Aro Books worldwide

A period drama which defines the lost time

2012-01-21T08:05:00.000Z

Absolutely compulsive reading – a book you can read cover to cover in a day, if you don’t do anything else – and that’s just what I did. Then of course – I wanted to start at the outgoing again.

The only book that sent me straight back to page one as soon as I’d finished was Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. This book has something of this quality – but it’s a modern adventure, an account of a life of a young man exploring the arts.

It’s a memoire that reads like a novel – and a novel that reads at times like poetry. It’s almost like Dylan Thomas’ Under Milkwood but charged with the hip patois of the late 1960s.

The main characters, as the book evolves, are the members of the Savage Cabbage Blues Band – and they are described through the conversations they have with the author.

This is an English epic – and I find myself wondering ‘Is this the next Harry Potter?’ Nothing like this has appeared Since Jack Kerouac’s On the Road and it seems itching to be made into a movie.

The book is written in scenes and as each opens the reader is lead into another weird and wonderful world – but worlds that were still part of the 20th Century.

It's a period drama which defines the lost time, a epoch that ran from the early 1960s to the early 1970s – and the writer takes you right into that time frame. I recommend this book to anyone who loves reading – where they interested in the 1960s or not.

— John Hancock

This review of an odd boy is from gwales.com, the website of the Welsh Books Council. Read more reviews here.

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide and is available from amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com - and your local bookseller.

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

‘An Odd Boy’ - worthy of modern classic status - John Dummer

2012-01-12T21:43:00.002Z

Young Victor Simmerson feels alienated growing up in a Surrey village in post-war Britain. A free-thinking lad with an outlook ahead of his years he is distanced from his elderly disciplinarian father and turns to his gentle neighbour Mr Love for company. The ‘shell-shocked’ Mr Love wears ‘Evelyn Waugh clothes and possesses a collection of American Blues 78 rpm records. Victor is totally hooked by the imagery and romance of Blues. At the tender age of twelve the story of how the Devil granted a super-human talent as a guitarist and singer to the legendary Bluesman Robert Johnson in particular fascinates him. He learns that Johnson met the Devil or the African god Legba at ‘the crossroads’. Victor wants to try this himself but reckons his local crossroads near the village of Netherfield lack the qualities of the Mississippi Delta and decides to ramp up the element of danger by cycling there naked with his plastic ‘Skiffle Junior’ guitar on his back. When the Devil fails to turn up he cycles home disappointed but undaunted.

‘An Odd Boy’ is crammed with little gems and enchanting anecdotes like this. The character of Victor is reminiscent of the best of the American writer John Irving’s creations. Peppered with Blues couplets and quotes from ‘Alice In Wonderland’ to illustrate his point the author recounts Victor’s thoughts and observations of the suburban world he is growing up in in the sixties. Preferring the company of girls to boys (much to his father’s disgust) at five he falls in love with Alice, the daughter of liberal-thinking neighbours the Trevelyans, and they plan their future marriage down to the last detail. At junior school Victor is bullied by the other boys because of his German mother with shouts of “I’ll ’ityer!” (Heil Hitler). His Grandmother (Clara Schubert) is sympathetic to Victor’s aspirations. She had fled the Nazis at the beginning of the war and her story of how Hitler had killed the family’s parrot is a memorable one. Seemingly the radio station would turn up the volume when Hitler came on the air. The parrot had been sitting on his perch alone in the living room. During a particularly loud rant by the Führer the poor parrot was so shocked by the menacing voice he fell off his perch and died.

Victor fails to achieve the necessary five ‘O’ level passes for Farnham Grammar School for boys and instead applies for an interview at the girls’ grammar which only required three ‘O’ levels using just his surname and first initial. At his interview with the headmistress she expresses disbelief. “This is a—gells’—grammar school - and you are a boy. Is that not a problem?” He explains the number of ‘O’ levels differences. “I’ll wear a skirt, I’ll buy the uniform myself.” Victor assures her earnestly. The headmistress is amused and writes a letter to the headmaster of the local comprehensive school to secure him a place there.

‘An Odd Boy’ is an absorbing and rewarding read, a memoire written as a novel, unique in its vision of the world and in my estimation, worthy of modern classic status. Apparently this is just Volume One and the sequel, ‘Hellhound on My Trail’ is in the pipeline. I look forward to reading it.

— John Dummer

John Dummer has been a local paper reporter, music business press officer, record plugger and broadcaster. In the sixties he toured with his own John Dummer Blues Band and in the seventies drummed with the hit doo-wop revival group Darts. He met his wife Helen when she was the photographer on a Darts photo-session.

After Darts, Helen and John formed their own group, True Life Confessions, and also recorded as the duo, John Dummer and Helen April. John went on to manage the powerhouse rock trio the Screaming Blue Messiahs.

After three years of touring the States, burnt out from all the madness, he upped sticks with Helen and moved to France. There followed a two year sojurn living in a windmill in the Alentejo region of Portugal, and a return to France with finances much depleted. They discovered if they registered as 'brocanteurs' (French antique market traders) they could work and be covered under the excellent French health system.

It was working the French outdoor markets and the amusing and fascinating characters he met that inspired John to write his first book, Serge Bastarde Ate My Baguette. The sequel Son of Serge Bastarde is published by Summersdale on June 4th. John and Helen now live in South West France in the middle of the Landes forest with their dog Buster and quite a lot of cats.

Read more about Serge Bastarde on Facebook

You say you want a resolution ...

2011-12-31T12:22:00.004Z

"You say you want a resolution"
— misquoting 'Revolution', Lennon/McCartney

Resolving to meditate for 10 minutes per day would be more helpful in our lives than many other resolutions that we could make. 10 minutes per day is also a resolution that we can keep.

Read more on Ngakma Nor'dzin's blog, or in her book 'Relaxing into Meditation'.

Happy New Year!

Always the Season to be Jolly

2011-12-08T09:35:00.001Z

A Buddhist Christmas

always the season to be jolly

Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo

At Christmas time people seem to make an effort to be jolly. Strangers will greet you with a 'Merry Christmas' and generally there is an air of open-heartedness and goodwill. We all enjoy the sparkly decorations and coloured lights and are able to rediscover child-like pleasure in such simple things.

We can always live like this and not forget it just because Christmas is over. It is in fact possible to be warm towards one another throughout the year and continue to encourage the cheerfulness of spirit we discover at Christmas.

As Buddhist parents living in a primarily Christian society, we felt that it was important that our children joined in with Christmas celebrations and felt part of what was going on around them.

Carols have the most wonderful tunes and singing is a joyful experience that lifts our spirits. Christmas is often a time of creativity for children with nativity plays, the making of decorations and cards, and culinary creations.

As a family we have also joined in the tradition of giving presents. Loving parents would like to give the whole world to their children if they could – and there is no end to the desires of children. It is important to remember that ownership of the object of desire does not bring everlasting fulfilment. Once the object is owned, there will be another object that is wanted. So we should not feel pressurised as parents to buy our children more than we can afford or more than it is healthy for our children to receive.

Open appreciation is fulfilling and everlasting, and everything can be appreciated without being owned simply by enjoying it with our senses.

Christmas is a time for families. This can sometimes be slightly stressful when one is forced to spend a protracted period of time with rarely-seen members of the family who insist on treating you as they remember you 20 years ago. It is important to maintain a sense of humour and remember that apparent lack of consideration or irritating behaviour is merely our interpretation of that behaviour, and our opinion should not be taken too seriously. If we keep a light heart and a sense of humour we will find that we can enjoy the eccentricities of our families.

The ancient festival at this time of year was the winter solstice – recognising the death of the old year and celebrating the birth of the new year. Impermanence is a key teaching in Buddhism, so it is useful to be reminded of this.
The past cannot be changed or revisited however much we might wish to.
The future cannot be predicted or foreseen.
All we can ever know and enjoy is the present moment and present moments are infinite.
If we can learn to live in the present moment and appreciate everything it has to offer we will discover happiness and contentment.

There is much to enjoy about the winter –
the iridescence of a snow-swept landscape with rainbows glistening in ice crystals;
the stark beauty of naked trees silhouetted against a clear cold sky;
snuggling in front of a warming winter fire;
tucking into hot soups and stews;
hearing the laughter of children playing in the snow;
deciphering the tracks of creatures that have traversed the garden;
enjoying the softness of winter woollies and cosy hats and gloves.

I hope that you enjoy the Christmas season and appreciate every moment of it.
I wish you a happy and peaceful new year.
Whatever happens next year will happen.
If we approach all that happens with an open heart, a sense of appreciation and the intention to be warm and kind toward others, we will discover peace and contentment and help others to discover this as well.

Merry Christmas.

This article was originally written for — and broadcast on — The Way of the Toddler Hour

Wrapping up for the holiday

2011-12-06T22:00:00.001Z

This is likely to be the last post this year as we will shortly be heading off to India and Nepal for about two weeks.

Ngakma Nor'dzin is due to teach on Relaxation and Meditation in Delhi next week and then we are travelling on to Bodha in Nepal to join a pilgrimage there.

Our shops remain open throughout the holiday period with books on Lulu and artworks on Zazzle.com and Zazzle.co.uk

We hope that everyone has a wonderful holiday, a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Offers from Lulu and Zazzle - Sales don't necessarily sell

2011-12-03T10:09:00.001Z

From time to time Lulu and Zazzle announce special offers. These can include fairly drastic price reductions of 25% or even as much as 50% off.

This is good for the customer as it saves you money. It's good for us also as it may encourage people to buy books and artwork but it doesn't affect the amount we receive.

That's the theory at least.

The strange thing that I have noticed is that people's purchases bear no particular relationship to the offers that are available. Sales tick over the same as ever. Sometimes books are even bought the day after an offer on them has ended.

I'm wondering whether people don't get to see the offers that are available and I'm not sure what to do about this. The offers are often announced on Lulu and Zazzle's twitter streams so you may wish to follow those. I also blog or tweet about offers if I have the time, so people following this blog, or people who follow us on twitter should get to see these things.

I would very much welcome your comments.

- Do special offers affect your decision to buy?

- Do you get to see the offers from Lulu and Zazzle?

- What can we do to make sure that you see the offers that are available?

Please leave your comments on the blog - http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/2011/12/offers-from-lulu-and-zazzle-sales-dont.html - I would appreciate your thoughts and suggestions.

SPB Roundup - a home for Self-Published Books

2011-11-27T11:23:00.001Z

Patsy Porco of SPB Roundup has provided a place where self-published authors can list their books at no charge. This is a helpful resource for authors and for readers .

"Self-Published Books needed a home–one destination where authors could list their self-published books, and readers could browse titles that were heretofore hard to find. This site is providing what was missing in the book market."

http://www.spbroundup.com/

A wonderful read for the artist in all of us - Ted Stilles on 'an odd boy'

2011-11-22T22:28:00.001Z

“It’s not about ‘worth it’ or ‘not worth it’ when you have a dream. If you want to be an Artist, you’ve got to go with your dream – or it’s just a daydream.” — Doc Togden.

