tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-60090045858246602232024-03-06T05:08:52.646+11:00walterblogwriter, scholar, dreamerWalter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.comBlogger844125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-16107624147485306832022-03-04T12:23:00.008+11:002022-03-04T12:24:29.252+11:00Events with Walter - March 2022 edition<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSg-wM7M6VtAZWFlvuvRR8xvEiuUyuWHmxyr-kASm6QTtVl4nN6-RDXNnCqZ7sL1Zvqg6qMxpq0szaJzu9OtJYnUkMIXEttTlwwGxfAOCiNd_n4w7SfvSNByoI0hCJQndaVGA6ClRDv5IWFzZOJ04-4Vt1fHUTREfc6k6yuoQ4my8qI0Uupbl53Zp_=s1450" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1450" data-original-width="1000" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhSg-wM7M6VtAZWFlvuvRR8xvEiuUyuWHmxyr-kASm6QTtVl4nN6-RDXNnCqZ7sL1Zvqg6qMxpq0szaJzu9OtJYnUkMIXEttTlwwGxfAOCiNd_n4w7SfvSNByoI0hCJQndaVGA6ClRDv5IWFzZOJ04-4Vt1fHUTREfc6k6yuoQ4my8qI0Uupbl53Zp_=w442-h640" width="442" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><p></p><p>Hmmm.</p><p> </p><p>I used to keep this as an updated list on a sidebar here, but blogger seems to have made that kind of impossible now. </p><p> </p><p>So I will have to start doing this as a monthly update post. </p><p><br /></p><p>I was just saying yesterday that suddenly everyone wants to do events again. People are contacting me and proposals I am sending through are all being accepted. Suddenly I seem snowed under again (a lot more things will be popping up on this list in the next few weeks)! The post-Covid thaw is definitely happening. </p><p><br /></p><p>Anyway, this is what my public events list looks like at the moment. I would love to see you at one or all of them :-) </p><p><br /></p><p>
</p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><b>March 6 - I am launching Alicia Thompson's book at Gleebooks, 2 pm; all welcome but <a href="https://www.gleebooks.com.au/event/alicia-thompson-something-else/" target="_blank">bookings essential</a></b><br /><br /><b>March 16 - Norman Hartnell talk at Corrimal Library 11am, <a href="https://www.wollongong.nsw.gov.au/library/library-events/adult-cor/a-morning-with-walter-mason " target="_blank">bookings essential</a></b><br /><br /><br /><b>March 31 - ‘Reconnect with your memories’ workshop, Haberfield Library, free, but <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/seniors-week-reconnecting-with-your-memories-with-walter-mason-tickets-230697431227?aff=webcalendar" target="_blank">bookings essential</a></b><br /><br /><b>April 27 – Lectio Divina talk at the<a href="https://sydney.theosophicalsociety.org.au/" target="_blank"> Blavatsky Lodge</a> of the Theosophical Society, Sydney. All welcome, $5 donation</b><br /><br /><b>April 29 – Tennessee Williams talk at <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/" target="_blank">WEA Sydney</a>, evening. Bookings essential (goes on sale march 9)</b><br /><br /><b>May 12 - Great Diarists course starts at <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/" target="_blank">WEA Sydney</a> - over 4 Thursday Afternoons, 2.30 - 4.30pm. Bookings essential (goes on sale march 9)</b><br /></div><br /><br /><p><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/>
<w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/>
<w:OverrideTableStyleHps/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="false"
DefSemiHidden="false" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="376">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footer"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="index heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of figures"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="envelope return"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="footnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="line number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="page number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="endnote text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="table of authorities"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="macro"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="toa heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Bullet 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Number 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Closing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="List Continue 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Message Header"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Salutation"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Date"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text First Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Note Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Body Text Indent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Block Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="FollowedHyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Document Map"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Plain Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="E-mail Signature"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Top of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Bottom of Form"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal (Web)"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Acronym"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Address"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Cite"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Code"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Definition"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Keyboard"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Preformatted"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Sample"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Typewriter"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="HTML Variable"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Normal Table"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="annotation subject"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="No List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Outline List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Simple 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Classic 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Colorful 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Columns 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Grid 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table List 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table 3D effects 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Contemporary"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Elegant"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Professional"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Subtle 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Web 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Balloon Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Table Theme"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" QFormat="true"
Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" QFormat="true"
Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" QFormat="true"
Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" SemiHidden="true"
UnhideWhenUsed="true" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="41" Name="Plain Table 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="42" Name="Plain Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="43" Name="Plain Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="44" Name="Plain Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="45" Name="Plain Table 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="40" Name="Grid Table Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="Grid Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="Grid Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="Grid Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="Grid Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="Grid Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="Grid Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="Grid Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="Grid Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46" Name="List Table 1 Light"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51" Name="List Table 6 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52" Name="List Table 7 Colorful"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="46"
Name="List Table 1 Light Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="47" Name="List Table 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="48" Name="List Table 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="49" Name="List Table 4 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="50" Name="List Table 5 Dark Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="51"
Name="List Table 6 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="52"
Name="List Table 7 Colorful Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Hyperlink"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Hashtag"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Unresolved Mention"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" SemiHidden="true" UnhideWhenUsed="true"
Name="Smart Link"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:8.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:107%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
</style>
<![endif]--></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-60225653623935959892021-12-20T18:50:00.000+11:002021-12-20T18:50:21.924+11:00A new spiritual project - my Summer reading<p> Heavens it has suddenly become very hot in Sydney.</p><p>Summer this year seemed as though it would never come, and even last week it was unseasonally cool. But here is the heat, and of course all of us grumbling at it. </p><p>What have I got to read this Summer?</p><p>Well, my darling friend, the author <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2011/08/castles-follies-four-leaf-clovers.html" target="_blank">Rosamund Burton</a>, has proposed that this year we work our way through <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Course_in_Miracles" target="_blank"><i>A Course in Miracles</i></a>. It is a long time since I went through it systematically, so I am really looking forward to the project, which includes a monthly irl meeting with a couple of sacred friends to talk about how it's all going. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkDLSo8DPt9MZDU9ukOkiqYvvOT2SuB2bfG9Kvsq3SgxXdcjkw63aoevxsxs3jPqqwg2vVODAIbFUrt3YQqlEgqS03XtQynBVXc304H6CSUpinytzfGwRBzlUiSPl8kMy-8XC59av3sytJHuWbmw8Zt1bhMaogKVwzSjg0PwX3RhVrsipEWM6T0wy9=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgkDLSo8DPt9MZDU9ukOkiqYvvOT2SuB2bfG9Kvsq3SgxXdcjkw63aoevxsxs3jPqqwg2vVODAIbFUrt3YQqlEgqS03XtQynBVXc304H6CSUpinytzfGwRBzlUiSPl8kMy-8XC59av3sytJHuWbmw8Zt1bhMaogKVwzSjg0PwX3RhVrsipEWM6T0wy9=w300-h400" width="300" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>To help me on that journey, I have gone to my shelves and pulled down a couple of supplementary titles which will encourage me to keep going for the duration of the <a href="https://acim.org/acim/en" target="_blank"><i>Course</i></a>. </p><p>From top to bottom:</p><p><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Return-Love-Reflections-Principles-Miracles/dp/0060927488" target="_blank"><i>A Return to Love</i></a> by <a href="https://youtu.be/6AJ2YK-l1lY" target="_blank">Marianne Williamson</a> (one of the books that really changed my life - I look forward to reading it again. This will be the fourth time, I think)<br /></p><p><a href="https://qflf.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/teach-only-love/" target="_blank"><i>Teach Only Love</i></a> by <a href="https://www.bodyandsoul.com.au/mind-body/wellness/the-selfhelp-books-health-and-fitness-stars-constantly-come-back-to/news-story/119eb98d7050b59f3a5a4a3bfbf0d4da" target="_blank">Gerald Jampolsky</a></p><p><a href="https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/book-reviews/view/18132/understanding-a-course-in-miracles" target="_blank"><i>Understanding A Course in Miracles</i></a> by <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/understanding-a-course-in-miracles-d-patrick-miller/book/9780578906430.html" target="_blank">D. Patrick Miller</a></p><p><a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Out-of-Darkness-into-the-Light-Gerald-G.-Jampolsky/9780553347913?redirected=true&selectCurrency=AUD&w=AF45AU9S1M6Y3RA8V9RZ&gclid=Cj0KCQiAzfuNBhCGARIsAD1nu--6C1kbqndxUgGMFDya64m_RprlA_Biv0RDkb0UyX_IzaG8O81sVMwaAsaLEALw_wcB" target="_blank"><i>Out of Darkness Into the Light</i></a> by <a href="https://youtu.be/L2G_EhyeN7I" target="_blank">Gerald Jampolsky</a></p><p><a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/13545811-forgiveness?from_choice=false&from_home_module=false&rating=1" target="_blank"><i>Forgiveness: The Greatest Healer of All</i></a> by <a href="https://youtu.be/T9GA4llBhsw" target="_blank">Gerald Jampolsky</a> (another really beautiful book that I look forward to re-reading)</p><p><a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/goodbye-to-guilt-9780553345742" target="_blank"><i>Goodbye to Guilt</i></a> by <a href="https://youtu.be/sP6RvtDTdG8" target="_blank">Gerald Jampolsky</a></p><p><a href="https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/healing-the-cause-a-path-of-forgiveness-inspired-by-a-course-in-miracles-by-michael-dawson-9781456602413" target="_blank"><i>Healing the Cause</i></a> by Michael Dawson</p><p><a href="https://www.audible.com.au/pd/Living-a-Course-in-Miracles-Audiobook/B00FGJDEGC" target="_blank"><i>Living A Course in Miracles</i></a> by Jon Mundy</p><p><i>Eternal Life and A Course in Miracles</i> by <a href="https://youtu.be/UPEAT45MEGA" target="_blank">Jon Mundy</a></p><p>Are you a student of the <a href="https://youtu.be/bgWBmiqR4pI" target="_blank"><i>Course</i></a> and have a book you would like to recommend? Do let me know - I would be very interested in adding a couple of books to this list. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgha4LUwZCKoY7o3mtlI66ycOYyBQakAp3X292od8ujMbi5PvcvvrKP4AjM36t7xgzs23vbQH00RSagPFZVMcVHEpgpkg8CC00SqiEkmaPPijzh6icFheab_-QFUEmoy9d4JttfA0OIB9UJ2iU9udVjJYtJLYnJqKRUv_5Y83bO73bylFm-VnzFtSbK=s4032" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="4032" data-original-width="3024" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgha4LUwZCKoY7o3mtlI66ycOYyBQakAp3X292od8ujMbi5PvcvvrKP4AjM36t7xgzs23vbQH00RSagPFZVMcVHEpgpkg8CC00SqiEkmaPPijzh6icFheab_-QFUEmoy9d4JttfA0OIB9UJ2iU9udVjJYtJLYnJqKRUv_5Y83bO73bylFm-VnzFtSbK=w480-h640" width="480" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>One more read of sacred importance this Summer. My darling friend and spiritual guide <a href="https://www.maggiehamilton.org/" target="_blank">Maggie Hamilton</a> gave me a book for Christmas called <a href="https://youtu.be/mncvI5LXE5c" target="_blank"><i>The Path of the Holy Fool: How the Labyrinth Ignites Our Visionary Powers</i></a> by <a href="https://www.laurenartress.com/blog/" target="_blank">Lauren Artress</a>. I always look forward to Maggie's Christmas book, and as always this one looks utterly intriguing. I am keen to reconnect to the <a href="https://stagen.com/wisdom/walking-the-labyrinth/" target="_blank">wisdom of the labyrinth</a>, something that I studied at great length ten or more years ago. I know it will inspire me to visit Centennial Park again and walk the labyrinth there. </p><p>Perhaps you would like to join me one day? <br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-36119692070213892232021-11-22T18:46:00.005+11:002021-11-22T18:49:17.751+11:00An honest and inspiring memoir: Twelve Rules for a Better Life by the Rev. Bill Crews (with Roger Joyce)<p> The <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9781460759271/12-rules-for-living-a-better-life/" target="_blank">Rev. Bill Crews</a> has long been one of my favourite human beings. I have always admired his <a href="https://www.billcrews.org/" target="_blank">work in Ashfield</a>, in Western Sydney, and later his <a href="https://www.2gb.com/show/sunday-nights-with-bill-crews/" target="_blank">radio show on Sunday nights on 2GB</a>.</p><p>He has long been one of the most honest and unpretentious voices in the public sphere, and I have noted how he is willing to go anywhere to spread his message of compassion, charity and hope. He lives his spirituality, and in doing so he inspires so many others to look within as well as without and hope for a better world. </p><p>I expected his book to be run-of-the-mill celebrity memoir with a bit of spirituality and self-help thrown in. But I was blown away by what it was. <a href="https://journeyonline.com.au/scoop/book-review-twelve-rules-for-living-a-better-life/" target="_blank"><i>Twelve Rules for Living a Better Life</i></a> is a beautifully-written, brutally honest and constantly inspiring account of the Reverend's life and the lessons he has derived from it. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmS8yMudQ-rbsYUlvzYVdKOLif3BTKpyTwFWo5B1AIX0CvWpESXeoQUYa0Airh7sJmdkYP5VWXsuET0uWw3OPJXxY8foFD933CrlK4QM3tDZ8WVx3j749d45KAutbyQ56lP2C78VbAUQ/s648/B_Twelve+Rules+for+Living+a+Better+Life_Bill+Crews.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="424" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhmS8yMudQ-rbsYUlvzYVdKOLif3BTKpyTwFWo5B1AIX0CvWpESXeoQUYa0Airh7sJmdkYP5VWXsuET0uWw3OPJXxY8foFD933CrlK4QM3tDZ8WVx3j749d45KAutbyQ56lP2C78VbAUQ/w261-h400/B_Twelve+Rules+for+Living+a+Better+Life_Bill+Crews.jpg" width="261" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>He is not afraid to walk into situations that might be painful and confronting to most of us, and he is also not afraid to delve into those areas in this book. </p><p>If you want to be inspired by a man who walks his talk, I can wholeheartedly recommend this book.</p><p>Oh, and listen to this <a href="https://youtu.be/hNtxobEj_ns" target="_blank">podcast of me chatting with the Rev. Bill Crews about his book</a><br /></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-23324090524675417782021-11-22T17:49:00.005+11:002021-11-22T17:49:51.862+11:00A delicious entertainment for lovers of E. F. Benson: Mapp at Fifty by Hugh Ashton<p> The love of<a href="https://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/e-f-benson-his-life-and-times-an-appreciation-by-walter-mason/" target="_blank"> E. F. Benson</a> is so extreme and so all-consuming that many have attempted to "extend" the <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2013/09/queen-lucia-by-e-f-benson.html" target="_blank">Lucia</a> novels by taking the characters and their milieu and creating their own stories. </p><p>Now, fans may or may not be receptive to this idea, nut nonetheless it seems like writers who love <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2014/01/final-edition-e-f-benson.html" target="_blank">Benson</a> - similar to writers who love <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/jane-austen-adaptations-best-film-b1961310.html" target="_blank">Austen</a> - love nothing better than having a go at continuing the literary journeys begun by their beloved favourite author. </p><p>When it comes to <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2012/09/writing-personal-as-we-were-by-e-f.html" target="_blank">E. F. Benson</a>, we have, over the years, seen authors like <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tom_Holt" target="_blank">Tom Holt</a> and Guy Fraser-Sampson write "new" Lucia books. The latest writer in this tradition is <a href="https://hughashtonbooks.com/" target="_blank">Hugh Ashton</a>, famous for his <a href="https://hughashtonbooks.com/sherlock-holmes/" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a> pastiche's. This little (and it is very little - no more than a medium-sized short story) book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Mapp-Fifty-Story-Originals-F-Benson/dp/191260566X" target="_blank"><i>Mapp at Fifty</i></a>, explores <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Mapp" target="_blank">Miss Mapp</a>'s birthday party and the disastrous things that attend it. We even get to meet her sister, who is quite a surprising character. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcUphJnlgvWz469AoXPGtoOX5m9PhfpRXBbzkk-3C-AJ6w5wueVv5kfhxAv9Q3yoRReV8FPvqTUPgpXvU5ypt2Ay4Hn9Q3B_DSw6ZbdNpq9099H4y3tdkqRVJlnV9HVeI2pYfdOdece4/s2048/B_Mapp+at+Fifty_Hugh+Ashton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXcUphJnlgvWz469AoXPGtoOX5m9PhfpRXBbzkk-3C-AJ6w5wueVv5kfhxAv9Q3yoRReV8FPvqTUPgpXvU5ypt2Ay4Hn9Q3B_DSw6ZbdNpq9099H4y3tdkqRVJlnV9HVeI2pYfdOdece4/w400-h400/B_Mapp+at+Fifty_Hugh+Ashton.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>It says much about <a href="http://johnpaulcatton.com/2021/07/excalibur-author-interview-hugh-ashton/" target="_blank">Hugh</a>'s talent that, a couple of times, I thought I was reading Benson himself! </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPe0cWl42oRHOmLUXtswV_r5WfH_wZoXq9GuqrShjTv_hTj_RjNBaFu7YW3eLBnrag7N_cOTZw_GTVzMPJBmPdCXanQn1oEy8D4-BD8TqIg7OE6mqbNgx-uuGWHI7-4f_erZwYF4chQk/s700/B_Hugh+Ashton.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="548" data-original-width="700" height="251" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDPe0cWl42oRHOmLUXtswV_r5WfH_wZoXq9GuqrShjTv_hTj_RjNBaFu7YW3eLBnrag7N_cOTZw_GTVzMPJBmPdCXanQn1oEy8D4-BD8TqIg7OE6mqbNgx-uuGWHI7-4f_erZwYF4chQk/w320-h251/B_Hugh+Ashton.jpg" title="The author, Hugh Ashton" width="320" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>This was great fun, and a nice distraction. You can read it in about an hour. It is, however, one for the hardcore <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/oct/18/ghost-stories-benson-review" target="_blank">E. F. Benson</a> fans. I think that someone reading it without knowing the <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/series/MWL/mapp-and-lucia-series">Lucia novels</a> would be quite perplexed. <br /></p><p><br /></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-32444120380350026872021-11-21T12:20:00.005+11:002021-11-21T12:20:31.823+11:00An unexpected literary surprise: Susan Howatch's Glittering Images<p> I have discovered that it is always worthwhile exploring the literary artefacts of one's youth. </p><p>I am not talking about the books that one enjoyed reading as a child. These are always worth picking up again. I have discovered so much about my self and the adult world I have created by re-visiting the books I enjoyed in my childhood (Roald Dahl, Enid Blyton's <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Brownies" target="_blank"><i>Book of Brownies</i></a>, <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/i-own-the-racecourse--patricia-wrightson/book/9781922147028.html?dsa=s1-east&gclid=CjwKCAiA1uKMBhAGEiwAxzvX9_gWzAQ1cKEsBjlxilbD3-oJxKSp4ge25-N_h1QdBwinEf64rbXfDRoC5-sQAvD_BwE" target="_blank"><i>I Own the Racecourse</i></a>, <i>The Shark in Charlie's Window</i> etc. etc....). What I have become interested in is the books I remember lining the shelves of my parents' house and the houses of my aunts and grandparents. Employing this method of enquiry I have, in recent years, discovered the joys of <a href="https://www.agathachristie.com/" target="_blank">Agatha Christie</a>, <a href="https://youtu.be/DDH9WCkEzPs" target="_blank">Ngaio Marsh</a>, Tom Sharpe, <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Jonathan-Livingston-Seagull/Richard-Bach/9781476793313" target="_blank"><i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i></a>, <a href="http://www.denniswheatley.info/denniswheatley.htm" target="_blank">Dennis Wheatley</a> and others. </p><p>One of the names I remember so vividly seeing on the shelves of the 70s and 80s is <a href="https://owlcation.com/humanities/The-Novels-of-Susan-Howatch" target="_blank">Susan Howatch</a>. I never really felt inclined to pick them up - they were not designed to appeal to the aesthetic tastes of young boys. When my friend <a href="https://www.maggiehamilton.org/" target="_blank">Maggie Hamilton</a> told me a couple of years ago that she had found a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Susan-Howatch/e/B000AP78V4%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share" target="_blank">Susan Howatch</a> novel at an Airbnb in Greece and had been utterly enthralled by it I smiled nostalgically and thought nothing more about it. <a href="https://karenswain.com/maggie-hamilton/" target="_blank">Maggie</a>, however, mentioned it a couple of times more when we met, telling me I would love the ecclesiastic settings. Now, I value <a href="https://www.murdochbooks.com.au/browse/books/other-books/When-We-Become-Strangers-Maggie-Hamilton-9781922351197" target="_blank">Maggie</a>'s literary judgement, and I also love any book about the machinations of the <a href="https://www.royal.uk/queens-relationship-churches-england-and-scotland-and-other-faiths" target="_blank">Church of England</a> (I was definitely a High Church vicar in a past life), so I put it on my vague "must read someday" list. </p><p>Finally, she bought me a copy of <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/83505/glittering-images-by-susan-howatch/" target="_blank"><i>Glittering Images</i></a> for Christmas last year. I have only just gotten around to reading it (it does take me a while to work through my book piles) and I have been so utterly entranced by the book that I can't think of anything else. </p><p> </p><p><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Yi_t98FhzW98fbxFbz3JGmLAKiGGEI7_IEgMxCCWUvj_s307i7HC6BJhuQ4Em1Rs-KdwfbnahsKquAYos-5YoFQHSU70NA5grnawuRMD3XJ2Z-BbV7Z0cXyZx4xzPsFcZ3-edpmbWPY/s2048/B_Susan+Howatch_Glittering+Images.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="1247" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Yi_t98FhzW98fbxFbz3JGmLAKiGGEI7_IEgMxCCWUvj_s307i7HC6BJhuQ4Em1Rs-KdwfbnahsKquAYos-5YoFQHSU70NA5grnawuRMD3XJ2Z-BbV7Z0cXyZx4xzPsFcZ3-edpmbWPY/w390-h640/B_Susan+Howatch_Glittering+Images.jpg" width="390" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr></tbody></table><br /> </p><p> </p><p>Susan Howatch, dear friends, is a literary genius and why didn't anyone ever tell me before?