August New Moon / 3 Good Things
3 beautiful books
If you’re new here, welcome! On the new moon I publish a list of “3 Good Things,” usually around a theme that calls to me that month. Enjoy!
This month I’ve got three extraordinary books to share with you, two of them written by longtime Dharma friends (Oren and Cynthia). They now all have a cherished place in my home collection, and I have a feeling you’ll really appreciate them too.
NOTE: I just started an affiliate account at the wonderful Bookshop.org (an excellent alternative to the online bookseller whose name shall not be uttered) and have included Bookshop links with each description. In full disclosure, a little bit of the sale comes back to me which supports me to spend time creating posts like this, but mostly I encourage you to buy books because it supports the authors who put their heart and souls into these works.
1 YOUR HEART WAS MADE FOR THIS by Oren Jay Sofer
Years ago I worked with Oren at the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and one of the many things I valued about him was his capacity to keep us well organized. He combines that gift along with compassionate engagement and a deep, lived knowledge of the Dharma in this beautiful book that completely lives up to its subtitle: “Contemplative Practices for Meeting a World in Crisis with Courage, Integrity, & Love.”
Every chapter is focused on a quality (such as Courage, Joy, and Gratitude) and is organized around a reflection, meditation, and action to support you in strengthening those qualities. Throughout the book, Oren seamlessly integrates individual and collective realities, never shying away from addressing challenges like racism and climate change as part of practice.
Oren’s voice is warm, encouraging, and empathetic. In reading Your Heart Was Made for This, I felt like a friend was sitting right with me, understanding what might be difficult and offering unconditional support and useful tools to work with it. This is the perfect book to help us navigate these transformative times.
Learn more and purchase here
2 EARTH MEDICINES by Felicia Cocotzin Ruiz
Felicia (Tewa/Xicana) is a curandera and Indigenous foods activist based in Arizona. She has put together this gorgeous book based on a lifetime of being in relationship with plants and knowledge passed down by her ancestors. The book is organized by the elements: water, air, earth, and fire. In each section you’ll find detailed and easy to understand instructions on how to make traditional remedies, nourishing recipes, and luxurious health and beauty creations. One of my favorites for this hot season: Cucumber aloe vera medicine water. Felicia also offers guidance on creating rituals that deeply nourish spirit and soul. I keep this book on my living room table and even if I’m not using it, just looking at the photos and reading the words gives me life!
Learn more and purchase here
3 SUMMONED BY THE EARTH by Cynthia Jurs
This is a mythical tale of epic scale – and it really happened. In 1990, Cynthia Jurs traveled to Nepal with friends and had the chance to do something many of us only dream about: ask a 106-year-old lama a question that would change the course of her life. Recognizing the weight of the moment, it took her a while to finally understand her question: “What can I do to bring healing and protection to the earth?” The answer she was given has become her karmic assignment: take Earth Treasure Vases lovingly made by Tibetan monks and bury them in locations around the world where they could do their healing work.
I loved everything about Summoned by the Earth, especially Cynthia’s honest telling of the story as she struggled to live up to this task she had been given. She quickly discovers she can’t do it alone. I especially appreciated her in-depth account of taking the first vases to a cave overlooking Los Alamos National Laboratory, home of the atomic bomb and a place that continues to produce weapons of mass destruction, and the surrounding bio-region – an area that is home for both of us. Cynthia’s acknowledgement of the First Peoples of this region is powerful (and necessary) and she uplifts their voices with respect. Eventually this mission takes her to Mexico, Ecuador, Peru, Israel/Palestine, Japan, Liberia, South Africa, Egypt, and many more places. (See the locations of all the vases here.)
Dive into this story and share Cynthia’s surprise at the many ways healings and transformations take place both internally and in the physical world through these small but powerful vases. This is a truly delightful and deeply inspiring read, full of awe.
Learn more and purchase here
Thank you for recommending these books which are now going to the top of my wish list, and for letting us know about a great alternative to the “other” store. I’ll be switching.
These are now on my TBR list! Each, from your careful and caring synopses, resonates. Thank you for this Maia.