Her recently published book, How to Build Your Own Boat: A Spiritual Workbook is a mixture of personal memoir and "how to" instruction on finding your spiritual path. It reads like a candid conversation with an old friend, and you can purchase it here.
What first inspired you to write How to Build Your Own
Boat?
I wanted to explore my own spiritual inklings and create my
own path. It’s impossible to find a spiritual path that works for agnostics but
I’m interested in what cannot be seen or measured, too! Problem is, the scholar
in me refuses to take much on faith. I needed a path that would combine the
practical Buddhist shamatha meditation, Tonglen, and the 8 limbs of yoga, my
progressive political ideals with adherence to universal ethical standards.
Clearly, I needed to build my own boat. Since I was sure there were others who
wanted the same and would benefit from my effort, I decided to write a workbook.
You call yourself a “household yogi” what does that mean?
Yogis denounce stuff – like meat, sex and family. We often
imagine a yogi as someone whose life is solely devoted to yoga, someone capable
of contorting into the full expression of every pose quite easily after having
practiced asanas (poses) since the age of 2. While I did start practicing yoga
at a young age – 18 – I’ve studied with no guru and denounce nothing, unless you
count cigarettes and alcohol. Traditionally, yogis don’t have jobs or families.
I have both yet remain devoted to practicing the 8 limbs of yoga. That makes me
a “householder” yogi.
When I read How to Build Your Own Boat I enjoyed the way you
shared the internal conversations you were having in your head. How did you come
to decide to write in that format?
I was writing a spiritual memoir as inspiration and example
to help readers know how to complete the workbook, so I wrote in journalese, if you will. As my purpose
was to discover my own path, build my own boat, the process was a genuine
journaling endeavor – I exposed my thought process in order to make it easier
for readers to expose their own.
What do you hope readers will gain from reading your
book?
We can know nothing about the spiritual world, but so many
for so long have been making it up. Why not make it up as an individual? Why not
create a spiritual path, a boat to help navigate the treacherous and calm waters
life presents? I hope readers gain insight from reflecting on their past. I hope
they find themselves empowered by the process of choosing what works and doesn’t
work for them as individuals. I hope they create a more meaningful future as
they traverse in this boat of their own making. And, more personally, I hope
people know me as an agnostic who is also a spiritual seeker – One who
recognizes the human capacity for great compassion, loving-kindness, fairness,
and reason. I want readers to know that we don’t have to belong to a church,
synagogue, mosque, circle or sangha. We don’t need to conform to anyone else’s
beliefs in order to be clear about our own.
Is there anything else you’d like to say about the content or
process of manifesting How to Build Your Own Boat?
I love to write but had no idea the joy that would come upon
hearing a reader talk about what s/he has realized in the process of reading my
work. This Indie Pub thing – I’m learning as I go how challenging it is to turn
out a polished product without the support of a publishing house complete with
editorial team. Being able to share my work with readers makes independent
publishing worthwhile.
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If you've written a spiritually uplifting book from a non-traditional perspective or know someone who has and would like to be featured on Your Witchy Grandma please visit my blog and leave a comment.
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