</p><p>This book has everything: sex, <a href="https://www.ncronline.org/news/people/anglican-woman-who-awakened-us-catholic-mystics" target="_blank">mysticism</a>, C of E bishops with deep dark secrets - even <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evelyn_Underhill" target="_blank">Evelyn Underhill</a>! </p><p>Oh, how you will love this! And it is not just enthralling, utterly engaging, fiction. It is also a call to spiritual arms, of a sort. It even includes a fascinating list of subjects to include if one is <a href="https://www.wikihow.com/Keep-a-Spiritual-Journal" target="_blank">keeping a spiritual journal</a>! Also some tips for defeating insomnia - in this case, sneaking out to a bishop's library in one's pyjamas and reading <a href="https://theconversation.com/walter-scott-at-250-so-much-more-than-a-great-historical-novelist-162638" target="_blank">Sir Walter Scott</a>'s <i>Ivanhoe</i>. </p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEiTT2tYwx7F0eMdOy5i5rrrSSADBZnBSiUVFa6uz_s8qbnH5AoHOrnCaja0aFDo-ayzeHfS8tXKEBCIzyWKzjv1BhZACjq4uAVD4L1Hj8yYhCJNODF5JcH-YtVFEOCZHyx2bFo_lC6M/s916/B_Linked_Canva_journal+cafe_Vietnam_Chua+Dai+Giac.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="733" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaEiTT2tYwx7F0eMdOy5i5rrrSSADBZnBSiUVFa6uz_s8qbnH5AoHOrnCaja0aFDo-ayzeHfS8tXKEBCIzyWKzjv1BhZACjq4uAVD4L1Hj8yYhCJNODF5JcH-YtVFEOCZHyx2bFo_lC6M/w256-h320/B_Linked_Canva_journal+cafe_Vietnam_Chua+Dai+Giac.jpg" title="Keeping a spiritual journal..." width="256" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>It has also prompted me to include some things in my life that I have let slip a little: prayer, a more disciplined approach to spiritual life, <a href="How to Take a Spiritual Retreat: A Practical Step-By-Step Guide | HuffPost Communities" target="_blank">retreat</a> and the comforting use of <a href="https://zannakeithley.com/2021/02/26/spirituality-journal-prompts/" target="_blank">external spiritual prompts</a>. </p><p>This really is the most heavenly read. I am so glad I have discovered her, and can't wait to continue my Susan Howatch journey. </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W9a_5NRWyYlBpS2TLrPEXRPeEChMSjnIqFymdauqMWcWaoMZ66JNqrXNj5LR-lki6LSrj-VgkFYRFJJcni0p3A8odNDASXaSJu3po89a9OkW-OZxm4y-A8yX09mvdeF9ve3haQ5TjDw/s700/B_Susan++Howatch_Ultimate+Prizes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="421" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1W9a_5NRWyYlBpS2TLrPEXRPeEChMSjnIqFymdauqMWcWaoMZ66JNqrXNj5LR-lki6LSrj-VgkFYRFJJcni0p3A8odNDASXaSJu3po89a9OkW-OZxm4y-A8yX09mvdeF9ve3haQ5TjDw/s320/B_Susan++Howatch_Ultimate+Prizes.jpg" width="192" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-61697484299494673022021-11-21T10:23:00.000+11:002021-11-21T10:23:19.077+11:00For the Oscar fans: A Purple Thread: The Supernatural Doom of Oscar Wilde by Nina Antonia<p>Since I was a teenager I have been a fan of all things <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2012/09/oscar-wilde-in-as-we-were-by-ef-benson.html" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>.</p><p>So I was thrilled when my friend <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/bernadette-of-lourdes-9780826420855/" target="_blank">Therese Taylor</a> alerted me to this exquisitely written, designed and illustrated booklet: <a href="https://ninaantoniaauthor.com/books/a-purple-thread/" target="_blank"><i>A Purple Thread: The Supernatural Doom of Oscar Wilde</i></a>.</p><p> </p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjna-xJXm4pGSNenDG8ZYXIssbnKOCHTYx5G9vhH18KbUp-lQFv2vDG_KNZK1X1j__ExICzQHK1P_aABuN1wVc-dRRcVSqgucbTry1fq56JlEUBh9irt0IeXcd_NfwEz_RgfgWZ_h8IOk/s701/Purple+Thread_Oscar+Wilde_Nina+Antonia_Fiddlers+Green_supernatural+doom+Queensbury+Bosie+Speranza.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="701" data-original-width="464" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjna-xJXm4pGSNenDG8ZYXIssbnKOCHTYx5G9vhH18KbUp-lQFv2vDG_KNZK1X1j__ExICzQHK1P_aABuN1wVc-dRRcVSqgucbTry1fq56JlEUBh9irt0IeXcd_NfwEz_RgfgWZ_h8IOk/w265-h400/Purple+Thread_Oscar+Wilde_Nina+Antonia_Fiddlers+Green_supernatural+doom+Queensbury+Bosie+Speranza.png" width="265" /></a></div><br /> <p></p><p> </p><p>The fascinating author <a href="https://ninaantoniaauthor.com/2020/10/19/a-purple-thread-the-supernatural-doom-of-oscar-wilde/" target="_blank">Nina Antonia</a> has written a long essay discussing the occult thread that runs through Oscar Wilde and his family. It was such a thrilling thing to receive in the mail, and I sat down and read it instantly. I have since come back to it several times and used it as a reference in a couple of talks and courses I have given. <br /></p><p>A beautifully-produced literary object that will thrill anyone who loves books and who loves Oscar. </p><p>Produced by the craft-<a href="https://www.fiddlersgreenzine.com/" target="_blank">publisher Fiddler's Green</a>, who always create literary objects that delight the eye and the heart. </p><p>It's also thrilling to get and read stuff like this because it reminds us as readers that books can now be of any shape and size. I for one would love to read more of this kind of stuff - engage, quirky and specialist essays lovingly written and produced for the sheer art of it.<br /></p><p> <br /></p>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-35769951022018791832020-10-28T18:37:00.000+11:002020-10-28T18:37:57.352+11:00The Mindful Writer - A 2020 Resource Page<p> I had the loveliest group today on what was a grand experiment - my first Mindful Writer workshop delivered via Zoom, generously hosted by Mosman Library.</p><p><br /></p><p>It was lots of fun, though a very novel and occasionally weird experiment. I would so love to hear from you if you did the workshop, and don't hesitate to contact me with any questions. </p><p><br /></p><p>As promised, here is a page of resources to help you explore further some of the things I mentioned:</p><p><br /></p><p>An interesting, extensive and quite academic <a href="https://www.perthmeditationcentre.com.au/articles/general-articles/how-the-buddha-understood-mindfulness/" target="_blank">analysis of mindfulness in Buddhism</a> </p><p>The Way of Mindfulness: The <a href="https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/soma/wayof.html" target="_blank">Satipatthana [mindfulness of breathing] Sutta</a> and Its Commentary<br /> </p><p><a href="https://nypost.com/2017/08/19/how-a-famed-writer-hid-her-husband-from-her-other-husband/" target="_blank">Tristine Rainer</a> and her remarkable book <a href="http://tristinerainer.com/books/the-new-diary/"><i>The New Diary</i></a><br /> </p><p><a href="https://nataliegoldberg.com/" target="_blank">Natalie Goldberg</a> and her groundbreaking book <i><a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/writing-down-the-bones-9781611803082" target="_blank">Writing Down the Bones</a></i><br /> </p><p><a href="https://garylachman.co.uk/" target="_blank">Gary Lachman'</a>s terrific book <a href="http://sngthoughts.blogspot.com/2019/08/lost-knowledge-of-imagination-by-gary.html" target="_blank"><i>Lost Knowledge of the Imagination</i></a> is what got me so interested in <a href="https://www.bl.uk/people/samuel-taylor-coleridge" target="_blank">Coleridge</a>. I find both <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/317448/beyond-the-robot-by-gary-lachman/">Gary</a> and <a href="https://theimaginativeconservative.org/2020/10/constancy-coleridge-nayeli-riano.html" target="_blank">Coleridge</a> tremendously inspiring<i> </i></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI33pKqG9VcsgZY0Q0J24_tJ_9x1VJZ_2YZjSkk_U4_OX34wDW2DASnE2TetnAd_PskOxOt4-sULraqv-lc8b0DNf1MuPJg5JHvSri7Jx7Qdw0Ro_Rs7OhI6ft1Y_MX-Q7sQ0FP2duTo/s1920/B_Allow+yourself+to+be+inspired_Coleridge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1920" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdI33pKqG9VcsgZY0Q0J24_tJ_9x1VJZ_2YZjSkk_U4_OX34wDW2DASnE2TetnAd_PskOxOt4-sULraqv-lc8b0DNf1MuPJg5JHvSri7Jx7Qdw0Ro_Rs7OhI6ft1Y_MX-Q7sQ0FP2duTo/w400-h225/B_Allow+yourself+to+be+inspired_Coleridge.png" width="400" /></a></i></div><i><br /> </i><br /> <p></p><p>The fabulousness of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/apr/07/anais-nin-author-social-media" target="_blank">Anais Nin</a> <br /> </p><p><a href="https://www.vogue.com/article/charting-influence-of-mae-west-in-vogue-in-1933" target="_blank">Mae West ruled fashion in 1933</a>, and every other year<br /> </p><p>British photographer <a href="https://www.onlandscape.co.uk/2019/12/behind-the-photograph-charlie-waite/" target="_blank">Charlie Waite on being a born observer</a> <br /> </p><p><a href="https://miraclemorning.com/bernie-siegel/" target="_blank">Dr. Bernie Siegel</a> believes we should open ourselves to more stories<br /> </p><p><a href="https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/article/the-indras-net" target="_blank">Indra's Net</a> provides an exquisite parable for our interconnectedness. It comes from the teachings of the </p><p><a href="https://koreana.or.kr/user/0008/nd70222.do?View&boardNo=00001332&zineInfoNo=0008&pubYear=2017&pubMonth=WINTER&pubLang=English" target="_blank">Avatamsaka Sutra</a>, championed by the <a href="https://gentlebuddhism.blogspot.com/2018/02/the-hua-yen-school-of-buddhism.html">Hua Yen school</a> of Buddhism<br /> </p><p><a href="https://www.harvbishop.com/you-wont-believe-who-is-religious-sciences-biggest-revolutionary/">Ernest Holmes</a> was a fascinating man and a leader of the New Thought movement. Though a very different tradition, he often discusses themes of contemplation and oneness. I used a quote from him in the presentation <br /> </p><p><a href="http://annkroeker.com/2017/05/16/ep-101-the-powerful-impact-of-memorizing-a-poem/" target="_blank">Ann Kroeker on the power of memorising poems</a> <br /> </p><p>What is a <a href="https://choosemuse.com/blog/foundations-of-mindfulness-beginners-mind/" target="_blank">Beginner's Mind</a>? </p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyieQcUfwn3SdfDnt0jh4dShXZAGC6RTZE6n_WXkbUBWeae1WJJhdu_Kb3FE8iZmcc9jTHCQy7KJFUH5IWxEueCCuHDIjTh1c9VoEkXvItQ2uPtq9So629bvkMu2RS4zYt4NtW5qIlUA/s470/B_Canva_TW_Destination+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="470" data-original-width="306" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVyieQcUfwn3SdfDnt0jh4dShXZAGC6RTZE6n_WXkbUBWeae1WJJhdu_Kb3FE8iZmcc9jTHCQy7KJFUH5IWxEueCCuHDIjTh1c9VoEkXvItQ2uPtq9So629bvkMu2RS4zYt4NtW5qIlUA/w260-h400/B_Canva_TW_Destination+%25282%2529.jpg" width="260" /></a></div><br /><p><br /></p><div><h2><br /></h2><p><br /><i></i></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i> </i></p><p><i> <br /></i></p><p><i> </i> <br /></p><p> </p></div>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-41631863590335064332020-06-07T19:11:00.000+10:002020-06-08T11:11:41.368+10:00Why authors should still blog<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTIoKfUI9QJ13ShVc8XvRbqShM7z25J4ntyBaLq9hBgAz-JVmDqRgbfO2X7ApXGhbiSs5B6oHsNgBwnV6DQo4bv0QrxyV33ebIzD0slLEXtj-4m4s7ZBJX8MA4rvOgWz-HSOAesC5cHc/s1600/B_girl+writing_Heidi_free+use+image.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="524" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrTIoKfUI9QJ13ShVc8XvRbqShM7z25J4ntyBaLq9hBgAz-JVmDqRgbfO2X7ApXGhbiSs5B6oHsNgBwnV6DQo4bv0QrxyV33ebIzD0slLEXtj-4m4s7ZBJX8MA4rvOgWz-HSOAesC5cHc/s640/B_girl+writing_Heidi_free+use+image.jpg" width="440" /></a></div>
<br />
I regularly teach creative writing classes and am regularly asked questions about how to succeed as an author, or how to promote a book once it's written and published.And though there are constant changes in platforms and technology I am still giving the same answer after all these years.<br /><br />
Number one in importance is: Blogging!<br />
<br />
I do get pushback (a lot of pushback!). Blogging is dead, people say. We have moved on to other platforms: Instagram, TikTok.<br />
<br />
And while I agree that it is very important to use whatever social platforms you can manage, the good old-fashioned blog is still of immense importance. It's like your own little patch of earth that will always be there, regardless of the changes that happen in social media. Anyone remember Google+ ?<br />
<br />
I understand that many established authors are not interested in blogging, or don't have the time. But for any new writer (particularly one who is not yet published!) blogging is still absolutely essential. If you haven't yet published it is an opportunity to collect a substantial body of work that publishers, agents and magazine editors can refer to and so discover for themselves what a literary genius you are. If you have been lucky enough to be published, it provides a way for you to build on what you have written, provide extra content for your readers and keep yourself in the public mind.<br />
<br />
No matter where you are in the writing process, you really should start blogging NOW - and keep at it regularly (once a week as a minimum). I am perplexed when I see some people advising not to start your blog until you are published. In my own experience, my profile as a blogger was one of the main reasons a publishing house decided to take me on.<br />
<br />
There's nothing like a blog for turning you into a legend in your own lunch time, and it's amazing how impressive it can seem to those who are less technically savvy (and yes, that includes many editors, publishers and other industry people). And a blog gives you the perfect opportunity to cross-promote on Facebook and Twitter, making it seem as though you are incredibly prolific, busy and important. And that is exactly what any publishing house is looking for in an author.<br />
<br />
Some people express a fear that the things they blog will be plagiarised. Yes, it's a risk, but you should be so lucky. Your major struggle will almost certainly not be being copied, but being noticed in the first place.<br />
<br />
In her wonderful book <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Frugal-Book-Promoter-What-Publisher/dp/193299310X"><span style="font-style: italic;">The Frugal Book Promoter</span></a>, author Carolyn Howard-Johnson also explains the importance of getting a good URL early on. Yes, it's most important to get started NOW, so sign up with Blogger or one of the others - it's easy to route the blog you've started to your own URL later. But really, one of the first things you should be doing is buying the domain names for your own name (if still possible) and your next book's title (once you know for sure). This is inexpensive and easy.<br />
<br />
Some people say they don't know what to blog about - they are afraid of losing privacy or, worse, appearing egotistical. If those are genuine concerns, then may I respectfully suggest that you are in the wrong game. The age of the shy and retiring writer has long gone - J. D. Salinger would never make it in the 21st century, for better or worse. Yes, you will lose some privacy, but only as much as you choose to sacrifice. And yes, some people will accuse you of being egotistical. Such critics are normally distinguished by their complete lack of success in the world. Bless them and move on.<br />
<br />
More and more publishers are <a href="http://www.thecreativepenn.com/2010/02/22/publisher-simon-schuster-says-authors-should-blog-and-social-network/">expecting their authors to blog </a>and to maintain a presence on social media. And the fact is that surprisingly few do it. If you get started now, and do it well, you place yourself in a privileged - and even cherished - minority.Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-38343231403375764982020-04-11T21:58:00.000+10:002020-04-12T18:22:39.444+10:00Author Sharon Snir on Finding Life's Deeper Significance<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-bVdQeGLxfJ35u-5Clvnf3ahw6x_4UCxGOGOmRms1yudE6ShjNebAtz1mWobFw1xxwjiTxFdPPgCRh98J7q1n66hih12Vs-BhM65Vb0jW71Napl_t2dsoAFBq20jazRLC-k-jYvYJDk/s1600/0_Snir20Sharon20small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-bVdQeGLxfJ35u-5Clvnf3ahw6x_4UCxGOGOmRms1yudE6ShjNebAtz1mWobFw1xxwjiTxFdPPgCRh98J7q1n66hih12Vs-BhM65Vb0jW71Napl_t2dsoAFBq20jazRLC-k-jYvYJDk/s1600/0_Snir20Sharon20small.jpg" /></a></div>
<i>I first became aware of author <a href="http://www.sharonsnir.com/" target="_blank">Sharon Snir</a> when I was sent a copy of her book <a href="http://www.allenandunwin.com/default.aspx?page=653&book=9781741759518" target="_blank">Looking for Lionel </a>to review. This book, a memoir of the way her mother's dementia affected her family's life, was so tender and insightful that I have since bought several copies to give to people living in the same situation. I finally met <a href="http://www.sharonsnir.com/about/" target="_blank">Sharon</a> at a publishing event, and I became a huge fan of her third book, The Little Book of Everyday Miracles. I had so many questions to ask <a href="https://twitter.com/sharonthru12" target="_blank">Sharon</a>, and I thought it would be wonderful to share her wise and inspiring answers with all of you.</i><br />
<i>As well as being an author, Sharon is a counsellor, psychotherapist and healer, and you can read more about her and her work at<a href="http://www.sharonsnir.com/" target="_blank"> www.sharonsnir.com</a> </i><br />
<br />
<i>Here is what Sharon had to share:</i><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b><i>Q1. What is the miracle that has had the greatest impact on your life?</i></b><br />
<br />
I had moved to Israel after the painful break up of my first marriage. I was living in a windowless storeroom under a block of fancy apartments. I made that 6’x 6’ space my little castle, despite the fact that there was no shower in my room. It was not far from the beach so I would go daily for a swim and then shower and dress in the public change rooms. I remember going swimming once on the holiest day of the week, just before the Sabbath. After coming out of the water and into the change rooms, I realised my watch was gone. I fell into a pitiful heap. I sobbed so loudly that people came to see what the matter was. I spoke no Hebrew and blubbered in English, I’ve lost my watch. Understandably, most people told me that wasn’t so bad, which only caused me to sob more passionately.<br />
<br />
I imagined all the dreadful things that would now befall me. Irrationally, I believed I would not know when to eat or sleep. I would not be able to leave my room because I would no longer know the bus timetable. And then the worst thought came to my mind. Being Friday all the shops were about to close, and would not open again until 10 AM on Sunday morning so I couldn’t buy a new one. I know it sounds crazy now, but at the time something cracked open inside me and a tidal wave of fear followed by unstoppable tears overtook me. Clearly, I was having a minor break down.<br />
<br />
I had been given the watch as a farewell gift from my mother and although I thought at the time I would never return to Australia, it connected me to home. On walking into my tiny room, I fell onto my bed and hit my forehead on something hard. It was my watch. I began to speak to myself in a loud firm voice. “Pull yourself together girl. This is ridiculous. Get up, get out and get a life!”<br />
I booked an eight day tour around Israel the next day, had a delicious affair with the bus driver, moved into the most beautiful Kibbutz and over the next year a new world opened up for me. <br />
A miracle is in the eye of the beholder. What is a miracle to one person may not be a miracle for another however, for me, losing my watch allowed me to release all my fears and pent up misery. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Q2. You talk about how your publisher missed your first ever appointment. Can you explain more about the significance of waiting?</i></b><br />
<br />
I worked as a counsellor for six year at the AIDS Council of NSW (ACON) in the early 90’s. There I worked with many incredible people who were waiting to die. After the initial shock of contracting HIV, some people began planning their death, even preparing their own funerals and, incredibly, they were given a new lease on life. As I spoke to my clients, I heard how the significance of waiting gave them renewed passion for life. They described the experience as waking up and seeing life more clearly. They didn’t have time to waste and many were doing things they had always wanted but had never taken the leap to do.<br />
<br />
Then came the arrival of antivirals and for some it was a shock to be given back their life. “What do we do now? We have given up our job, given away our possessions and given up on living a long life. How do we just start living again?<br />
<br />
Paradoxically, the arrival of antivirals was not always seen as a miracle for people living with HIV but surprisingly I heard over and over again that contracting HIV itself created a miracle in their life. Why? Because it turned lives upside down and inside out, and many went from being unaware to becoming conscious and present. Time after time, I heard stories of the miracles that had happened while waiting to die.<br />
<br />
I believe that all is perfect in time and space and therefore nothing is wrong. So when someone doesn’t turn up for an appointment, or when I fall and twist my ankle, or when a diagnosis of some kind is handed over, I know there is a purpose, a lesson and a gift in that experience waiting to be discovered.<br />
<br />
In other words, rather than focusing on the appearance of the situation, I prefer to understand the significance. The significance of waiting connects us to Universal time. Most of us live our lives as if time is our Master. We even talk about time as if it was a physical object. “Where has all the time gone? I don’t have time. We have run out of time. Do you have any time today?” Substitute the word ‘sugar’ for the word ‘time’ and you’ll get what I mean. Linear time, or the time we humans make up, ignores the greater cycles of time.<br />
<br />
The Universe, generous beyond imagination, gave us night and day, summer, autumn, winter, spring, annual and perennial crops and plants, animals that hibernate and birds that migrate to teach us something about cycles. Timeliness is not only up to us. Things happen because it is time for things to happen. In the words of the beautiful, gracious and very present <a href="http://www.thework.com/index.php" target="_blank">Byron Katie</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
</blockquote>
<blockquote>
<i>"Life is simple. Everything happens for you, not to you. Everything happens at exactly the right moment, neither too soon nor too late. You don't have to like it... it's just easier if you do."</i></blockquote>
<i><b><br />Q3. You always write so beautifully about the experience of ageing. Is there any advice you can give to people dealing with the reality of ageing parents?</b></i><br />
<br />
Accept them as they are right now, in this moment. Try not to yearn for the person they used to be. Over the past 19 years, my mother has had Alzheimer’s disease and I have learned that when I meet her in her world, when I sing with her, smile with her, move my body closer when she leans closer, she melts into the grace of being accepted exactly as she is. She becomes a warm, loving person and joy to be with.<br />
<br />
Five years ago, when caring for my mother became too much for my 90 year old father, she went to live in a residential home for people living with dementia. She stopped doing many things she had once done, including going to the hairdressers every day! Her hair began to slowly change to grey and I decided I would go grey with my mother. Today I embrace the elder I am becoming. I have a mop of grey hair and often have to laugh when people ask me where I got my hair streaked. I tell them at a place called ‘Old Age’.<br />
<br />
We- the older generation, 55 years and over- have a wealth of experience and wisdom to share. Living a long time turns the aged into living historians.<br />
<br />
Although I believe we need to eat well and exercise our bodies in moderation, our addiction to youth diminishes our belief in ourselves that we are of great value and benefit to our communities and to society as a whole. We are living longer now and so we need to make some important choices. Do we embrace our elders as beings of great wisdom who have the power to contribute to every level of society or do we continue to try to look, sound and act younger than we really are?<br />
<br />
My father is about to turn 95 and every child in our family relishes the opportunity to sit quietly and talk to him. Knowing how to listen, ask good questions and share diverse thoughts is the precious legacy my father will leave behind when it is his time to move on.<br />
<br />
<i><b>Q4. You talk about your own experiences with other worlds as a child. How do we keep ourselves open to receiving miracles?</b></i><br />
<br />
There are three qualities that open the door to receiving miracles. Gratitude, Forgiveness and Wonder.<br />
Gratitude connects us to our hearts and turns even the most ordinary and mundane experience into a sacred moment. Even the most profound and life changing miracle will lose its brilliance and fade unless it is accompanied by gratitude. I was an unpopular child. I didn’t like running or skipping or playing hide and seek. I loved to read and was considered weird. Life at home was also often difficult. My mother was both overprotective and at times neglectful. She could be sweet and tender one minute and cruel and dismissive the next. I was severely disciplined, mainly for making up overly creative stories that were seen as lies. So in the face of this I made up games.<br />
<br />
I was about seven years old and I told myself that if I laughed three times in one day I could call it a good day. I would lie in my bed every night and look back through my day and try to find three times where I laughed. It created a very strong relationship between me and gratitude. So the practice of looking back through your day just before you fall asleep and recalling the events in your day for which you are grateful creates within you a magnet that calls more and more moments of grace or everyday miracles into your life. The more we focus our thoughts on something, the more we call it into our life. For example if you focus on rude people, you will probably encounter many rude people in your life. If you focus on your ailments, you will almost certainly experience lots of aches and pains. On the other hand, if you focus on compassion, loving kindness and generosity, the likelihood of you experiencing these in your life is also very high.<br />
<br />
Forgiveness is another door to opening miracles. When I met Sandy Macgregor and heard his story I knew then that nothing was unforgivable.<br />
<br />
<br />
