“The creative process shrivels in the absence of continual dialogue with the soul. And creativity is what makes life worth living.” —Marion Woodman
So Cairns hasn’t exactly lit up the literary world, not coming close to cracking even the most obscure, made-up, late night category of any Amazon list. Not that I thought it would; but any author who doesn’t harbor at least a faint hope for some sort of recognition of their craft and toil would be lying.
Perhaps I’m being too hard on myself; self-promotion is hard enough, and nearly impossible during a pandemic. And I’ve been working too much, with only one week off so far this year (that’s not enough time away from work, considering August will soon be over.) But most importantly perhaps, I needed to remember some of my own advice from Cairns, and re-adjust my perspective.
So I put it out honestly to the universe a few days ago, that hey, I’d love a little feedback on the book, beyond the paltry sales. Maybe Cairns won’t reach the masses, but maybe it’s touched a few souls somewhere.
And lo and behold, after months of silence on the book, came exactly what I asked for…
First came the heartfelt genuine words of an old friend, to whom I had sent a copy. He connected with my message, with my struggles (which are his struggles, which are all our struggles), and took some new lessons with him. And his message reached me while I was on the trail, the place we shared most of our experiences. Big smile.
But the next day, an even bigger smile, from completely out of the blue.
I took part in an awesome meditation course, designed as an introduction to the practice for beginners. For me it was a welcome refresher, and the deep mediation exercise itself was like a reunion with an old friend.
Doug Arbulu, who instructed the online Zoom class, lead us through the breathing exercises, mantras, and meditation itself, and did a fantastic job of walking us through the explanations and history of this ancient practice and it’s many benefits and useful place in this fast paced modern world. He also suggested additional resources to help us with our meditation practices, including recommending a few books. Included were some of my favorites – Michael Singer, Eckhart Tolle, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Deepak Chopra, Doug’s guru. But Doug also included a big shout out to Cairns, including a picture of the cover in his PowerPoint presentation! Wow!!!
Now I am not even remotely suggesting Cairns stands with those aforementioned authors – in fact, Cairns stands ONLY on the shoulders of those teachers. But many of the lessons these leaders teach guided the journey I detail in Cairns (like honestly asking for what you want.) But to have a guru like Doug not only read Cairns, but recognize it out on a Zoom call with attendees literally from around the world – well, that is something an author only fantasizes about when spending all those long, lonely years writing a book.
Thanks Doug, I certainly appreciate and am humbled by your ultimate compliment! And thanks to the Universe, too, for granting my wish in a most spectacular way!
joe walko 