Truer words have never been spoken. Doc takes the reader inside the heart and soul of the young creative in a way that at once reveals the relentless pull that takes some of us to heights unimaginable in a world set on conformity. We may be few and far between but he reminds us we are not alone. A wonderful read for the artist in all of us.

— Ted Stilles

Ted Stilles is an American born blues guitarist from Montclair, NJ who was a part of the New YorkCity blues scene in the early ‘70s. His first blues recordings were on the Spivey Records label. He hasperformed with such blues legends as Willie Dixon, Muddy Waters, and Johnny Winter. In the ‘80s hespent time with Blue Note recording artist Big John Patton. There’s a passion and subtlety to his playingthat connect with audiences large and small.

Ted Stilles records with Candyland Recording Inc. http://www.candylandrecording.com/ Candyland Artist Key# 953

25% off books in Britain until 28th November 2011

2011-11-22T19:50:00.001Z

Lulu are offering 25% off books bought in Britain from now through 28th November 2011 at 23:59.

Here's their small print:

Enter coupon code CYBERWEEKUK305 at checkout and receive 25% off your order. The maximum savings for this offer is £300. Sorry, but this offer is only valid in Pounds and cannot be applied to previous orders. You can only use this code once per account, and unfortunately you can't use this coupon in combination with other coupon codes. This great offers expires on 28 November 2011 at 11:59 PM, so don't miss out! While very unlikely, we do reserve the right to change or revoke this offer at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so.

So enter CYBERWEEKUK305 at checkout to receive 25% off your order, up to a maximum saving of £300.

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arobooksworldwide

http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arobooksworldwide

Dear Sir or Madman - The Rabbit of Typographical Errors

2011-11-18T15:07:00.001Z

Some years ago I wrote a letter to a psychiatrist. Years later I looked at a copy of the letter and couldn't believe what I'd written. The letter began:

'Dear Sir or Madman,'

Yes, I'd written 'Madman' ... in a letter to a psychiatrist. I never did receive a reply.

More recently I let another typing error go unnoticed, I'd misspelt 'risible' on the Rabbit mugs - all of them.

Unfortunately they've been selling rather well, so I've been gainfully employed not only in correcting the error, but also in contacting the customers to arrange replacement. It's been a time-consuming lesson in proofreading and the results of not checking things thoroughly.

As you can see from the Rabbit of Death, the mugs are now all correct and once more ready for sale. Take a look at them at http://www.zazzle.com/arobooksworldwide/gifts?dp=252585008705651924 or http://www.zazzle.co.uk/arobooksworldwide/gifts?dp=252585008705651924 . Do let me know if you spot any mistakes!

Greetings from the Risible Rabbits - now featured on US postage

2011-11-14T22:49:00.001Z

Ræchel's Risible Rabbits are now available as Greetings Cards, Postcards and US Postage too.

All designs feature The Rabbit of Death, The Rabbit of Skinniness, The Rabbit of Naughtiness (who balances a fried egg between his ears), and nine other rabbits all drawn by Ræchel Togden.

Find them online in a Zazzle store near you - inAustralia,Brazil,Canada,Germany,Spain,France,Japan,Portugal,UK andUSA. Unfortunately the postage stamps are only valid in the USA.

Ræchel Togden is an artist who works in mixed media – drawing and PhotoShop colouring. She has been working on the Rabbit drawings since 2010.

The Tiger's Table - An interview with Doc Togden - Freado.com

2011-11-14T19:22:00.001Z

Freado.com — a site where book lovers can win books — features an interview with Doc Togden where he talks about an odd boy, the influences on his writing, and his next plans for publication.

"Then – there’s an off-the-wall project – a recipe book called ‘The Tiger’s Table’. The gustatory olfactory senses are mainly neglected when people speak of the Arts – and Caroline and I would like to change that. This is something of a long term project because nothing I cook makes references to measurements or qualities. This means we shall have to cook everything and take notes of what we’d need to tell the reader with respect to reproducing our outrageous gastronomic exploits . . . It will be the recipe book that puts the ‘hell’ in health and the ‘die’ in diet ." — Doc Togden

Read the full interview here : http://www.freado.com/users/interview/29347/doc-togden/

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

The book is available on amazon.com, amazon.co.uk and lulu.com

Awaiting the stamp of approval

2011-11-12T12:30:00.001Z

In the USA it is possible to create your own postage stamps. This is a wonderful opportunity to display artistic creativity. The stamps have to go through an approval process with the USPS.

We are awaiting their decision regarding Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits. We hope that you will soon be able to buy sheets of these stamps - perhaps just in time for all the cards you send at this time of year.

Meanwhile, you can see Ræchel's Rabbit Calendar and Mugs

Empowered to be more creative

2011-11-12T09:50:00.001Z

We enjoyed an evening with Doc Togden on 4th November at which he spoke of the nature of Art and the way in which people could be artists in their own lives - if they want to be.

"It would be good to think that people could feel empowered to be more creative in their lives and to think of themselves as Artists. I’m a great believer that hard work in more important than natural ability"
— Doc Togden

Doc Togden is the author of Volume 1 of an odd boy published by Aro Books worldwide.
Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

30% off - Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits - one day only

2011-11-10T13:47:00.001Z

Zazzle have a one-day sale with 30% off mugs.

The sale lasts until November 10, 2011 11:59pm PT.

Enter code VETERANSALE4 on checkout.

To see our mugs, start here (USA)

http://www.zazzle.com/arobooksworldwide/gifts?dp=252723988628978211

or here (UK)

http://www.zazzle.co.uk/arobooksworldwide/gifts?dp=252723988628978211

20% off books in Britain until 11th November

2011-11-07T07:39:00.001Z

Lulu are offering 20% off books for their British customers from now until midnight 11th November. If you're considering giving books as presents, now might be a good time to buy them.

Use coupon code EARLYSHOPPERUK305

Follow these links to our best sellers

Risible Rabbits calendar - an odd boy - Relaxing into Meditation - Moving Being

Or browse the whole store: http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/arobooksworldwide

Aro Books worldwide - International Zazzle Stores

2011-11-05T12:17:00.002Z

Aro Books worldwide artwork is available from Zazzle stores - worldwide. Zazzle have now made it simpler to find the store nearest you. Just click on the appropriate flag in the banner above.

Zazzl also translate the names of the artworks. If you are in Spain, don't miss the Conejo de la Muerte!

Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits - A mug for every month

2011-11-03T20:42:00.000Z

Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits are now available as mugs, steins and glasses and may be purchased from Zazzle stores worldwide.

The mugs feature The Rabbit of Death, The Rabbit of Skinniness, The Rabbit of Naughtiness (who balances a fried egg between his ears), and nine other rabbits all drawn by Ræchel Togden.

Find them online in a Zazzle store near you - inAustralia,Brazil,Canada,Germany,Spain,France,Japan,Portugal,UK andUSA.

Ræchel Togden is an artist who works in mixed media – drawing and PhotoShop colouring. She has been working on the Rabbit drawings since 2010.

Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 & an odd boy

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000Z

an odd boy - volume one by Doc Togden has been accepted as an entrant in the Wales Book of the Year Award 2012 run by Literature Wales / Llenyddiaeth Cymru. an odd boy has been entered as a work of literary non-fiction.

"The annual Wales Book of the Year prizes, administered by Literature Wales with funding from the Arts Council of Wales, are awarded to the best Welsh-language and English-language works in the fields of creative writing and literary criticism." — Literature Wales

Works in English are being judged by Spencer Jordan, Trezza Azzopardi and Sam Adams

Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits Calendar 2012

2011-11-01T18:46:00.000Z

We are very pleased to be able to offer Ræchel's Ridiculously Risible Rabbits Calendar as our Calendar for 2012.

The calendar features The Rabbit of Death, The Rabbit of Skinniness, The Rabbit of Naughtiness (who balances a fried egg between his ears), and nine other rabbits all drawn by Ræchel Togden

The calendar is available from Lulu (http://bit.ly/rrtrrr2012callul). There is a preview available so that you can see all the rabbits.

Ræchel Togden is an artist who works in mixed media – drawing and PhotoShop colouring. She has been working on the Rabbit drawings since 2010.

An evening with an odd boy - Bristol - 4th November 2011

2011-10-28T08:01:00.000+01:00

An evening with an odd boy

enjoy an evening of wine,readings and booksigning with Doc Togden

Friday 4th November at 7pm

Aro Ling, 127 Gloucester Road, Bristol, BS7 8AX

an odd boy is a memoire of an eccentric aficionado of Bach and Blues, poetry and painting. This is a portrait of the artist as a lad, set in the experimental cultural ferment of the late 1960s... A depiction of an era when the Arts set a generation on fire.

"I wish to inspire people to think of themselves as artists – even though they may never paint, write, or engage in any obvious way. Being an artist simply requires a compassionate state of mind that is open to a joyous appreciation of the sense fields."
— Doc Togden

Either Doc Togden is normal, or I'm odd too. Kris Gray reviews 'an odd boy'

2011-10-09T11:44:00.000+01:00

Either Doc Togden is normal, or I'm odd too, as there are so many similarities here with my early life we could be brothers. We both had fathers who fought against our chosen musical careers and the length of our hair. I like biographies and this one of Doc's early life with his introduction to blues music at the tender age of 7 is like no other I have read before. I couldn't put it down, although often forced to by the late hour. He illustrates his points with quotes from many a blues song, film, poem or book to the extent that I have never seen before. This book should be a benchmark for all future music biographies, I'll even have to go back and re-write some of mine!

Any musician who grew up in the 50's and 60's, when the boundaries of music were being pushed further than they ever will again, will empathise with Doc and his struggles with family, friends and school to fulfil his ambition to be a blues musician. I urge all of those musicians to read this book; it will bring a tear to your eyes of both sadness and joy. I can't recommend it enough. Anybody who thinks The Beatles `Revolver' album was the best one they made certainly knows his stuff!

— Kris Gray

Kris Gray is a Blues musician, record produce, music agent, manage and author. http://krisgray.co.uk/

Doc Togden interviewed by Cathy Stucker about 'an odd boy'

2011-10-07T17:43:00.001+01:00

Cathy Stucker's Selling Books site features an interview with Doc Togden on the subject of an odd boy.

"I wish to inspire people to think of themselves as artists – even though they may never paint, write, or engage in any obvious way. Being an artist simply requires a compassionate state of mind that is open to a joyous appreciation of the sense fields." -- Doc Togden

Read the full interview here : http://www.sellingbooks.com/doc-togden-an-odd-boy/

Backups sponsored by SpiderOak

2011-10-06T23:35:00.000+01:00

A computer can let you down at any moment, and when it does the result can be disastrous - total loss of data. So we need backups.

With this in mind we've been backing up the server that hosts the Aro websites. Every day, a backup is taken of every website. The only problem with this arrangement is that the backup files sit on the server. So in the event of total disaster, everything is still lost.

With this in mind we have been copying the backups to a safe place every month. This is a piece of work that we could happily stop doing, if there was a way of automating it.

So in September we installed Spideroak on our server.

SpiderOak watches for any changes in the files and ships off any new or changed files to the SpiderOak servers. Because of this our daily backups are now copied to SpiderOak servers, so in the event of the loss of our servers we can recover all the sites. And all of this happens without us having to remember.

