Why indeed, meditate? Humankind has engaged in this activity for more than 2000 years of recorded time, possibly longer. Ancient practices that persist into our own time through many cultures and even religions do so because the benefits can be transformative, medicinal or just plain relaxing.

People like myself who have a monkey mind, a mind that flits from one thought to another as quickly as a firefly dims its light only to blink again can learn to focus and eliminate agitation, thus quieting the monkey mind who can find no place to rest.

Ricard says everyone of us has a mind and every one of us can work on it. We needn’t set up a cozy place with fluffy pillows, soft blankets and props. We can just sit comfortably, relaxing our shoulders while keeping our spine straight “like a pile of gold coins,” in lotus or half lotus position, hands resting palms up, chin tucked, tongue comfortable against the soft palate, eyes open or half closed and directed downward. And then stay there, just like that for up to 20 minutes focusing the mind on one’s breath or some insight.

Committing to such a practice on a daily basis, he says, not only benefits the person meditating but also the greater community of humankind. When we love ourselves and accept ourselves from a quieter gentler state of being, we are able to project that compassion and gentleness into the world at large. When we meditate we are not retreating to a remote place alone with our ego, we are expanding and shifting and opening to new possibilities, new ways of seeing ourselves and the world.

You will benefit from my clearer, more focused mind and we will engage in more compassionate, baggage free relationships by just dedicating a few moments a day to our well being. Sounds nice, doesn’t it? Of course, Ricard has a lot more to say about how and why to meditate but he has vowed to keep it simple and has added a dvd at the end of the book to facilitate our practice.

He offers suggestions on meditative subjects like “the antidote of love and compassion” and then gives short pithy statements from well known meditators to inspire that particular subject like D. K. Rinpoche who says “instead of hating so called enemies, the real target of your hatred should be hatred itself.”

This book can be read in about an hour. The benefits of meditation can last a lifetime.

Why Meditate? Working with Thoughts and Emotions by Matthieu Ricard (Hay House Books, 2010)

This post was supposed to be a brief review of one book, but the more I wrote, the more the idea expanded. I was planning on breaking it into a few sections to post separately, but after working on it for a while (and naming the saved file on my computer as “megahealthpost.txt”), I decided I liked the idea of one mega-post. This is mega-health.

I find the health and diet shelves of Lemuria to be one of the most overwhelming sections in the store. I’m fascinated by the variety of plans and programs available, and it’s not difficult to pick up two books with directly contradictory advice on how to lose weight or improve your health. Every time a popular new health or diet book arrives in the store, I’ll take a look, but I almost always reject the concept for some reason or another: too restrictive (nothing but kale and spinach, really?), too unreasonable (you want me to weigh my food on a scale?), too spurious (the birth order diet), or a too attractive (the bacon diet!).

The books that usually catch my attention are the ones that deal with gluten, grains, and sugars, as I’ve begun to suspect that I’m a bit sensitive to those things that produce the biggest, fastest insulin response. This is what led me to The Primal Blueprint. It is similar to other “ancestral diet” books like the Paleo Diet, but instead of just teaching you about what and what not to eat, Mark Sisson covers a broader spectrum of healthy living: diet, exercise, work and rest habits, mental health, and so on. The main diet plan involves cutting out almost all grains and sugars — and stocking up on meat, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds. This is right up my alley.

Perhaps what I appreciate most about the book is that it’s not dogmatic. With a plan that involves cutting out grains and sugars, and cutting way back on starches like potatoes, rice, and pasta, one might imagine getting easily frustrated with such a severe restriction and soon abandoning the diet. One of the first “rules” explained in the book is what Sisson calls the “80/20” rule — essentially, always shoot for full compliance, but don’t be discouraged when you only reach 80% “success”. The occasional cheat meal isn’t going to completely undo the good things the rest of your diet has done. In fact, occasional cheat meals or days have the secondary benefit of reminding you how bad you feel when you load up on carbs and sugar.

