My friend Derek's web site www.taoism.net
I also love some of the classics such as "A Christmas Carol", "Persuasion", "Pride and Prejudice", "Crime and Punishment", "Anna Karenina", "La Reine Margot" "Tess of the D'Urbervilles".
One author I have liked for a long time now is Daphne du Maurier, her books "Jamaica Inn", "Rebecca" and especially "Frenchman's Creek" these stand out as having heart and yet a whimsical loneliness that later studies of the authors life at the time of writing were her outlet for some difficult personal issues.
Probably my favourite fictional author is Terry Pratchett his disc-world books are the most intelligent, witty, cleverly observed books and most importantly of all they are very, very good. I would heartily recommend "Small gods", "The Watch series", "The witches series" and of course the "Death series" although pretty much all his books are well worth a read or lots of reads.
The last fictional book I'll mention here is "The Gadfly" by E.L. Voynich which can be found now as an e-book, or if your lucky second hand. It is the only book to make me cry every single time I read it except "Tess...." its a bit like watching "Brief encounter" you know what's going to happen but it is always sad.
If you are interested in the political issues of Miscarriages of Justice then I heartily recommend "Proved Innocent" by Gerry Conlon of the "Guildford four". I won't say too much here but for more information on Miscarriages of justice keep checking my general interest/socio-political blog
Which brings us to here and my decision to build and run this web site and see where this goes.
Dao cultivation has helped me to look with clarity within myself and find the true me, the true self behind the masks. And that clarity brings with it a sense of calmness, oneness and harmonious balance that allowed me to take the instinctive action of going to university, taking what could be a or have been a risk and seeing where I end up. Better even than that it has helped me see inside myself clearly enough to be able to move away from what has been in places a traumatic past, to live in the present.
The true treasure of Dao cultivation is the lessons can be found all over the place if one is open to them, not only in Dao teachings, Zen teachings, or those of Confucius, Chung Tzu, Mozi but also in folks tales the world over, in tribal teachings worldwide and in day to day life. These lessons are not mystical or pretentious but practical, real and can lead one to true wonders. The mystical is there but it really does not need us gasping over it, it is somewhat akin to gasping over breathing good to do on occasion but not really necessary 99% of the time.