SpiderOak encrypts all the data, so it always remains private. It also deduplicates so that if the same file is backed up more than once it only takes up the same space as one copy.

The good people of SpiderOak have been most generous and sponsored us with 30Gb of space. This should keep our sites safe for some time to come.

If you want to know more about SpiderOak, please see their website (https://spideroak.com/). If you decide to sign up with them, please use our referral link -
https://spideroak.com/download/referral/90789c3635304ca63da83dec0b67dcfb - you will get 3Gb of space, free, and we get another 1Gb added to our space.

Relaxing into Meditation - Om Yoga and Lifestyle Magazine

2011-10-04T07:51:00.000+01:00

From the What we're reading page of Om Yoga & Lifestyle Magazine, October 2011

"What exercises and practices will help us to live a life free of stress? Ngakma Nor’dzin, a Western Buddhist Lama, guides us through relaxation and breathing exercises that lead into meditation. The methods are described in friendly and accessible language, and will enhance the lives of those who practise them."

http://www.ommagazine.com/

Relaxing into Meditation Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide

Take at least 10 minutes every day to meditate - Q&A with Ngakma Nor’dzin

2011-08-18T22:28:00.000+01:00

"Take at least 10 minutes every day to meditate" - Ngakma Nor'dzin

Ngakma Nor'dzin talks to Sprout Savvy about Relaxing into Meditation

"Meditation practice injects a period of space into our lives – a few minutes that we give to ourselves to just be quiet and alone. A meditation practice of 10 minutes a day gradually builds into a daily experience of spaciousness where we can discover the mechanism of our habit patterns."

Read the full article : http://sproutsavvy.com/health/relaxing-into-meditation-qa-with-ngakma-nordzin/

Sprout Savvy provides insights about green living through informative videos and articles. Learn how to live a balanced lifestyle by initiating small changes that make a big difference.

Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim
Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide.

Read a chapter from 'an odd boy' and help publicise the book

2011-08-05T12:00:00.002+01:00

If you would like to read you can't accidentally drink reindeer urine from an odd boy, and help publicise the book at the same time, please click on the 'share to get' button below or go to this page: http://bit.ly/nO9Yj2. You will be asked to link to the chapter via Facebook or Twitter before downloading the chapter to read.

We have no stock, but supplies are unlimited

2011-07-30T00:15:00.002+01:00

This is the paradox of print-on-demand. We have no stock, but supplies are unlimited.

We print on demand with Lulu (http://bit.ly/stores-lulu-com-arobooksworldwide) for books and Zazzle for art (http://bit.ly/zazzle-com-arobooksworldwide). This means that your order goes to Lulu and Zazzle and not to us.

Lulu print books as close as they can to the delivery address to minimise shipping. This means that orders for the USA are printed in the USA, orders for Britain are printed in Britain. Lulu themselves are based in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Orders at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other web shops are dealt with in a similar fashion. Books are printed and shipped to order. Orders from bookshops work a little differently. We receive information from Gardners and then place an order on Lulu for shipment.

So although we have no stock — and we rarely see a book — we have an unlimited supply.

Deborah Magone on 'an odd boy' by Doc Togden

2011-07-26T07:36:00.000+01:00

‘An Odd Boy’ unfolds like its butterflies, one spectacular sentence after another. I love the meeting of two worlds old and new – in a child who becomes a man. I love the references to song quotes relevant to the each part of the story. A delight to read!
— Deborah Magone

“At a mere 5 foot – three inches, this little Blues Rock Mama can belt a tune in the style of Big Mama Thornton, Deborah blends it all together to form her own ‘whimsical and walloping’ vocal style while strutting her stuff on guitar.” http://deborahmagone.com/

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

Pay With A Tweet - Spam or not Spam?

2011-07-25T21:03:00.000+01:00

I came across Pay With A Tweet some time ago and I thought it was very innovative. It allows an organisation to make something available - a report, a sample book chapter, an ebook and so forth. If you want the item you pay for it by tweeting about it. This means that it becomes known to all your Twitter followers. It looks like a great way to make something well known in a short amount of time.

I then read an alternative viewpoint, that Pay With A Tweet is Spam. I thought that this was a serious point to a make. The view is that a tweet that you send as a payment is not authentic or personal and is therefore spam.

I can see both sides of the argument. You could say that Pay With A Tweet is authentic and personal, in that you are letting your followers know something that you are interested in. On the other hand you would be tweeting before you know whether you like what you have bought with your tweet.

Aro Books worldwide is part of a Charity and at first sight Pay With A Tweet appealed as it would enable us to gain some publicity for very little outlay. I would not want us to get a reputation for spamming, however, so I would like to have the benefit of your thoughts about this.

Would it be good to give away a free book chapter via Pay With A Tweet? Would you be happy to have heard about this via an automated tweet?

If you would look at Pay With A Tweet and Pay With A Tweet is Spam and let me know what you think I would very much appreciate it. There is a poll on this blog so you could vote, or leave comments, or both.

Thank you!

an odd boy - launched!

2011-07-24T23:03:00.000+01:00

Today saw the launch of an odd boy by Doc Togden. We held the launch on Facebook and had about 60 people online able to ask questions of Doc Togden. The full transcript of the event is here - http://on.fb.me/docaobv01evt .Many thanks to all those who took part.

The direct link for anyone who would like to purchase a copy of the book is http://bit.ly/docaobv01lul. The book is currently available at its 20% discounted launch price.

Sugar Blue on 'an odd boy' by Doc Togden

2011-07-24T10:30:00.001+01:00

… like all the beautiful love stories I've ever read in a few paragraphs. Incredibly touching. The love and daring of a young boy in search of the Muse at an age when all dreams can be made real and the joy of art lives in the heart and doesn't boggle the mind.
— Sugar Blue

In the mid 1970s, Blue played as a session musician on Johnny Shines' Too Wet to Plow (1975) and with Roosevelt Sykes. Blue met Louisiana Red and the twosome toured and recorded in 1978. Taking advice from Memphis Slim, in the late 1970s Blue traveled to Paris, France. This led to him playing on several The Rolling Stones tracks. Trombonist Mike Zwerin backed Blue on his solo debut album, Crossroads (1979). Following the release of his From Chicago to Paris (1982), Blue joined Willie Dixon's Chicago Blues All Stars. In 1984, Blue's track "Another Man Done Gone", appeared on the compilation album, Blues Explosion. It won a Grammy in 1984 for Best Traditional Blues Album. Blue appeared with Brownie McGhee in the film, Angel Heart (1987). Blue's next album Blue Blazes was released in 1994. It was followed by In Your Eyes (1995), and Code Blue released in 2007. On January 26, 2010, Beeble Music released Threshold, Blue's latest album. Taken from Sugar Blue's Biography on Wikipedia

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

Book Launch Event - an odd boy - Doc Togden

2011-07-21T23:25:00.001+01:00

We're very happy to announce the launch of an odd boy on 24th July at pm BST (which is midday in East Coast USA and 9am West Coast).

Please join the author for the Facebook event at http://on.fb.me/docaobv01evt

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.

Read more about the book here http://bit.ly/docaobv01

Read excerpts at anoddboy.com

A Book Shop on the Blog

2011-07-19T21:14:00.000+01:00

Aro Books worldwide books are available from Lulu, Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk and many other online and offline book shops.

We've included the Lulu shop in the Blog so that you can browse the shop immediately.

http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/p/book-shop.html

C J Tozer on 'an odd boy' by Doc Togden

2011-07-18T07:05:00.001+01:00

The first few sentences let you know that you are about to start a journey of discovery to a destination that no sat/nav could plot a course for, even the ordinance survey would have a problem locating exactly which route will be followed and where upon the lines of latitude and longitude you will arrive.

This is an amble of wonderment in a young lads life as he grew up in the green belt that surrounds London, turning the woodlands and meadows into a Carrollian theme park that he shared with his young friend Alice. The constant battles with his father, two generations divided by mis-understandment, one in a world that was and the other in a world that would be. On his search for the essence and understanding of a musical form that his birth roots and tribal memories had no perception of he leads you by the curiosity of those first eerie haunting sounds that arrived via the gramophone of an elderly neighbour to the unsuspecting and absorbing ear drums of a young disciple , sounds that would drive him ever onward into adulthood on a quest for that elusive mystery that is 'Blues'

This is a historical tour through the beginnings of the second half of the twentieth century that led to so much upheaval and change in the structure of British society,

For those who had not lived in or taken part in these turbulent days as Britain finally clawed it's way out of the austerity of the post war years, this is a peep hole into a world that modern eyes could not perceive. For those of that generation who can stand up and say "I was there." so much can be found in these pages to stop them sharp with a cry of, "Oh My God! I remember that."

Part one of 'An Odd Boy' is like having the taste of some exotic food on the tip of the tongue, you are not sure of what it is you like but you must try some more and some more, and some more.

This is a book to be read from end to end and then to be shared.

Colin Tozer is a performing Blues musician — veteran of the British Blues Boom — and an Artist. He was born & bred in the Wandle Delta and grew up in Beautiful Down Town Battersea home of the blues and has lived in France for 5 years.
“My father had a stack of 78's of all types in this bunch of vinyl, there was a bit of jazz and blues and it made me hooked. The music I play is usually the southern states of the United States, except for a few songs written by myself, but also some traditional English songs. In fact, the primary emotion of the music emanates and extends from the Mississippi to the Appalachian Mountains, to this side of the Atlantic.” www.cjtozer.co.uk [Translated from French by Google]

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden is published by Aro Books worldwide

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage and at anoddboy.com

Clear Invoices

2011-07-17T11:16:00.001+01:00

Aro Books worldwide is a print-on-demand publisher. Most of our orders are dealt with by Lulu who take the order and print and ship the books. This saves us considerable effort in terms of shipping and invoicing.

We receive some orders directly or via Gardners Books and then have to ship the books and invoice the customer. For invoicing we rely on Clear Invoices which enables us to create and send invoices online.

Clear Invoices is easy to use. Once you have added a customer or a product it becomes available from a drop-down list, so it is a simple matter to compose invoices. When a payment is received the invoice can be marked as part paid or fully paid.

The system enables us to easily keep track of which payments are still outstanding.

The Clear Invoices service that we use is free. This is important to Aro Books worldwide as we operate on a charitable basis – all work is donated and all proceeds are donated to our parent charity Sang-ngak-chö-dzong.

an odd boy : you can't accidentally drink reindeer urine

2011-07-11T01:00:00.000+01:00

you can't accidentally

The odd boy lay down by the football field – took out a slim volume of Mallarmé, / The centre-forward called him an imbecile – it’s an odd boy who doesn’t like sport. / Sport, Sport, masculine sport – equips a young man for society, Yes, sport turns out a jolly good sort – it’s an odd boy who doesn’t like sport.
Vivian Stanshall—Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band—Sport (the odd boy)—Keynsham—1969

My father would have concurred with Vivian Stanshall – but missed the irony. I came to realise, as I grew older, that my father always missed irony – and that his humour was mainly of the slipping-on-a-banana-skin schadenfreude variety. He enjoyed ‘Benny Hill’ – and was irritated by ‘The Goon Show.’