Eighteen years ago, Sandy lost his three teenage daughters and their friend when they were shot dead in their Sydney home. Few people would ever get their life back together again after such an event, but Sandy went much further than that and found a way to forgive. In his book <i>Peace of Mind</i> he describes the technique he used to do this. He also makes it clear that forgiveness is not about condoning an action. Forgiveness is only for yourself. What the does perpetrator with your forgiveness is up to them. Whatever they do is not your responsibility. You are primarily responsible for yourself only. The miracle that comes out of forgiveness is freedom.<br />
<br />
Wonder clears our lenses and allows us to see and hear and touch and taste for the first time, everyday. Connected to wonder is innocence. That childhood sense of playfulness and purity that heightens everything we do. As we experience wonder, life simply becomes more wonder-full. <br />
<br />
<b><i>Q5. Can you give 5 brief pieces of advice to someone who wants to take the leap and explore their own creativity?</i></b><br />
<br />
<br />
1. Be in your element <br />
<br />
To be in your element means doing something that you have an aptitude for. According to Sir Ken Robinson, we all have an aptitude for something. Cooking, cleaning, playing guitar, doing mathematics or writing may be things you love and have an aptitude for. But you don’t have to be good at something to be in your element. All you have to do is enjoy and love it and then naturally you will be in your element.<br />
<br />
2. Re-establish a relationship with your imagination<br />
<br />
When was the last time you thought it might be a good idea to plan a dress-up party? My daughter just went to a sequin party and I was only sorry I didn’t know the person having it. Do you remember when you were a child, when you were not distracted by technology and would use bits and pieces of nature to create a cubby, or a tea party, or a battle field? Exploring our creativity requires us to regularly turn off the computer, iphone, ipad and go out into nature. Look around you and see the faces in the bark of the trees or the animals in the rocks, or the dragons and angels in the clouds. Exercise your imagination. It is a muscle and like all muscles you have to use it or you might lose it.<br />
<br />
3. Practice Spontaneous Stupidity<br />
<br />
Spontaneity is letting go of control. Releasing our rigidity and need to create structure, strategies and order in our life. Stupidity is a lack of knowing, allowing ourselves to not know and to explore freely. Many of us are absolutely terrified of looking stupid but that is because we have misunderstood the true meaning of the word. Not knowing something is the only way to learn. I coined the term Spontaneous Stupidity many years ago when I found the only way to cope with five children under seven was to be both at the same time! I love being silly and laughing at the ridiculous. Most of us lose that ability to be silly and are overly concerned with how we appear to others.<br />
<br />
In the Middle Ages, the most spontaneously stupid person was the court jester who was also the closest ear to the king. He was able to offer guidance and wisdom by being creatively silly. He would speak in rhyme and riddle but his wisdom lay between his words. In a Danny Kaye movie called ‘The Court Jester’ he speaks these words of warning to the King: “The vessel with the pestle has the pellet with the poison and the chalice in the palace has the brew that is true.” <br />
<br />
4. Play Games<br />
<br />
Invite some friends over and instead of an elaborate three course meal, host a game. It could be a writing game, a drawing game or murder mystery game. My kids, all adults, now love games and “What would you rather?” is one of their favourites. So what would you rather do, kiss old aunty Daisy on the lips or clean all the toilets at central station with a tooth brush? It gets worse. The laughter becomes louder and louder and the creative ideas more and more disgusting but laughter lights us up. It literally bring us to enlightenment, switching on all our creative senses.<br />
<br />
5. Eat, Move and Rest<br />
<br />
Confession: I am guilty of not always doing this. I can be sitting at my computer six or even eight hours until I am seconds away from being totally brain dead, without eating or moving all day. We need to eat to keep our minds working. I can literally feel my energy seep away if I leave too long between a snack. Writers' block is a very common phenomenon and the only way I know to shift the energy is to get up and go for a walk. I clear the brain by breathing deeply and reconnect to the spirit within. And finally, not only do I recommend going to bed at a reasonable hour but taking a few minutes to meditate on retiring and rising allows the mind to stop thinking. After ten or fifteen minutes of breathing and allowing thoughts to rise and dissolve something quite lovely happens and we enter into a place of true communion with our self. This is the source of all creativity. A sacred space where everything and nothing exists in harmony together. A place where we can align our own spirit to the infinite flow of universal creativity.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-33207103388826752112020-04-06T16:30:00.000+10:002020-04-06T16:38:52.581+10:00Lady Ottoline Morrell<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtSm5pIf3dzS0sIm7qcd8ZnaNN6FkmRkO9sLltPtWHvUbOyzZWlxxXmYKK0Tm_ARnbGr4a8j_U2utCtQ7KWG_BCbu-Gq4sq1QrQf8gToMLoSnOnXBZyQr_RCFykkm5s6CV3NyNFv5Sbk/s1600/B_Ottoline+at+Garsington.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTtSm5pIf3dzS0sIm7qcd8ZnaNN6FkmRkO9sLltPtWHvUbOyzZWlxxXmYKK0Tm_ARnbGr4a8j_U2utCtQ7KWG_BCbu-Gq4sq1QrQf8gToMLoSnOnXBZyQr_RCFykkm5s6CV3NyNFv5Sbk/s1600/B_Ottoline+at+Garsington.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Lover of literary legends, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Ottoline_Morrell" target="_blank">Lady Ottoline Morrell </a>is, perhaps, the foremost in my pantheon of obscure heroines. She was the very prototype of the cougar, and she was also the original fag hag. Rich, eccentric and lucky enough to have a very indulgent husband, Ottoline Morrell existed on the fringes of the lives of almost every significant literary figure of the <a href="http://johnmcdonald.net.au/2009/beyond-bloomsbury-futurism/" target="_blank">Bloomsbury era</a>. Her extravagance and her peculiarity of dress meant that she became an object of fun, and her single-minded pursuit of the talented saw some unkindly accuse her of pretension, but she remains one of the really great characters of the Edwardian era and beyond.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8oft8F8_8AlMD_BkVyGqmZReNhN5YojZRCRBba5E1Md7g5W7GTchGdMd0I5beitxf0pamW-4XW4_i06qAWspXSvx1pqCdCSe4sVA9oghdbl4A4h4Wzx_XpU3u_xkkwWD6zqjFzfsEzU/s1600/B_Ottolinemorrell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8oft8F8_8AlMD_BkVyGqmZReNhN5YojZRCRBba5E1Md7g5W7GTchGdMd0I5beitxf0pamW-4XW4_i06qAWspXSvx1pqCdCSe4sVA9oghdbl4A4h4Wzx_XpU3u_xkkwWD6zqjFzfsEzU/s1600/B_Ottolinemorrell.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Born in 1873 to an old aristocratic family, she married into money as well, and her parents-in-law were themselves famous for lionising literary figures, hosting people like Oscar Wilde at their extravagant parties at Headington Hill Hall in Oxford, a property <a href="http://artcontrarian.blogspot.com.au/2010/08/subjects-and-portraits-ottoline-morrell.html" target="_blank">Ottoline</a> was to inherit. In his history of the Bloomsbury group, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leon_Edel" target="_blank">Leon Edel</a> says that <a href="http://muddyloafers.blogspot.com.au/2012/03/lady-ottoline-morrell-unconventional.html" target="_blank">Ottoline</a> was never properly a Bloomsburyite. Instead, he maintains, she created her own satellite group which fed on <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloomsbury_Group" target="_blank">Bloomsbury</a> and occasionaly offered refuge from it. Starving poets, writers and artists could rely upon her opulent hospitality, though they often rewarded her by gossiping about and lampooning their hostess.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtDtda1OSMi_F-iLQeyTAHMGOdMA4t5aWVJLyeEJhy_8Rkb1a49rAAa2FdEeafsRiSA-xyhpgVEdJpQAwnb02a2vaE2X1o5huHQWvvrH8C4RCHdl9dNquyjauuYEhsX_-J8IjDENmMJw/s1600/B_Ottoline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNtDtda1OSMi_F-iLQeyTAHMGOdMA4t5aWVJLyeEJhy_8Rkb1a49rAAa2FdEeafsRiSA-xyhpgVEdJpQAwnb02a2vaE2X1o5huHQWvvrH8C4RCHdl9dNquyjauuYEhsX_-J8IjDENmMJw/s1600/B_Ottoline.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Some viewed her as the saviour of bohemianism, championing the new arts amongst the solidly upper class, encouraging them to invest in books, art, and even <a href="http://bloomsburyinteriors.wordpress.com/tag/hand-painted-furniture/" target="_blank">painted furniture</a> that represented the new face of <a href="http://youtu.be/gPRqCxIKVQI" target="_blank">Post-Impressionism</a>. Her colourful style and keen endorsement of even the most outlandish creations of the new guard meant she was seen as a great "character," an eccentric of a distinctly English type. Describing her in his book on <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Bloomsbury-Recalled-Quentin-Bell/dp/0231105657" target="_blank"><i>Bloomsbury</i></a>, <a href="http://www.ibiblio.org/sally/Bellinterview.html" target="_blank">Quentin Bell</a> calls her a "fantastic, baroque flamingo."<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkAeVXUr4TefGAK444YkRKCKpqPH6L2dOP-Wqp8mcxstMDLsVWjXOOsAZWkl8SysUF96QY8aaevbptoDvuVvF5ZAEWZyeJM_K0jQUX8HaL5RlHHb1e_cDY97sTOxw1B46mPTOlRc7BSs/s1600/B_Ottoline+photo+with+daughter+-+c1911+-+NPG.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEkAeVXUr4TefGAK444YkRKCKpqPH6L2dOP-Wqp8mcxstMDLsVWjXOOsAZWkl8SysUF96QY8aaevbptoDvuVvF5ZAEWZyeJM_K0jQUX8HaL5RlHHb1e_cDY97sTOxw1B46mPTOlRc7BSs/s640/B_Ottoline+photo+with+daughter+-+c1911+-+NPG.jpg" width="484" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
For <a href="http://youtu.be/x28hGsR8Cvc" target="_blank">Virginia Nicholson</a>, writing in her superb history <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Among-Bohemians-Experiments-Living-1900-1939/dp/0060548460" target="_blank"><i>Among the Bohemians</i></a>, Lady Ottoline serves as an exemplar of a sexual type, indeed, the inspiration for the lusty aristocratic lady in <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D._H._Lawrence" target="_blank">Lawrence</a>'s <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Chatterly%27s_Lover" target="_blank"><i>Lady Chatterley's Lover</i></a>. It is said that this story is based on <a href="http://encyclopedia.kids.net.au/page/ot/Ottoline_Morrell" target="_blank">Ottoline</a>'s real-life affair with her young gardener, conducted under the nose of her unsuspecting husband. Most think that Lady Ottoline had an affair with <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/books/2010/nov/14/germaine-greer-d-h-lawrence" target="_blank">Lawrence</a> himself while he was still a young and unknown writer, and he described her as a kind of nymphomaniac, a woman incapable of real sexual pleasure but who sought it feverishly.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0TlOAnrmaNycoKcyUjOofz_vLRg2erk3uYbZ1dNSliy5nIQmbvetKobjOE23bhSimnVxjlrs7SaPqllxmZMK0jyPm2JOLE7RBWEfBlismwEgQG2yf_lDD6WfOwXSVRfph_2lbmWJPqA/s1600/B_Ottoline+Morrell.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiI0TlOAnrmaNycoKcyUjOofz_vLRg2erk3uYbZ1dNSliy5nIQmbvetKobjOE23bhSimnVxjlrs7SaPqllxmZMK0jyPm2JOLE7RBWEfBlismwEgQG2yf_lDD6WfOwXSVRfph_2lbmWJPqA/s640/B_Ottoline+Morrell.jpg" width="457" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
She does seem to have possessed a fearless capacity for pursuing men who were much younger and vastly socially removed from her. She bedded the priapic Augustus John and famously fell head over heels for the young Bertrand Russell. She was a far from beautiful woman, and in her biography of Virginia Woolf <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hermione_Lee" target="_blank">Hermione Lee</a> describes Lady Ottoline rather ungenerously as speaking "in a weird, nasal, cooing, sing-song drawl."<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixabNSFXpQAFJhYgljpMukWZQW8Axw5Accaw8VqJFnklPDKm9G_hg8BAFL0wipA2wW3joUsRJiePb6L7-wXbb3q7Hb-E_hwHzsKI4ZyZ9y0UwGKkKUwiAr9GZwHzVi_YK0cNgmgqGEGKY/s1600/B_Lady+Ottoline+Morrell.+-+Copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixabNSFXpQAFJhYgljpMukWZQW8Axw5Accaw8VqJFnklPDKm9G_hg8BAFL0wipA2wW3joUsRJiePb6L7-wXbb3q7Hb-E_hwHzsKI4ZyZ9y0UwGKkKUwiAr9GZwHzVi_YK0cNgmgqGEGKY/s640/B_Lady+Ottoline+Morrell.+-+Copy.jpg" width="419" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.dhlawrencesocietyaustralia.com.au/j2a3.htm" target="_blank">Ottoline</a>'s final country house, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garsington_Manor" target="_blank">Garsington</a>, became legendary as a kind of drop-in centre for high Bohemianism, and she managed to create a singular literary salon were, according to <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/news/Reviews/Anthony-Powell-a-life/2005/04/29/1114635699758.html" target="_blank">Michael Barber</a>, she mixed gruff homeless poets with callow young noblemen and expected all of them to amuse her with culture, gossip and perhaps the occasional roll in the hay. Her long-suffering husband <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philip_Morrell" target="_blank">Philip Morrell</a> survived her and spent his final years being fussed over by an equally elderly maid. He seems to have been amused by his wife's flamboyance and constant hospitality.<br />
Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-89497204038008619382020-01-02T16:53:00.000+11:002020-01-02T16:53:03.386+11:00A pile of books for the New Year!A little squiz at what I plan on reading first thing this year.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYl5nWaJ5DjB5SLezjF1SMN9fKNiO7s85i3Mkdt_LBMhVPBymBOmWiyuzh8diNCbwk32RXCHjf7y4ybRQ4-U-AVXEtPDWfksBK4how_jbz-IVJ4ibDpsgABpRVoGeELH85hVypEWCsjjs/s1600/B_Reading+List_Mae+West_Gertrude+lawrence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="786" data-original-width="1000" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYl5nWaJ5DjB5SLezjF1SMN9fKNiO7s85i3Mkdt_LBMhVPBymBOmWiyuzh8diNCbwk32RXCHjf7y4ybRQ4-U-AVXEtPDWfksBK4how_jbz-IVJ4ibDpsgABpRVoGeELH85hVypEWCsjjs/s400/B_Reading+List_Mae+West_Gertrude+lawrence.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
From the top:<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.blackincbooks.com.au/books/shirley-hazzard" target="_blank"><i>Michelle de Kretser on Shirley Hazzard</i></a> - Anyone who knows me will know that I am a huge fan of <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/authors/d/michelle-de-kretser" target="_blank">Michelle de Kretser</a>, and I can't believe I have waited so long to read this one. I think in part because I have only ever read one book by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shirley_Hazzard" target="_blank">Shirley Hazzard</a>, and that was an obscure one <a href="https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/first/h/hazzard-greene.html" target="_blank">about Graham Greene</a>, so I don't feel I know her at all as a writer. I trust <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/fiction/popular-fiction/The-Life-to-Come-Michelle-de-Kretser-9781760875046" target="_blank">Michelle</a>'s judgement completely, however, and I am pretty certain that once I finish this one I will be reading all of <a href="https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2016/12/19/shirley-hazzard-1921-2016/" target="_blank">Hazzard</a>'s books.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://theconversation.com/take-a-plunge-into-the-memories-of-australias-favourite-swimming-pools-128928" target="_blank"><i>The Memory Pool</i></a> by Therese Spruhan - I have followed <a href="https://www.instagram.com/swimmingpoolstories/" target="_blank">Therese's exquisite portraits of suburban swimming pools on Instagram</a> for a long time, and loved the sound of this book as soon as I heard about it.<br />
<br />
<i>The Ecstatic Journey</i> by <a href="https://www.sophyburnham.com/" target="_blank">Sophy Burnham</a> - Back in the days when I worked in a New Age bookshop, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/309217/a-book-of-angels-by-sophy-burnham/" target="_blank">Sophy Burnham's angel book</a> was one of our megasellers, and continued to sell strongly for years. This seems like a fascinating and inspiring book, and I look forward to doing a little spiritual work.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/God-Your-Own-Spiritual-Religion/dp/0787983128" target="_blank"><i>God On Your Own</i></a> by Joseph Dispenza - Following on from the previous theme. I must admit I have had this book for years but now seems exactly the time for me to read it as I unpacked it from a long neglected box of books (we moved house two years ago and I am still going) and it seemed to call to me. His book <a href="https://youtu.be/pdl1OnolLn4" target="_blank"><i>The Way of the Traveler</i></a> is one I read almost every year and has a permanent place on my bedside table.<br />
<br />
<i>Mae West: It Ain't No Sin</i> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Simon_Louvish" target="_blank">Simon Louvish</a> - At the end of this month <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/course/MWBTE" target="_blank">I am giving a two-hour lecture on Miss West</a> so I am reading this one cover to cover. I have read several books both <a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/737258.Goodness_Had_Nothing_To_Do_With_It" target="_blank">by Miss West</a> and about her.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/sheridan-morley-2/gertrude-lawrence/" target="_blank"><i>Gertrude Lawrence</i></a> by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheridan_Morley" target="_blank">Sheridan Morley</a> - More research. I have for years given lectures about <a href="https://youtu.be/kxQCupMdTQE" target="_blank">Noel Coward</a>, and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Gertrude-Lawrence" target="_blank">Miss Lawrence</a> is an essential part of his story. I have found that people often come up to me with questions or stories about <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gertrude_Lawrence" target="_blank">her</a>, and so I finally decided I would put together <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/course/GLFL" target="_blank">a talk about her</a>. <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/course/GLFL" target="_blank">It premieres at WEA Sydney on February 21, 2020</a>, and <a href="https://www.weasydney.com.au/course/GLFL" target="_blank">tickets</a> are still available. <br />
<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-17693291937251411202020-01-02T10:59:00.000+11:002020-01-02T12:08:08.768+11:009 Favourite Towns in VietnamIf you've read my book <a href="http://spiritjourneythrough.blogspot.com/2011/01/destination-saigon-at-phuket-airport.html"><span style="font-style: italic;">Destination Saigon</span></a> you would know that I have travelled all over <a href="http://www.destination-saigon.com/2011/01/my-guide-to-vietnam-interacting-with.html">Vietnam</a> in the past 26 years - including to some pretty obscure places. People often ask me what are my favourite places to visit there, and I am hesitant to tell them because I know that if you are on a quick holiday a lot of the best places are probably not worth the time it takes to get there, and when you do get there they are often quite laid-back, noteworthy more for the vibe than for things to do. But for what it's worth, here are my 9 favourite towns in <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2010/11/monks-and-nuns-of-vietnam.html">Vietnam</a> (for obvious reasons I have left off <a href="http://www.lonelyplanet.com/vietnam/ho-chi-minh-city">Ho Chi Minh City</a> and <a href="http://spiritjourneythrough.blogspot.com/2010/08/van-mieu-temple-of-literature-hanoi.html">Hanoi</a>, as everyone who visits <a href="http://www.destination-saigon.com/2010/11/nuns-chopping-firewood-ho-chi-minh-city.html">Vietnam</a> will eventually end up in both of these):<br />
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIES5l5Iwl7toe8i5OpMhwWfC4w__NShKUvIQMLm4wbgfvKvDEiU9-obujJcF4sHzdjBm5UuMyG67-NIIWiOG_Bh3VD0v9AnHeMTthMQ3L5keTXJHzaJPBew4O-mVQt4GsEoVpC0w98-4/s1600/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Tay+Ninh.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590425257832854834" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIES5l5Iwl7toe8i5OpMhwWfC4w__NShKUvIQMLm4wbgfvKvDEiU9-obujJcF4sHzdjBm5UuMyG67-NIIWiOG_Bh3VD0v9AnHeMTthMQ3L5keTXJHzaJPBew4O-mVQt4GsEoVpC0w98-4/s400/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Tay+Ninh.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 271px;" /></a><br />
<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2008/10/tay-ninh.html">Tay Ninh</a> - A day-trip from <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Ho_Chi_Minh_City">Ho Chi Minh City</a>, <a href="http://www.vietvaluetravel.com/Travel_Guide_Tay_Ninh_Overview/42">Tay Ninh</a> is the home of <a href="http://spiritjourneythrough.blogspot.com/2009/03/eye-in-sky.html">Cao Dai</a>, Vietnam's fascinating indigenous religion. I've spent quite a lot of time in <a href="http://www.vietvaluetravel.com/Travel_Guide_Caodaism_in_Tay_Ninh_Vietnam/41">Tay Ninh</a>, and it really is a fascinating place. As well as being the Holy City of <a href="http://spiritjourneythrough.blogspot.com/2009/01/cao-dai.html">Cao Dai</a>, it is right near <span style="font-style: italic;">Nui Ba Den</span>, a mystical holy mountain that locals believe is home to a Goddess. Nui Ba Den has become a kind of fun fair that is very popular with local tourists,. I love catching the cable car up the mountain and spending time on the cool top, especially sitting inside the shrine to the Ba Den herself, which is cool and dark and carved into the rock. In colonial days (according to <a href="https://thediplomat.com/2019/08/a-conversation-on-the-mekong-and-a-changing-southeast-asia/" target="_blank">Milton Osborne</a> in his superb book on <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/travel-writing/Mekong-Milton-Osborne-9781741148930" target="_blank"><i>The Mekong</i></a>) the French connected Saigon to Laos with a road through Tay Ninh called Colonial Route 13. I have no idea whether or not this route is still in operation - but it would make a terrific trip if it was. </li>
</ol>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIzTvHe-UAJ9WgfXi5EX-ZLk_6uj5b7kqkdA6-l96usQ11magtZNlRIp75IGaJslhL4aISpgN4iiVgmz4SgVid6csW0ALbQselQlTRC49Sfm9d5phx7IGj9h5OT79y-ErAG5CGI1fIo0/s1600/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Quy+Nhon.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590427348788022674" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNIzTvHe-UAJ9WgfXi5EX-ZLk_6uj5b7kqkdA6-l96usQ11magtZNlRIp75IGaJslhL4aISpgN4iiVgmz4SgVid6csW0ALbQselQlTRC49Sfm9d5phx7IGj9h5OT79y-ErAG5CGI1fIo0/s400/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Quy+Nhon.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 389px;" /></a><br />
<blockquote>
2. Quy Nhon - Purely by chance I made many friends in<a href="http://www.minmaxtravel.com/travel-guide/quy-nhon/info.html"> Quy Nhon</a> when I was a young man, and now I visit it every time I go to Vietnam. It is a beautiful coastal city in South-Central Vietnam, quiet, clean and cool, and in many ways it is the powerhouse of <a href="http://www.buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld/vietnam-txt.htm">Vietnamese Buddhism</a>. It is home to many ancient <a href="http://www.destination-saigon.com/2010/07/di-da-phat.html">Buddhist temples</a>, and also was the site of the even more ancient <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GoOE70c05Yk">Kingdom of Champa</a>, the rulers of which were <a href="http://web.mac.com/kcorcoran1/iWeb/Virtual_Champa/Kingdom%20of%20Champa.html">Hindu</a>. Hence the presence of many antique Hindu temples in the surrounding hills.</blockquote>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1v441_4G3jAqyK77FthhgnoaRGijzwS1IaW2Yj_RouZP8N6Uh2-6qHDi7NCurAAcpNYFgUgRleaNAKUM0kogyKNyvqqk8oXMLVRSV30W5K94k8NAgAo8ILCwKB02foaIS-6V6qs-kyXd/s400/VinhLong"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhN1v441_4G3jAqyK77FthhgnoaRGijzwS1IaW2Yj_RouZP8N6Uh2-6qHDi7NCurAAcpNYFgUgRleaNAKUM0kogyKNyvqqk8oXMLVRSV30W5K94k8NAgAo8ILCwKB02foaIS-6V6qs-kyXd/s400/VinhLong" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 267px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Photo @treasuresofvietnam.blogspot.com)<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote>
