poetry, prompts and a whole lot more from me and April (@electricarmchair)!