When I was a young, I could read a book a day. I’d often sit on the lawn of a pillared mansion that then served as a regional library, or I’d curl up in a chair on the roof overlooking the distant high-rises of downtown San Francisco. I loved reading about magic, architectural design and self-help books titled HOW TO BECOME PERFECT BY READING THIS BOOK.
But now I never seem to have time to read. I have a home library with about 500 books, most of them on metaphysical/spiritual topics. They sure look pretty and give me great comfort just awaiting my attention like colorful little toy blocks on the shelves. In some cases, I’ve insulted them by putting framed pictures in front of them, along with little Winnie the Pooh figurines. I also have a 12 inch size copy of the robot from the original LOST IN SPACE TV show. When I get close to selecting a book, he shouts “Warning, Will Robinson. That does not compute!” Then I get side tracked by my 50 year old collection of plastic Roman Soldiers and my dinosaur statuettes. My subconscious mind seems to be keeping me away from my books by turning my bookcase into a carnival wall of cheap prizes. If you have a choice between reading THE ORIGIN OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN THE BREAKDOWN OF THE BICAMERAL MIND (Julian Jaynes) or playing with Roman Soldiers, which would you do?
Is this the only reason I have trouble reading? I could blame it on my hectic life since I retired! I have a golden retriever who constantly needs to be talked to, petted, fed, played with, let outside, brushed, and walked. This is just the beginning of my retirement duties. I have to prepare my own breakfast! I have to put on my own pants and remember that the zipper goes in the front!
I have to breath! Now someone might say that breathing takes care of itself, but not when you are a Unity Truth student. Then you consciously take deep breaths in through the nose, and then slowly release them through the mouth to calm yourself. This is a great practice if you feel anxious, as I do when I must decide whether I want chunky or plain peanut butter toast. Unfortunately, my conscious breathing usually upsets my dog and he barks (he thinks he is a paramedic), so then I have to reassure him that I am not having a strange fit.
I have to check FACEBOOK and see if anyone has written to me. What joy when someone takes the time to write to sweet little me. I feel like an old nanny hoping to receive a card on Valentine’s Day from her now grown up charges, or at least a lewd note from the little old man who gooses her in the park (Do nannies secretly wear underwear with the zipper in the back?).
OK, I do make an effort to read books that are good for me, but after about 10 minutes, I suddenly shudder and realize that I’ve been napping for an hour with a spiritual book on my lap. Staying awake, even when reading the latest Unity book on Bliss, Oneness and Gratitude….zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Forgive me, there I go again into the stillness and silence that others might call sleep.
I truly want to be a Truth student and read all this enlightened wisdom in a linear fashion, with my eyes moving from left to right, row after tedious row. But my subconscious tells me that reading about Bliss, Oneness and Gratitude is so powerful and I am already so “deep” that I fall into a heavenly trance where my snores are equivalent to speaking in tongues.
One time while enjoying the Stillness with God, I found myself walking down a Beverly Hills street naked. The cops came and were going to arrest me, but Brad Pitt appeared. He told the police that I was his special friend. He just happened to be carrying a soft white bathrobe, so I put this on and became respectable again by Lindsey Lohan standards. We drove around LA in his black SUV enjoying the toxins in the air together. He even put his hand on my knee! Yet, then I opened my eyes and I was in my home library again. Thinking of the recent movie INCEPTION about many levels of dreams that can become quite complicated, which is real, my library or my ride with Brad in his black SUV? Are Bliss, Oneness and Gratitude manifested by hanging out with Brad Pitt? DOes my angel manifest as Brad Pitt? Hmmm…..could be. But I know the real Brad Pitt is fickle (per PEOPLE magazine) and would eventually dump me and return to Jolie or Jennifer.
One time while enjoying the Stillness with God, I found myself walking down a Beverly Hills street naked. The cops came and were going to arrest me, but Brad Pitt appeared. He told the police that I was his special friend. He just happened to be carrying a soft white bathrobe, so I put this on and became respectable again by Lindsey Lohan standards. We drove around LA in his black SUV enjoying the toxins in the air together. He even put his hand on my knee! Yet, then I opened my eyes and I was in my home library again. Thinking of the recent movie INCEPTION about many levels of dreams that can become quite complicated, which is real, my library or my ride with Brad in his black SUV? Are Bliss, Oneness and Gratitude manifested by hanging out with Brad Pitt? DOes my angel manifest as Brad Pitt? Hmmm…..could be. But I know the real Brad Pitt is fickle (per PEOPLE magazine) and would eventually dump me and return to Jolie or Jennifer.
Taking an amateur philosophical approach, could I just be spoiled? I am being bombarded every day by so many new methods of communication. These are often little devices with dazzling colored lights, noises, voices, music, and a sense of interaction – I get to press a button once in a while! WOW! This somehow seems much more exciting than turning the page of a book. Books just seem dull. They just lay there in your lap. Is that why Amazon.com is selling Kindle? Amazon takes a mundane paper book and puts it inside a little electronic box, and ABRACADABRA, the written material becomes interesting again. But isn’t that rather silly?
What better medium for providing information is there than a book? If it’s a paperback you can fold it and stick it in your back pocket or purse, you can write in it, highlight passages. Please be prudent: as Unity Lending Library Meister I’ve seen books where the reader went berserk and highlighted in yellow every single word in the book. You can drop it in a mud puddle, and it still works, unlike Kindle.
So getting back to basics, how do I bypass a subconscious mind that doesn’t seem to want me to read about spiritual truth and would rather have me dream about being Brad Pitt’s special bro? Do I read while sitting in a bathtub full of ice cubes? Do I read standing up? (Not sure that would work – I think I’ve learned to sleep standing up). Do I put on music I loathe like rap or heavy metal? Maybe that would side track the subconscious and I could get some reading done. Should I clip clothes pins on my body? (Hmmm....turning book reading into an S&M experience? Maybe I should suggest that on certain websites). Maybe I could offer myself rewards, e.g., if I read a book from cover to cover, I get to buy myself yet another book! Hmmm….something doesn’t seem quite right about that concept of a reward. Maybe a chocolate chip cookie would be better.
Right now I am reading ASK YOURSELF THIS (Wendy Craig-Purcell), HEART CENTERED METAPHYSICS (Hasselbeck), JESUS 2.1 (Thomas Shepherd), ANGELS IN MY HAIR (Lorna Byrne), WHORES OF LOST ATLANTIS (Charles Busch), PUTTING ON THE MIND OF CHRIST (Marion). And THE MINDFULNESS CODE (Altman). If I take a Unity class on Emile Cady later this month, I’ll have to prepare by rereading her complete works.
I probably just need personal responsibility and discipline. I can tell myself that I do not get to watch the GHOST WHISPERER rerun on ION cable TV unless I’ve read a chapter in each book. Where there is a Will there is a way, right?
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