In later life I gained access to my medical records. They were of no interest apart from the one remark made by a Doctor Page in 1957. The remark read: ‘an odd boy ’ – and so I was.

No treatment was suggested – and no comments were made as to whether I had recovered from the malady. I was 5 years old when I was described as ‘an odd boy’ – and at the age of 12 my male classmates started noticing the fact. They noticed that I didn’t enjoy competitive sport – and it eventually roused their ire. I’d been injudiciously open about the fact that I found the whole ‘team’ business distinctly loathsome.

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden will be published by Aro Books worldwide in 2011

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage

Joanna Lumley on Relaxing into Meditation

2011-07-08T21:32:00.004+01:00

We have received a lovely endorsement of Relaxing into Meditation from Joanna Lumley

Miss Lumley says of the book:

"This is a wonderful introduction to relaxation and meditation - its message offers peace and tranquillity in this stressful world"
Joanna Lumley

Joanna Lumley, OBE, FRGS is an English actress, voice-over artist and author, best known for her roles in British television series Absolutely Fabulous portraying Edina Monsoon’s best friend, Patsy Stone, as well as parts in The New Avengers, Sapphire & Steel, and Sensitive Skin. She is a former model and Bond girl. Her distinctive voice has been supplied for animated characters, film narration, and AOL's “You have email” notification in the UK. She has spoken out as a human rights activist for Survival International and the Gurkha Justice Campaign, and is now considered a “national treasure” of Nepal because of her support. She is an advocate for a number of charities and animal welfare groups such as CIWF and Viva! She has won three BAFTA awards and a British comedy award. (Wikipedia).

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin is published by Aro Books worldwide, ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8. It is available from Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Lulu.com and all leading bookstores. For more information please see the book's web page http://bit.ly/nrprim

an odd boy : if you see me coming, you’d better step aside

2011-06-27T01:00:00.001+01:00

if you see me coming,

Infant school had been gloriously free of team sport – but junior school was a nightmare of ball games. The balls of Moloch were horribly in evidence—as were boys—and I eyed them warily. They seemed infantile and ridiculous – ready to fight for reasons I couldn’t comprehend. I’d been hit repeatedly and pushed about the school yard by a particular boy called Adrian Parrott. He appeared to pick on me without cause – and evidently thought it fun to make my play periods miserable. One day I decided that enough was enough – and knocked him to the floor with a blow to the nose. I didn’t intend to hit him on the nose. I just swung out at him – and his nose was at the end of the swing. There was more blood than I imagined was possible. His white shirt was sodden with it. The poor boy was terrified. So was I. I thought he was going to die.

Trouble erupted over my première as a pugilist. Other boys—onlookers—came to my defence. I’d been hit first – but the teachers seemed to think that I had hit back far too hard.
I probably did hit him too hard – but I’d never hit anyone before. How was I supposed to know what would happen?

The teachers eyed me as some sort of thug. I’d obviously been slugging it out since I was a toddler.

If you see me coming you’d better step aside / A lotta men didn’t and a lotta men died / I got one hand made of iron – the other made of steel /
If the left one don’t getcher then the right one will.
Merle Travis—Sixteen Tons—performed by Tennessee Ernie Ford—1946

This was hardly my image of myself. This was the first time I’d fought – so I was confused by the way in which I was treated.

[...]

I was deeply sorry for Adrian Parrott – but the outcome proved useful. I was never bullied again at that school.

It wasn’t over a week in fact before I was talking to Adrian in a friendly way. The teachers noticed that I never fought anyone and my Form Teacher took me aside to tell me that they were happy with my behaviour in the play ground. Everything was forgotten and the teachers accepted that I was not a homicidal hoodlum.

When Bo Diddley come to town, the streets get empty and the sun go down.
Bo Diddley—Bo Diddley’s a Gunslinger—1960

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden will be published by Aro Books worldwide in 2011

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage

Aro Books worldwide blog on Kindle

2011-06-24T00:09:00.000+01:00

The Aro Books worldwide Blog (that you are reading now) is available for Kindle from amazon.co.uk and amazon.com .

The cost is $0.99/month from amazon.com and £0.99/month from amazon.co.uk. There is a 14 day free trial in both cases.

I don't know whether the blog is available from any other Amazon sites.

If you would like to subscribe - just for the 14 day free trial period would be fine of course - I would very much like to have your opinion of reading the blog via a Kindle.

Please leave comments on this blog entry.

For amazon.co.uk please go to http://amzn.to/abwblgkinzuk

For amazon.com please go to http://amzn.to/abwblgkinzus

To read the blog for free via conventional means please go to http://aro-books-worldwide.blogspot.com/ which is probably where you are already.

many thanks,

'ö-Dzin Tridral
Aro Books worldwide

an odd boy : mister love

2011-06-23T17:00:00.002+01:00

mister love

“It’s the music Mr Love ” I said, feeling slightly anxious “I hope you don’t mind – but I don’t know what it is. I’ve never heard that music before and . . . and . . . I like listening to it. What is that music, please? ”

He smiled. “It’s . . . Blues ” he replied, beaming at me. “It’s from America. That is why . . . you have never heard it before.”

I asked him if I would be able to hear it somewhere and he replied “People don’t listen to music like this in England.” Then he laughed quietly “It’s a little too . . . lively . . . yes . . . too lively.”

I asked “Is it . . . alright then – if I stay in the tree and listen? ”

Mr Love laughed gently and replied “We can do better than that—young Victor—you can come into the garden and sit with me. I can tell you about this music . . . if you like.”
Fantastic! I’d like nothing better in the entire world. “Yes please Mr Love! I would like that very much indeed! ” I replied eagerly.

I descended from the willow tree and sat near him—in a raggedy old orange and blue striped deck chair with a delicate woodworm tracery in the frame—listening to crackling 78 records of Big Bill Broonzy. He brought out glasses of ginger beer that his sister had made. It was delicious. I’d never tasted ginger beer before – but Mr Love provided it whenever I visited. I somehow conceived of it as the thing that Bluesmen drank.

I wonder why that south-bound train don’t run, now you don’t need no telling, little girl, you know what you done.
Southbound Train—Big Bill Broonzy—1937

What a voice that man had! “Who—is—that man? ” I asked – and Mr Love told me all about Big Bill Broonzy. Who’d ever heard of a person having such a name? The three Bs together were magic. Mr Love told a long story and illustrated it by playing different gramophone records. It was like being in school – but as school ought to be, not school as it was.

“I want to sing like Big Bill Broonzy! ” I proclaimed with joy.

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden will be published by Aro Books worldwide in 2011

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage

Relaxing into Meditation at Indiamart

2011-06-13T21:05:00.009+01:00

Ngakma Nor'dzin's book Relaxing in to meditation is now listed on Indiamart.

http://www.indiamart.com/zorba-publishers/products.html#relaxing-into-meditation-books

For further information and reviews please see the book's web page http://bit.ly/nrprim

an odd boy : alice in wonderland

2011-06-13T01:00:00.002+01:00

alice in wonderland

When logic and proportion have fallen sloppy dead, / And the White Knight is talking backwards and the Red Queen’s: “Off with her head!” Grace Slick—Jefferson Airplane—White Rabbit—Surrealistic Pillow—1967

Scent of wild strawberries. Grasshoppers performing arpeggios on the unripened wheat-husks of their legs. Sunflowers gazing down with undisguised curiosity in an acre of garden emboldened by handsome chestnut trees. Alice and I played there all day in the Summers. It was almost as much my home as hers. My father didn’t mind me being away for unusual stretches of time – as I wouldn’t be making a nuisance of myself in his vicinity.

Alice and I would often wander in Weyflood Woods. There was a small meadow a short walk through the trees across the River Weyflood. We imagined no one else knew that it was there. The Weyflood is called a river but it’s no more than a stream. We could jump it with ease at the age of 5. We’d sit in our mystery meadow wordlessly observing butterflies. There were an inordinate number of butterflies in the late 1950s: red admirals, purple emperors, green hairstreaks, peacocks, tortoiseshells, green fritillaries, painted ladies, cabbage whites, brimstones, meadow browns, swallowtails, small heaths, Adonis blues, and all kinds of skippers. An extravaganza surpassing the Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album sleeve. We felt it cruel to try to catch them as they were too easily damaged. We found, if we sat still—and if we were absolutely quiet—they’d come near and flitter around us.

Volume 1 of an odd boy by Doc Togden will be published by Aro Books worldwide in 2011

Excerpts can be read on Doc Togden's Facebook fanpage

Bookbuzzr interview with Ngakma Nor'dzin

2011-06-10T22:42:00.013+01:00

Ngakma Nor'dzin has been interviewed by book publicists Bookbuzzr:

Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I am 56 years old, have just celebrated 26 years of marriage, and have two grown up sons. I live in Cardiff with my husband. I have been a Buddhist for over 30 years and have been a teacher for all my professional life. I teach Buddhism, Tibetan yoga, meditation and relaxation. I also practice pulse diagnosis and reflexology. I was brought up in the West Midlands of England but moved to Wales at the beginning of the 1980s after completing a design degree.

Read more: http://www.freado.com/users/interview/23759/nordzin-pamo

Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide.

Relaxing into Meditation : Featured in Life Positive

2011-06-04T23:08:00.028+01:00

Life Positive, described as India's leading spiritual magazine has been published in India since 1996. The June 2011 edition features an article on Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin.

In her article, Ngakma Nor'dzin says:

"Over time, the moments of experience of mind without thought will lengthen and occur more frequently and this spaciousness of mind will sparkle in our every day lives. We will start to notice our habit patterns and cease to be their victim. We will discover that we have a choice about who we are and how we live. We will discover emotion as naked energy and our sensory experiences will become enlivened. We will become more open, patient, tolerant and kind. We will discover open appreciation and awaken to our natural state of well-being."

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

Relaxing into Meditation : Featured in Om Times

2011-05-30T18:47:00.009+01:00

"Meditate every day for ten minutes—or longer if you are comfortable—and you will gradually start to find that you are more open, patient, tolerant and kind through the spaciousness of mind you have discovered. Relax the body, and then take this into meditation to discover relaxation of mind."

http://omtimes.com/2011/05/relaxing-into-meditation/

Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide

Relaxing into Meditation : Featured by Lea Ryan

2011-04-21T23:23:00.001+01:00

"Relaxation techniques and breathing exercises enable us to be calmer human beings. Through learning to quiet the breath and relax the body, we can approach the circumstances of our lives in a calmer and more relaxed manner. Discovering relaxation offers the opportunity to begin to practice meditation. "

http://lea-ryan.blogspot.com/2011/04/author-ngakma-nordzins.html

Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide.

Dial-a-book : Indian Innovation

2011-04-19T07:52:00.000+01:00

Relaxing into Meditation can now be ordered in India via the innovative dial-a-book-service.

"Dial-a-Book, as simple as it sounds is a service that let’s you order books over the phone. Dial-a-Book saves you from the hassles of going to various bookstores to find the book you are looking for. Also, you don’t have to worry about not having a credit card or the payment gateway crashing while placing an order online. Unlike other services with Dial-a-Book you don’t have to pay in advance, you can pay once the book reaches you."