3. <span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0c5t3FXkKM">Vinh Long</a> - The great Southern Vietnamese religious leader Minh Dang Quang established his Buddhist sect in Vinh Long, and it is still home to many great Buddhist temples important to his sect, including the original temple he established. It is also just a beautiful little<a href="http://news.asiaone.com/News/Latest%2BNews/Asia/Story/A1Story20110305-266654.html"> Mekong Delta</a> town which possesses its own <a href="http://www.travelvietnam.org/tvn/news/discovering-the-temple-of-literature-in-vinh-long-id7927.html">Temple of Literature</a>.</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g811042-Activities-Dong_Ha.html"></a><br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.tripadvisor.com.au/Attractions-g811042-Activities-Dong_Ha.html">4. Dong Ha</a> - The capital of <a href="http://vietnambusiness.asia/quang-tri-calls-for-investment/">Quang Tri province</a>, the poorest in all Vietnam, I was expecting Dong Ha to be a horrible place but it turns out to be an enchanting little city in Central Vietnam about two or three hours from <a href="http://wn.com/Vietnamese_Monks_Praying_in_Hue,_Vietnam">Hue</a>. It is peppered with groovy little cafes and the people are extraordinarily beautiful, though they speak an incomprehensible dialect which even most Vietnamese find difficult to understand. Take a boat from the centre of town down the river (can someone tell me what it's called?) and visit one of the many picturesque villages that dot the river's banks. It is also close to the old <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hXZn2McQx0">DMZ</a> and the holy Catholic Shrine of La Vang, dedicated to the Virgin Mary.</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG80RxpM4V1MQ2b8oEiuyXT1NHLwLoj5Yoo3M8oF28eQ5-lQwc-PGJg_13iS6A4lVoM5rGq0AQ_n8u1AkOWKDkkAb89cY-WsfRoHDxNTddA9sqRp_9VLhSFWkBQxl6KGCHEGf8UnOu-8Y/s1600/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Mui+Ne.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5590427344599469202" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgG80RxpM4V1MQ2b8oEiuyXT1NHLwLoj5Yoo3M8oF28eQ5-lQwc-PGJg_13iS6A4lVoM5rGq0AQ_n8u1AkOWKDkkAb89cY-WsfRoHDxNTddA9sqRp_9VLhSFWkBQxl6KGCHEGf8UnOu-8Y/s400/B_Fave+towns+Vietnam_Mui+Ne.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 300px;" /></a><a href="http://www.muinebeach.net/"> </a><br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.muinebeach.net/">5. Mui Ne</a> - The real success story of Vietnamese tourism, Mui Ne is the beachside destination of choice for the wealthy elites of Ho Chi Minh City. Until just a few years ago a sleepy fishing village, <a href="http://wikitravel.org/en/Mui_Ne">Mui Ne</a> now has a decidedly international feel, and the beachside hotels, resorts and guesthouses are a cut above the usual Vietnamese offerings. In <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O2B-GBw6_A"><span style="font-style: italic;">Destination Saigon</span></a> I write about my riotous nights there in the company of a gang of fishermen, and <a href="http://www.muinebeach.net/phanthiettrainrailway.htm">Mui Ne</a> really is becoming a kind of "fun central" for <a href="http://www.vietnam-travel-guide.net/mui-ne.html">Vietnam</a>, with great bars and restaurants. Of course, some don't like it precisely because of its "international" vibe, but I figure what the hell, mix things up a little. Close to <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mww-ARy-URw">Phan Thiet</a> and the Big Buddha Mountain.</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/4155656104_6d5151eb18.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2578/4155656104_6d5151eb18.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 333px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 500px;" /></a><br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Photo @Find the Light on Flickr)<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
<blockquote>
6. <a href="http://districtchocoholic.blogspot.com/2011/03/scharffen-berger-ben-tre-vietnamese.html">Ben Tre</a> - This is the hometown of my <a href="http://twitter.com/thangngo">beloved partner</a>, and in many ways it is the quintessence of the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=knaXA0IaIGk">Mekong Delta.</a> Famous for bananas and coconuts, it is remarkable how many of the people you meet in Saigon actually hail from Ben Tre. It was the home of the famous <a href="http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/lisa_nz/2/1261765496/tpod.html">Coconut Monk</a>, who attempted to unify Buddhism with Christianity. It was hard hit during the Vietnam War, being the place that the American army famously declared they had to destroy in order to save.</blockquote>
</div>
</div>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BA%A7n_Th%C6%A1"></a><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YfLgNKGM-Pdi7x7SIZWgoAxxsEGReoJEeDE6x4FMd8YZI-hypLjSKHqYm4zZDUhu58Y2wilvfDoy2ja8asRsmtHZTKmrmM1vujJ9RP8ibMJlVn8I-KQLFTBvo0Yw2ox-1NoAC2_GixE/s1600/B_Can+Tho.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7YfLgNKGM-Pdi7x7SIZWgoAxxsEGReoJEeDE6x4FMd8YZI-hypLjSKHqYm4zZDUhu58Y2wilvfDoy2ja8asRsmtHZTKmrmM1vujJ9RP8ibMJlVn8I-KQLFTBvo0Yw2ox-1NoAC2_GixE/s400/B_Can+Tho.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C%E1%BA%A7n_Th%C6%A1">7. Can Tho</a> - Being the third-largest city in Vietnam, Can Tho is one of those places that comes as a surprise to tourists. Way down in the Delta (and the boat trip from Saigon to Can Tho is one of the things I recommend EVERYONE should do), it is steamy and beautifully situated along the river. Wealthy and open-hearted, it has the reputation of being something of a sin city - it has a thriving <a href="http://www.utopia-asia.com/tipsviet.htm">gay community</a>, and the women of Can Tho are notorious for their forwardness. Can Tho is known as the city that saved the <span style="font-style: italic;">ao dai</span>, the beautiful, elegant and surprisingly provocative national costume of Vietnam. It has a big university and a big bridge, for those who are into such things. There is also a large community of <a href="http://www.panoramio.com/photo/16962130">Khmer</a> people, and there is an old <a href="http://hammond.aminus3.com/image/2007-03-21.html">Khmer temple</a> in the heart of town.</blockquote>
<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fjnf7axTtM"></a><br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Fjnf7axTtM">8. Nha Trang</a> - Until Mui Ne eclipsed it, Nha Trang was the great hope of Vietnamese tourism. It probably suffered by being championed in a more rigidly controlled age, when the central government was trying to keep a tight rein on tourism and the army was responsible for constructing hotels and restaurants. This gives Nha Trang still a very 1980s Communist feel, especially along the beach front. That said, it is a wonderful city, with great food, great nightlife and a very nice beach. I've always enjoyed myself whenever I've visited Nha Trang - it is considerably cleaner and better kept than most Vietnamese cities.</blockquote>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFD5I-TGD6wHiLdQZhixZi8iNXbztG-Gdgrl0NnpapKwJLFITDWQJ2MJHOkoyVU0WiW_f2DpmPtHGkoWesAnvuQ9pBfEMNLEcBZ5n43nwOhvbIHvy6sRdfEHxqAbypz0wI7l-kpBnC8UU/s1600/B_tra+vinh+(5).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="265" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFD5I-TGD6wHiLdQZhixZi8iNXbztG-Gdgrl0NnpapKwJLFITDWQJ2MJHOkoyVU0WiW_f2DpmPtHGkoWesAnvuQ9pBfEMNLEcBZ5n43nwOhvbIHvy6sRdfEHxqAbypz0wI7l-kpBnC8UU/s1600/B_tra+vinh+(5).jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A0_Vinh"></a><br />
<blockquote>
<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tr%C3%A0_Vinh">9. Tra Vinh</a> - When I was studying Vietnamese at the Ho Chi Minh Social Sciences University back in the late 90s I really became interested in the Khmer culture and people that make up a big minority in southern Vietnam. I would visit the Khmer Buddhist temples in Ho Chi Minh City almost daily, and I met and made friends with many of the monks there. A number of them hailed from Tra Vinh, a place I'd never even heard of before. Eventually they took me there and I discovered one of the most fascinating parts of Vietnam. In Tra Vinh the Khmer population is quite dominant, and you hear Khmer spoken on the streets and broadcast on the radio and TV. Theravadin Buddhist temples are the norm, and the rich and ancient Khmer culture is said to be lived there more authentically than in Cambodia itself, for obvious historical reasons. </blockquote>
<br />
So there you have it - my nine favourite towns in Vietnam!<br />
If you have any more you'd like listed, please comment and tell us about it!<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i><b>You should also follow me on Twitter @walterm</b></i></blockquote>
<i><b>Incidentally, there is another excellent post I recommend you check out over at <a href="https://www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/" target="_blank">Your RV Lifestyle</a> called <a href="https://www.your-rv-lifestyle.com/things-to-do-in-vietnam/" target="_blank">Best Things to Do in Vietnam</a> and it is filled with lots of great info!</b></i>Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-80279173100593120012018-12-31T08:00:00.000+11:002018-12-31T08:00:27.870+11:00“Fairy-born and human-bred” - the Brontes and 19th century fairy lore. My talk at the Australian Bronte Association, March 9, 2019<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLGN1reOSYxiM-P-ZsJetPgTNzcrtmc_uru14crn0cmi0fbVFSGRwKOPNM1_Q2ScxyPAQxsWK8cCOOgxenEzOY7vElCib1RtFENhjOlwCXvEU9VBpRfGipmopq1E_LDiCuCNC9mZk9rg/s1600/_%25E2%2580%259CFairy-born+and+human-bred%25E2%2580%259D.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="512" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtLGN1reOSYxiM-P-ZsJetPgTNzcrtmc_uru14crn0cmi0fbVFSGRwKOPNM1_Q2ScxyPAQxsWK8cCOOgxenEzOY7vElCib1RtFENhjOlwCXvEU9VBpRfGipmopq1E_LDiCuCNC9mZk9rg/s400/_%25E2%2580%259CFairy-born+and+human-bred%25E2%2580%259D.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I am very privileged to have been asked to speak to the <a href="http://www.ausbronte.net/index.html" target="_blank">Australian Bronte Association</a> in 2019.<br />
<br />
When asked to nominate a topic I immediately thought of something that had fascinated me for years: <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Emily-Bronte" target="_blank">the Brontes</a> and <a href="https://derolesresponsivestudio.wordpress.com/2015/08/11/19th-century-fairy-paintings/" target="_blank">fairies</a>.<br />
<br />
There are a couple of mentions of <a href="https://exemplore.com/paganism/The-Fairy-Faith" target="_blank">fairy-folk</a> in <i>Jane Eyre</i>, and I notice them every time I re-read it (it is a book I love).<br />
<br />
So in March I will be teasing out the connections between the <a href="https://blog.oup.com/2014/11/favourite-fairy-tale-character/" target="_blank">fairies</a> and the work of <a href="https://www.thebrontes.net/" target="_blank">the Brontes</a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OyGZE7WqG6-7fCfKNudJ7vjF8jIzCXAKxM7wematzdKiovuOneR3feBOykAc2dxRGKPw-38MHbklYf1fg4DotuN4DlthZFImtWierukKoxOf9WEai37_QclasoouZFc1ECJoayo6BNU/s1600/B_Fairy_baby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="760" data-original-width="503" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8OyGZE7WqG6-7fCfKNudJ7vjF8jIzCXAKxM7wematzdKiovuOneR3feBOykAc2dxRGKPw-38MHbklYf1fg4DotuN4DlthZFImtWierukKoxOf9WEai37_QclasoouZFc1ECJoayo6BNU/s640/B_Fairy_baby.jpg" width="420" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>“<a href="http://www.strangehistory.net/2011/08/16/fairies-investigated-in-irish-court/" target="_blank">Fairy</a>-born and human-bred” – the <a href="https://www.thebrontes.net/reading/" target="_blank">Brontes</a> and Nineteenth century <a href="https://www.lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/doyle.htm" target="_blank">Fairy</a> Lore</b><br /><br />The nineteenth century saw a revival of interest in traditional mythology around <a href="https://publicdomainreview.org/2013/06/12/sir-arthur-and-the-fairies/" target="_blank">fairies</a> and all kinds of mythical little-people. Walter Mason will talk about the times that fairies and <a href="https://laurabruno.wordpress.com/2013/06/16/gnome-magick-and-sync-winks/" target="_blank">nature spirits</a> pop up in the writings of the Brontes and how these mentions might relate to the broader social history of the <a href="https://aliisaacstoryteller.com/2016/10/10/the-fairy-folk-of-ireland/" target="_blank">fairy folk</a>. From <a href="https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/12/the-wildest-wilde-of-all-the-scandalous-life-of-oscars-father/" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde’s father</a> through <a href="https://irishpapist.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-greatness-of-wb-yeats.html" target="_blank">W. B. Yeats</a> and the Celtic revival and on to <a href="http://mentalfloss.com/article/559519/cottingley-fairy-photos-fooled-arthur-conan-doyle-sold" target="_blank">Conan Doyle</a>, <a href="http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Sprites" target="_blank">sprites</a>, pixies, <a href="http://celticanamcara.blogspot.com/2009/03/pixies-fairies-elves-and-other-wee-folk.html" target="_blank">brownies</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/IGziKMy_uNs" target="_blank">elves</a> have proven remarkably resilient <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprite_(folklore)" target="_blank">presences </a>in the world of literature. <br /><br />March 9, 2019 at 10.30 am.<br />
<br />
Non-members most welcome.<br />
<br />
The Australian Brontë Association meets in Sydney at the <a href="http://www.thecastlereagh.com.au/" target="_blank">Castlereagh Boutique Hotel</a>
(near Town Hall Station) at 10:30am.<br />
<br />
There is a meeting charge of $5 (members and non-members).<br />
<br />
169 Castlereagh St, Sydney NSW 2000 Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-74417781361396315002018-12-13T08:34:00.000+11:002018-12-13T08:34:09.566+11:00Favourite Books: 2018I suppose I should start with my usual caveat: This is not a list of books that came out in 2018 (though some of them did). It is my usual list of the books I really enjoyed reading this year. Some old, some new, some in-between.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievMAwze13vytR4jUf28CA9PWI9N7lwyobfeBKRZbyYAZa-HzkUtSqSAFJpHgNIf5aqReG6ib7p10lDYPeQ9KIhlkPhTeXr8Uq6mX8IVMxjL3BccpZCNgUwz55llnZuFpABxgjvJLI4u8/s1600/B_You%2527ve+got+to+read+this+book_Jack+Canfield.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="648" data-original-width="429" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEievMAwze13vytR4jUf28CA9PWI9N7lwyobfeBKRZbyYAZa-HzkUtSqSAFJpHgNIf5aqReG6ib7p10lDYPeQ9KIhlkPhTeXr8Uq6mX8IVMxjL3BccpZCNgUwz55llnZuFpABxgjvJLI4u8/s400/B_You%2527ve+got+to+read+this+book_Jack+Canfield.jpg" width="263" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
1. <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com/9780060891695/youve-got-to-read-this-book/" target="_blank"><i><b>You've Got to Read This Book</b></i></a> by <a href="https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/323169" target="_blank">Jack Canfield</a> and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gay_Hendricks" target="_blank">Gay Hendricks</a> - quite an old one, and quite meta - a book about reading books. But it is filled with interesting people talking about the books that inspired them, and I just love this kind of thing. The stories about the books were fascinating, and I noted a number of books from it that I haven't read or sometimes haven't even heard of. If you are wanting to put together a reading list for 2019, this will really help you<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_TXriZ_jDheP2XD7igwsmX39MT_cz0F1QZNqE5l1FYuqE6pOLMvFIvAfEyE7Zmk5mSalxXiOxGCAfdTqO9bNV5CwKWAhyphenhyphenIiPyKBQ0JO-MwYeeNqYuhajV9ptM-7kKICTl9_9_UeRImA/s1600/B_Depends+What+You+Mean+by+extremist_John+Safran.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1043" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZ_TXriZ_jDheP2XD7igwsmX39MT_cz0F1QZNqE5l1FYuqE6pOLMvFIvAfEyE7Zmk5mSalxXiOxGCAfdTqO9bNV5CwKWAhyphenhyphenIiPyKBQ0JO-MwYeeNqYuhajV9ptM-7kKICTl9_9_UeRImA/s400/B_Depends+What+You+Mean+by+extremist_John+Safran.jpg" width="260" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
2. <a href="https://youtu.be/lG4WtcZ1JO4" target="_blank"><i><b>Depends What You Mean by Extremist</b></i></a> by <a href="https://johnsafran.squarespace.com/" target="_blank">John Safran</a> - I love <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Safran" target="_blank">Safran's</a> strange, meandering works of gonzo journalism, and this one was fantastic. It's one of those books where you want to put off doing other things so that you can get back to it. An examination of Australian extremists from all sides.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxly4sSp1H-JcC_drxTeamQTH2XsQ2bFy1NlJPuGWJHCixUYS1yuySVqvD2XwVIXhVRwS6pk5AFWxON6bK1SYcWLOoRm0KlTRjtN7LSi9-OKBKAd3zASztmwTPPxLBs99uWOxGdl_pqs/s1600/B_Patti+Miller_Memoir+Book.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="350" data-original-width="600" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKxly4sSp1H-JcC_drxTeamQTH2XsQ2bFy1NlJPuGWJHCixUYS1yuySVqvD2XwVIXhVRwS6pk5AFWxON6bK1SYcWLOoRm0KlTRjtN7LSi9-OKBKAd3zASztmwTPPxLBs99uWOxGdl_pqs/s400/B_Patti+Miller_Memoir+Book.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<br />
3. <a href="https://www.amazon.com.au/Memoir-Book-Patti-Miller-ebook/dp/B003U2SKQQ" target="_blank"><i><b>The Memoir Book</b></i></a> by <a href="http://lifestories.com.au/" target="_blank">Patti Miller</a> - this is actually the second time I have read it, that's how good it is. This time I came away convinced that I need to write another memoir. Patti's style is engaging and entertaining, and the whole message of the book is incredibly inspiring and empowering. One for the budding writer in your life.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIDFv52s01SWODl2afITDPpYXV-nUHlCBuwsx3Ww0t91LjqxP-NT0tIOtYxKLTW5KGcdNBHEP4KGA6k630tFgAlsKi8mJgA1VNJgFUgnvaxsyR1K_N5Pu_fcqEIiWZdVIDuXiAKb3InM/s1600/B_Our+paris+sketches+from+memory_Edmund+White.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="277" data-original-width="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtIDFv52s01SWODl2afITDPpYXV-nUHlCBuwsx3Ww0t91LjqxP-NT0tIOtYxKLTW5KGcdNBHEP4KGA6k630tFgAlsKi8mJgA1VNJgFUgnvaxsyR1K_N5Pu_fcqEIiWZdVIDuXiAKb3InM/s1600/B_Our+paris+sketches+from+memory_Edmund+White.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
4. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Our-Paris-Sketches-Edmund-White/dp/0679441662" target="_blank"><i><b>Our Paris: Sketches from Memory</b></i></a> by <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/the-unfinished-vice-review-edmund-white-on-the-necessity-of-a-reading-life-20180823-h14eck.html" target="_blank">Edmund White </a>and Hubert Sorin - I have had a very Parisian year this year, reading-wise. This book has been in my library for ages, and when my partner had run out of something to read on the train I gave him this. He couldn't get past the first couple of pages because they were too sad. But he picked it up again and loved it. When I took it back from him I decided to have a look through it, and then I had to finish it (it IS a very slim book) there and then. When <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/02/the-unpunished-vice-life-reading-edmund-white-review" target="_blank">White</a> writes like this nobody can beat him. One that you can enjoy in one sitting. A lovely and personal look at <a href="https://www.solosophie.com/the-best-books-about-paris/" target="_blank">Paris</a> written just after <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/03/books/review/unpunished-vice-edmund-white.html" target="_blank">White's</a> French lover of many years had died.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54rmxo3Hsiwt85hTjbkp7re6SDg266OhIftXy6Cn8Qivy8PCWh5mtmEhG5gNc6kNHD6lm2szmMD918n7QsJLF1LL1-SL4BkVndHzeMeJSHZYsD6qb-cnyREE8mQe3O-HNj8F-cM2HRTE/s1600/B_Mr+Eternity_Roy+Williams.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="287" data-original-width="210" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh54rmxo3Hsiwt85hTjbkp7re6SDg266OhIftXy6Cn8Qivy8PCWh5mtmEhG5gNc6kNHD6lm2szmMD918n7QsJLF1LL1-SL4BkVndHzeMeJSHZYsD6qb-cnyREE8mQe3O-HNj8F-cM2HRTE/s1600/B_Mr+Eternity_Roy+Williams.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
5. <a href="https://www.koorong.com/search/product/mr-eternity-the-story-of-arthur-stace-roy/9780994616654.jhtml" target="_blank"><i><b>Mr. Eternity</b></i></a> by Roy Williams (with <a href="https://www.biblesociety.org.au/mr-eternity/" target="_blank">Elizabeth Meyers</a>) - a lovely, lovely little look at a part of Sydney's metaphysical and artistic history. And one you can read - and enjoy - even if you are not a Sydneysider. Roy is writing from an evangelical Christian perspective, but it is a perfectly valid one in this case because <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/nsw/arthur-stace-one-word-wonder-20170727-gxk7ow.html" target="_blank">Arthur Stace</a>, the man who spent decades wandering around Sydney writing the word 'Eternity' on the footpath, was a devout <a href="https://www.eternitynews.com.au/australia/eyewitness-to-arthur-staces-secret-life-comes-forward/" target="_blank">Baptist</a> and <a href="https://www.sightmagazine.com.au/reviews/books/8612-books-from-here-to-eternity-the-remarkable-life-of-arthur-stace-revealed" target="_blank">evangelist</a>. <a href="https://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780733333583/" target="_blank">Roy</a>'s deep understanding of this mindset shifts this book to a whole new level, making it a thoroughly unusual, and unexpectedly fascinating, thing. A story beautifully told, and a terrific piece of popular history.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKawZAp_4Dr_rDSdGTkQV8EJWsUvL0hM8cqSg207pW3mtc46-uyPq8JWXyXFYSm37l59X_7Pjz_LSg7_DTq0UH13SvHc5OR-_p8Yxu0hLFBl1YT28l2hi1-z7YzwrtakeLlow1xRz6Ud0/s1600/B_Bluebottle_Castles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="627" data-original-width="410" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKawZAp_4Dr_rDSdGTkQV8EJWsUvL0hM8cqSg207pW3mtc46-uyPq8JWXyXFYSm37l59X_7Pjz_LSg7_DTq0UH13SvHc5OR-_p8Yxu0hLFBl1YT28l2hi1-z7YzwrtakeLlow1xRz6Ud0/s400/B_Bluebottle_Castles.jpg" width="261" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
6. <b><a href="https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/bluebottle-review-belinda-castles-novel-of-the-past-catching-up-for-one-family-20180628-h11zk8.html" target="_blank"><i>Bluebottle</i></a></b> by <a href="https://omny.fm/shows/so-you-want-to-be-a-writer/writer-238-what-you-need-to-know-about-pacing-and" target="_blank">Belinda Castles</a> - always a thrill to read a book in which Sydney is the star. And a surprisingly rare occurrence. Castles' totally bewitching story set on Sydney's Northern beaches is engaging right from the start, and is quite cinematic in its storytelling. A fantastic easy read with many secret depths. This is the second of <a href="http://southerlyjournal.com.au/2012/09/25/the-creative-writing-racket/" target="_blank">Belinda's</a> books that I have read and loved - she is a rare talent.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FVli8O8kyyMhkwnYv5Y3oO-e_pQFNuGcDbEAHpb0hRuSCzaQbIgsDwCSAQ0xZjfaonnAyQFRi3dQPzcMouTWFYUCQEvBvg39an5Ih-veuPnC6k59W5umhSDcfik9s1LvsGsKr2DG-So/s1600/B_the-miracle-club-9781620557662_hr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="600" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2FVli8O8kyyMhkwnYv5Y3oO-e_pQFNuGcDbEAHpb0hRuSCzaQbIgsDwCSAQ0xZjfaonnAyQFRi3dQPzcMouTWFYUCQEvBvg39an5Ih-veuPnC6k59W5umhSDcfik9s1LvsGsKr2DG-So/s400/B_the-miracle-club-9781620557662_hr.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
7. <b><a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Miracle-Club/Mitch-Horowitz/9781620557662" target="_blank"><i>The Miracle Club</i></a></b> by <a href="https://mitchhorowitz.com/" target="_blank">Mitch Horowitz</a> - and even rarer, a book that treats the spiritual tradition of New Thought seriously! Mitch's book is a practical and white-knuckled path to self-improvement, and he pulls no punches. <a href="https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/positive-living/positive-thinking/mitch-horowitzs-surprising-inspiration" target="_blank">Horowitz </a>has been a serious student of American spiritual traditions for many years, and is himself a publisher of material that falls into the genre (for TarcherPerigee). This book encouraged me to take myself and my dreams much more seriously. AND it gave me a blueprint for working towards them realistically.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDewxKUTWeSYOzd-FyNzRHMxBQi5OHK2fCYKsAYEeJ1Mxt9kiyn80cbEvnzKSPpCPGCFfhfWdvQQ16-6ygCDc4RDj3pGBCalUszXV6_pKTY5ZP3gpM6YL3cfaCwzZaZzHlKhpnVOpFd3Q/s1600/B_How+to+be+your+own+genie_Valentine.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="589" data-original-width="393" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDewxKUTWeSYOzd-FyNzRHMxBQi5OHK2fCYKsAYEeJ1Mxt9kiyn80cbEvnzKSPpCPGCFfhfWdvQQ16-6ygCDc4RDj3pGBCalUszXV6_pKTY5ZP3gpM6YL3cfaCwzZaZzHlKhpnVOpFd3Q/s400/B_How+to+be+your+own+genie_Valentine.jpg" width="266" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
8. <a href="https://youtu.be/QaUGzj2l9r0" target="_blank"><i><b>How to be Your Own Genie</b></i></a> by <a href="http://radleighvalentine.com/about-radleigh/" target="_blank">Radleigh Valentine</a> - ok, another self-help book, but this one was so completely charming that I just couldn't resist. Radleigh was <a href="http://doreenvirtue.com/" target="_blank">Doreen Virtue</a>'s long-time collaborator, but after <a href="https://sueellissaller.com/2017/08/doreen-virtue-christian-conversion-conversation/" target="_blank">her life took an unexpected turn</a> it seems that he has stepped into the void at Hay House and is finding his own solo voice. And that voice is abundantly clear in this cosy, friendly book about leading a more magical life based on his own brand of hokey folk-wisdom. It's rare that I fall in love with an author reading their books, but I did this one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcdW3zjUjF6YKeLyo37e9SvpgUiox_G8sZtmB6hN2zwTvElR1Bma3ysVl_6S2aRhMQR_Gs8qvk6ZmQAWfI8LSeegdi2ukd5L7-SkHjZPubzBPAJ5cNRK8QZVW-i3dZkFiVdWDxkVkRuw/s1600/B_Cooley_Homing_book-cover-for-web.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1253" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFcdW3zjUjF6YKeLyo37e9SvpgUiox_G8sZtmB6hN2zwTvElR1Bma3ysVl_6S2aRhMQR_Gs8qvk6ZmQAWfI8LSeegdi2ukd5L7-SkHjZPubzBPAJ5cNRK8QZVW-i3dZkFiVdWDxkVkRuw/s400/B_Cooley_Homing_book-cover-for-web.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
9. <i><a href="https://giramondopublishing.com/product/homing/" target="_blank"><b>Homing</b></a> </i>by <a href="https://giramondopublishing.com/product/homing/" target="_blank">Shevaun Cooley</a> - I am always trying to read more poetry, and I love the work that <a href="https://giramondopublishing.com/" target="_blank">Giramondo</a> does in publishing Australian poets and introducing them to whole new audiences. I think this was my favourite collection of the year, the poems sparse little meditations on nature and literature. I have found myself returning to it all year, and it is quite an inspiring read for any writer, encouraging slow reading and reflection.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEJncoNNd3VB_lsruCiXFBSoMmJVkrUM6xWGE8f45G0PRCO2EmJkjhZu79hQ2ZAgXd792OKKfY18rE69IYdYSj2zx-6usmPV-rb4CXAggBL2hBbCMKE5XB-YD5HFriN31_i_bXmLd2R8/s1600/B_alice_the_wonderland_oracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="393" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGEJncoNNd3VB_lsruCiXFBSoMmJVkrUM6xWGE8f45G0PRCO2EmJkjhZu79hQ2ZAgXd792OKKfY18rE69IYdYSj2zx-6usmPV-rb4CXAggBL2hBbCMKE5XB-YD5HFriN31_i_bXmLd2R8/s400/B_alice_the_wonderland_oracle.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
