Rays of the Sun : Review by Rick Finney

Rick Finney has reviewed Rays of the Sun on Amazon.com

In this book Ngakpa Chogyam, an English lama of the Nyingma school now living in Wales, has given us an excellent explanation of the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. These are basic Buddhist teachings--the ground, in fact, of Buddhist practice--and it is always helpful to review them.

Here, the author takes a fresh approach, and his precise and careful use of language communicates a wealth of meaning. In some places, that meaning becomes fully clear only after a second reading. At other times, the author's choice of words makes immediate and surprising sense--for example, when he introduces the term "distracted-being" in place of the more conventional (to Western readers) and problematic word "ego."

The teachings here on the value of kindness are also very helpful and could usefully be taken to heart. The emphasis throughout is on direct engagement with the teachings, and on genuine experience.

Another lama, Chogyam Trungpa, in describing how mindfulness meditation can blossom into panoramic awareness, once said that "when one's feet finally touch the ground, the landscape opens up." That is the message of this very fine book, as well.

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Rays of the Sun is published by Aro Books worldwide, ISBN 978-1-898185-06-2.  It is also available at all leading bookstores including Lulu, Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk. For more information please see the book's web page http://bit.ly/ncrros

Making 'Relaxing into Meditation' a Bestseller

I read an article today (http://www.reporterconnection.com/03-11-2011.htm) that said:  

Want others to spread the word about your work?  Try telling them exactly how they can help you.

This was based on the experience of Jeff Hayzlett who wrote 'The Mirror Test'.  Jeff asked for help from his friends. 

So in the style of Jeff Hayzlett, here are



11 Things You Can Do to Make Relaxing into Meditation a Best Seller

We're going to do our best to make this book a best seller and here's what you can do to help. We appreciate anything and everything you're able to do!


1. Buy it

It would be wonderful if you chose to buy it for yourself and for any of your friends or colleagues. It is available at your local bookstore or from Lulu, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and most places where you can buy books.  If you live in the Indian Subcontinent, please do to Zorba Publishers.


2. Email

Email everyone. Word-of-mouth is one of the best recommendations anyone can receive. It would be great if you could email your friends and tell them about Relaxing into Meditation and where they can purchase it.

Here's is a suggested email: "Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo has written a book that's soon to become a best seller. It's entitled Relaxing into Meditation and it's available from Lulu, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or your local bookshop.  Relaxing into Meditation has been described as 'the best book on meditation I've ever read' by reviewer Rossinna Ippolito.


3. Facebook

Anything you are able to post on your own Facebook page about the book, would be greatly appreciated! Please join our Facebook fan page: http://www.facebook.com/aro.books.worldwide and share it with your friends.


4. Tweet

One way to make things go viral is to tweet about the book because Twitter is able to reach a large number of people. Some tweet topics include 'you are buying a book', 'giving the book as a gift', attach a picture of where you're reading it, shout-out your favorite chapter or re-tweet someone else's comments. The key is to keep the conversation going. You can follow Ngakma Nor'dzin on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/nordzin.

A sample tweet could be: I just read 'Relaxing into Meditation' from @nordzin. Find out more here: http://bit.ly/nrprim


5. Adding Twibbons - Twitter and Facebook

Add a twibbon (http://twibbon.com/join/Relaxing-into-Meditation) to your twitter picture and help spread awareness about the book by overlaying a small Relaxing into Meditation book image onto your Twitter profile avatar.

Add a twibbon sticker to your facebook profile picture as well by going here: http://twibbon.com/cause/Relaxing-into-Meditation/Facebook


6. Media

Interviews! TV, radio, newspaper, magazine, newsletters, blogs, online or offline media! If you have any contacts to any online, offline, print or broadcast media where Ngakma Nor'dzin could be interviewed about the book, please contact arobooksworldwide@gmail.com


7. Blog

Do you have a blog or know someone who does? If so, consider an interview with Ngakma Nor'dzin or write about your own personal interactions with her. You may also want to blog about your favorite topics from the book.



8. Pictures

Pictures say a thousand words - so take a picture of yourself with the book in an interesting place and post it on our Facebook fan page http://www.facebook.com/aro.books.worldwide, your own blog or tweet one. 


9. Word of Mouth

No rocket science here - tell co-workers, friends, family, and people on the street: "Have you read the Ngakma Nor'dzin's book Relaxing into Meditation?".  For the really keen there are postcards...


10. Book Signing

If you would like to help organize a book signing, please contact us at arobooksworldwide@gmail.com This would be especially helpful if you owned a bookshop.


11. Write a review

Go to Lulu, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or anywhere else that sells Relaxing into Meditation and write your own thoughts as a result of reading Relaxing into Meditation.


Thanks in advance for your help to making the Relaxing into Meditation a best seller.

All proceeds from the sale of Relaxing into Meditation go to charity.

an odd boy - volume one - for review on Librarything Early Reviewers

Volume one of an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. A portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s. It is a coming-of-age adventure, both surreal and innocent, humorous and poignant, depicting an era when the Arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. The author’s life is a rare roulette wheel of childhood wonder and tragic debacles; a debilitating stammer and a powerful singing voice; bad luck and fierce good fortune. At 16 he’s travelled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12. 