Anyone interested in acquiring a copy of Relaxing into Meditation can call 09650-457-457 or 09971-243-364 or send a post to http://facebook.com/dialabook or http://twitter.com/dialabook or send a mail to talk@dialabook.in

This service is available in Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Bhopal, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Faridabad, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kanpur,Kolhapur, Kolkatta, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Mysore, Nagpur, Noida, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Visakhapatnam

For more information about the dial-a-book service, please visit http://dialabook.in/ or http://facebook.com/dialabook

Many thanks to Zorba Publishers for making this possible.

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin 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

Salutations to Angels : Ngakma Nor'dzin featured in the Big Little City exhibition in Cardiff

2011-04-19T07:29:00.000+01:00

Last year, Ngakma Nor'dzin wrote an article entitled 'In Cardiff they name streets after salutations to angels' for We Are Cardiff. The article, and the accompanying photograph of Ngakma Nor'dzin and Dee are featured in the Big Little City exhibition at the Old Library in the centre of Cardiff.

Please see Ngakma Nor'dzin's blog for more information.

Ngakma Nor'dzin is the author of Relaxing into Meditation
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide.

Hot off the Press - an odd boy

2011-04-06T23:18:00.000+01:00

Today we received the first printed copy of Doc Togden's an odd boy. This is the start of the next phase of book production.

We aim to catch as many errors as we can before we send the book for printing but we usually find something once the first copy appears. We'll now be reading the book from cover to cover once more. This enables us to review the printed book and make any final adjustments. It's also an opportunity to catch any remaining errors.

We now have 123 people reading a pre-publication version of an odd boy with a view to writing reviews. We're happy to make more copies available to any keen reviewers and to people in the arts and music media who would like to follow the story of an odd boy.

Please contact arobooksworldwide@gmail.com if you would like to review an odd boy.

[Photograph: Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo with the first copy of an odd boy]

Please see Aro Books worldwide for more information about an odd boy

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

20% and 25% off Aro Books worldwide books in the UK

2011-04-01T21:33:00.000+01:00

Lulu are offering 20% and 25% off orders in the UK until 4th April. Pick up code RAINUK305 or SHOWERUK305 and go to http://stores.lulu.com/arobooksworldwide and place your order. Naturally you can buy from other Lulu shops whilst you're there.

Lulu's small print:

Enter coupon code RAINUK305 at checkout and receive 20% off any order. The maximum savings for this offer is £100. Enter coupon code SHOWERUK305 at checkout and receive 25% off your order of £500 or more. The maximum savings for this offer is £500. Sorry, but these offers are only valid in Pounds and cannot be applied to previous orders. You can only use these codes once per account, and unfortunately you can't use these coupons in combination with other coupon codes. These great offers expire on 4 April 2011 at 11:59 PM PST, so don't miss out! While very unlikely, we do reserve the right to change or revoke these offers at anytime, and of course we cannot offer this coupon where it is against the law to do so.

NB: 11:59 PM PST 4th April is actually 7:59 AM GMT 5th April

http://stores.lulu.com/arobooksworldwide

Rays of the Sun : Review by Rick Finney

2011-03-26T08:14:00.000Z

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.

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

2011-03-12T00:03:00.000Z

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

2011-03-09T21:26:00.000Z

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

2011-03-07T23:55:00.000Z

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.

Remember Savage Cabbage? - Surrey and Hants News

2011-03-04T22:06:00.000Z

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.

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

An appreciation of Zorba Publishers

2011-03-02T22:05:00.000Z

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

2011-03-02T08:21:00.000Z

"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

At the Breakthrough Bookstore

2011-02-28T08:14:00.000Z

The Breakthrough Bookstore has featured books from Aro Books worldwide in their Religion and Meditation categories.

Rays of the Sun : Themes studied by everyone exploring Buddhism in depth: the four noble truths, eightfold path, causality, compassion and refuge.

Spacious Passion : A Buddhist book exploring the sutric teaching of 'The Four Thoughts that turn the Mind to Practice' as vividly relevant to our everyday lives.

Relaxing into Meditation : Meditation is a life skill which increases well-being and creates happier and more fulfilling relationships.

Please also see the Breakthrough Bookstore Facebook page.

Relax and meet the author - Ngakma Nor'dzin at Holland & Barrett - 26th February 2011

2011-02-25T20:51:00.001Z

From the South Wales Echo, Tuesday, 22nd February 2011

Relax and meet author at city shop

CARDIFF Author Ngakma Nor'dzin will be raising awareness about relaxation and meditation at a city shop this weekend.
Ngakma, a Western Buddhist, will be at Holland & Barrett on Saturday. She believes that practising relaxation and meditation is essential for a stress-free life.
She is the author of Relaxing into Meditation.

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, Wisdom Books, and other bookshops worldwide.

an odd boy : A Brief Review in Urthona Magazine

2011-02-21T08:10:00.000Z

The Autumn 2010 edition of Urthona Buddhism and Art magazine carries a brief review of an odd boy by Doc Togden. This review is based partly on the excerpts from the book available on the website http://anoddboy.com/. We hope to see a full review in a future edition or Urthona.

"Extracts are available on the Internet, giving a taste of this detailed, colourful and thoughtful memoir, which is both a lively and well-written portrait of an English childhood in the fifties and an account of an unusual spiritual quest. Well worth a look if you enjoy reading about modern Buddhist lives."

an odd boy by Doc Togden to be published in four volumes by
Aro Books worldwide in 2011 and 2012. http://bit.ly/docaobv01

Relaxing into Meditation @ Wisdom Books

2011-02-19T01:07:00.000Z

Exercises and practices to help us live a life free from stress, written by Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo a female Western Dzogchen practitioner, who guides us through relaxation and breathing exercises that lead into meditation. The methods are described in friendly and accessible language. Meditation is a life skill which increases well-being and can create happier and more fulfilling relationships. The author draws on her experience teaching meditation in community education.

http://bit.ly/nrprimwis

Spacious Passion @ Wisdom Books

2011-02-19T00:58:00.000Z

Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo, a Western teacher of the Tibetan Nyingma tradition offers her explanation of the Four Thoughts That Turn the Mind to Practice, presenting these ancient teachings in a modern light.

She explores the sutra teaching of The Four Thoughts in relation to tantra and Dzogchen and presents them as vividly relevant to our everyday lives: the extraordinary precious opportunity to live as an honourable human being; the experience of impermanence that pervades our existence as an opportunity to awaken; the emotional and psychological patterning which dominates our lives; and the seemingly endless cycle of dissatisfaction in which we imprison ourselves. It includes question and answer sections.

http://bit.ly/nrpspxwis

Relaxing into Meditation at Holland & Barrett in Cardiff

2011-02-17T22:46:00.000Z

Ngakma Nor'dzin will be talking to customers at Holland and Barrett in St. David's Centre in Cardiff on 26th February.

Following their review of her book Relaxing into Meditation, Holland & Barrett invited Ngakma Nor'dzin to come in for the day to talk to customers.

http://ngakma-nordzin.blogspot.com/2011/02/holland-barrett.html

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Easy Ways to Overcome Stress: How to Relax into Meditation

2011-02-17T08:01:00.000Z

"Many people want to learn how to meditate because they believe it will help them with stress and teach them to live contentedly with a sense of well-being. It is true that meditation has the potential to achieve this in our lives, but this will only be possible if meditation becomes a regular activity – preferably a daily practice. Trying to meditate even for as long as half an hour when you have little experience can become a daunting prospect. So how can we start to meditate and establish a practice that is enjoyable and sustainable?"

http://www.deepermeditation.net/stressadviceblog/archives/easy-ways-to-overcome-stress-how-to-relax-into-meditation.htm

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Read a sample of Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin

2011-02-16T18:16:00.000Z

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

an odd boy by Doc Togden : seeking pre-publication reviewers

2011-02-14T22:43:00.000Z

Volume One of an odd boy, by Doc Togden is now being prepared for publication. Although that means, in practice, that there will still be a few months before the book is launched, we are seeking pre-publication reviews and endorsements, so that we have a good number of commentaries on the book before it is launched. A pre-publication review copy should be available by the beginning of March.

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 traveled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12.

To read more about an odd boy, please see the excerpts on the web site http://anoddboy.com and also those on Doc Togden's Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Doc-Togden/126465894244

If you are able to write a review we would be looking for your permission to publish it, and also asking whether you would be willing to publish it on Amazon and similar places when the book becomes available.

If you are interested in writing a review of an odd boy please write to arobooksworldwide@gmail.com and we will let you know when a pre-publication version of the book is available.

Forthcoming: an odd boy by Doc Togden

2011-02-13T22:58:00.000Z

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 traveled far in human experience from the midnight expedition he made to the crossroads at the age of 12.

Ladies are splendid magical beings like unicorns, albatrosses, owls, or flying fish. They hit the surface of reality like whales surging up from a hundred fathoms. They’re suddenly there—sparkling like the very Christmas tree at the end of time—decked out with every delight imaginable. Ladies are Art. Not in the demeaning objectified sense sans personality – but radiant presences residing in the space of life.
— Doc Togden

… like all the beautiful love stories I've ever read in a few paragraphs. Incredibly touching. The love and daring of a young boy in search of the Muse at an age when all dreams can be made real and the joy of art lives in the heart and doesn't boggle the mind.
— Sugar Blue

an odd boy will be published in 2011. To read excerpts from the book, please see http://anoddboy.com

Tantric Art : Entering the Heart of the Sun and Moon Thangka

2011-02-12T22:55:00.000Z

The cover image of the book Entering the Heart of the Sun and Moon is available as a poster, postcard and greetings card.

http://bit.ly/entering-the-heart-of-the-sun-and-moon-thangka

Death

2011-02-11T01:00:00.003Z

"Only through the death of one moment can the next moment arise"

p18, Moving Being, Khandro Déchen, Aro Books worldwide, 2009, 978-1-898185-05-5

Pagan Spirits - Relaxing into Meditation with author Ngakma Nor'dzin, guest blogger

2011-02-06T14:17:00.002Z

Ngakma Nor'dzin has written a guest blog entry for Erin O'Riordan's Pagan Spirits blog.

"Relaxing into Meditation teaches how to live contentedly with a sense of well-being. We discover spacious peace of mind even when our life circumstances are far from ideal. Relaxation teaches us how to relax the body and meditation teaches us how to relax the mind. We discover that total relaxation of body and mind is our natural condition."