10. <a href="https://blueangelonline.com/alice_the_wonderland_oracle.html" target="_blank"><i><b>Alice: The Wonderland Oracle</b></i></a> by <a href="https://www.lucycavendish.com.au/" target="_blank">Lucy Cavendish</a> (artwork by <a href="https://www.twitch.tv/jasminebecketgriffith" target="_blank">Jasmine Beckett-Griffith</a>) - ok, not a book, but still a literary object. I am going to stop making excuses for including a card deck every year. This one, clearly, is a literary curiosity, and lovely and uplifting deck for anyone interested in literature. Also a great thing for younger readers to use - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsho5TZn5EgkQzCXfQhu4vg" target="_blank">Jasmine Beckett-Griffith</a>'s amazing pictures speak to anyone's imagination, and <a href="https://www.rockpoolpublishing.com.au/lucy-cavendish" target="_blank">Lucy Cavendish</a>'s ideas, words and meditations always seem spot on. A lovely way to inspire you to start each day - just take one the cards from the deck and see what the Universe might be wanting to tell you. Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-79931788449523267802018-10-17T11:53:00.001+11:002018-10-17T11:53:58.819+11:00Martin Chuzzlewit and the lure of America - a talk by Walter Mason at Ashfield Library, 2 November 2018<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzelFt7x0-xu32Gh_QCyU4GSTnyezMKmBs2WQ00SG-cmCtnaQrX4ha-5YH6xM1IsWdUpbYgBZVYKo1ZdCg6fkXEbBqFABLYbK5Qx4LQ_AbzVZclX-ltICz80iNPy59SgL75vxYS4BQpYg/s1600/B_Canva_dickens.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="186" data-original-width="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzelFt7x0-xu32Gh_QCyU4GSTnyezMKmBs2WQ00SG-cmCtnaQrX4ha-5YH6xM1IsWdUpbYgBZVYKo1ZdCg6fkXEbBqFABLYbK5Qx4LQ_AbzVZclX-ltICz80iNPy59SgL75vxYS4BQpYg/s1600/B_Canva_dickens.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
Do come along and <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/speaker-series-martin-chuzzlewit-and-the-lure-of-america-with-walter-mason-tickets-50514404945" target="_blank">hear me talk</a> about one of <a href="https://youtu.be/5jjd6oIn-VM" target="_blank">Dickens</a>' most intriguing novels in November a Ashfield Library!<br />
<br />
Details:<br />
<br />
<div class="listing-hero-header hide-small ">
<time class="listing-hero-date" datetime="2018-11-02">
<div class="listing-hero-image--day">
<b>Nov.02, 2018 at <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/speaker-series-martin-chuzzlewit-and-the-lure-of-america-with-walter-mason-tickets-50514404945" target="_blank">Ashfield Library</a>. 11AM</b>. A Free event, but <a href="https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/speaker-series-martin-chuzzlewit-and-the-lure-of-america-with-walter-mason-tickets-50514404945" target="_blank">online booking essential</a></div>
</time>
</div>
<h2 class="listing-hero-title" data-automation="listing-title">
Speaker Series: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Chuzzlewit" target="_blank"><i>Martin Chuzzlewit</i></a> and the lure of America with <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2010/02/about-walter-mason.html" target="_blank">Walter Mason</a></h2>
<h1 class="listing-hero-title" data-automation="listing-title">
</h1>
<h3 class="label-primary">
Description</h3>
<a href="https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/two-of-us-walter-mason-and-thang-ngo-20110516-1eoxb.html" target="_blank">Walter Mason</a>, Vice-President of the <a href="https://dickenssydney.com/category/special-events/" target="_blank">NSW Dickens Society</a>, talks about one of the least discussed of Charles Dickens' novels, <a href="https://tomruffles.wordpress.com/2016/02/08/martin-chuzzlewit-by-charles-dickens/" target="_blank"><i>The Life and Times of Martin Chuzzlewit</i></a>. It is a novel which <a href="https://noodlies.com/author/waltermason/" target="_blank">Walter</a> thinks is his best. <br />
Walter Mason looks at <a href="https://lithub.com/charles-dickens-had-serious-beef-with-america-and-its-bad-manners/" target="_blank">Dickens’ relationship to America</a> and the ways
in which it was portrayed by his <a href="https://www.charlesdickensinfo.com/life/friends/" target="_blank">peers</a> in English literature.<br />
<br />
<br />
<h3 class="label-primary l-mar-bot-2" data-automation="listing-info-language">
Date and Time</h3>
<div class="event-details__data">
<time class="clrfix" data-automation="event-details-time">
Fri. 2 November 2018<br />
11:00 am – 12:00 pm <br />
<div class="hide-small hide-medium">
<br />
</div>
</time>
</div>
<h3 class="label-primary l-mar-bot-2">
Location</h3>
Ashfield Library<br />
Level 3, 260 Liverpool Road <br />
Ashfield, NSW 2131 <br />
<h1 class="listing-hero-title" data-automation="listing-title">
</h1>
Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-1224656759567383052018-06-05T18:44:00.000+10:002018-06-05T18:44:34.988+10:00Celebrate the fascination and wonder of one of the best children's books ever written - come along to my talk on Kenneth Grahame and The Wind in the Willows at the SMSA on June 15<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj168LbtG6EOia73emjgvMocvih3WR_X2rc-dKgVNpaYCxd-az8sx2UDhpm412QBWv8tvDCwxLUNA7SJVQWsFkfrSY0CBZfWV_l4R_QFS9Rl8D3c5ylGj-voX231wp3ODHpx5fg3VfvKEk/s1600/Kenneth+Grahame%252C+The+Wind+in+the+Willows+.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="789" data-original-width="940" height="335" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj168LbtG6EOia73emjgvMocvih3WR_X2rc-dKgVNpaYCxd-az8sx2UDhpm412QBWv8tvDCwxLUNA7SJVQWsFkfrSY0CBZfWV_l4R_QFS9Rl8D3c5ylGj-voX231wp3ODHpx5fg3VfvKEk/s400/Kenneth+Grahame%252C+The+Wind+in+the+Willows+.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
It always pays to re-visit the books of one's childhood - they almost always reward multiple re-readings. And that is certainly the case with <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/little-library-cafe/2017/apr/20/novel-recipes-potted-beef-wind-in-the-willows-kenneth-grahame" target="_blank">Kenneth Grahame</a>'s exquisite <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2015/feb/18/top-10-books-about-rivers-katharine-norbury" target="_blank"><i>The Wind in the Willows</i></a>, which turns 110 on June 15.<br />
<br />
To help celebrate this wonderful anniversary the <a href="https://smsa.org.au/events/event/walter-mason-wind-in-the-willows-110th-anniversary/" target="_blank">Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts</a> has asked me to come along and give a talk about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/mar/26/top-10-books-intelligent-animals-watership-down-animal-farm" target="_blank">the book</a>, its <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/dec/06/hero-mr-badger-patrick-barkham" target="_blank">author</a>, and why <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/gallery/2011/jul/03/literary-fiction-martinamis" target="_blank"><i>The Wind in the Willows</i></a> is just as fascinating for adults as it is for children.<br />
<br />
I do hope you'll come!<br />
<br />
It's free, it starts at 12.30 and lasts exactly an hour so you can get back to work refreshed and inspired.<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://smsa.org.au/events/event/walter-mason-wind-in-the-willows-110th-anniversary/" target="_blank">SMSA</a> is right in the middle of the Sydney CBD, about 3 minutes walk from Town Hall Station.<br />
<br />
You don't even need to book! Just show up. I'd love to see you there.<br />
<br />
Details:<br />
<br />
<h1 class="entry-title" style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://smsa.org.au/events/event/walter-mason-wind-in-the-willows-110th-anniversary/" target="_blank">Walter Mason — Wind in the Willows, 110th Anniversary</a></h1>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<time>
Friday, 15 June 2018, 12:30pm – 1:30pm </time></div>
<div class="entry-meta" style="text-align: center;">
Venue: <span><a href="https://smsa.org.au/events/venues/mitchell-theatre/">
Mitchell Theatre, Sydney Mechanics' School of Arts </a></span></div>
<div class="entry-meta" style="text-align: center;">
<span> </span></div>
<div class="entry-meta" style="text-align: center;">
<span> </span>280 Pitt Street<br />
Sydney NSW 2000</div>
<div class="entry-meta" style="text-align: center;">
<h4>
FREE – Everyone Welcome</h4>
</div>
<div class="entry-meta">
<span> </span></div>
Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-13226454355085975652018-04-25T11:31:00.002+10:002019-01-23T10:47:33.853+11:00How to give a bad talk<br />
I give lots of public talks and am always (hopefully) improving. I shudder when I think of mistakes I have made in the past, and yes, before you write to me in wounded grievance, I have made almost all of the mistakes on this list, so suck it up - I've had to. And yes, of course there are always exceptions - your entire shtick might be built up around one of these techniques. And that's fine - but you better not be doing any of the others! Let's make a deal - you only get one.<br />
<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JkH9pJlHr48owIv71VTgRKVXHsRsnEQBrJ6BInPWLsoCt0JB8lkupJCjYs2VjhvEQnApwF-BepynNaSI64rto7WIrowzGm9RPue7mFoLmLaoSNi284wDpo8cXNeVro9PO7ac77pOxPU/s1600/B_Walter+Mason+speaking_walter+swedenborg.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="300" data-original-width="400" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7JkH9pJlHr48owIv71VTgRKVXHsRsnEQBrJ6BInPWLsoCt0JB8lkupJCjYs2VjhvEQnApwF-BepynNaSI64rto7WIrowzGm9RPue7mFoLmLaoSNi284wDpo8cXNeVro9PO7ac77pOxPU/s400/B_Walter+Mason+speaking_walter+swedenborg.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me - hopefully not being TOO boring. This pic is from 8 years ago, and I wouldn't compose a slide like this anymore. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I also love attending talks and lectures and conferences, and have sat there withering in pain and boredom, and also been transported by a speaker's charm, cleverness and ability to win an audience. I have also observed speakers making all of the below mistakes, and seen their audience slowly fade away. <br />
<br />
No matter what your subject, your primary goal is to win over your audience - if it isn't, why are you even giving a talk? You'd be better off at home binge watching <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Babylon_Berlin" target="_blank"><i>Babylon Berlin</i></a>.<br />
<br />
So, in the spirit of helping both speakers and listeners, here is my list of how to give the perfect bad talk:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Make political points when you are talking about an unrelated subject</b>: Just remember - 50% of the audience completely disagrees with you. Are you so good you can afford to lose 50% of your audience? This is happening WAY too often lately, and even when I agree with the speaker I die a little inside when they make a clumsy political joke. Yes, you can make sophisticated critical points which may very well be profoundly political, but the moment you re-situate those points in the present moment you have squandered all of your good work. Let your analysis speak for itself, and avoid the temptation to express your current pet political peeve. People came to hear about the Lives of the Saints or an account of your Journey Through the Greek Isles. They really don't want to know how you intend to vote.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Say: "But I won't tell you more because I want you to buy the book"</b>: The last time this line was funny was 1948. People don't want to feel obviously manipulated, and they don't want to believe that the whole purpose of your coming was to sell a few books (even if this was indeed the sole reason you turned up). It's rude, it's a dumb tactic and it's counter-productive. Several times I have decided NOT to buy a book because the author said exactly that. Be generous, share whatever stories you want, and make attendees feel like they want to know more. Indeed, be mysterious and leave a few cliffhangers - but NEVER say that deathly line. The audience will work it out for themselves. Leave them wanting to know more - don't tell them they need to.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Slam another author or speaker on stage</b>: This is surprisingly common. In almost all cities the literary and intellectual circle is tiny, and you can bet that a friend or relative of the person you are dissing is in the audience. Worst case is that they will stand up and challenge you publicly (I have seen this happen). They might also corner you after the talk and give you a talking to. They might instantly contact the slandered party and tell them what you said. Or (most likely) they will simply seethe in silence and walk out thinking the worse of you. The last time this happened to me the author on stage had just written a book about a subject that had also recently been covered in a book by another author. I was furious as the author being spoken about was my friend and, having read both books, I knew for a fact my friend's book was far superior. I left a strong advocate for the wronged book, and actively encouraged people not to buy the later book. Make your own points, and don't bad-mouth the work of others.<br />
<br />
<b>4. Have no visuals</b>: The age is long past when you can hold an audience's full attention with no pretty pictures. I have seen speakers give talks that needed a few key images to make their point. I know that they didn't do it because they were either too lazy, too unprepared, or too afraid of technology to organise it. You need visuals - no exceptions.<br />
<br />
<i>*Strangely enough, this is the only point I have received any push-back on. So I am going to double down. You really do need pictures. I know you are a born storyteller who can set imaginations alight. But a quarter of your audience are bored, and always will be. Give them some distraction, for pity's sake. Other people have said that the pictures need to be good and expertly designed. Nah. Just big snapshots that fill the screen will do. That's just an excuse not to do the necessary extra work.*</i><br />
<br />
<b>5. Tell people about your good reviews and your entire back catalogue</b>: Stop boasting and keep to the topic. You only get to tell people about your good reviews if it is immediately followed by an anecdote about someone who hated your book. Audiences HATE braggards and show-offs. If you really do need to tell them about how celebrated your book was/is, have the person introducing say it so you can put on a fake humble/embarrassed face while they say it.<br />
<br />
<b>6. Don't give someone a take-home fact or a moment of transformation</b>: You need to start constructing your talks around these things. Think to yourself: "Now this is one of those amazing pieces of info that they will go home talking about," or "this is where I pause to let them absorb the amazingness of the story I have just told them." Give your talks some texture, and some high moments.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Don't prepare, but rely instead on your charm/cleverness/experience/intuition</b>: Trust me, you don't have enough of any of these things to sustain a 45 minute talk. If you are unprepared you WILL be boring. And even if you are possessed of these remarkable qualities, imagine how much BETTER you will be if you prepare. And if you don't want to prepare, why on earth did you say yes to this in the first place? You owe it to your audience to prepare properly. And to rehearse after you have prepared.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Have slides full of text in 20 point</b>: Unless your talk is a close reading of a particular text, I would avoid having words on the slide at all. Of course, sometimes words can make a nice additional element, but you must NEVER rely upon them to make a point, because guaranteed at least 25% of your audience won't be able to read them. I always have a rule: I can only use 60 point type. This drastically cuts down on the number of words you can put on a slide. But really, let pictures do the talking.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Give an intro, a little bit of background, and an overview of what you are going to talk about</b>: Honestly, STFU. We don't need to know how the sausage is made. Just start telling the story with a strong idea and a strong visual. I think this really afflicts people with a corporate background, who somewhere along the line have picked up this ghastly advice on how to structure a presentation. Just tell us what you need to tell us. We couldn't care less about its structure. Stop telling me what you're gonna tell me and just tell me. OK?<br />
<br />
<b>10. Don't have a Plan B</b>: This is a special community message to all the people who use Apple products. I have seen so many people turn up at a library/community centre/conference room and see their beautifully constructed presentation show up as a blank screen. Yeah, I know Apple products are superior and all, but there isn't a speaking facility anywhere that offers tech support for them. So A: Make sure your presentation is saved in a conventional Powerpoint format, and B: Have a fully thought out Plan B. I have turned up to speak at places where the power had gone out, where all the IT had just crashed and wouldn't be up again till Tuesday, where the only technical facilities on offer were a lectern and a glass of water, despite my instructions. You must be prepared and able to give a reasonably interesting talk no matter what. And, to be on the safe side, never have a presentation that hinges on a video or a piece of audio, or being online. These things are always the first to go wrong, so I make sure that, if I have them, they are only additional bells and whistles and not the focus of the entire presentation.<br />
<br />
So there you go. I hope you find all of the above helpful, particularly if you are just about to give a talk and feel a little nervous. If you avoid all of the above, you should be ok.<br />
<br />
I would also point you towards the work of <a href="https://www.michaelport.com/" target="_blank">Michael Port </a>and, if you live in Sydney, go and see the work of an expert public speaker like <a href="https://susannahfullerton.com.au/" target="_blank">Susannah Fullerton</a>.<br />
<br />
Oh, and one more thing. I'd love to know if there are some points I have missed here. I am sure I have more to learn, and audience expectations are always changing. Leave a comment and tell me about something horrible you've noticed recently during a public talk.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Here are two more good points that have been raised by readers of this piece:</b><br />
<br />
<b>Go over time: The audience will hate you, no matter how good you are. This hatred will increase by a factor of 100 for every 10 seconds you go over time. In two minutes you will have undone all your good work. Always, always stick to the time - in fact, finish up a couple of minutes early. Doesn't matter if you started late - everyone just has their eye on that clock. This is your contract with the audience - don't break it. And for God's sake don't ask "Is everyone ok if I keep going a little?" Everyone will be polite and nod while they poke pins into your eyes in their imagination. </b><br />
<br />
<b>Say "I'll talk about that later" and then don't talk about it: I do this all the time! And I didn't realise how annoying it was till a reader pointed it out. You can foreshadow topics, people and points without telegraphing it. This is related to Point 9, I think. Give yourself some space, and don't promise when it is not clear you can deliver later on. </b></blockquote>
Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-1003763732673484262018-02-21T14:43:00.000+11:002018-02-21T14:43:43.814+11:00Australian spiritual teacher Alana Fairchild on inspiration, the Earth Warriors Oracle and trusting our instincts<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrc88_5CJy9HsnnWnPAhL18loSClo0-rlxOQ4BJDkI1bMMhOsNGp1AstuNH97uhJy1HjAHadljBmFSVuger3HvQLJuabDEP6P6LKO85oYEKm6GekUDuivma7XlS2MH8dlV2i473W6aY8/s1600/B_Alana+Fairchild_Crystal.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="551" data-original-width="588" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkrc88_5CJy9HsnnWnPAhL18loSClo0-rlxOQ4BJDkI1bMMhOsNGp1AstuNH97uhJy1HjAHadljBmFSVuger3HvQLJuabDEP6P6LKO85oYEKm6GekUDuivma7XlS2MH8dlV2i473W6aY8/s400/B_Alana+Fairchild_Crystal.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Alana Fairchild</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
The wonderful <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/" target="_blank">Alana Fairchild</a> is someone whose work I have admired and used for many years. I have also been lucky enough to work with Alana on a couple of occasions under quite stressful circumstances, and I discovered that she absolutely embodied her work - she proved to be a true wise woman who walked her talk. I have cherished her terrifically ever since, and look forward to her new work with great anticipation.<br />
<br />
Alana was gracious enough to take time from her busy schedule to have a chat with me, and I asked her some burning questions about spirituality, creative challenges and her new deck, <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/product/earth-warriors-oracle/" target="_blank"><i>The Earth Warriors Oracle</i></a>. And as usual, I was delighted with her answers. I hope they inspire you, too: </blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26Xq_Yz5gpldy-4Us1-kc05WAQYpghQi-BQhoVo9y40ky22xjXKVIHRnhwbk8H4N5Gmv-7UleXvbirt3OXaWrX_Ok5MAMd2pz7GvF_mXUeeljyrKuwPAQl_QeFtz3c4kqLaI7xvNvTDo/s1600/B_Alana+Fairchild_earth_warriors_oracle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="535" data-original-width="393" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg26Xq_Yz5gpldy-4Us1-kc05WAQYpghQi-BQhoVo9y40ky22xjXKVIHRnhwbk8H4N5Gmv-7UleXvbirt3OXaWrX_Ok5MAMd2pz7GvF_mXUeeljyrKuwPAQl_QeFtz3c4kqLaI7xvNvTDo/s400/B_Alana+Fairchild_earth_warriors_oracle.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>1. <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/artist/alana-fairchild/457043337" target="_blank">Alana</a>, could you tell us about the inspiration behind your new deck, the <a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/earth_warriors_oracle.html" target="_blank"><i>Earth Warriors Oracle</i></a>? What was the catalyst for their creation?</b><br />
<br />
Some years ago, I was invited to sing at a drumming circle. I wasn’t a drummer, but I love to dance and have good rhythm, and apparently they were open to all sorts of musical offerings. So I took my crystal singing bowls and my voice and went to this drumming circle for the first time. The moment I stepped into the warehouse where it was held, it was a breath of fresh air for my soul. I felt a sense of kinship with the wild and free spirits that were part of that community. <br />
<br />
Being a rebel and marching to my own beat, as the expression goes, I could totally relate to them. There was a sense that their entire tribe - and I would call it a tribe for this reason - was actually one spiritual body, with many individual members. Their values of leaving no trace when in nature, of loving the earth and protecting the environment, of supporting each other in their journeys for personal development without any judgement whatsoever was astonishing to me. <br />
<br />
I was used to communities (even spiritual communities) that were rife with political backstabbing and power games, and yet here I had stumbled into a tribal family of some hundred or so members spread all over Sydney with so much genuine encouragement of each other, so much absence of ego … I felt like a cross between a long-lost sister of the tribe and a spiritual anthropologist discovering a rare tribe and I was fascinated! <br />
<br />
There were problems to be dealt with of course, pain and struggle are parts of life, even lives well lived with awareness. Still it was one of the healthiest human ecosystems that I had ever encountered, and I have been in and out of many ‘tribes’ or groups over the years, many claiming to be spiritually evolved. What I loved about this group is that it didn’t claim anything other than it was a type of family and it was based in love and respect, all of which seemed very true to my experiences in that community. <br />
<br />
As I travelled, I found similar tribes in other parts of the world too. It was a consciousness rather than a type, and it was a global movement rather than something that was unique to this one beautiful community that I had been led to in Australia. Some groups looked like they should belong to that tribal consciousness, yet lacked the real heart. Other groups seemed to have little in common on the surface, but held the same genuine heart frequency underneath it. There were people of all ages and walks of life that were drawn to these types of communities, and the ways of being that they naturally create, and recognised the value of what they bring to the earth.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJq2wFoQOL4BGFArH_OJshUQj4Uo2XOWkT1mumhCbau9Px9QVrg8Nevwmoc9qmTKFPdESXyaL9L360khoB_tp6bhXLtnjTjldzCAHfPCorGqvBuF5i4cd8g5rxUu-AKcl6Tq0CcQo-NiM/s1600/B_Alana+Fairchild_earth_warriors_oracle_Spirit+warrior.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="342" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJq2wFoQOL4BGFArH_OJshUQj4Uo2XOWkT1mumhCbau9Px9QVrg8Nevwmoc9qmTKFPdESXyaL9L360khoB_tp6bhXLtnjTjldzCAHfPCorGqvBuF5i4cd8g5rxUu-AKcl6Tq0CcQo-NiM/s400/B_Alana+Fairchild_earth_warriors_oracle_Spirit+warrior.jpg" width="272" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
When I found <a href="https://www.etsy.com/au/market/art_isabel_bryna" target="_blank">Isabel Bryna</a>’s art online, I recognised a visual representation of what this soul tribe group felt like. I asked her if she would be interested and she agreed. <i>Earth Warriors</i> was born out of that experience.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDwsDN8saPyZYN3JOXInYAf4bIJE5O2Iz1H0eVzYItfqf5izRmyio6ZIrSao5GF6NpX1YpPGiECmsGz56Q5gjG5HteBFjNnuuAkLFXBAt6Why4gWyRhomaBSD5yCWut8eTxySW2-wvDA/s1600/B_Alana+Fairchild.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="400" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMDwsDN8saPyZYN3JOXInYAf4bIJE5O2Iz1H0eVzYItfqf5izRmyio6ZIrSao5GF6NpX1YpPGiECmsGz56Q5gjG5HteBFjNnuuAkLFXBAt6Why4gWyRhomaBSD5yCWut8eTxySW2-wvDA/s400/B_Alana+Fairchild.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alana Fairchild</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>2. You do so much with Goddess energy, and have always been a big fan of the stuff you do with <a href="https://www.booktopia.com.au/kuan-yin-oracle-cards-alana-fairchild/prod9780987204189.html" target="_blank">Kuan Yin</a> and <a href="https://youtu.be/QTPAY4cKqHE" target="_blank">Mother Mary</a>. What do you think we should be doing in 2018 to work more closely with Goddess energy?</b><br />
