Reading Update

The reading for my geology class is down right oppressive, but I'm trying (and failing) to keep up with the readings for my thesis. Especially since I keep acquiring books quicker than I can read them! I picked up The Sufi Book of Life last week, along with a book of prayers by Ghandi. Still working on the Upanishads and another translation of the Tao Te Ching. I've got another translation of the Bhagavad Gita, a book of meditations/quotes from St. Francis, a scary looking translation of the Upanishads, another book on the Tao, AND a book of Vedic hymns on my "to read stack".

But it's really hard to make any progress when I've got a couple hundred pages of geology to read a week. And this is a class I wanted to take just for fun!

Oh, and have I mentioned how I don't have any actual work done for my thesis either? But I've made a lot of progress on my porfolio exchange brooches and I managed to make myself a pretty sweet Virgin Mary necklace with some super cheap and super kick ass decals from Rynne China Company.

Here's to another week of keeping my head above water!

Quote

I'm reading more and more in preparation for my thesis paper, so you're likely to get more than one quote a week for a while. Right now I'm working on "The Power of Myth" and I have the Upanishads waiting in the wings as well as a short book of meditations from a monk I picked up super cheap yesterday at the bookstore. Oh, and another translation of the Gita. It might be time to get back into my GoodReads account and update it.

If you haven't read "The Power of Myth" you should. The whole book is an interview/discussion between Bill Moyers and Joseph Campbell. Here's a passage I read this morning that I found particularly pertinent:

Moyers: "Have all men at all times felt some sense of exclusion from an ultimate reality, from bliss, from delight, from perfection, from God?"

Campbell:"Yes, but you also have moments of ecstasy. The difference between everyday living and living in those moments of ecstasy is the difference between being outside and inside the Garden. You go past fear and desire, past the pair of opposites."

Moyers:"Into harmony?"

Campbell: "Into transcendence."

What I'm Reading. . .

I know I should be reading lots of things (like the current issue of Metalsmith, and/or my art history assignment) but I'm not gonna lie, I'm currently reading The Watchmen. If you've never read it, you should. Or you can go see the movie, due out in March.

Also, I'm currently loving The Fat Booty of Madness. There's some fantastic avant garde jewelry in this book. One of my favorites are the Bondo and pearl necklaces by Laura Deakin of Australia. This book is definitely on my wish list.