See Librarything for more information and to request a copy

http://www.librarything.com/er/list#11038314

Relaxing into Meditation : Featured in Prabuddha Bharata

Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India has been published in India since 1896.  The March 2011 edition features an article on Relaxing into meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin.

The journal is freely available to be read online or downloaded as a PDF.  Here is an excerpt from the article

Meditation is the bedrock of Buddhist practice and is also important in many other spiritual systems. Yet there can be a certain mystery around meditation. What is it; how do you do it; and why is it such a worthwhile practice? What is the principle and function of meditation practice? The principle of Buddhism is the discovery of the non-duality of emptiness and form, of wisdom and compassion. The natural quality of the mind is empty wisdom and once that wisdom is discovered the natural movement of the mind into form manifests as compassion and kindness. This is the state of being fully awake. Hence the primary purpose of meditation is to gain direct experience of the mind. Only through direct experience of the mind is it possible to discover wisdom.

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Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation, published by Aro Books worldwide, ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8.  It is published in India by Zorba Publishers.  For more information contact geetugoel@zorbapublishers.com It is also available at all leading bookstores. For more information please see the book's web page http://bit.ly/nrprim

Remember Savage Cabbage? - Surrey and Hants News

If you remember seeing a blues band called Savage Cabbage playing locally in the 60s, whose songs included one named after a Wrecclesham road, the publishers of a new volume of books about the band, would love to hear from you.

The only existing member of the four-piece band is Doc Togden, who lived locally, and attended Farnham Art School in 1970 and 1971.

He is the author of the four volume memoire, An Odd Boy. Part one, 'The Crossroads', is to published later this year by Aro Books Worldwide - who also print books on the teachings of the Aro Tradition of Nyingma Buddhism.

If the name Doc Togden doesn't mean anything to you though, maybe Farquhar Arbuthnot does.  That is the name he went by whilst with the band, whose other members were Ron Larkin, Steve Bruce, and Jack Hackman

Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin Tridral, of Aro Books, told the Surrey and Hants News: "Savage Cabbage played in the Farnham, Frimley, Wrecclesham and Camberley areas in the late 1960s. "They were a Four-piece band with lead guitar, lead bass guitar, drums and rhythm bass guitar/harmonica/vocals."

He added: "The band also played Wrecclesham and Alton Town Hall."

Ngakpa 'ö-Dzin Tridral also told the Surrey and Hants News: "One of their songs was named Echo Barn Lane after the road in Wrecclesham."

"It would be wonderful if we could find people who remember Savage Cabbage." If you do, you should email: arobooksworldwide@gmail.com or call 07092 984961.

(Picture) Above: Doc Togden who was known as Farquhar Arbuthnot when he was with the band Savage Cabbage, which his book 'An Odd Boy' documents.

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This article appeared in the Surrey and Hants News, 1st March 2011

An appreciation of Zorba Publishers

I have had some requests to write references for Zorba Publishers who are publishing the Indian Subontinent edition of Relaxing into Meditation. I thought it might be helpful to publish my reference here.

Zorba Publishers contacted Aro Books worldwide in July 2010 having read a pre-publication review of Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin. Zorba Publishers were impressed with the review and were enquiring as to whether they could publish an Indian Subcontinent edition of the book..

At Aro Books worldwide we decided that we had to assure ourselves, as best we could, of the quality of Zorba Publishers' books and that we were happy with the proposed contract. Geetu Goel, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Zorba Publishers sent us a sample book and a proposed contract.

We were happy with the publication quality and so we proceeded to examine the contract. I read through it and discussed it with colleagues who work for our charitable organisation. We were impressed with the nature of the contract in that it sought to ensure fairness and strictly limited both the geographic region and the time period for the Indian subcontinent edition. The contract ensures that we, the owners of the work, retained overall control.

Since signing the contract we have been impressed with the work that Zorba Publishers have been doing to make a success of this venture. They have contacted bookshops and distributors as well as magazines which take articles or publish book reviews. All this is being done to ensure that when the book launches there is already a good degree of knowledge about it within the expected audience of people interested in spirituality.

We have also been impressed with the continued clarity of communication from Zorba Publishers, keeping us informed of every stage of the process.

The book has yet to launch, so we cannot yet claim that this work has been successful, but so far, I would say that I am very happy with the way things have gone.

'ö-Dzin Tridral, Aro Books worldwide

an odd boy - Press Release

 

"This portrait of the artist as a young man – is a coming-of-age adventure set in the cultural ferment of the 1960s. A high-spirited escapade—humorous and poignant by turn—of an era when the arts set a generation’s imagination on fire. It was an epoch of volatile excitement, naïve hope, and reckless experimentation. Music was the revolutionary edge and its protagonists saw no limits."

Extracts from an odd boy can be read on the website http://anoddboy.com

an odd boy will be published by Aro Books worldwide in four volumes during 2011 and 2012

Read the full press release at PressDoc, PrLog and freeBusinessWire