<br />
I think one of the most beautiful and simple practices we can do is talk to her. Some people call this <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2018/02/03/these-smart-buddhist-prayer-beads-keep-track-of-how-often-you-say-a-mantra/" target="_blank">prayer</a>. I don’t think of prayer as religious necessarily, more of a spiritual practice. I like the idea that <a href="http://www.dianemerpaw.com/intentional-prayer/" target="_blank">prayer</a> is speaking to the divine and <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meditation" target="_blank">meditation</a> is listening to the divine, but really, if you are deep in connection with the divine, pouring out your heart, you are so present and authentic, it can become a <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/health/thepulse/stories/2012/10/30/3621905.htm" target="_blank">healing meditation</a> session! Human beings tend to need a form to connect with – so I’d suggest a fun internet search of ‘goddesses’ or ‘divine mother’ and then choose which <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/product/kuan-yin-oracle/" target="_blank">goddess</a> you relate to most at the time, from whichever spiritual or cultural tradition you wish. Then you can imagine or intend that you are speaking to her, rather than to ‘empty space’, when you have your prayerful conversations.<br />
<br />
We live in an amazing time where we have the freedom to obtain information about many kinds of sacred beings with only a laptop, internet connection and curious mind. Starting with a connection to a deity that you resonate with and then opening up a dialogue – talking to her like you would any true friend – is a way to begin this process of connection. I personally find the divine mother so practical and non-judging, you can talk to her about absolutely anything.<br />
<br />
Talking to a sublime being about mundane issues can seem a little strange or even disrespectful sometimes. They are so beautiful and shining with ethereal light, you can imagine that you should only speak a sacred <a href="https://youtu.be/ImIAVyMXqY4" target="_blank">mantra</a> to them and not talk about your love life, or how to deal with the person at work who is making your life a living hell. But actually if you do talk about whatever is happening in your life with openness, I find that the answers usually start to come to me pretty quickly. The goddess energy is responsive, when we are open to it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqZdbJUi6g79nLtNPDhcigS4NcZNyFn3GKCiSraamim5lCqyjxev62fjCftDjPOHiO86DOdE24A1fJXi8-8zXrPZXS4hx3cNAJLdEBTZYw_7SNgWU7_7_1BdYb-IYVEswetRxi2kyEfs/s1600/B_Alana+Fairchild_Mother+Mary+Oracle_Walter+Mason+pic.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="555" data-original-width="587" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgqZdbJUi6g79nLtNPDhcigS4NcZNyFn3GKCiSraamim5lCqyjxev62fjCftDjPOHiO86DOdE24A1fJXi8-8zXrPZXS4hx3cNAJLdEBTZYw_7SNgWU7_7_1BdYb-IYVEswetRxi2kyEfs/s400/B_Alana+Fairchild_Mother+Mary+Oracle_Walter+Mason+pic.PNG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Spread from Alana Fairchild's Mother Mary Oracle</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<b>3. What things do you do to keep yourself spiritually and physically healthy, and what should we all do?</b><br />
<br />
I am a big believer in people trusting their instincts and exploring to find what works for them. It’s taken me many years to figure out the balance of how much exercise, meditation, alone time, social time, study time, rest, sleep, intimacy, vitamin supplementation and the type of nutrition that suits my mind, body and soul. And of course, it’s always changing! When we travel, if we are going through a tough time of things, if we have lots of energy, our needs shift.<br />
<br />
So I suppose really what I am saying is that I would recommend that we listen to ourselves. We might get information from others – and finding open-minded, holistc and well-trained professionals to support us in finding the information we need for health is so worth the effort - but there’s no point just doing something because it works for someone else. One man’s meat is another man’s poison, as the expression goes. We need to take our time, consider that we are worth the effort required to live well and take care of ourselves, and try different things until we find what suits us.<br />
<br />
I also think a great starting point for pretty much everyone on the planet – especially in the developed world where there is abundant access to technology – is to learn how to switch off and rest. I mean proper rest, where you don’t have a screen in front of you for some time before you go to sleep and certainly you don’t jump on Tinder or email when you are in bed!<br />
<br />
Learning how to love what technology can do for you, whilst managing the potentially addictive nature of it, so that you get some time to feast your eyes on nature, and experience an absence of artificial light for a while each day does a lot for allowing the body to go into the parasympathetic nervous system mode that it needs to rest and repair. It makes a huge difference to our quality of life!<br />
<br />
This is also the state of nervous system that makes us most open to sudden insights of spiritual guidance, that just seem to pop into our awareness out of nowhere. I imagine sometimes that the Universe has heard our requests for help and is waiting patiently for a moment when we just rest and switch off so it can finally swoop on in, past the to-do lists and constant anxious chatter and slip the answer to our heart-felt prayers straight into our conscious minds. Suddenly we realise the answer to our problem. We probably also think we are so brilliant for figuring it out!<br />
<br />
It’s about making rest a priority. Most people don’t do this – and I could have a very long conversation with you about why I think that is the case! The short answer is that most people have no idea just how much their body is in need of some proper ‘divine downtime’ and just how much it would do for them in every part of their lives if they decided to honour that. <br />
<br />
<b>4. I have a real problem with finishing things. And you are so prolific and create so much beautiful work that enriches the world. Any tips for seeing a project through to the end and sending it out into the world?</b><br />
<br />
That made me laugh. You are so productive though! I think of you writing and sharing and being out and about amongst people. You give a lot of yourself. It’s really beautiful.<br />
<br />
You are not alone in the more ideas than you can handle boat though. Most highly sensitive and creative people have an abundance of ideas! At one point I had to acknowledge that no matter how hard I worked, I was never, ever going to be able to translate all of my ideas into form. It just wasn’t possible.<br />
<br />
What I focus on is how good it feels to complete each project. I imagine the people who will read it, and that it will help uplift, assist and inspire them. I find that very motivating. Even though I love what I do, it’s still hard work to write a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alana-Fairchild/e/B00J23YPFC" target="_blank">book </a>or create a CD. It’s so much more fun to come up with the idea, I find, and easier too! If I could run a think tank just coming up with ideas for other people, I’d probably quite like that, but I don’t think it’s what I’m here to do. Completing projects always takes much more out of me and so much more time than what I expect, even though I’ve created many <a href="https://weblogtheworld.com/formats/photos/alana-fairchild-oracle-decks" target="_blank">books</a> and <a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/ganesha.html" target="_blank">CDs</a> at this stage of my life. I always forget! Like childbirth perhaps?<br />
<br />
I am also a stubborn and determined sort of person. So when I decide I am going to do something, even if it takes me a while, I just keep at it until it’s done. Sometimes that has meant that I’ve climbed the wrong mountain, even though half way through I realised it was the wrong mountain. But it also means that I do – eventually – complete my writing or other tasks that I set out to do.<br />
<br />
For me, that’s important. So it’s a high priority and I get it done. It might not be so important for someone else though, even if they have the talent to do it. We all have different priorities and that’s as it should be. No matter how much time we have or don’t have, I feel that we make time for our priorities. It’s just that sometimes maybe we aren’t as clear about what those priorities are – and then there can be frustration until we either make peace with the choices we’ve made or make new choices. <br />
<br />
<b>5. If I came to you and asked you for 3 or 4 books I should read that would transform me, what would you recommend?</b><br />
<br />
That is an amazing question and I cannot answer it with suggested book titles. I would say they will be the books that you are drawn to instinctively at certain times in your life. It could be a book of poetry, or art, or a novel or autobiography, or a new age healing book like the types that I create. It could be anything really. What matters is that it resonates for you, moves you, feels like it was somehow written for you in that moment. Then there are those books that you can go back to and read a decade later, as if it is an entirely new book, with a new layer of meaning and depth, simply because life has worked on you enough that you have more receiving apparatus! <br />
<br />
<b>6. What about working with <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/product/love-your-inner-goddess-oracle/" target="_blank">oracle cards</a>. How is that powerful, and how can we best use them? </b><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh257zubt0ibWqiDTTZKehQouBQPrnKwsyojBiLlcnPcS_Cxdvymfpqjq9d_TrOdvlPnbDjhkuSoxAJw0tRXu-IQZeXUm1hBRhpbD8HfCo5eHJrUdnTJI8BI0Ci16T_9QM7MM3fmDq6yRA/s1600/B_Pres_Writing_Alana+Fairchild_Sacred_Rebels_Oracle_cover.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1004" data-original-width="738" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh257zubt0ibWqiDTTZKehQouBQPrnKwsyojBiLlcnPcS_Cxdvymfpqjq9d_TrOdvlPnbDjhkuSoxAJw0tRXu-IQZeXUm1hBRhpbD8HfCo5eHJrUdnTJI8BI0Ci16T_9QM7MM3fmDq6yRA/s400/B_Pres_Writing_Alana+Fairchild_Sacred_Rebels_Oracle_cover.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/QI4w6PmfWCw" target="_blank">Oracle cards</a> have an ability to transform a person’s state of being. I had no idea just how powerful they were until I began writing them and receiving the most extraordinary feedback about how they were impacting people’s lives. The experience for me when I write them is astonishing. The energy of the deck is a living thing, it has its own personality and purpose, its own style of language and its really quite palpable. It’s a bit like living with a new friend for the duration that I am writing each deck. <br />
<br />
It’s similar when I write a book, but I think with <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Lightworker-Oracle-Alana-Fairchild/9781925538007?redirected=true&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=Base1&utm_source=AU&utm_content=Lightworker-Oracle&selectCurrency=AUD&w=AF45AU960CUS74A80RM0ACBG&pdg=pla-104890300659:kwd-104890300659:cmp-680104063:adg-32696820702:crv-151943499815:pid-9781925538007:dev-c&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI9eWf7oa22QIVlgYqCh3aggi4EAQYASABEgIGk_D_BwE" target="_blank">oracle cards</a>, they are so distilled, so focused on a particular theme, that they are very powerful. I feel that people are instinctively drawn to the energy of the <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/oracle/" target="_blank">deck</a> that they need. I refer to them as vitamins for the soul. <br />
<br />
I also think at this particular time in history, when we are living so much in our heads, anything that uses the eyes – such as amazing art – to connect with the heart, can be corrective, powerful and healing. <br />
<br />
Also we talked earlier about the divine feminine. When we want to become more intuitive, creative, responsive to Spiritual energy and guidance, aware of our own feelings and so on, we need the feminine energy to do this. Working with imagery, colour and feeling, which is what happens with oracle decks, supports that process. It can help us tune into ourselves in a much deeper level. They really are bridges to the soul, and from the soul, to the wisdom of spiritual guidance - at least that is my intention when I write. <br />
<br />
In terms of how to work with them, I include suggestions in each of my decks, along with card layouts, but I also say ‘choose what feels right for you’. Some of my clients sleep with them under their pillow, others create altars, some draw a card each day and read the message, some use them to do readings for clients, others give them as gifts! I’ve not heard of anyone using one as a door-stop as yet – hopefully not! Or perhaps that really would be grounding their spiritual journey! Jokes aside, it’s really about playing and choosing what works for you.<br />
<br />
I’ve just realised that I’ve likely said that in practically every question you’ve asked me! But I think that part of where we struggle in social conditioning is that we are often encouraged to be more outwardly focused than needs be. Sometimes we just need to trust ourselves, get some guidance and then figure out our own approach. I’m so in-touch with my inner maverick and have been for a long time, and I am quite passionate about helping people discover that quality in themselves too. It makes for a very interesting and unique life!<br />
<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>You can see some samples from <a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/earth_warriors_oracle.html" target="_blank">Alana's Earth Warriors Oracle and all her other work here at Blue Angel Publishing</a></i> </blockquote>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-67039128458629838142018-01-30T15:56:00.000+11:002018-01-30T15:57:18.971+11:00A Heartfelt Journaling reading list<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFWq3dkNggpR5caJ6GVzzdefJN_C8dlDKV6X7RW9C32ZJnGBGVTCfmIBEw84KykdkQSDtQPuLL1T5_bawmnSze7_2ko6NpKTnMbGnMZOFHMH4zd4pIwre5S5-huYpvRhb6AxHn7LCzRQ/s1600/heartfelt++journaling+booklist.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixFWq3dkNggpR5caJ6GVzzdefJN_C8dlDKV6X7RW9C32ZJnGBGVTCfmIBEw84KykdkQSDtQPuLL1T5_bawmnSze7_2ko6NpKTnMbGnMZOFHMH4zd4pIwre5S5-huYpvRhb6AxHn7LCzRQ/s400/heartfelt++journaling+booklist.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here are some books that will supply inspiration and ideas for any journal writer:<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Books about journaling:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1063249.Writing_and_Being" target="_blank"><i>Writing and Being</i></a> by G. Lynn Nelson<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Journaling-Joy-Writing-Personal-Freedom/dp/1490384235" target="_blank"><i>Journaling for Joy</i></a> by Joyce Chapman<br />
<br />
<i>At a Journal Workshop</i> by Ira Progoff<br />
<br />
<a href="https://janetconner.wordpress.com/" target="_blank"><i>Writing Down Your Soul</i></a> by <a href="http://janetconner.com/" target="_blank">Janet Conner</a><br />
<br />
<i>Writing Your Authentic Self</i> by <a href="https://www.eomega.org/workshops/teachers/lois-guarino" target="_blank">Lois Guarino</a><br />
<br />
<i>The Well-Being Journal</i> by Lucia Capacchione<br />
<br />
<a href="https://peerspirit.com/product/lifes-companion-journal-writing-as-a-spiritual-practice/" target="_blank"><i>Life's Companion</i></a> by <a href="https://peerspirit.com/about/about-christina-baldwin/" target="_blank">Christina Baldwin</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<b>More general inspiration and ideas:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://stephaniedowrick.com/published-works/books/intimacy-solitude-3/" target="_blank"><i>Intimacy and Solitude</i></a> by <a href="http://stephaniedowrick.com/universal-heart-network/" target="_blank">Stephanie Dowrick</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://youtu.be/8twCJJsygfc" target="_blank"><i>Sex, Drugs and Meditation</i></a> by <a href="https://www.sunshinecoastdaily.com.au/news/mary-lou-lays-her-life-on-line/1837265/" target="_blank">Mary-Lou Stephens</a><br />
<br />
(and while we're at it, <a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/348287/sex-death-enlightenment-by-mark-matousek/9781101532683/" target="_blank"><i>Sex Death Enlightenment</i></a> by <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/radio/programs/nightlife/mortal-coil/8201860" target="_blank">Mark Matousek</a>)<br />
<br />
<a href="http://melodybeattie.com/books/make-miracles-forty-days-turning-want/" target="_blank"><i>Make Miracles in Forty Days</i></a> by Melody Beattie<br />
<br />
<i>Begin it Now</i> by Susan Hayward<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Books about creativity:</b><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Creative-Habit/Twyla-Tharp/9780743235273" target="_blank"><i>The Creative Habit</i></a> by <a href="https://www.creativewomenscircle.com.au/creative-womens-circle/book-review-creative-habit-twyla-tharp" target="_blank">Twyla Tharp</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/313155/letters-to-a-young-poet-by-rainer-maria-rilke/9780141192321/" target="_blank"><i>Letters to a Young Poet</i></a> by <a href="https://youtu.be/0BWxIwqB1uI" target="_blank">Rainer Maria Rilke</a><br />
<br />
<i>Blessings</i> by <a href="http://juliacameronlive.com/blog/" target="_blank">Julia Cameron</a><br />
<br />
<i>Free Your Creative Spirit</i> by Vivianne and Christopher Crowley<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Classics that will keep a journal writer entertained and filled with ideas:</b><br />
<br />
<i>The Wind in the Willows</i> by <a href="https://youtu.be/Q9WRJ5Xc4gU" target="_blank">Kenneth Grahame</a><br />
<br />
Selected Poems of Kabir<br />
<br />
<i>Dreams </i>by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Jung" target="_blank">C. G. Jung</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gift_from_the_Sea" target="_blank"><i>Gift from the Sea</i></a> by <a href="http://www.kateforsyth.com.au/kates-blog/spotlight-anne-morrow-lindbergh-author-of-gifts-from-the-sea" target="_blank">Anne Morrow Lindbergh</a><br />
<br />
<i>Selected Poems</i> by <a href="https://youtu.be/JAO3QTU4PzY" target="_blank">T. S. Eliot</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGISuOGwGb4WaBKon6G3Vg4I6fNJM3mOmKxToza7dl43lVEkZZLTz_mLFztQuISDnHxqmgzBi6r3fL1EKCpnm_6-E1c7hr8NzN7gqcmtalZYebvwHBPFjHdnIQNHbTpIItf9SPtNy1XAs/s1600/B_shonagon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="247" data-original-width="500" height="197" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGISuOGwGb4WaBKon6G3Vg4I6fNJM3mOmKxToza7dl43lVEkZZLTz_mLFztQuISDnHxqmgzBi6r3fL1EKCpnm_6-E1c7hr8NzN7gqcmtalZYebvwHBPFjHdnIQNHbTpIItf9SPtNy1XAs/s400/B_shonagon.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<b>Great journals to read:</b><br />
<br />
The Diaries of Anais Nin<br />
<br />
<a href="https://quovadisblog.com/2016/04/the-pillow-book-by-sei-shonagon/" target="_blank"><i>The Pillow Book</i></a> of <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Sei-Shonagon" target="_blank">Sei Shonagon</a><br />
<br />
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_Pepys#The_diary" target="_blank">The Diaries of Samuel Pepys</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.harpercollins.com.au/9780006380900/" target="_blank">The Kenneth Williams Diaries</a><br />
<br />
Any of May Sarton's Diaries<br />
<br />
<i>Incest</i> by <a href="https://www.salon.com/2017/09/17/my-mentor-anais-nin/" target="_blank">Anais Nin</a><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-50402713277740680122018-01-30T14:37:00.000+11:002018-02-24T18:11:19.209+11:00A Heartfelt Journaling worksheet<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fiMjCLRG6NKn0kZX0w8xG5SMe8PUFB0NDOI6ba_J18Q9eIFOr0FRaPgi2fo7F1HPQfIfRl_8mSsmZk91sACT9mcp4GXEWNtWMuEJ91D742tabPIUGEySRFJ2DbiBWc-B0W3PsLgT4fs/s1600/B_Heartfelt+journaling+worksheet.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_fiMjCLRG6NKn0kZX0w8xG5SMe8PUFB0NDOI6ba_J18Q9eIFOr0FRaPgi2fo7F1HPQfIfRl_8mSsmZk91sACT9mcp4GXEWNtWMuEJ91D742tabPIUGEySRFJ2DbiBWc-B0W3PsLgT4fs/s400/B_Heartfelt+journaling+worksheet.png" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here are some reminders of the exercises we do in my journal writing workshops so that you can do them again later.<br />
You don't have to have done the workshop to use these either - just print this page out, tuck it into your journal and see where the prompts and suggestions take you.<br />
<br />
<b>1. The questions we need to ask ourselves</b>: When we sit down to write something, sometimes we just don’t know where to start. That is whey, when I start to record something in my journal, I ask myself these three simple questions, and write from there: Who am I? Why am I here? What matters? <br />
<br />
You can ask the additional question: What is my purpose in doing this? <br />
<br />
We are not often encouraged to ask such deep questions, which is why the exercise is so valuable.<br />
<br />
(This idea is inspired by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G._Lynn_Nelson" target="_blank">G. Lynn Nelson</a>'s very good book, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Writing-Being-Embracing-Creative-Journaling/dp/1880913615" target="_blank"><i>Writing and Being</i></a>)<br />
<br />
<b>2. Taking action</b>: Write a list of the things in your life that are unsatisfactory. After you have a good list, cast an eye over it and see what item in particular catches your eye. now start a new page in your journal with this item as a heading, and start listing ways you cold solve this problem, or work towards a solution.<br />
<br />
<b>3. Let's look at progress</b>: Cast your mind back over the past 12 months and see what areas you have made progress in in your life – it can be in really tiny areas.<br />
<br />
But what do you feel better about now than you did 12 months ago?<br />
<br />
<b>4. Choose some solitude:</b> Using <a href="http://stephaniedowrick.com/" target="_blank">Stephanie Dowrick</a>'s <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/general-books/mind-body-spirit/Intimacy-and-Solitude-Stephanie-Dowrick-9781760111472" target="_blank"><i>Intimacy and Solitude</i></a> as inspiration, go away somewhere with your journal for half a day or more. Choose to be alone, and to spend your time writing in your journal. I would suggest the <a href="https://youtu.be/F530Mvt84TI" target="_blank">Botanic garden</a> (the <a href="https://www.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/visit/things-to-see-do/unmissable-gardens/the-fernery" target="_blank">fern house</a> is great) or the <a href="https://www.manlyaustralia.com.au/info/manly-ferry/" target="_blank">Manly</a> or <a href="http://www.beyondthewharf.com.au/route/parramatta-river/" target="_blank">Parramatta</a> ferries. Pack a sandwich and a bottle of water and conduct the world's cheapest personal retreat.<br />
<br />
<b>5. What is your creative ambition?</b> List the creative projects you would like to complete in the next year or so, things you have always dreamt of doing, or been curious about. What are the obstacles in the path towards working on them? What are the vital steps to achieving this ambition? (I suggest you read <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twyla_Tharp" target="_blank">Twyla Tharp</a>'s <i>The Creative Habit</i> for inspiration here, and also <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/the-wind-in-the-willows-9789380028545" target="_blank"><i>The Wind in the Willows</i></a>).<br />
<br />
<b>6. Keep a daily record</b>: The daily log is the most basic form of journal writing an it is always the thing we can come back to. I suggest you keep it in bullet-point form. I have a superstitious thing about making it 12 points only. No reason for it, apart from the fact that 12 is often considered a very significant number. But knowing it’s only 12 can rein it in a bit, actually giving you more freedom and less fear. Structure sometimes does that. <br />
<br />
Though simple, this is a remarkable exercise, and it is amazing just how much you can record, and how much you can increase your memory by doing it. <br />
<br />
You can jot down anything you like - it doesn’t have to be in any particular order or in any beautiful prose. For example:<br />
<br />
“Yellow hat”<br />
<br />
“Cat asleep behind door, afraid of mower.”<br />
<br />
“Three young men, tattooed and in high spirits, digging deep holes on the beach while their girlfriends watched and laughed. Why were they digging?”<br />
<br />
Read <a href="http://joycechapman.com/about-joyce/" target="_blank">Joyce Chapman</a>'s beautiful book <i>Journaling for Joy</i>.<br />
<br />
<b>7. Make a list of your principles</b>: What are you committed to in your life at the moment.<br />
<br />
Just two or three of your principles, but make this a work in progress.<br />
<br />
What ideas shape your life? What are you certain of?<br />
<br />
<b>8. Establish a kindness account</b>: It isn’t to keep tabs on what people owe you – that can’t be a part of it at all.<br />
<br />
Remember how often I have told you that the most important thing about establishing a dynamic creative life is being a giver and creating a supportive creative environment for other people. <br />
So, start up this account in your journal and keep it updated. <br />
<br />
Write down the last five kindnesses you have received. Next to each one record how they made you feel.<br />
<br />
Now write down the last 5 kindnesses you have done for other people. Next to each, write down how they reacted.<br />
<br />
You want to be building this list, and noting down the responses you get.<br />
<br />
