 Dear Reader,
We’ve started a new series of Interviews, in which we ask publishers and authors to share with you their personal approach to spirituality, and the books which have been especially important to them on their path. This month’s article is by publisher Judy Piatkus, who reminds us that ‘the best books arise out of years of spiritual work and there are not that many of them.’
That’s why the recent publication of Jack Kornfield’s new book, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry is such a big event for us. Spiritually, Jack Kornfield always seems to be right out in the forefront of any developments and, certainly, there are not many books as practical and enlightening as his! In his latest book there are some wonderful passages about a subject very close to our heart – the wisdom of ‘not-knowing’. We’d like to share some of them with you:
Opening to the truth of not knowing
“Wisdom is not knowing but being. The Christian mystics instructed seekers to enter the Cloud of Unknowing with a trusting heart. The wise heart is not one that understands everything – it is the heart that can tolerate the truth of not knowing. Wisdom comes alive in the presence of the mystery, when the heart is open, sensitive, wholly receptive. Out of this simple presence, empathy, love, responsiveness, all good things are born.
“The truth is, we don’t know. Not the Pope, not the Chief Rebbe of Jerusalem, not even your mother can know what will happen tomorrow. And neither can we. We just don’t know.
“Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn trains his students to dwell in what he calls ‘don’t know mind.’ He will demand of them: Who are you? Where is your mind? What is consciousness? Where did you come from? Each time the students will say, ‘I don’t know.’ ‘Now keep this don’t know mind!’ he will say. Rest in it, trust it.
“As with the Cloud of Unknowing or the ‘unlearning’ of the Tao, wisdom grows by opening to the truth of not knowing.”
Holiday reading
We’re extremely grateful to all the publishers for bringing out so many titles in the last few weeks which are not only full of original and exciting ideas, but are also entertaining, because that means we’ll all be able to have a great summer reading them! Dr Andrew Tresidder’s ‘Lazy Person’s Guide to Emotional Healing’, ‘New Cosmic Crystals’ by R A Bonewitz and Lilian Verner-Bonds, and ‘The Book of Wisdom’ by Osho are just a few that spring to mind, but really there are loads. See for yourself... And do have a look at the novels on page 4, which are included in response to a member’s letter. If you can recommend any other novels which have some kind of spiritual message and are uplifting to read, we’d love to hear from you. Happy holidays, folks!
Much love from all of us,
Geoff, Ann, Jackie, Derek, Martyn, Jackie M, Sue, Samantha, Regina, Jon, Sam, Bertel, Sandra, Pat, Karena, Louisa and Mary.
Text & photographs © Cygnus Books 16-Mar-2004
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