The shift in diet has been easier than I expected, too — it just takes a little creativity (my wife and I enjoyed spaghetti with spaghetti squash instead of pasta, for example, and it was delicious). There are a lot of great resources in print (there’s two Primal cookbooks available) and online (The Primal Blueprint, Mark’s Daily Apple).

One of the principles of healthy exercise in The Primal Blueprint is varying the intensity of your exercise a lot — too many fitness plans involve repetitious strenuous cardio that can result in chronic inflammation and depress the immune system. Instead, one should do a lot more light exercise (walking, low-intensity bicycling, etc.), and the mix it up with occasional high-intensity stuff like sprinting, lifting, etc.

I mentioned some time ago that I was interested in barefoot (or quasi-barefoot) running. I managed to work up to a reasonable cardio level and successfully finished my first 5K in 29:40 wearing my Vibram FiveFingers (yes, the terrible “toe shoes”). That’s me on the left, post-race. My wife is standing next to me — she finished her first 5k too.

I’ve decided to avoid the temptation to constantly push myself to longer distances and faster paces, and instead do more frequent walks or light jogs (that don’t require the longer recovery time of a faster run), and then every few days do some intervals (sprints, burpees, frog squat jumps) or weight-lifting. I don’t have a big weight set or workout machine so I do mostly body-weight exercises like pushups, pullups, dips, and things like that.

Another rule in The Primal Blueprint is summed up in one word: Play. In college it was easy — someone always had a frisbee or a basketball ready. Now, I have seek out this stuff. On Saturday afternoons, rain, snow, or shine, you’ll find me playing Angleball in Laurel Park in Belhaven. And softball season will be here soon too, which will add at least one or two more games each week.

I’m going to cap off this post by listing the 10 rules of The Primal Blueprint. If they seem ambiguous or overly general, it’s for good reason — there’s no “tricks” to good health. Each rule is explained in great detail in the book, so there’s plenty to learn, but it’s not overly complicated. And it passes what I call the “Bill James” test — a rule that Bill James invented for judging the usefulness of baseball statistics. He stated that a good statistic confirms most of what we know, but still holds a few surprises. If it holds no surprises, then it’s merely parroting convention and is of no use. If it overturns everything we percieve to be true, then it’s probably not a very trustworthy guide and can be disregarded. But a mix of confirmation and surprise — that’s something we can work with.

And that’s how I feel about The Primal Blueprint. It upholds a lot of the time-tested diet and health wisdom, but it adds something that we’ve been missing, something that surprises us when we learn it. I think it can help you if you want to lose weight, or drop a waist size, but I’d encourage you to shoot higher than that — try it out to see if you feel healthier than before. Here’s the 10 rules — if they sound interesting, come check out the book.

1. Eat Lots of Plants and Animals

2. Avoid Poisonous Things

3. Move Frequently at a Slow Pace

4. Lift Heavy Things

5. Sprint Once in a While

6. Get Adequate Sleep

7. Play.

8. Get Adequate Sunlight.

9. Avoid Stupid Mistakes.

10. Use Your Brain.

Start Something That Matters by Blake Mycoskie, Chief Shoe Giver, TOMS

“With every book you purchase, a new book will be provided to a child in need. One for One”

(Spiegel & Grau, 2011)

Earlier this past fall, I read a Wall Street Journal review of Start Something That Matters. The reviewer peaked my interest about the “TOMS” marketing concepts. I got a copy and started being a believer. So much so that Start Something became my main Christmas present for 2011.

Start Something is the story of a young man’s journey in building a business from scratch. Blake started in 2006 with a most unusual and creative business plan. Tom’s foundation (Tomorrow’s Shoes) runs on this idea: When a customer buys a pair of shoes, a needy child receives a free pair. How could this concept not work? Blake writes about how his unique idea became a reality and now, six years later, is a household name. His inspiration has been a major influence on new business start ups all over.