There is really strong research that shows that being kind to others, with no expectation of reward, has enormous positive effects on us. Of course, Buddhism has always said this, and I have seen its effects in my own creative life.<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-85649124722569903002017-12-07T14:00:00.000+11:002017-12-07T14:00:46.404+11:00The Courage to Continue Writing - A Checklist<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7pDkSuCPs6SzvMMjENIi88Xsfx8w6AqZHfkRcmR8tCdgeNr7B0gHJuiup50MCjy88opalXB0N25tMP8n014ImLgD4Wr2YeQ08FpgzW1hfvYhrmtz8NNR8YVMO9ur7YL-tPhA6yzaNWU/s1600/B_Canva_Pres_Writing_Retreat.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7pDkSuCPs6SzvMMjENIi88Xsfx8w6AqZHfkRcmR8tCdgeNr7B0gHJuiup50MCjy88opalXB0N25tMP8n014ImLgD4Wr2YeQ08FpgzW1hfvYhrmtz8NNR8YVMO9ur7YL-tPhA6yzaNWU/s400/B_Canva_Pres_Writing_Retreat.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Walter Mason on writing retreat in Tibet</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Last night I was at <a href="http://www.sutherlandshire.nsw.gov.au/Community/Library/Whats-On" target="_blank">Sutherland Library</a> talking to a lovely group of people about what it means to keep writing even when we want to give up. I was speaking from experience, and I drew on my own recent "dry" period in order to provide them with some examples and methods that might help them keep going, even through the hard times.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuvuvl7oChpr2pSNqSmRSUDvhFzMVX0_5dMudCU1H2sr-shJo77Yr0eNrC7ucB7ThRuhK8NFIY5whUFHaBqG7Vn8SouTl-WmhH3EBUNcAHpSWRoAdYMZSMOO66IwB6CcKQvvPlPgJoDo/s1600/B_Canva_Presentation_Writing.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijuvuvl7oChpr2pSNqSmRSUDvhFzMVX0_5dMudCU1H2sr-shJo77Yr0eNrC7ucB7ThRuhK8NFIY5whUFHaBqG7Vn8SouTl-WmhH3EBUNcAHpSWRoAdYMZSMOO66IwB6CcKQvvPlPgJoDo/s400/B_Canva_Presentation_Writing.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Here are the main points I covered, and a handy list of what you can and should do when you feel like you want to give up on writing:<br />
<br />
<b>1. Create or join a <a href="https://writersvictoria.org.au/resources/writing-tips-and-tools/how-run-writing-group" target="_blank">writing group</a></b>. Big or small doesn't matter. My own writing group is 3 people and it works perfectly. I was always sceptical about the efficacy of writing groups, but I have found that having one works. Try to make sure that everyone in it is serious about what they are doing and use competitiveness to your advantage. Encourage them to make you feel guilt about not producing.<br />
<br />
<b>2. Connect with nature</b>. Walk out into your garden every day with your bare feet. As writers we can become disembodied – our experiences can become too intellectual, too reliant on the imagination, or on the past. <a href="https://www.utne.com/environment/nature-writing-for-the-whole-world" target="_blank">Being in nature</a> means you re-connect with the idea of cycles, and you become less hard on yourself – you see that a creative life will have seasons.<br /><br /><b>3. <a href="http://www.createwritenow.com/journal-writing-blog/how-to-turn-your-journal-into-a-blog" target="_blank">Keep a journal</a></b>. Writing – all creativity – is an ever-changing process, and there is something valuable to be gained by engaging with the process itself. I am a huge exponent of <a href="https://becomeawritertoday.com/write-a-journal/" target="_blank">keeping journals</a>, and have one with me at all times. If you are not writing, ask yourself why, and write down all the reasons in a <a href="https://www.creative-writing-now.com/writing-journal.html" target="_blank">journal</a>. Write down the feelings you have when you are not writing, and the feelings you have when you are. <br /><br /><b>4. Set yourself a stupid goal</b>. When I started meeting with my writing group I told them I would have my novel finished in 90 days. Of course, that didn’t happen – not even close. But guess what? I wrote way more in that 90 days than I ever would have had I just kept telling people I was thinking about writing a novel. And so often I was thinking: “What I am writing is crap. I have no idea how to write a novel. I am just going to stop here and start a tree lopping business.” But I kept going and now I have something substantial that I can think of as, kind of, a novel.<br />
<br />
<b>5. Know why it is you want to write</b>. Why are you doing this? Why do you want to write and send that writing out into the world? There are no invalid answers here. But you do need to keep it in sight. This is what will drag you back to your focus and what will help you keep going. My own personal guide in all this is is Elinor Glyn, a woman who found sensational success in the 1920s and 30s writing romance novels and later screenplays for Hollywood. I want my life to be like hers, being photographed draped in extravagant Persian cats. <br /><br /><b>6. Narrow it down</b>. It really, really helps if you can narrow down your focus. I know you’re brilliant and filled with a million ideas and possibilities, and so does your mum. But the rest of the world doesn’t really care. they're only interested in what you <a href="https://www.lifehacker.com.au/2016/10/the-best-productivity-habits-of-famous-writers/" target="_blank">actually produce</a>. Finding one thing to <a href="http://food.ndtv.com/health/how-to-improve-your-concentration-9-smart-tips-1431720" target="_blank">concentrate</a> on and finish might seem dull, but it can have an enormous impact on your confidence and your momentum. I started going places when I could say, once and for all, that I was <a href="https://writetodone.com/how-to-finish-what-you-start-a-five-step-plan-for-writers/" target="_blank">finishing</a> something. <br /><br /><b>7. Open yourself up to your <a href="http://www.universalheartbookclub.com/2016/06/poet-michele-seminara-on-late-blooming.html" target="_blank">creativity</a> and say "yes" more often</b>. Like my friend, the immensely creative and productive <a href="http://alanafairchild.com/" target="_blank">Alana Fairchild</a>, who produces beautiful things all the year round and has a great audience for them. So many self-help books and writing guides tell you to be jealous of your time and learn to say "No." I say the exact opposite. You never know what is coming your way. Give your creative impulse freedom and be brave about your own talent.<br />
<br />
<b>8. Establish some <a href="http://storey-lines.com/2015/04/25/writers-rituals-and-why-they-work/" target="_blank">rituals around writing</a></b>. Create your own writing soundtrack. Could a particular project have its own smell from incense, perfume or essential oils? Its own tea? Begin some <a href="https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/thoughtful-animal/what-is-classical-conditioning-and-why-does-it-matter/" target="_blank">Pavlovian responses</a> by creating actions and things which remind you to write, even if you don't really want to.<br />
<br />
<b>9. Go on a <a href="https://thewritelife.com/writing-retreats/" target="_blank">writing retreat</a></b>. I can’t stress the importance of tearing yourself away from your usual routines and facing up to your own writing realities enough. I went away on two writing retreats in the Himalayas with <a href="http://www.writersjourney.com.au/about/" target="_blank">Jan Cornall</a> and Writer's Journey and it really helped me re-think myself and what I wanted to do with my writing life. Now, I understand that a month in Bhutan might not be realistically achievable for you right now. But please consider what is, and how you can get away to be by yourself, or with other writers. <br /><br /><b>10. Write in those micro-moments</b>. One of the lessons I learned on retreat is to take advantage of those micro-moments – another reason, incidentally, to always have a journal and pen with me. Many believe that we must do our writing in big chunks, devoting whole days or even weeks at a time to a project. Until then, we tell ourselves, it’s not worth starting. BUT IT IS!!! While away I found it hard to write for more than 15 or 20 minutes at a time. And even then, I could not follow on from what I had been writing previously. I was just capturing fragments – and to be honest they were dazzling fragments. I had a fair idea of where they belonged, and it wouldn’t be hard to find a place for them. <br /><br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-74335716386539341122017-08-23T12:19:00.000+10:002017-08-23T12:19:20.421+10:00Cecil Beaton's expectations...Last year I put together a talk on <a href="http://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/20041/cecil-beaton-portraits" target="_blank">Cecil Beaton</a> for <a href="http://www.ashfield.nsw.gov.au/page/authors_at_ashfield.html" target="_blank">Ashfield Library</a>. He'd been a minor obsession of mine since I was a teenager (I had always loved the movie version of <a href="https://youtu.be/21cONdNOhJs" target="_blank"><i>My Fair Lady</i></a>) and I had read some of his <a href="https://www.penguin.com.au/books/cecil-beaton-theatre-of-war-9780224096300" target="_blank">books</a> and diaries over the years. Once I had to write the talk it gave me a chance to research him in depth and to read everything by him that I could get my hands on.<br />
<br />
One of the books I managed to get online was <a href="https://www.abebooks.co.uk/book-search/title/it-gives-me-great-pleasure/author/beaton/" target="_blank"><i>It Gives Me Great Pleasure</i></a>. I ordered it simply because it was by him, and I had no idea what it might be about. I was disappointed when it arrived to discover that it was an account of a year (1955) in which he travelled across America to give lectures for the American Ladies Clubs. It looked like it would be terrible, and gave every impression of being something he banged out because he didn't have any better ideas that year but still needed cash.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdLV2pDMJeN8hAzTsBlCkbC_BUk7UeZIjKHvSCRm_yLxHEGqd1fnDFLUshJHkK8BdF9f9CgmSthfEZ0htQIBTd_Cyo6vOy5tJYBWC16iAJhugUs6j5wogG9g_D3x5hovT71dQbGN3nsk/s1600/Canva_It-Gives-me-great-pleasu102.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1038" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIdLV2pDMJeN8hAzTsBlCkbC_BUk7UeZIjKHvSCRm_yLxHEGqd1fnDFLUshJHkK8BdF9f9CgmSthfEZ0htQIBTd_Cyo6vOy5tJYBWC16iAJhugUs6j5wogG9g_D3x5hovT71dQbGN3nsk/s320/Canva_It-Gives-me-great-pleasu102.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
I couldn't have been more wrong. When I finally did pick it up and start reading I discovered that it was beautifully written, funny, charming and extremely interesting - <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gives-me-great-pleasure/dp/B0007IXJ3A" target="_blank">Beaton</a> at his best. In fact, I recommend it now to anyone wanting to find out more about Cecil Beaton.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKLMk_aYu9p9P8EJVQLPHGSU63vIrpZwepsBkWJ9I65_xmW4CF6TPxE0fotUEcc9AjDtsxUmkpVzWdwZIIitvu16Icv0A12bcQdfYDEUKJ7yOk8iJXrUx27y_0TssCBNmKZFbU6iPDSw/s1600/B_Cecil_Beaton_by_Lafayette.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="559" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjKLMk_aYu9p9P8EJVQLPHGSU63vIrpZwepsBkWJ9I65_xmW4CF6TPxE0fotUEcc9AjDtsxUmkpVzWdwZIIitvu16Icv0A12bcQdfYDEUKJ7yOk8iJXrUx27y_0TssCBNmKZFbU6iPDSw/s400/B_Cecil_Beaton_by_Lafayette.jpg" width="278" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The young Cecil beaton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The book also alerted me to a beautiful line from the Elizabethan poet <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/booksblog/2008/feb/08/thedazzlingworldofsirphil" target="_blank">Sir Philip Sidney</a> (<a href="https://www.biography.com/people/cecil-beaton-38501" target="_blank">Beaton</a> really was terribly well read): <i>look in thy heart and write</i>. This line, <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2014/10/everything-you-need-to-know-about-cecil-beaton.html" target="_blank">Beaton</a> tells us, was what inspired him to write the book. Ever since I have kind of taken it as my own creative motto.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/gallery/2017/may/10/early-work-cecil-beaton-photography-beetles-and-huxley-in-pictures" target="_blank">Beaton</a> was, of course, an aesthete <i>par excellence</i>, and famous for his louche lifestyle and his friends among the rich and incredibly famous. He had not, however, come from upper-class stock. His father was an extremely successful timber merchant, and after Cecil left Cambridge he had made an effort to be a part of the family firm. He was utterly miserable as a timber merchant, however, and the timber industry's loss would soon become the world's gain after he ran away to America and began to pursue photography and gossip mongering in earnest.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://www.librarything.com/work/3413988" target="_blank"><i>It Gives Me Great Pleasure</i></a>, Beaton writes how he had no confidence in his ability as a speaker and so he engages the services of an eccentric voice coach. Right from the beginning of this book <a href="http://www.afr.com/lifestyle/arts-and-entertainment/art/the-photographer-cecil-beaton-is-back-in-a-big-way-20160313-gni097" target="_blank">Beaton</a> proves just what a beautiful writer and brilliant storyteller he was, and the funny anecdotes begin from the very first page.<br />
<br />
Arriving in Manhattan to launch his tour, he stays in a suite of rooms that he had been engaged to decorate the previous summer. Like many creative types, Beaton was forced to do all kinds of work to boost his income, and he was also a great deal more talented and creative than most. He <a href="http://www.vogue.com/article/cecil-beaton-house-tour" target="_blank">decorated houses and apartments</a>, <a href="http://www.portrait.gov.au/exhibitions/cecil-beaton-2005" target="_blank">took photographs</a> of celebrities and <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/queen-elizabeth-II/8994528/How-Cecil-Beaton-helped-save-the-Queen.html" target="_blank">royalty</a>, wrote <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/culture/photo-booth/cecil-beaton-through-the-decades" target="_blank">articles</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2004/jan/25/photography" target="_blank">gossip</a> pieces for the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2012/feb/06/cecil-beaton-royal-photographer-va" target="_blank">newspapers</a> and <a href="http://www.interviewmagazine.com/art/new-again-sir-cecil-beaton/" target="_blank">magazines</a> and <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Cecil-Beaton" target="_blank">designed sets</a> and <a href="https://lisawallerrogers.com/2014/04/11/audrey-hepburn-dirty-guttersnipe/" target="_blank">costumes</a> for the theatre. He kept himself very busy. I am not sure which particular hotel he is referring to here, as he decorated a number of them. I suppose if I cross-referenced this against his diaries I could discover this, but I am lazy and would rather throw this out to my readers - does anyone know?<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0064100/" target="_blank">Beaton</a> had always been in love with <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Cecil-Beaton-New-York-Years/dp/0847835650" target="_blank">New York</a>, and he travelled there as soon as he was old enough and had enough money. He was to visit it annually almost every year of his life. He was not, however, completely uncritical in his evaluation of that city. "The New Yorker," he writes in the book, "has made a habit of complaint." Oh, if he could only watch an episode of <a href="https://www.arenatv.com.au/shows/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city/" target="_blank"><i>The Real Housewives of New York</i></a>! This statement reminds us that <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/04/books/review/cecil-beaton-in-new-york.html?mcubz=1" target="_blank">Beaton</a> was, at heart, an <a href="https://shop.vogue.com/all/the-modern-edwardian-lgante-vogue-july-15-1935-cecil-beaton" target="_blank">Edwardian</a> gentleman, and he still embraced that <a href="https://www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au/collection/works/683.1996/" target="_blank">Edwardian</a> taboo against excessive complaining. While in New York he further indulges his love for the past by attending a performance of <a href="https://www.biography.com/people/oscar-wilde-9531078" target="_blank">Oscar Wilde</a>'s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lady_Windermere%27s_Fan" target="_blank"><i>Lady Windermere's Fan</i></a>.<br />
<br />
Just before embarking on his tour of America he had made (doubtless at <a href="https://www.huntsmansavilerow.com/a-life-in-fashion-the-wardrobe-of-cecil-beaton/" target="_blank">Savile Row</a>, where he had a favoured tailor who made his clothing all his life) "a wonderful new suit of pearly grey, cut by my London tailor in an <a href="http://www.edwardianteddyboy.com/page26.htm" target="_blank">Edwardian</a>, nay, <a href="http://www.countrylife.co.uk/luxury/style/tweed-is-good-164133" target="_blank">Victorian</a> style." This suit was to make a great impression on his audiences, making him look even more picturesquely English and old-world than they had dared to hope.<br />
<br />
Though he was only just 50 when the book was written, <a href="http://www.anderson-sheppard.co.uk/thenotebook/a-life-in-fashion-the-wardrobe-of-cecil-beaton/" target="_blank">Beaton</a> plays up to an affected fogeyism, again exaggerating his archaic look, speech and manners. "I hate machines of every description," he sniffs at one stage, "have no luck with them." But of course, his entire career was built on his manipulation of machines, specifically cameras and the primitive development and editing equipment he so famously played with in order to make his subjects even more glamorous than they already were.<br />
<br />
In the book he refers to this other life as celebrity photographer. He tells a story of having just photographed <a href="http://www.vam.ac.uk/content/exhibitions/cecilbeaton/about-the-exhibition/" target="_blank">Prince Charles</a> (just a little boy at this point), and also his adventures while photographing George Bernard Shaw. The book glories in side anecdotes of celebrities he has met and known, including tantalising and snobbishly thrilling allusions to luminaries like <a href="http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw69139/Andr-Gide" target="_blank">Andre Gide</a> (who he possibly slept with) and <a href="http://www.artnet.com/artists/cecil-beaton/portrait-of-jean-cocteau-Fa6XECw5GqVzXebTm5Fwsw2" target="_blank">Jean Cocteau</a> (a great friend). Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-32046674599326232542017-05-18T15:09:00.002+10:002017-07-23T16:38:17.224+10:00The Podcasts I LoveI've been hooked on <a href="http://beyondinfinity.com.au/podcasting-grows-in-popularity/" target="_blank">podcasts</a> for years now, and listen to them <a href="https://www.medibank.com.au/livebetter/10-fitness-and-wellbeing-podcasts-to-get-you-inspired/" target="_blank">ironing</a>, <a href="http://www.janeperrone.com/blog/2017/3/3/my-top-five-gardening-podcasts" target="_blank">gardening</a>, <a href="http://blog.mapmyrun.com/8-podcasts-to-listen-to-while-walking/" target="_blank">walking</a> and <a href="http://www.travelweekly.com.au/article/six-must-listen-travel-podcasts/" target="_blank">waiting around for trains</a>. I get through quite a lot that way.<br />
<br />
Because I talk about them and mention them a lot on social media people often ask me for recommendations. The fabulous novelist <a href="http://www.clairecorbett.com/" target="_blank">Claire Corbett</a> asked me recently if I could do a post on <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/scott-goodson/best-podcasts-of-2016_b_13514944.html" target="_blank">great podcasts</a>, so I thought I'd give it a go. I have split them up by genre to make it easy for you to skip over those you feel you may not like.<br />
<br />
<b>Special Series Podcasts</b><br />
<br />
I am conscious that I am not very original with these recommendations. The fact is that the short-series podcasts that everyone has talked about have been quite good, and I have loved them just like everyone else. But in case you haven't kept up, here are the best ones:<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FoQTlTbv_4y_C9GRfNzaIrEBIRPZUTfNHqzSdgrZyARyyNugUItDH6k_NDnD4bMXCYsg7PPH8vw5GaKQW0rJO-_A4Ke2gGsfE3AfpCKy7wWRghy1UkTrr_djnzjS2gveyx8Ram4feBE/s1600/B_serial-itunes-logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-FoQTlTbv_4y_C9GRfNzaIrEBIRPZUTfNHqzSdgrZyARyyNugUItDH6k_NDnD4bMXCYsg7PPH8vw5GaKQW0rJO-_A4Ke2gGsfE3AfpCKy7wWRghy1UkTrr_djnzjS2gveyx8Ram4feBE/s320/B_serial-itunes-logo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://serialpodcast.org/season-one" target="_blank"><i>Serial</i> (Season 1)</a>: The first podcast i ever really waited each week to hear, and the one that has changed the whole landscape of podcasting and, I think, ways of telling narrative short fiction. Its influence has been profound, and if you are any kind of writer or storyteller I think you need to have listened to this. And, again like many other people, I lost interest in series 2 by about the third episode, so don't worry about it.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJSIbBbAbeAytSUZa7RLPlqc-udhQDRAs1WNH0tTbNHoEvbIldf13-nGurHPsKp5CYmwAqJrFuRituwqcxTuVFHFLKpyVZpiAsW7iV3B1eLGDEMvUwVwkxUDVQgk4b_pehCU_4AoDJik/s1600/B_Missing+richard+simmons.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUJSIbBbAbeAytSUZa7RLPlqc-udhQDRAs1WNH0tTbNHoEvbIldf13-nGurHPsKp5CYmwAqJrFuRituwqcxTuVFHFLKpyVZpiAsW7iV3B1eLGDEMvUwVwkxUDVQgk4b_pehCU_4AoDJik/s320/B_Missing+richard+simmons.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.missingrichardsimmons.com/" target="_blank"><i>Missing Richard Simmons</i></a>: I consumed the whole thing on a long train ride down the South Coast, and I think it is truly superb. I adore <a href="http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/real-life/news-life/american-fitness-guru-richard-simmons-hospitalised-with-indigestion/news-story/05fcbd403f4098bc9bbbd860b5ca1256" target="_blank">Richard Simmons</a>, but you don't have to to enjoy this short series. Superb storytelling, lots of fascinating people. It had its critics, but a lot of that criticism was, in my opinion, unfounded. Entertaining and really absorbing.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWpw79jQCKgu4ZQw1mmBsY5jimI5fHnVSL0gqsoyP_Y3WXqWBTdMRhWr9gLHyGF4hv6mb1rUCGBsO6XzA2amyeskPgsCs53loK1ZS87oy66Xu0aZfGQXJEaboNMpFwT4fg7nLY-CzYZM/s1600/B_s-town-itunes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjWpw79jQCKgu4ZQw1mmBsY5jimI5fHnVSL0gqsoyP_Y3WXqWBTdMRhWr9gLHyGF4hv6mb1rUCGBsO6XzA2amyeskPgsCs53loK1ZS87oy66Xu0aZfGQXJEaboNMpFwT4fg7nLY-CzYZM/s320/B_s-town-itunes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://stownpodcast.org/" target="_blank"><i>S Town</i></a>: I think that <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4392106/The-photos-podcast-S-Town-John-B-McLemore.html" target="_blank">John B. McLemore</a>, the focus of this intriguing story, will go down as one of the great characters in American history. This series is an example of really great artistry and superior storytelling. I never wanted it to end. And if you've grown up in a small rural town, as I have, you will identify like crazy.<br />
<br />
<br />
<b>Pop Culture</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjVSLUtmGCe3xzvwrNhVgPD5Q4bO_oQDoeccMn_NL5tGg9gfHHr1JcAx371COUzfpSDLR9il7lJ1YPm_M3vVmDAMABYYio7ldk3wNWCW8LrPlUX3Srl77c-NdW3wXfuPfPBjdOZqCiyI/s1600/B_99+percent+invisible.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipjVSLUtmGCe3xzvwrNhVgPD5Q4bO_oQDoeccMn_NL5tGg9gfHHr1JcAx371COUzfpSDLR9il7lJ1YPm_M3vVmDAMABYYio7ldk3wNWCW8LrPlUX3Srl77c-NdW3wXfuPfPBjdOZqCiyI/s320/B_99+percent+invisible.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://99percentinvisible.org/" target="_blank">99% Invisible</a></i>: Ostensibly a podcast about architecture and design, <i><a href="https://twitter.com/99piorg?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor" target="_blank">99% Invisible</a></i> is really a great example of telling fascinating stories about history and culture. This podcast is terminally hip, but the episodes are genuinely interesting and shed new light on how we think about our constructed landscapes. I learn something new every time I listen.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y5vcHDoE2oblGCR238SfHiy11bIB7t7vOd5BesH2RGTRCTyNfg7JnouXJrxU6OzNeibovZe3CXvqaFgZIRhPeeN6RNRU9v4yrptCpnVaKR0to83qu8UjqLTF8T2aXWuwynykydeBg08/s1600/B_Art+of+manliness.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Y5vcHDoE2oblGCR238SfHiy11bIB7t7vOd5BesH2RGTRCTyNfg7JnouXJrxU6OzNeibovZe3CXvqaFgZIRhPeeN6RNRU9v4yrptCpnVaKR0to83qu8UjqLTF8T2aXWuwynykydeBg08/s320/B_Art+of+manliness.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.artofmanliness.com/category/podcast/" target="_blank"><i>The Art of Manliness</i></a>: OK, I know this title is going to put off most female listeners, but it is simply focused on men, so kudos for making the label 100% transparent. Lifestyle advice, health, history and culture - great interviews with fascinating people, all tangentially linked to men and ideas of manhood. Quite a treasure.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOuoI2JQWvOXnpw5MTP-B9rBiH0VJ83EbW7IbGyv1GX-r9enQqOVpOG1tTkvB4e2LUU4IpzyIFaB56J2dcJ2rv1e6TLpjo_0mfQ9pjwsnqix7CnLxnoSPlu2s3RX5BXcuDtghGcpVRRw/s1600/B_Backlisted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSOuoI2JQWvOXnpw5MTP-B9rBiH0VJ83EbW7IbGyv1GX-r9enQqOVpOG1tTkvB4e2LUU4IpzyIFaB56J2dcJ2rv1e6TLpjo_0mfQ9pjwsnqix7CnLxnoSPlu2s3RX5BXcuDtghGcpVRRw/s1600/B_Backlisted.jpg" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://blog.unbound.com/the-backlisted-podcast/" target="_blank"><i>Backlisted Podcast</i></a>: Perhaps one of my absolute favourites, <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/backlisted-podcast/id1063252175?mt=2" target="_blank"><i>Backlisted</i></a> is basically 4 or 5 fascinating people sitting in a kitchen talking about books from the past which deserve to be read by more people. I have discovered some fascinating writers by listening to this, and I have been re-enthused about cult writers from my reading past. Favourite episodes have been on Stevie Smith, <a href="https://player.fm/series/backlisted-podcast/maiden-voyage-denton-welch" target="_blank">Denton Welch</a> and <a href="https://soundcloud.com/backlistedpod/lolly-willows-sylvia-townsend-warner" target="_blank">Sylvia Townsend Warner</a>. <br />
<br />
