In 2002, I began to wonder where I could begin within my life to live an enlightened one. I owe this curiosity to a writer named Hermann Hesse, the author of Siddhartha. The fluidity, and simple grace he delivered in his writing brought me to a place of praise, awe and gratitude. I wanted to search. Moving to Manhattan later that year was a monumental time in my life as I was born in a quaint town called Virginia Beach.
In New York City I found myself at all the most fashionable destinations between the luxury restaurants surrounding Central Park, enjoying theatre in Time Square, and taking weekend drives to Cape Cod. I worked in a restaurant while attending the world-revered Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. I was ready to show the world I had something in me that would be of value for everyone's happiness, pleasure and well-being. I was driven to make my deceased father proud and to pick up where he had left off.
Unexpected circumstances led me on a new journey while Ayn Rand's wit and 'emotional abstractions' suspended me in a world of fascination, thanks to Fountainhead. While studying screenplays, working at my then partner's Indie Production Company in Los Angeles, writing synopses on the scriipts, Aldous Huxley's A Brave New World kept me guessing as to what 'it's all about.' Life, that is. An evening walking along Catalina's shore side, moonbeam-lit pathways and tea so tantalizing to the tongue I will never forget it, had me yearning for more experiences out of the ordinary.
Books on Zen and Japanese warrior monks started showing up around me. Memories of the Kundalini Yoga class in Nelson, British Columbia, Canada that I had taken the previous summer left me wanting to be more intimate with the unknown parts of myself. In a state of curiosity I found myself in--of all places--the Midwest of The United States, alongside a dear friend who introduced me to Wayne Dyer, Napolean Hill, Deepak Chopra, and Caroline Myss. These books ignited the sense that we are all united by something much greater than just the outward expressions of ourselves alone.
We are connected by our spirit's callings, by our lingering dreams of what can be, and, in an ideal world, by our hearts.
After a year and a half of living in the Midwest with monthly trips to either the West Coast of The States, or abroad, I picked up to start from scratch yet again. This time I had Yoga and healing textbooks in hand, alongside a draft of my first Adventure Novel. The year was late 2006. It was my knowing that Vancouver, Canada was the place for me to go within--afterall, the rain does invite one to curl up in the off hours, see the world in a new way, through the eyes of another.
By this time it was Krishnamurti's Inward Revolution; Stephen Mitchell's translation of the Tao te Ching; Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet; Rumi's everything; Hafiz's offerings; Julia Cameron's Artist's Way; Maya Angelou's soulfulness; Pema Chodron's gentle yet direct wisdom; Thich Nhat Hahn's patient teachings; His Holiness the Dalai Lama's glory; and Paramahansa Yogananda's generosity. Did I mention Paulo Coelho? Oh, and Gregory David Robert's epic book, Shantaram, that reminded me it is okay to look at life, and those around us, deeply: when done with a heart of All Love.
As for the other end of the spectrum: books centered around future destruction to our natural, and thus modern, cosmopolitan, environments, written by Margaret Atwood, James Rollins and Suzanne Collins, have also inspired me in the creative process. It's because of these fantastic writers that I know I am far from alone on my venture to build awareness about the unintended consequences of modern day technological advances.
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So, what have I learned? Well, for starters I've learned that nothing replaces following a dream. For the people following that belief I know for certain there is no greater power than that of a well-written book. For those fellow seekers with their eyes driven on the road ahead, I'd say that no matter how much we know, information and knowledge are yet limited.
Einstein taught us that, "Imagination is more powerful than knowledge."
As for my own interpretation of this phenomenon regarding the never-ending awakening, and learning, we can enjoy witin our lives, I say,
"That which we cannot see is more real than water on ice."
Think about it.
Warmly,
Madelaine Standing
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