For example, my son Austin and his college pal, Richard, believe in supporting live music. Two years ago they created the first legal distillery in Mississippi and founded Cat Head Vodka. Their core philosophy involves giving a dollar to musician relief funds, arts councils, etc., for every bottle of Cat Head Vodka sold. Like Mycoskie, Austin and Richard wanted a business plan that gave back with meaning from the very start of their business.

These ideas about marketing are creative and can be easily adopted to suit each individual context. Another example is a new initiative by the book industry. Printers, publishers, book distributors, authors and bookstores are all behind World Book Night. On April 23rd one million books will be given away in the United States. Basically, I see this as a way for the book industry to go local and support a grass roots effort to get more people reading through the simplicity of people sharing physical books in physical places in their own communities. (The deadline has passed to sign-up but you can still contact Lisa if you are interested: lisa (at) lemuriabooks (dot) com.)

Reading Start Something That Matters will inspire you to analyze your own work life and find ways to challenge yourself. Sure, it takes effort, desire and decent ethics to pull this off. In return for your efforts, you receive much more than a pay check. You’ll know that your work makes a difference in the lives of others.

As you know, I believe in small business. But more so, I believe in young people doing work that makes them fulfilled and being unique. Blake Mycoskie appears to be a real champion in this regard. He is an inspiration and marketing leader for those trying to figure it out. Being an old guy who was 24 when I started Lemuria, I’ve found Blake’s story a reinforcement to keep going.

The book is designed to be stimulating and reader friendly. This is not surprising since TOMS is user and customer friendly as a company. TOMS also has a business plan to encourage more reading. Fifty percent of Blake’s proceeds from this book will be used to provide access to new books for children in need. Learn more here: www.firstbook.org.

At home and abroad, there’s certainly a lot going on in our communities for the good. Check out Blake’s story, suport live music and local business with Cathead Vodka. Especially help Lemuria make a difference with World Book Night for Jackson. We hope Lemuria endures and grows with the help of your concern and support. Bound to Read.

Wow! I just finished reading A Good American, and it was a really, really good book.  I kept promising Mary Ann, our Penguin book rep, that I’d get to reading A Good American. So, I did, and I couldn’t put it down. I finished it last night, and it was one delightful read. A Good American boasts the “Amy Einhorn” stamp. So did Kathryn Stockett’s The Help. Well, well.

A Good American  can be looked at as a epic family story. The second in line of four brothers tells the story of how his grandparents fled Prussia when they were scared to death of his mother’s mother finding out the truth about her only daughter: she was pregnant and she was unmarried. So, on the way over to the United States on a boat, the very young couple marries. It’s 1904. Oh, if forgot to say the he is a singer, and a amateur opera singer, even though self taught. His gorgeous booming voice is really what causes Jette to fall head over heals in love with Frederick, who is the first character to love, absolutely love America. Hence, he is the first “Good American”.

Once they anchor in New Orleans, they find a stagecoach to take them to Missouri, all because a man on the ship says that Missouri is THE place to settle in the United States. So, the couple does not make it as far north as hoped since the baby arrives early in “Beatrice”, Missouri.  (That baby is Joseph, the father of the four boys.) There’s a small story there on the history of the name of that town!

The young couple opens a restaurant which serves as the “meal ticket” for not only Frederick and Jette, but as the generations are born, for their four sons and even the grandsons and their families. So, the epic story has at its roots, beautiful voices passed down from one generation to another, recipes passed down as the restaurant changes, and boys, lots of them. One of my favorite features is the barber shop quartet which the four grandsons form which they turn to throughout their lives for joy, as well as solace for members of the town during weddings and funerals.

At its core, this novel centers around family and love and the characteristic problems associated with both. All the while, the reader gets to watch as  early United States history unfolds.  Characters become endearing to the reader, and issues such as poverty, racial issues, and religion weave throughout.  A big-hearted love for America serves as the umbrella for all. I suppose this is a patriotic book, and it’s a good book to read right now because it is as non-partisan as they come.

