 |
|
|
 |
|
January 2009 |
|
 |
 |
Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of The Power of Now |
 |
Meet Robert Moss, author of The Secret History of Dreaming |
 |
An excerpt from Knitting the Threads of Time by Nora Murphy |
 |
Hot New World Library titles — save 40%! |
|
 |
| back to top |
 |
It's hard to believe, but 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of our publication of Eckhart Tolle's The Power of Now. Our thanks to you, our readers, for your enthusiasm in making this important work an international bestseller. We are also pleased to announce that Eckhart Tolle has been voted Science of Mind's Spiritual Hero of the Year. Congratulations, Eckhart! |
We'd love to hear how The Power of Now has changed your life. Send us your stories at publicity@newworldlibrary.com
Wishing you a prosperous 2009,
Your friends at New World Library
|
|
|
 |
| back to top |
 |
Meet Robert Moss |
|
| You are a former history professor, and you say that to research and write this book you had to become a "dream archeologist." What is "dream archeology," and what skills and resources are required to practice it? |
| While "archeology" is often understood to be the science of unearthing and studying antiquities, the root meaning is more profound: it is the study of the arche, the first and essential things. The practice of "dream archeology" requires mastery of a panoply of sources, and the ability to read between the lines and make connections that have gone unnoticed by specialists who were looking for something else. It requires the ability to locate dreaming in its context — physical, social, and cultural. And it demands the ability to enter a different time or culture, through the exercise of active imagination, and experience it from the inside as it may have been. These are the skills we need to excavate the inner dimension of the human adventure. |
| What is the most important thing you can tell us about your new book, The Secret History of Dreaming? |
The Secret History of Dreaming restores a missing dimension to our understanding of what drives the human adventure: the vital role of dreams and imagination in science and literature, war and religion, medicine and the survival of our kind. History without the inner side is as shallow as history without economics, and as boring as history without sex.
This is not another book about dreams. It is a history of dreaming, a term I use in an expansive sense to encompass not only night dreams but also waking visions, the interplay of mind and matter that is sometimes called "synchronicity," and experiences in a creative "solution state."
|
| Tell us about the dreams of the Founding Fathers. |
| John Adams, our second president, and Dr. Benjamin Rush — who made a close study of precognitive dreams — were in the habit of exchanging dreams in their extensive correspondence. In 1809, Rush wrote to Adams about a dream in which the doctor's son read him a page from the future history of the United States. The dream letter described "the renewal of friendship" between Adams and Thomas Jefferson, who had been estranged for many years because of their political disagreements. It stated that the later correspondence of the two former presidents would inspire many. And it recorded that Adams and Jefferson "sunk into the grave nearly at the same time." Almost seventeen years later, long after their reconciliation, the two former presidents died on the same day — July 4, 1826. The predictions on the page of Dr. Rush's dream history were exactly fulfilled. |
|
|
|
| back to top |
 |
An excerpt from Knitting the Threads of Time. Praised by Booklist as "A sweet, unassuming memoir that's quietly inspiring."
by Nora Murphy
|
A woman sits in her comfy chair. Two needles and a ball of yarn keep her company. She's knitting away at something. Maybe a scarf? Socks? She enjoys the sound of her needles beating like a soft drum. She inhales the smell of the waxy yarn. She exhales the satisfaction of watching a single strand transform into an object of beauty. She is perfectly present, in perfect bliss.
This is not a revolutionary act. It is not a moment to record in the history books. All the same, this woman is a revolutionary. She, and millions of women around the globe like her, are making history in their homes. They are creating clothing for loved ones. They are the grandmother who knits a Christmas stocking for her grandchild, the young mother who stitches a star quilt to honor an elder, the two seventh graders who crochet a baby blanket for a teacher's newborn.
Their craft often has to be wedged into the harried schedules and nonstop demands of modern life. The grandmother knits in the hospital waiting room while she awaits the results of her husband's surgery, his third. The young mother penny-pinches time and money to piece together the dozens of diamonds that will become a star. The preteens' work competes with homework, pimples, and text messages from boys they haven't yet kissed.
What these modern artists often don't see are the remnants of an ancient lineage to which they belong. The grandmother, the young mother, and the girls are all descendants of the women around the globe who have transformed fibers into clothing to protect their families for tens of thousands of years. They are the heirs to goddesses who understood that human survival depends on the cloth. These ancients — from China to Egypt, from Peru to the Pacific Northwest — understood that clothing contains the power of creation. The modern knitter is no different. She too replicates the act of creation; she too keeps the child, the clan, the community alive.
In North America, most of today's needle artists don't have to worry that our children will go cold if we don't finish the sock, the quilt, or the blanket. We have the luxury of buying most of our clothes at big chain stores at the local mall. We choose freely to make garments. Yet by this choice, contemporary crafters keep the ancient tradition going — a tradition that reminds us of our primal existence on this precious earth, that reminds us where we've come from and who we are.
Inside a stitch, just a single knitted stitch, lies the paradox of the ordinary, everyday textile hero. Her simple stitch helps keep the story of humanity alive; her work casts on stitches for the next generation.
I am a modern-day knitter, though I admit this hesitantly. The domestic sciences have never been my strong suit. I nearly flunked home economics in high school. We started with cooking, but my assignments resulted in burned objects destined more often for the trash can than the table. I didn't fare much better when we started sewing. I loved the idea of making my own clothes, but I couldn't figure out how to thread the bobbin without swearing or slicing my finger. I couldn't cut fabric on the bias. Lacking domestic skills didn't much matter until I had children of my own — children who need three meals a day, every day, who need clothes to keep them warm in the long winter months.
Despite my domestic demerits, I'm the one in charge of my household, which includes middle schooler Andrew, first grader Evan, and my partner and the boys' good friend, Diego. Everyone pitches in: Evan takes out the recycling, Andrew cleans the downstairs bathroom, Diego folds the laundry. Still, under my management, the house is often cluttered, and dinner rarely gets four stars. There's just one domestic art that doesn't stump me — knitting. It's not that I'm very good at it. It just doesn't scare me the way cooking and cleaning do.
Last winter I managed to make wool socks for Evan and Andrew. It had been years since I had knit. I was surprised that none of the basic dance steps with the yarn and two knitting needles had left me. I remembered how to cast on, knit, purl, and bind off without having to think — a bicycle kind of thing. Plus knitting, unlike sewing, has no bias. Knitting welcomes everyone, and the yarn goes any direction you tell it to.
|
|
|
| back to top |
 |
Hot New World Library titles —
save 40%!
(Please order by Friday, January 30, 2009.) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
If you would like to subscribe to this monthly newsletter click here. If you would like to be removed from this monthly newsletter click here. You may also use the "subscribe" and "unsubscribe" buttons at the top or bottom of this newsletter. We respect your privacy and will not sell or trade your email address.
For more information about New World Library, visit us online at http://www.newworldlibrary.com or email us for a catalog at customerservice@newworldlibrary.com. You may also use the buttons at the top of this newsletter.
This is a post-only message. Please do not reply to this message. To ensure that you have no trouble receiving future newsletters, please add newsletter@newworldlibrary.com to your address book in your email program.
Do you wish to share your comments and suggestions to improve this newsletter? Please email us at customerservice@newworldlibrary.com.
|
|
New World Library • 14 Pamaron Way • Novato, CA 94949
415-884-2100 • Toll Free: 800-972-6657 • Fax Number: 415-884-2199
|
|
|
|
|