<b>Spirituality</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbdNf1LuciNb77wVP328zn2n6o6FNrn_ob-8I77g9WKt_x-pDQwaCT7Xf8KDRsrsn4fwDx_bAutgrXAIXN08Y4vGv5cPz3gvaEdQZ7Rtu6E2poeImwaaXST8pbEN5MCY922r4wJ-61Tk/s1600/B_Angel+heart+radio.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXbdNf1LuciNb77wVP328zn2n6o6FNrn_ob-8I77g9WKt_x-pDQwaCT7Xf8KDRsrsn4fwDx_bAutgrXAIXN08Y4vGv5cPz3gvaEdQZ7Rtu6E2poeImwaaXST8pbEN5MCY922r4wJ-61Tk/s320/B_Angel+heart+radio.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/angel-heart-radio/id430145025?mt=2" target="_blank">Angel Heart Radio</a></i>: The audio quality is not the best, but this Australian-run podcast is wonderfully inspiring. It's really out-there, so not one for my more sceptical friends, but if you are interested in <a href="http://www.metaphysics-for-life.com/new-age-spirituality.html" target="_blank">New Age spirituality</a> it is a tremendous source of information. Regularly features my dear friend <a href="http://rosemary.aol.org.au/media-extras/rosemary-in-print/" target="_blank">Rosemary Butterworth</a>. <a href="http://www.stitcher.com/podcast/blogtalkradio/angel-heart-radio" target="_blank">Angels</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/AngelHeartRadio/" target="_blank">Ascended Masters</a>, <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/angelheartradio/2013/06/12/meditation-for-manifestation" target="_blank">meditations</a> and <a href="http://www.podcastchart.com/podcasts/angel-heart-radio-74cf5598-1c0c-4fec-999b-b8e18e1f97ef/episodes/angel-life-on-angel-heart-radio-angelic-feng-shui-bill-austin-interview" target="_blank">feng shui</a>. Something for everyone.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMta9i8Y1egzVC08daFKAe2YSBohA6DncZfid-MZKTcUp2MsVejzrEi-QTupnsyBmuPE2NbBWuMrhkEa4cKblpG5MYkGQd_FxgKTY4hhK0kzjCOgMVzlHoYvGrJ20r-P0x8RP4B_lAWa8/s1600/B_Holy+Smoke.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMta9i8Y1egzVC08daFKAe2YSBohA6DncZfid-MZKTcUp2MsVejzrEi-QTupnsyBmuPE2NbBWuMrhkEa4cKblpG5MYkGQd_FxgKTY4hhK0kzjCOgMVzlHoYvGrJ20r-P0x8RP4B_lAWa8/s320/B_Holy+Smoke.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://itunes.apple.com/au/podcast/holy-smoke/id1163175265?mt=2" target="_blank"><i>Holy Smoke</i></a>: A religion podcast produced by the Spectator, as you would expect it concentrates on things related to traditional religion, but I find it very stimulating and fascinating. A very honest look at religion and faith, and it's not always positive.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgOyyt1BY7IXMhVHyMluFdoreW7nZ9z5tpPkJE8PeX0uK07GzRhZovzcwGtoY6yvkg5ObkFSxkr_1xGXd2nBYlwPL2ySTpaJe4M66h7-g-xUq6W_tr21kEbg2K7CrQHtUwNuSqOLIMCU/s1600/B_CreativeSpirit-1400x1400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgOyyt1BY7IXMhVHyMluFdoreW7nZ9z5tpPkJE8PeX0uK07GzRhZovzcwGtoY6yvkg5ObkFSxkr_1xGXd2nBYlwPL2ySTpaJe4M66h7-g-xUq6W_tr21kEbg2K7CrQHtUwNuSqOLIMCU/s320/B_CreativeSpirit-1400x1400.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="https://player.fm/series/creative-spirit" target="_blank"><i>Creative Spirit</i></a>: This one comes from <a href="https://twitter.com/unityonlinradio" target="_blank">Unity Online Radio</a>, and really any of their podcasts are fantastic. The base is solidly <a href="http://newthoughtaustralia.com/" target="_blank">New Thought</a>, and Rev. Maggie Shannon explores the intersections between spirituality and creativity, and I find it all incredibly inspiring. <br />
<br />
<b>Writing</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQZ73uDvN7MbWHDIgGtMmi5Cfi0BhA-Og4UrB5r4pAxx3Oxj702MchyphenhyphenGvHpjvpNJPQ1YooKIZqObHm303gGP_b9tYGOq14DVE9XkUP79AwxFT4gKpTZ9Ns5TlfyPeA46IRbbf4v_5XuQ/s1600/B_Kroeker+writing+coach.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQQZ73uDvN7MbWHDIgGtMmi5Cfi0BhA-Og4UrB5r4pAxx3Oxj702MchyphenhyphenGvHpjvpNJPQ1YooKIZqObHm303gGP_b9tYGOq14DVE9XkUP79AwxFT4gKpTZ9Ns5TlfyPeA46IRbbf4v_5XuQ/s320/B_Kroeker+writing+coach.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://annkroeker.com/podcasts/" target="_blank"><i>Ann Kroeker, Writing Coach</i></a>: These short little messages are, unusually, issued from a single voice - most podcasts are interview or panel format. I love the conciseness of it all, and a good mix of topics, from dealing with rejection to mastering grammar and composition<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0sd31AhNvHBU34t0ELljJiis8tdIIQUAFena3RXihVRx9_b4haBzZ8fdkSQD2hlxjscfCmSn5Ghu4ysafZmfBDbq3cdDrl1YPsOajInQ3gBEjqF46A7C151p4GkCkmLLiQB6gMphHQY/s1600/B_Beautiful+Writers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB0sd31AhNvHBU34t0ELljJiis8tdIIQUAFena3RXihVRx9_b4haBzZ8fdkSQD2hlxjscfCmSn5Ghu4ysafZmfBDbq3cdDrl1YPsOajInQ3gBEjqF46A7C151p4GkCkmLLiQB6gMphHQY/s320/B_Beautiful+Writers.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://beautifulwriterspodcast.com/" target="_blank"><i>Beautiful Writers Podcast</i></a>: This one could probably have gone in the spirituality section, too. But the interviews are focused on creativity, so it is squarely focused on writers. They occasionally interview really big names, like <a href="https://soundcloud.com/user-780938996" target="_blank">Anne Lamott</a>.<br />
<br />
<b>Learning</b><br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9_iikeYuip3Ig9JvsBcxySYRmPudZUDVQopZWAyfo48Q6ATZZ-bE4aC_Kwi2RkjTIjUOC8gbkwouKADPR64SWoC-r7a2Bhml726AcDBnox1JvkB4F66kr6xmClIiYUiEcZUsDQ6fCfc/s1600/B_History+extra.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA9_iikeYuip3Ig9JvsBcxySYRmPudZUDVQopZWAyfo48Q6ATZZ-bE4aC_Kwi2RkjTIjUOC8gbkwouKADPR64SWoC-r7a2Bhml726AcDBnox1JvkB4F66kr6xmClIiYUiEcZUsDQ6fCfc/s1600/B_History+extra.gif" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<i><a href="http://History Podcasts | History Extra" target="_blank">History Extra</a></i>: Best history podcast by far. Based on the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BBC_History" target="_blank">BBC History magazine</a>. Usually interview format, usually with an historian with a new book out, it features incredibly varied content: Historical novelists writing about the <a href="http://www.historyextra.com/feature/tudors/top-10-tudor-podcasts" target="_blank">Tudors</a> to Herodotus to <a href="http://www.historyextra.com/podcast/military-history/america-world-war-one-and-naval-tragedy" target="_blank">America in World War One</a>. Usually a couple of different topics each podcast, so almost always something interesting each episode.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqMqytFvhnP51j0D_vaPKZThe1ftGSryaOGtLA7yD-z0dGGKsaZbngtDn9hy2uuPSh5JQ9srvx33g6rybog_BMAnFGVanEx1mA0LhHRyZ6QVerqTBwc4TNONhCT5y6nO5P_qXstZT2KA/s1600/B_In+our+time.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnqMqytFvhnP51j0D_vaPKZThe1ftGSryaOGtLA7yD-z0dGGKsaZbngtDn9hy2uuPSh5JQ9srvx33g6rybog_BMAnFGVanEx1mA0LhHRyZ6QVerqTBwc4TNONhCT5y6nO5P_qXstZT2KA/s320/B_In+our+time.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/episodes/downloads" target="_blank"><i>In Our Time</i></a>: Another BBC podcast, with the gorgeous old legend <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melvyn_Bragg" target="_blank">Melvyn Bragg</a> talking to a handful of experts on a particular topic, varying from <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qykl/topics/19th-century_American_poets" target="_blank">nineteenth century American poets</a> to the <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b08n1y2v" target="_blank">Egyptian Book of the Dead</a>. Once in a blue moon I'll have to skip one because I simply can't understand what everyone is talking about. But usually it represents a superb opportunity to broaden my intellectual horizons.<br />
<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<b>Oh, and did you know that my <a href="https://www.readings.com.au/review/destination-saigon-adventures-in-vietnam-walter-mason" target="_blank">first book, <i>Destination Saigon</i></a>, is still in print and still selling well? If you love Vietnam, or are planning to go there, or know someone who is, then you should <a href="http://www.thebookshop.com.au/books/gay-men/travel/destination-saigon-signed-copies-available/" target="_blank">get a copy</a>. It's a great fun read, and you also learn a little along the way. </b></blockquote>
Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-16189871633246482102017-04-11T20:17:00.000+10:002018-04-12T10:40:52.348+10:00Final Edition - E. F. Benson<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
<o:RelyOnVML/>
<o:AllowPNG/>
</o:OfficeDocumentSettings>
</xml><![endif]-->
I have blogged before about my <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2012/09/writing-personal-as-we-were-by-e-f.html" target="_blank">passion for E. F. Benson's memoirs</a>, and over
at the Newtown Review of Books I write a more general <a href="http://newtownreviewofbooks.com.au/2013/07/25/e-f-benson-his-life-and-times-an-appreciation-by-walter-mason/" target="_blank">essay about why I loveBenson </a>so much. I always <a href="http://blog.boomerangbooks.com.au/player-profile-walter-mason-author-of-destination-cambodia/2013/09?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter" target="_blank">cite him as one of my foremost literary influences</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP13k415Vc7N2MUFAsExovB3_AoC72O7Y3pewftZyKQxoJD1ppUs18hJe5YMHWNxegvBCtEMx4ybSpNxoxwoVKAcFcCd70W93UAKcjAlQbc-BY1JCpoTAMoqdBmAU0193fkqL6V-iUWZ0/s1600/B_benson.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP13k415Vc7N2MUFAsExovB3_AoC72O7Y3pewftZyKQxoJD1ppUs18hJe5YMHWNxegvBCtEMx4ybSpNxoxwoVKAcFcCd70W93UAKcjAlQbc-BY1JCpoTAMoqdBmAU0193fkqL6V-iUWZ0/s400/B_benson.jpg" width="343" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">E. F. Benson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
Suffering so often as I do with ghastly migraine, I am occasionally forced to
escape into reading for pleasure - something I can't always do. My pleasure of
choice is often <a href="http://www.waltermason.com/2012/09/oscar-wilde-in-as-we-were-by-ef-benson.html" target="_blank">Benson</a>'s final book, a gentle, funny and constantly fascinating
memoir called, appropriately, <a href="http://www.amazon.com/FINAL-EDITION-Lives-Letters-Benson/dp/070120589X" target="_blank"><i>Final Edition</i></a>.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3d5PMP1EowpdgKsZhKWDNtiZf3Npt47wMrqw_gVHIeIR4Bjm8lWV6Lt2vcZdYe7bwrz0G_rApMcMlddU4pl8PVHMT6E4c98TUOnOlrXk_HL9sGyS2_MDGMIQR_pS5GkVd9r5KLDdNGY/s1600/B_Final+Edition_Benson.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjI3d5PMP1EowpdgKsZhKWDNtiZf3Npt47wMrqw_gVHIeIR4Bjm8lWV6Lt2vcZdYe7bwrz0G_rApMcMlddU4pl8PVHMT6E4c98TUOnOlrXk_HL9sGyS2_MDGMIQR_pS5GkVd9r5KLDdNGY/s1600/B_Final+Edition_Benson.JPG" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
Though he was at death's door, Benson is at the height of his literary
powers in this book, and his gift for storytelling is at its very best. I love
when he describes a visit to <a href="http://www.penguin.com.au/contributors/6405/henry-james" target="_blank">Henry James</a>, strangely enough living in the very
house that Benson himself would eventually occupy and make famous in his <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mapp_and_Lucia" target="_blank"><i>Mapp and Lucia</i></a> novels. His stories about <a href="https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/books/tales-from-a-master-s-notebook-stories-henry-james-never-wrote-edited-by-philip-horne-review-a3802341.html" target="_blank">James</a> are hilarious (though, true to his
gallant form, he claims that his brother, the famous Edwardian diarist A. C.
Benson, wrote a much better account), and I was fascinated by them. <a href="https://www.britannica.com/biography/Henry-James-American-writer" target="_blank">James</a> was
old fashioned and self-consciously literary, and he could not bear disloyalty. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E._F._Benson" target="_blank">Benson</a>
tells us he said: "I am singularly accessible to all demonstrations of
regard." I recognised instantly the fragile writers’ ego, and the way non-writers
(or just the terminally insensitive) think they can make some throwaway
derogatory comment about one's writing and imagine one will take it in good
spirit and forget it instantly. Anyone who tried it with James was met with a
lifetime's shunning.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWwpBGYNL9Ki1GBQ0vNnf5xxfIWoIHWz_1Rl2nv3xY-o4TjCKxHfN8XMoEP-vcXT_adH_OVJ4Y3FbvBOODmfRsA5WgmuVO4dHyRfmRXmeDkOA_oxbL3sD1GaEncXJoQWftkU4tmuNONQ/s1600/B_Henry+James_lambhouseryesussex.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfWwpBGYNL9Ki1GBQ0vNnf5xxfIWoIHWz_1Rl2nv3xY-o4TjCKxHfN8XMoEP-vcXT_adH_OVJ4Y3FbvBOODmfRsA5WgmuVO4dHyRfmRXmeDkOA_oxbL3sD1GaEncXJoQWftkU4tmuNONQ/s1600/B_Henry+James_lambhouseryesussex.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Henry James in the garden of his house</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Mapp-Lucia-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141187689" target="_blank">Benson</a>'s mother, Mary, was a great literary character all on her own, a
short, plump lesbian who was married for 40 years to the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Benson_%28bishop%29" target="_blank">Archbishop of Canterbury</a>. Upon the <a href="http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/61066/Edward-White-Benson" target="_blank">Archbishop</a>'s death Queen Victoria, who revered him,
offered Mary Benson a cottage on the grounds of Windsor Palace, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Benson_(hostess)" target="_blank">Mary</a>
refused, preferring the freedom and independence of her own digs, where she
could more openly shack up with her girlfriend.<br />
<br />
The recent book about Mary Benson, <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2011/jun/09/good-god-mary-benson-review" target="_blank"><i>As Good As God, As Clever as the Devil</i></a> by
Rodney Bolt is well worth reading and makes a perfect companion volume to <i>Final Edition</i>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbDO4fYZL6MDPHgBv6DtRChp4FgtHl3bbaqoNLbbfaDdFmPhklPc8K_QijV8BV_5SIu1z24dUxUn-t32_w_Pb9Ub0UzrUiAY5ExRWae6swsUkV-ZzIW8l_M72cN1QODUaWA7e1CHfvbWj/s400/archbishopswife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnbDO4fYZL6MDPHgBv6DtRChp4FgtHl3bbaqoNLbbfaDdFmPhklPc8K_QijV8BV_5SIu1z24dUxUn-t32_w_Pb9Ub0UzrUiAY5ExRWae6swsUkV-ZzIW8l_M72cN1QODUaWA7e1CHfvbWj/s640/archbishopswife.jpg" width="478" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary Benson while still a young woman</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
His sister <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Margaret_Benson" target="_blank">Margaret Benson</a> was a noted Egyptologist, but in this book Benson
recounts her sad final years when, a housebound manic depressive, she makes her
mother's life a misery by seeking to control everyone around her. Benson charts
the bittersweet relationship between she and his mother, and his pain is
palpable.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW6EB_VaOlGqd9RKKYQF8D2MILUT2PbzAehO7a8WcyXBh0l3oij8bDl5bFL8ABc_1p3727X_xa-vmzl5JonevPoT6UixLl43z2Y32ekMXoZ573zePpm-FlB6Bt1iVS5jKDYZL7OsqIhU/s1600/B_Margaret+benson+and+mother.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaW6EB_VaOlGqd9RKKYQF8D2MILUT2PbzAehO7a8WcyXBh0l3oij8bDl5bFL8ABc_1p3727X_xa-vmzl5JonevPoT6UixLl43z2Y32ekMXoZ573zePpm-FlB6Bt1iVS5jKDYZL7OsqIhU/s640/B_Margaret+benson+and+mother.jpg" width="436" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mary and Margaret Benson</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
<i>Final Edition</i> is a brilliant evocation of Edwardian life, of literary
gossip, and is a fascinatingly intimate memoir of one of the strangest families ever to have
existed in Britain. Do find a copy.<br />
<br />
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:WordDocument>
<w:View>Normal</w:View>
<w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom>
<w:TrackMoves/>
<w:TrackFormatting/>
<w:PunctuationKerning/>
<w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/>
<w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>
<w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent>
<w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>
<w:DoNotPromoteQF/>
<w:LidThemeOther>EN-AU</w:LidThemeOther>
<w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian>
<w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript>
<w:Compatibility>
<w:BreakWrappedTables/>
<w:SnapToGridInCell/>
<w:WrapTextWithPunct/>
<w:UseAsianBreakRules/>
<w:DontGrowAutofit/>
<w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/>
<w:DontVertAlignCellWithSp/>
<w:DontBreakConstrainedForcedTables/>
<w:DontVertAlignInTxbx/>
<w:Word11KerningPairs/>
<w:CachedColBalance/>
</w:Compatibility>
<m:mathPr>
<m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/>
<m:brkBin m:val="before"/>
<m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/>
<m:smallFrac m:val="off"/>
<m:dispDef/>
<m:lMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:rMargin m:val="0"/>
<m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/>
<m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/>
<m:intLim m:val="subSup"/>
<m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/>
</m:mathPr></w:WordDocument>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true"
DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99"
LatentStyleCount="267">
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false"
UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/>
<w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/>
</w:LatentStyles>
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]>
<style>
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:"Table Normal";
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:"";
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0cm;
mso-para-margin-right:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0cm;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}
</style>
<![endif]-->Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6009004585824660223.post-35165828869717312012017-02-19T21:48:00.000+11:002017-02-19T21:48:20.856+11:00The Art of Love Tarot - a new deck that combines intuitive understanding with reflective wisdom <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiO4mTxrzYJkx1NJXAgQSj-Lf2eRTwNlABzW4enCivm5rnXbBwLWgohCjYCwnrvnSVYqfJx0o9cJXN3SfVLCTfWPTIr1nWPaucnJ3gQIQr2SDl8nTrkB-bDE35FEQ-0EYasVP85xPOxVE/s1600/B_art_of_love_tarot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiO4mTxrzYJkx1NJXAgQSj-Lf2eRTwNlABzW4enCivm5rnXbBwLWgohCjYCwnrvnSVYqfJx0o9cJXN3SfVLCTfWPTIr1nWPaucnJ3gQIQr2SDl8nTrkB-bDE35FEQ-0EYasVP85xPOxVE/s400/B_art_of_love_tarot.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
People often ask me what kind of deck they should use when they <a href="http://learntarot.org/" target="_blank">start to learn tarot</a>. Now, I used to be quite a fundamentalist about this. "There's no point in learning on anything other than the <a href="https://www.bookdepository.com/Original-Rider-Waite-Tarot-Deck-Arthur-Edward-Waite/9780712670579" target="_blank">Rider Waite</a>," I would tell people. That is the deck on which all of the others are based, so you might as well go straight to the source.<br />
<br />
But age and wisdom have mellowed me somewhat, and I also remember that the deck that first got me really interested in the tarot and learning about it was <a href="https://youtu.be/V_-cVXLJG4M" target="_blank">Lucy Cavendish</a>'s wonderful but very non-traditional <a href="https://youtu.be/nsAbPLyyGMI" target="_blank"><i>Oracle Tarot</i></a>. So I also realised I was being a hypocrite!<br />
<br />
So now I tell people just to go with what calls to you. You might like the <a href="http://janetboyer.typepad.com/blog/2015/04/mystical-cats-tarot.html" target="_blank">Cat Tarot</a>, a <a href="http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/cards/buddha/" target="_blank">Buddhist Tarot</a> or something wonderfully unexpected like the <a href="http://www.refinery29.com/tarot-cards" target="_blank"><i>Victoria Regina </i>deck</a> (a personal favourite of mine). You will, eventually, learn the <a href="https://www.dymocks.com.au/book/the-original-rider-waite-tarot-deck-by-arthur-edward-waite-9780712670579/#.WKle2H_ayUk" target="_blank">Rider Waite</a>, but the starting point is totally up to you, and you should go with the <a href="http://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/extrasensory-perceptions/tarot-card.htm" target="_blank">images</a> and <a href="http://janetboyer.typepad.com/blog/2013/06/symbols-in-the-empress-tarot-card.html" target="_blank">symbols </a>that make your heart sing. heart before head, every time. <a href="http://janetboyer.typepad.com/blog/2012/12/high-priestess-tarot-card-symbolism.html" target="_blank">Tarot</a> is like romance.<br />
<br />
This all came to me last week when I opened for the first time <a href="http://denisejarvie.com/" target="_blank">Denise Jarvie</a> and <a href="http://www.tonicarminesalerno.com/" target="_blank">Toni Carmine Salerno</a>'s new <a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/art_of_love_tarot.html" target="_blank"><i>The Art of Love Tarot</i></a>. I immediately sank into its luscious beauty, its exquisite symbolism and its pure energy of transcendent wisdom. "This is the kind of deck," I thought to myself, "that I would love to give to anyone starting out." It's just so beautiful and such a pleasure to use and explore.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/flower_of_life.html" target="_blank">Denise Jarvie</a> is a Sydney spiritual teacher whose work is known to me through her previous deck, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Flower-Life-Wisdom-Denise-Jarvie/dp/0738745782" target="_blank"><i>The Flower of Life: Wisdom of Astar</i></a> oracle deck. This deck, inspired by channelled teachings received by Denise, is richly poetic, and I have had some wonderful experiences with it right from the very first time I accidentally selected one of its cards from a bowl full of mixed cards left out at a trade fair. Denise's work is rich and poetic, and always informed by the kind of Universal wisdom which helps readers and those looking for inspiration find a pivoting point and a new place of focus.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/greeting_cards_toni_carmine_salerno.html" target="_blank">Toni Carmine Salerno</a>, who created the art for <i>The Art of Love Tarot</i>, needs no introduction. His artwork is well known to anyone who has spent much time on the spiritual scene in Australia, and he is the creative genius behind <a href="http://www.blueangelonline.com/" target="_blank">Blue Angel </a>the publishing house responsible for this deck. So it carries the imprimatur, and the distinct artistic beauty, of the maestro himself. We are in good hands here. In fact, this is the first ever tarot deck he has illustrated, so it makes this deck something utterly unique.<br />
<br />
It is a somewhat non-traditional deck, with the <a href="https://youtu.be/bbUU9bUenFI" target="_blank">suits</a> re-named, but it follows a form easily recognizable to anyone who knows the<a href="https://youtu.be/QXxefW7Me-4" target="_blank"> tarot</a>. And beginners can just have fun exploring its loveliness and potential. It is NOT about romance. Instead, this is a tarot which lays out the pathways of Universal Love, and as such it is a genuine gift to the world.<br />
<br />
At random I select some exquisite cards which instantly sing to me with meaning and moment:<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa4mMjzBXQs-ZjRXOXv2NxfpPfZ-Ly8i8SNPSzvlECGz6mirBsWprlZW1m-Ld2ZIPP_ZtMp3i04ibjR5Tf6myEktvQkApM9XohXzM1OXdZJMvJIdIrLdgHb6io6tAI3Kp2qlz2UGRlOg/s1600/B_Art+of+Love+tarot_Seven+Angels.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwa4mMjzBXQs-ZjRXOXv2NxfpPfZ-Ly8i8SNPSzvlECGz6mirBsWprlZW1m-Ld2ZIPP_ZtMp3i04ibjR5Tf6myEktvQkApM9XohXzM1OXdZJMvJIdIrLdgHb6io6tAI3Kp2qlz2UGRlOg/s400/B_Art+of+Love+tarot_Seven+Angels.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Seven of Angels<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.keen.com/articles/tarot/tarot-suit-of-swords" target="_blank">suit of Swords</a> has been re-imagined as the Suit of Angels in this deck (I love it!) and this card is about freedom to fly and our capacity to see beauty everywhere. <br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhzev7nUdK3JFPqRKiROZq_ehiCdppcvyVDWyC0lT6kbKQe-qA1ALUwg_aA2vxR_cuCKsOG0wC9e-LF4IALVc7wrZZWbgu8MTRXVaExs0ZSFqw313RH5f7eokLAUmBB-hbebAthaZb2o/s1600/B_Art+of+Love+tarot_Major.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZhzev7nUdK3JFPqRKiROZq_ehiCdppcvyVDWyC0lT6kbKQe-qA1ALUwg_aA2vxR_cuCKsOG0wC9e-LF4IALVc7wrZZWbgu8MTRXVaExs0ZSFqw313RH5f7eokLAUmBB-hbebAthaZb2o/s400/B_Art+of+Love+tarot_Major.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
#12 of the <a href="http://www.tarotforchange.com/2016/03/cheat-sheet-how-to-interpret-major.html" target="_blank">Major Arcana</a>: The Turnaround<br />
<br />
This is this deck's re-imagining of <a href="http://www.patheos.com/blogs/agora/2017/01/cartomancer-tarot-dreams/" target="_blank">The Hanged Man</a>, and this vibrant card excites me no end with its meaning of new possibilities and little bit of life shaking. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIwgOm4_IHjSh24aW7t-5bK2leuZNIXXvsAtB6pPKoACXzRw5fKgOu0B4ssFyPbRw9risXxnW_yaq5g52CovwSpDxbn0Ec6C83cVn_55e0husf67bo5vzVtM88piOCtuylx4LsAUEORA/s1600/B_art+of+love+tarot_Denise+Jarvie.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicIwgOm4_IHjSh24aW7t-5bK2leuZNIXXvsAtB6pPKoACXzRw5fKgOu0B4ssFyPbRw9risXxnW_yaq5g52CovwSpDxbn0Ec6C83cVn_55e0husf67bo5vzVtM88piOCtuylx4LsAUEORA/s400/B_art+of+love+tarot_Denise+Jarvie.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
<br />
<br />
<br />
The Five of Trees<br />
<br />
The <a href="https://www.biddytarot.com/tarot-card-meanings/minor-arcana/suit-of-pentacles/" target="_blank">Pentacles</a> become Trees in this deck, and tree imagery has been flying at me for a few weeks now - this suit keeps coming up for me whenever I use this deck (which has been every day since I received it). Staring up into that lovely branch and leaves I am alerted to my own tendency to concentrate on the denseness of problems and forgetting the true perspective of life and possibility.<br />
<br />
See how exhilarating the deck is?<br />
<br />
Grab a copy as soon as you possibly keen (it's not out yet, but it's available for pre-order everywhere) and devote yourself to a new tarot deck of true import. It will quickly become a new favourite. <br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Walter Masonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10780247928442366936noreply@blogger.com0