Please read the rest of the article here:

http://erinoriordan.blogspot.com/2011/02/relaxing-into-meditation-with-author.html

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

The human condition

2011-02-04T01:00:00.001Z

"The human condition is one in which we are simultaneously beginninglessly nondual and dualistically distorted"

p13, Moving Being, Khandro Déchen, Aro Books worldwide, 2009, 978-1-898185-05-5

Dzogchen approach

2011-01-28T01:00:00.001Z

"Dzogchen approaches everything from the perspective of the primordial nondual state"

p12, Moving Being, Khandro Déchen, Aro Books worldwide, 2009, 978-1-898185-05-5

Continually becoming a Buddhist

2011-01-21T01:00:00.003Z

"Becoming a Buddhist is a process of continually becoming a Buddhist – of continually breaking through limitations and conditioned perception."

p86, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by Lopön Ögyan Tanzin Rinpoche

2011-01-20T23:25:00.001Z

We are delighted to hear from Zorba Publishers that they have received a review of Relaxing into Meditation from Lopön Ögyan Tanzin Rinpoche. He wrote the foreword to Ngakma Nor'dzin's first book, Spacious Passion, and it is wonderful to receive his endorsement of her second book. Many thanks to him

Lopön Rinpoche's Review:

In Relaxing into Meditation, Ngakma Nor’dzin, an English-born Buddhist lama with many years’ experience teaching meditation in community education, takes her readers on a journey, a journey of self-discovery through greater openness and awareness.

As she points out in her introduction, many people come to meditation seeking relaxation and relief from the stress of daily life. However, the discipline required to practise meditation may itself seem incompatible with such a goal. Furthermore, trying to learn meditation at times of great personal strain, as often happens when people approach the subject after facing bereavement, illness or other problems, may prove difficult. That is why she begins the book by introducing her readers to various techniques of relaxation, such as tensing and relaxing different parts of the body, using the experiences of listening to music or of singing, and breathing exercises. Other methods, such as gazing at a candle flame or singing sacred syllables, are gradually introduced in order to enhance the practice and as a transition to meditation per se. Indeed, it is only out of a state of profound relaxation of body and mind that the fruits of meditation can ultimately be reaped.

Meditation as understood here has nothing particularly exotic about it, but is rather a simple way of developing greater awareness and mindfulness. As the author notes, we can thereby learn to step aside and take a look at the roller coaster of our lives, or else enjoy riding the roller coaster with keener awareness. Here, readers are taught to let go of the thoughts arising in their mind. The meditation progresses from first counting the out-breaths to merely focusing on the out-breath until one engages with formless practice.

Other methods explained in this book include meditation on loving kindness and sounding and visualizing a white A syllable. Visualization is indeed a powerful method of meditation, as it allows one to transform the mind. The author is right to emphasize that it is necessary not just to have a mental image, but indeed to have a felt awareness of the deity visualized. For all these meditation exercises, our body’s posture is a great support in our practice, so that an entire chapter is devoted to the subject. Generally speaking, the posture should enable us to engage with the practice in a way that is relaxed yet alert. Meditation cushions and belt can be helpful in this regard, and the book contains several appendices with practical instructions to fabricate them.

Rather than being a dry scholarly treatment of the subject, it is that of an adept who shares her own experience and know-how with her readers – it is certain that this hands-on approach will be much appreciated by practitioners. Of course, in learning an art as profound and subtle as meditation, a book, however well written, cannot act as a replacement for a living teacher, who will guide students according to their particular needs and faculties. However, this book, written in clear and simple prose, certainly provides a useful starting point for beginners interested in learning meditation. The wealth of methods it offers may also serve as a memory-aid to more advanced practitioners.

Approached as a technique for well-being, meditation no doubt may help us find a greater sense of peace and fulfilment in our lives. But as a method of spiritual development, it can yield far profounder benefits, ranging from the physical through the emotional and intellectual to the spiritual: it can indeed allow us to tap into our deepest human potential and uncover the spacious and luminous nature of our mind.

Lopon P. Ogyan Tanzin (Ogyan Chokhor Ling, Sarnath, Varanasi, India).

Ven. Lopon P. Ogyan Tanzin Rinpoche Biography

Ven. Lopon P. Ogyan Tanzin Rinpoche is a Nyingma Vajrayana master, the director of Lhundrup Topgye Ling Ngakpa Dratsang School (in Arunachal Pradesh, India) and the spiritual director of Ogyan Chokhor Ling (the European sangha of his personal students). He is an inspiring teacher with extraordinary gifts of communication and a rare subtlety of expression in English which allows fine detail of meaning to be nailed with great simplicity.

http://www.namchabarwa.org/biography.htm

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Relaxing into Meditation : Feature in Asana Journal

2011-01-19T23:07:00.001Z

Asana, an international Yoga journal, have published an article on Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin in their January 2011 edition:

Relaxing into meditation teaches how to live contentedly with a sense of well-being. We discover spacious peace of mind even when our life circumstances are far from ideal. Relaxation teaches us how to relax the body and meditation teaches us how to relax the mind. We discover that total relaxation of body and mind is our natural condition.

1. Relaxing the body.

Stress and unhappiness manifest in the body, so we begin by relaxing our muscles. We can achieve this by systematically tensing muscle groups throughout the body and then relaxing the tension on the out-breath. We can stretch the body and move into various postures, relaxing as we breathe out.

2. Relaxing the breath

When we are agitated our breathing becomes faster and more shallow. When we slow and deepen our breathing we become calmer. We can harness awareness of the out-breath through visualising tension streaming out of the body as we breath out; and we can cleanse the breath through alternate nostril breathing.

3. Relaxing the voice

When we are happy we may spontaneously burst into song, but it is hard to sing when we are sad or stressed. We can therefore learn to relax through free energetic sound. We can sing yogic syllables and give ourselves permission to make as much noise as we wish without caring about the harmony or disharmony of our voice. We sing the sound Ahhhhhh for the length of an out-breath and release energetic tension with the sound.

4. Ready for meditation

Having relaxed the body we wish to retain this sense of comfort and calm when we start to meditate. It is therefore essential to find a sitting posture for meditation in which we can be relaxed but alert. Relaxing the mind is more difficult than relaxing the body so we want to be as physically comfortable as possible so that the body does not distract the mind. The body should be upright, balanced and unrestricted. The spine should be erect but relaxed. The body should be balanced and not twisted or placed in a position that requires effort to maintain. Blood needs to flow freely to all parts of the body and in particular to the limbs without constriction or pressure.

5. Relaxing the mind

Meditation relaxes the mind through letting go of thought to experience mind without thought. Thought is an intricate conceptual mesh that surrounds the still deep quietness of empty mind and acts as a filter for everything that we experience. To relax the mind we need to loosen and let go of this mesh in order to discover and understand mind when it is no longer defined by thought. Thought is a natural process of mind but thought is not the essence of mind. We can only discover ultimate relaxation if we learn to become familiar and comfortable in the empty essence of the nature of mind. We begin by using the breath as a focus and letting go of thought as we breath out. Over time we can let go of the breath as a focus and simply let go of thought whenever it arises. Gradually spaciousness develops in the mind and it becomes easy to dwell in the space of mind without thought.

6. Daily practice

Learning to let go of thought and relax the mind requires commitment and effort. Meditating every day gradually allows the mind to settle and let go of thought, and increases our capacity to concentrate and experience spaciousness of mind. It is more productive to meditate for a short period every day than it is to meditate for a longer period more occasionally. The length of our daily practice must be realistic and easily achievable so that it does not become a burden or a chore. Ten minutes of meditation a day is all that is required for meditation to become a life skill that is simply part of who we are. At first we will continually lose our focus and we may find this frustrating, but we must not develop self-deprecation. Whenever we realise that we have lost concentration we must celebrate this as a moment of re-emerging awareness. To recognise loss of awareness is to have regained awareness. Over time a commitment to practising Letting Go every day will produce startling results. We will start to understand our relationship with thought and develop increased awareness. We will start to feel more relaxed about who we are. We will start to feel less pressured by our life circumstances. We will begin to let go of self-centredness and find joy in being kind to others.

7. Further practice

When we have established a daily practice of Letting Go we can experiment with contemplative practices that change our ordinary view. We can examine our relationship with others through looking at how we interact with a friend, an enemy and a stranger. We can practise purification visualisation to discover clarity, and we can practise methods of developing loving kindness to enrich ourselves and develop openness and generosity.

Through relaxing the body we feel refreshed and invigorated. Through relaxing the mind we discover openness and clarity. Over time the moments of experience of mind without thought will lengthen and occur more frequently and this spaciousness of mind will start to sparkle in our everyday lives. We will start to notice our habit patterns and cease to be their victim. We will discover that we have a choice about who we are and how we live our lives. We will discover emotion as naked energy and sensory experience will become enlivened. We will find that we become more open, patient, tolerant and kind people through the spaciousness of mind we have realised. We discover open appreciation and enjoyment and awaken to our natural state of well-being.

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by metafuzzy

2011-01-19T08:21:00.000Z

"As a Buddhist who now leads meditation sessions , I often read around the subject looking for different ways of presenting the material to a range of people. Ngakma Nordzin's experience and understanding of technique and potential result is evident on every page of her book and she presents the material with clarity. One of the aspects of her writing that I appreciate is that it is informed yet simple and spacious. Her style reinforces the concept that she expresses about the importance of relaxing, both physically and mentally. This is often neglected in books on the subject and is particularly helpful. I recommend it as a core text for interested students and experienced practitioners alike."

Relaxing into Meditation Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

metafuzzy reviewed Relaxing into Meditation on Amazon.co.uk (http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/cdp/member-reviews/A3L8EF43N80SG4/)

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

An act of kindness

2011-01-14T01:00:00.004Z

"An act of kindness enables us to side-step our attachment to the past and future. It is a moment out; a day off; a holiday from me-centred concerns – and, as such, it can be lived vividly moment by moment."

p67, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

How to Meditate : Feature in the Western Mail

2011-01-12T06:58:00.000Z

The Western Mail—a South Wales newspaper—features a ‘how to . . . ’ article in their Lifestyle section every Tuesday. This week they featured an edited version of Ngakma Nor'dzin's advice on How to Meditate.

how to

… meditate

Think meditation's for cheese cloth-wearing hippies with too much time on their hands? Making it part of everyday, says Cardiff-based Buddhism teacher Ngakma Nor'dzin, is one of the easiest ways to combat stress. And all you need is 10 minutes...

relax the body

Either lying down or sitting in a chair systematically tense muscle groups throughout the body and then breathe away tension on the out-breath.

Tense the arms and then relax them as you breathe out. Tense the hands and then relax them as you breathe out. Then do the same with the legs and feet.

Next move to the shoulders tensing them forwards and then relaxing, backwards and then relaxing, and bringing them up to your ears and then relaxing. Always relax on the out-breath.

Then follow the same procedure with the stomach muscles and then the buttock muscles, tensing and relaxing. Finally stretch the neck muscles relaxing into the stretch on the out-breath: gently roll the neck first to the left and then to the right; lift the head back to stretch the neck under the chin, and then bring your chin to your chest to stretch the back of the neck

Tip your head first to the left and then to the right trying to bring your ear to your shoulder to stretch the sides of the neck. Relax into the stretch on the out-breath.

Repeat this process of tense and relaxing until your body feels heavy and relaxed and your breathing is slow and regular.

sit comfortably

Once your body is relaxed and your breathing calm, you are ready to move into meditation. Slowly and gradually adjust your posture so that you are sitting with the back upright, the body supported, and in a position that the blood can flow freely around your body.

meditate

Meditate by bringing your attention to your breathing, particularly noticing the out-breath. As you breathe out let go of thought – let go of whatever is in your mind.