The narrator, as I mentioned before, is a grandson. Toward the close of the novel, he has a major life surprise. The reader is surprised at the same time, with no prior knowledge of the truth. I like that. I like to be caught off guard at the same time the narrator is. He is not all knowing, or omniscient; he is fallible, sensitive, and shocked, very shocked, just as I was.  The second reason that I love this book is the fact that the narrator is a writer, a novelist. He writes four novels. Yet, at the end, listens to what he says,

As I returned to the box again and again, excavating memories, an idea slowly nudged its way into my brain. I thought of all those unpublished novels that were gathering dust in my spare bedroom, those improbable tales I’d spun out of my imagination. But as I considered the lives enshrined in that aggregation of photographs and artifacts, I realized that there was no need to invent a single thing. This story will do.”

The subtle reference to Mark Twain did not bypass me. Remember the ending to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn? Go re-read it. You’ll see how very, very clever the author Alex George was to make a reference to Twain, one of America’s very best early novelists, and guess where Huckleberry Finn played around: Missouri, no doubt.

The real author of this book, Alex George, is an Englishman who studied law at Oxford University and worked as a young lawyer in London and Paris. He now lives in Missouri, hence the nice descriptions of the setting of this book. A Good American ranks as the Number One Indie Book Pick for February. Be sure to pick up a copy of the recent Indie Pick flyer when you purchase  your very own copy of A Good American at Lemuria.

I’m already looking forward to Alex George’s next novel!  -Nan

Dear Listener,

Working at Lemuria makes me feel behind.  With so many great books coming out, not being able to read everything gives me physical pain.   Finding time to step back and read old Walker Percy or old William Faulkner just seems out of the question.  Although I want to, I feel that the relevance of classics doesn’t carry the same hype that a newly released gems do.  

With that said, since I started working at Lemuria, I have read almost exclusively fiction.  In the past, I’ve always been good at mixing everything up.  After reading a dense Cormac McCarthy, I would switch to a non-fiction book about music writing in the 80s.  After finishing a few Hemingways in a row, I would pick up a culture book to give my emotions some rest.  This system was successful, until I stopped using it.  Lately I have read nothing but fiction, and it needs to stop.  

I have always been a fan of music writing.  Anyone who knows me knows that my favorite book isn’t by Hemingway or McCarthy, but Michael Azerrad.  In 2001 he released Our Band Could Be Your Life: Scenes From the American Indie Underground 1981-1991 which profiled thirteen indie bands from 1981-1991.  His writing on the Replacements and Husker Du and Minutemen broke ground for my eventual taste for their music.  In the period that Azerrad wrote about, there wasn’t Myspace or boutique record labels.  There were smart men and women who booked their own tours and played music that hadn’t been played before.  If this sounds interesting, we have a copy.  

Reading Our Band Could Be Your Life gave me a strong interest music culture and writing.  Around that same time period I discovered the 33 1/3 series.   Each book in the series profiles one record that was influential to the history of music.  Out of the eighty-five that are currently in publication, the names range from My Bloody Valentine to ABBA to A Tribe Called Quest to Ween and everything in between.  I can personally attest to the validity of several, but I’d like to make that number.  I have made a decision that every fiction book I read will be followed by a book from the 33 1/3 series.  (You can find a list of the series here.)

If you have any interest in this series, come see me.  Although we only have three of the eighty-five in stock, I will gladly order any one that you want.  Below is a song by The Magnetic Fields called Papa Was A Rodeo from their prolific 1999 triple album 69 Love Songs, which is the sixty-ninth book in the 33 1/3 series.  Here the song is covered by Bright Eyes.

33 1/3 Electric Ladyland by John Perry

33 1/3 Highway 61 Revisited by Mark Polizzotti

33 1/3 Live at the Apollo by Douglas Wolk

33 1/3 Trout Mask Replica by Captain Beefheart

by Simon