otoliths & meng-hu

The online literary journal Otoliths has launched its autumn issue (it's based in Australia), where you can find my poem in memoriam to Russell Jones. They have published some great stuff in past, so I'm looking forward to reading it myself. Check it out.

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So over at the Hermitary the other day, Meng-hu was critiquing the book The Secret, one of the latest best-sellers about leading a better life. I haven't read it yet, but my mother seems to be enjoying it. I'll have to check it out myself. I am always suspicious of, well, anything popular, but especially pop spirituality because it always seems to be watered down Buddhism or Sufism but without the hard parts. Still, I'm not going to judge the book until I see for myself, especially since I know my Mom to be pretty sharp.

But what I did like most was his own secret:

What do I really want? Well, I already have my own "secret." I call it the "law of disengagement." It, too, is a universal law, as far as know. It simply states that peace of mind, habits of simplicity, the company of the wise, and disengagement from the rush of society, culture, and the crowd, is the source of happiness. Maybe that is the real law of attraction. I don't know, but it amounts to all the wealth I want.

It's not a road map, but it's a good summation of what I aim for, I think. Whether or not I'm actually on it or even whether it's a good thing remains to be seen. I'll say this much, though, I don't really miss pop culture at all.