If you find this difficult count the out-breaths from 1 up to 21 and then back down to 1. If you get lost in a thought—from planning your next shopping trip, revisiting a memory to going over a problem at work—just let it go on the next out-breath.

Gradually it will become easier to let go of thought and remain focused, and you will start to experience moments of mind without thought.

practise

Get into the habit of this meditation of letting go of thought for ten minutes every day and you will start to discover a real quality of mind when it is no longer dominated and defined by thought.

Thought is a natural process of mind but thought is not the essence of mind. The nature of mind is spacious, clarity, and when it is discovered in meditation it will start to sparkle in everyday life.

Meditate every day for just ten minutes and you will become more open, patient, tolerant and kind through the spaciousness of mind you have discovered.

Ngakma Nor'dzin's new book, Relaxing into Meditation, published by Aro Books worldwide is available from www.amazon.co.uk

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by David Michie

2011-01-10T18:55:00.001Z

David Michie, author of Enlightenment to Go & The Magician of Lhasa has written this endorsement of Relaxing into Meditation:

"This is a wonderfully insightful and practical meditation manual! In a world filled with meditation starters, Ngakma's book stands out for all the right reasons. It provides a comprehensive curriculum of meditation practices suitable for groups and individuals of a wide variety of types and temperaments. Her suggestions are based on some of the most powerful methods of personal transformation available, which she describes with great warmth and simplicity. Don't be deceived by the gentleness of this book: if you practice even half of what it contains, it will change your life!"

Read about David Michie and his books on his website : http://www.davidmichie.com/

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Ngakma Nor'dzin on Creating Meaningful Holiday Traditions

2011-01-07T01:00:00.006Z

Ngakma Nor'dzin was featured on the Toginet Radio show The Way of the Toddler Hour on Tuesday, 4th January 2011, in a slot on Creating Meaningful Holiday Traditions.

The entire programme is available online here: http://toginet.com/podcasts/ - look for the 4th January recording of The Way of the Toddler Hour. The direct link to the recording is : http://toginet.com/podcasts/thewayofthetoddlerhour/TheWayofTheToddlerHourLIVE_2011-01-04.mp3

Ngakma Nor'dzin's talk begins at time index 4:40

Here is an excerpt:

"I would like to suggest that we resolve to begin a daily practice of meditation in 2011. This is something we can do with our children. Daily meditation enables the development of greater awareness and this can bring lasting fulfilment and happiness. Developing awareness illuminates the patterns that dominate our lives that cause us to feel unhappy and dissatisfied. Through regular meditation practice increased clarity begins to sparkle through into our everyday life and we become happier and more fulfilled. Through being happier and more fulfilled we become kinder people. Through becoming kinder people we bring happiness to those around us. Meditation practice—just ten minutes every day—has the potential to benefit everyone and everything everywhere."

The full text is on Ngakma Nor'dzin's blog: http://ngakma-nordzin.blogspot.com/2011/01/new-year-radio.html

Karmic law is directly consequential

2011-01-07T01:00:00.003Z

"Awareness means relinquishing the police state of karmic-vision and assuming personal responsibility. Karma is the sum total of our perception in all its excruciating intricacy. The ‘Law of Karma’ is different from externally enforced societal law, because ‘karmic law’ is directly consequential and self-implementing. We perceive the world in a certain way, and react to it in accordance with that style of perception. That is what is meant by karma. There’s no injustice in this kind of ‘law’ apart from the injustice to the nondual state perpetrated by karmic patterning."

p51, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Moving Being : Review by Sergio Dubois

2011-01-06T19:45:00.001Z

"The illustrated handbook of Tibetan yogic exercises – Moving Being by Khandro Déchen – introduces readers to the principle and function of a vital set of exercises called sKu-mNyé. As both a formal Vajrayana student, spiritual friend of several Nyingma Lamas, and a practitioner of Qi Gong and Tai Qi, I find these practices situated at the crossroads of several of my life passions – where stillness of motion and the motion of stillness fuse into absolute experiences of the nature of mind.

For Tai Qi and Qi Gong students like myself, implicit instruction in modern schools frequently lacks illuminating clarity in the Taoist fundamentals of the practices. Khandro Déchen beautifully and brilliantly establishes the foundations of Dzogchen Longdé from which this Tibetan yogic practice arises in a way that stands as its own treatise on the subject. The student may go forward with the implicit practice instructions within the rich context of a very lucid and clear understanding of the principles from which the functions of the practice are made possible.

Several components of sKu-mNyé are extraordinarily effective. Gazing and the practice of circling the gaze facilitate the emphasis on “focusing in space”. I have found that these “massages” of the optical sense field have a particularly amazing effect in combination with the other moving elements of the practice. Supine meditation posture (lying down immediately after each exercise, for up to three times as long as the exercise) is where the real magic of the practice is experienced. In the period immediately after practice, profound experiences (nyams and Zap-nyams) occur in the “meteorological” space around the body as these energies appear to move both towards and away from the “central channel” – the space of our being.

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to anyone that has an interest in Tantric Buddhism, enjoys Yoga, or practices any of the inner martial arts such as Qi Gong or Tai Qi. I feel my life as a student in several of these areas is vastly enriched by the beneficial teachings offered in this book. As I continue my preliminary study with only the book, I enthusiastically look forward to receiving transmission and instructions for these teachings from authorized teachers and adopting this as a principle yogic exercise practice in this lifetime."

Sergio DuBois is a senior practitioner of Tai Chi and Qi Gong and of meditation from the Tibetan Vajrayana tradition. Beginning in the nineties, Sergio studied Tai Chi outer forms in the Taoist school of Master Moy Lin-shin, and studied Baduanjin ("Eight Pieces of Brockade") inner form Qigong in the school of Dr. Yang, Jwing-Ming. Shortly after the turn of the century, Sergio was introduced to buddhism through an auspicious spiritual friendship with Getsulma Ani Pema Chödrön, and became a formal student of Dzigar Kongtül Rinpoche, her teacher and a Lama of the Longchen Nyingthig lineage from the Nyingma tradition. Currently, as a senior systems architect with EMC², Sergio aspires to living as a Ngagpa (a non-monastic, house-holding lay practitioner of Vajrayana) bringing a rich life with his wife and sons to the path of realization and self-liberation for the widest and greatest benefit possible.

Moving Being by Khandro Déchen
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-05-5 http://bit.ly/kdtmbx

Available from Lulu.com

Relaxing into Meditation : Review in Spiritual Lounge magazine

2011-01-05T22:40:00.001Z

The Indian magazine Spiritual Lounge have reviewed Relaxing into Meditation in their January 2011 edition [PDF]:

As a Buddhist teacher and a community education tutor Ngakma Nor'dzin has been teaching meditation for long. The book Relaxing into Meditation has been the product of all the years of teaching. The book is a no-frills, 'How to' guide to meditation that looks at a typical group meditation scenario.

Nor'dzin starts of with the techniques, which allow the students to arrive at a starting point to meditation. There are chapters on the best position for meditation, the technique of breathing with alternate nostril, the skill of just 'listening in', the essential breathing patterns and the actual posture while meditating etc.

Nor'dzin also makes a special mention of singing that the students should undertake in a group. She says, “Our voices are an energetic aspect of who we are. The sounds we make are 'material' in that they affect our senses, but their 'materiality' is intangible. Our voice is the intangible and energetic link between our mind and our body – between our insubstantial being and our substantial being. Practices using the voice help us become keenly aware of the power of this energetic communication.” She would advise practitioners to look at singing as a tool to relaxation, to let go of their inhibitions that might hold some back.

The book also carries a gentle warning against sitting in a room with incense sticks burning when the students are engaging in breathing exercises. The resulting deeper breaths will mean smoke is inhaled deeply into the lungs and will lead to coughing. For today's several New Age enthusiasts who are more concerned about the props that accompany any such practice, this advice should come handy.

Nor'dzin's writing is practical and, as she takes you through the steps, all of it seems like the most natural thing to do. I particularly liked the chapter on 'Walking Meditation' which is not very commonly known and which uses the physical process of walking as the focus instead of the breath.

Another interesting concept is the meditation that involves analytical contemplation and visualisation. It involves dwelling on a subject and attempting to deeply penetrate the essence of that subject in order to discover our preconceptions, our prejudices and our habitual views. The meditation 'Friend, Enemy, Stranger' looks at our concepts and feelings around people we like, people we do not get along with, and people with whom we have no personal connection. Writes Nor'dzin, “Our view is the basis of all our expectations of life, our interpretations of circumstances, and our responses to the experiences we encounter in our lives. Our view governs how we are as people in the world and causes us to create an inter-penetrating network of reference points.” She claims offer us an opportunity to look at our entrenched viewpoints and can unlock our previously closely held points of view.

The book also explains how meditation helps us discover that there are qualities and aspects of our lives that are not as we would wish them to be. When we begin to meditate daily, they often seem to show up suddenly, but the fact of the matter is that they have always been there and it is now that we are becoming aware of them. Visualization techniques help us to cleanse ourselves of them and eventually get rid of them to embrace more enlightened attitudes and conduct.

Nor'dzin's approach is simple and direct. Along with a short glossary of terms explained, she gives illustrated tips on making sitting equipment for the practice. Her line drawings explaining the postures have more of a utilitarian rather than an aesthetic value. The book, on the whole, seems rather unadorned but it's friendly, down to earth and, most importantly, useful.

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Happy New Year

2011-01-01T22:03:00.000Z

From Ngakma Nor'dzin:

"The new year is often a time for making resolutions. Usually our resolutions are about shuffling or adjusting the pieces of our life – to lose weight, to change jobs, to take more exercise, to start a new hobby. . . These may be desirable and worthwhile, but such alterations to lifestyle will not bring lasting fulfilment and happiness. Only the development of greater awareness will bring lasting fulfilment and happiness. "

Read the rest of Ngakma Nor'dzin's article here:

http://ngakma-nordzin.blogspot.com/2011/01/happy-new-year.html

Experts Share New Year’s Resolution Tips

2010-12-31T11:22:00.002Z

Set small goals: Ngakma Nor’dzin, author of Relaxing into Meditation.

“Nor’dzin suggests that people who want to establish a regular practice of relaxation and meditation set themselves up to succeed, rather than be over-ambitious and fail. She advises people to aim to meditate 10 minutes a day, every day. Through starting in small ways we establish a change in our lives, which can simply become part of our lives.”

http://malenrutherford.com/experts-share-new-years-resolution-tips/

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

The problem lies in our way of seeing

2010-12-31T01:00:00.003Z

"The first fundamental certainty is the experience of unsatisfactoriness. Dukkha—unsatisfactoriness—is not what we are and where we are – but how we are. It’s the subjective quality of our experience that is being described as unsatisfactory. The problem lies in our way of seeing rather than in the material fabric of the world."

p23, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Relaxing into Meditation : Inspiring Reviews

2010-12-27T09:44:00.001Z

Relaxing into Meditation has received many reviews, all positive. These provide and insight — from many different viewpoints — into what the book has to offer.

For some people, the reviews themselves have proved sufficiently inspiring for them to begin and sustain a meditation practice without ever having read the book.

Here are some excerpts from the reviews, with links to the full text. We hope that you find them interesting and inspiring.

"Relaxing into Meditation is the best book on meditation I've ever read, and I've been browsing them since the mid-70's. I say this because of the distinction made between relaxation and meditation, and the explanation of why relaxation must happen before meditation can begin."

— Rossinna Ippolitto

"The patience and accessibility of the information is one of the highlights of the book throughout."

— Kamili Feelings

"Although she writes about a subject that others have been prone to mystify and deliberately, it often seems, obscure, she writes in such an accessible and approachable way that you are drawn to listen avidly to what she has to say. She is, in fact, overwhelmingly kind and gentle in her approach, so that, no matter your age or background, you are likely to be comforted and inspired by her work."

— Lois Henderson

"Ngakma Nor’dzin’s goal isn’t to get us meditating for an hour in both the morning and evening. It’s to help us develop a greater sense of awareness and compassion, fostered through meditative practices that are as diverse as we are as individuals."

— Lori Deschene

"This is the kind of book I wish I had when I first started meditating."

— Dan Hersam

"This book got me meditating again, after a long period of only occasionally finding time for it"

— Esther Wieringa

"It is accessible and not plagued with off-putting esoterica like so many others on this subject. Although understandable for a novice, it also has value for the more practiced."

— Phyllis Proctor

"Nordzin gives excellent explanations of some basic, commonly used relaxation and meditation techniques that can be used effectively no matter what your level of experience is."

— Frank Martin

"The author presents the art of meditation in terms that anyone can understand."

— Michael Gibb

"Wherever you are on your meditation journey you will find this book a constant companion allowing you to discover many enjoyable and informative methods. An easy to digest guide to meditative practices for calming the mind, nurturing creativity, rejuvenating the spirit, and nourishing the soul."

— Gary Stone

"I wish this book would have been there when I started to try meditation. It's written in a very accessible way and explains the basics and more in a very down-to-earth manner."

— Tink-NL

"It’s excellent for beginners, and I’d highly recommend it as one of the best books I have read for anyone who’s got an interest in starting to meditate."

— Noreen Blanluet

"So the book starts with relaxation practices and then phases gently on to meditation practices. The meditation practices have their roots in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. There isn’t any kind of philosophy or religious dogma. It focuses completely on meditation as a skill, a practical skill than enhances life and promotes well being."

— Mark McHugh

"As someone who does not meditate, but would like to, I found this book very useful in getting me started and giving me concrete steps to follow. "

— Booklorn Reviews

"Those who are just beginning their meditative journeys will find the plain language and illustrations particularly helpful. From sitting, to breathing, to walking, stretching, and even singing, Lama Nor'dzin covers it all in this very practical, very inspiring guide."

— John DiGilio

"This book provides a step-by-step guide to the various methods that can help relieve stress and leave you feeling more calm. [...] It is easy to follow, with illustrations that help you understand the techniques suggested - it will leave you feeling at peace in no time."

— Healthy magazine

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Approach all that happens with an open heart

2010-12-25T00:01:00.002Z

At Christmas time people seem to make an effort to be jolly. Strangers will greet you with a 'Merry Christmas' and generally there is an air of open-heartedness and goodwill. We all enjoy the sparkly decorations and coloured lights and are able to rediscover child-like pleasure in such simple things.

We can always live like this and not forget it just because Christmas is over. It is in fact possible to be warm towards one another throughout the year and continue to encourage the cheerfulness of spirit we discover at Christmas.

If we approach all that happens with an open heart, a sense of appreciation and the intention to be warm and kind toward others, we will discover peace and contentment and help others to discover this as well.

— Ngakma Nor'dzin Pamo

The police state of karmic vision

2010-12-24T01:00:00.004Z

"Awareness means relinquishing the police state of karmic-vision and assuming personal responsibility"

p51, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Relaxing into Meditation : Review in Holland & Barrett's Healthy Magazine

2010-12-22T22:03:00.001Z

Holland and Barrett's Healthy magazine have reviewed Relaxing into Meditation.

In the January/February 2011 edition (with Gisele Bündchen on the cover)

'Ngakma Nor'dzin, a Western Buddhist believes that regularly practising relaxation and meditation is essential for a totally stress-free life. This book provides a step-by-step guide to the various methods that can help relieve stress and leave you feeling more calm. There is particular focus on breathing and relaxation, which Nor'dzin believes is the starting point to meditation. It is easy to follow, with illustrations that help you understand the techniques suggested - it will leave you feeling at peace in no time.

A good book for beginner meditators.'

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Relaxing into Meditation featured on Books We Love by Assisting Authors Online

2010-12-19T23:35:00.002Z

Janis Friesler and David Shultz of Assisting Authors Online have featured Relaxing into Meditation amongst the books they love. Please see the Books We Love section of their site.

Assisting Authors Online : http://www.assistingauthors.com/
Books We Love : http://www.assistingauthors.com/books-love/

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

The New Book Review: Reviewer Gives Book on Meditation Top Marks

2010-12-18T10:00:00.001Z

"This is a fabulous book for those who have been curious about meditation but were a little hesitant, feeling they didn't have "the right stuff" to be successful at it. The text is gentle and fun and calmly inspiring, and even if you have dabbled in meditation before you'll learn new ways to think about what you have been doing. Relaxing into Meditation is sure to become a classic."

-- Rossinna Ippolito

Read the full review at The New Book Review: http://bit.ly/nrprimnbr

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Responsibility

2010-12-17T01:00:00.008Z

"No-one else is responsible for how we perceive the world"

p51, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by John DiGilio

2010-12-14T07:18:00.001Z

"Whether you are new to meditation or seasoned in your practice, Lama Ngakma Nor'dzin's book is the perfect accompaniment to your cushion, bench, or chair. Her step-by-step instructions cover a myriad of proven meditation techniques and are explained in a way that is accessible. Those who are just beginning their meditative journeys will find the plain language and illustrations particularly helpful. From sitting, to breathing, to walking, stretching, and even singing, Lama Nor'dzin covers it all in this very practical, very inspiring guide. ( )"

Relaxing into Meditation Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

John DiGilio reviewed Relaxing into Meditation on Librarything.com (http://www.librarything.com/work/10257145)

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Rossinna Ippolito : An Appreciation of Indexing

2010-12-11T17:25:00.000Z

A skilled indexer is able to understand the purpose of a book and draw together the main themes of the writing in order to create an index that provides access to the heart of the material.

In working with Rossinna Ippolito on Relaxing into Meditation, it was immediately evident to us that she not only had the perspicacity and skill to find the common themes and ideas but also truly understood the author's intent in writing the book.

As a result, we have an index which provides the reader with a clear guide to the main topics of the book and enhances their experience and understanding.

'ö-Dzin Tridral
Aro Books worldwide

For more information about Rossinna Ippolito's work as an indexer, please see her website (http://www.indocsindexing.com/welcome/welcome.html) and follow her on Twitter (https://twitter.com/#!/Impressivesort)

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by Booklorn Reviews

2010-12-11T00:07:00.001Z

"This is a very accessible book on meditation with a lot of practical information, like how to make a sitting cushion/strap as well as the words for guided meditation that you can have someone read to you as you meditate or buy as audio tracks (or make your own, I suppose). I liked the fact that the book focuses on practicalities like how to relax and what meditation actually is rather than focusing, as another reviewer noted, on more esoteric aspects of meditation. As someone who does not meditate, but would like to, I found this book very useful in getting me started and giving me concrete steps to follow. ( )"

Relaxing into Meditation Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Booklorn Reviews reviewed Relaxing into Meditation on Librarything.com (http://www.librarything.com/work/10257145)

Follow Booklorn Reviews' blog here : booklorn.com

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.

Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Society for Indexing recognises Aro Books worldwide

2010-12-10T22:02:00.000Z

The Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Society for Indexing has recognised Aro Books worldwide as a publisher which values good indexes.

Nancy C. Gerth, President writes:

"We are delighted to inform you that Aro Books worldwide has been placed on the third annual Honor Roll of Publishers. This award, originated by the Pacific Northwest Chapter (PNW) of the American Society for Indexing (ASI), recognizes publishers who value good indexes and the professionals who write them. Aro Books worldwide was nominated by Rossinna Ippolito, an indexer who worked with you during the last year"

We are happy to have been recognised in this way and and have enjoyed working with Rossinna Ippolito on the index of Relaxing into Meditation.

For more information about the Pacific Northwest Chapter of the American Society of Indexing please see their website - http://www.pnwasi.org/

A good heart

2010-12-10T01:00:00.003Z

"Having a good heart goes further than anything in terms of empathising with the nondual state"

p50, Rays of the Sun, Ngakpa Chögyam, Aro Books worldwide, 2010, 978-1-898185-06-2

Relaxing into Meditation : Review by Mark McHugh

2010-12-08T19:34:00.001Z

"The chapters of this book describe in a very practical way a sequence of exercises in relaxation and meditation.

The first six chapters are purely relaxation and breathing exercises then the seventh is a careful and very practical guide to the postures of sitting for meditation as a preliminary to the meditation practices described in the remainder of the book. Patterns so that meditators can make their own cushions and mats are included as an appendix. The author describes (and gives a pattern for) a sitting “band” used by Tibetan meditators. This fits around the back and knees and looks like a very comfortable and supported sitting position which I am looking forward to trying.

The remaining chapters of the book describe more properly meditation practices although the first few practices could be used as both meditation and relaxation practices. So the book starts with relaxation practices and then phases gently on to meditation practices. The meditation practices have their roots in the traditions of Tibetan Buddhism. There isn’t any kind of philosophy or religious dogma. It focuses completely on meditation as a skill, a practical skill than enhances life and promotes well being.

Chapter twelve is the clearest introduction to the practice of meditation that I have heard or read but I hope many readers will come to know that in these words is the greatest of all possible gifts. The term Ngakma Nor’dzin uses for the primary meditation practice is “letting go”. This phrase by itself is a very clear and wonderful explanation of what meditation practice is. The book continues with chapters devoted to the support of this primary meditation practice with advice on how to begin and sustain a daily meditation practice as well as some exercises and yogic techniques that will help with the inevitable aches and pains of sitting still for a while as well as helping with the problems of sleepiness and restlessness.
There are two contemplative practices described “friend, enemy and stranger” and also loving kindness meditation. These therapeutic and transformational practices are supported by the established “letting go” meditation practice.

The final chapter is a longer review of all the practices described in the book and describes the benefits of a regular meditation practice. There is also some advice on the subject of a teacher and a supporting group to sit with.

The book is an excellent introduction to meditation for the individual but will also be a very good resource for the introduction of a relaxation and meditation practice to a community group, a work-place group, adult education group or perhaps a nursing home. The author has taken particular care that the practices are accessible and safe for older people.

The words of this book are full of love, joy and care. ( )"

Relaxing into Meditation Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Mark McHugh reviewed Relaxing into Meditation on Librarything.com (http://www.librarything.com/work/10257145)

Relaxing into Meditation by Ngakma Nor'dzin
Aro Books worldwide ISBN 978-1-898185-17-8 http://bit.ly/nrprim

Available from Lulu.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.com, and other bookshops worldwide.