It's all moving at lightning speed around here, and frankly, I'm not keeping up. "Breathe," a friend said the other day, and so, over the course of a train ride to Philadelphia yesterday morning, I neglected all other pressing responsibilities and did. I breathed. Which is to say, I read the first pages of my friend Alyson Hagy's new novel,
Boleto, which had arrived by way of unprotected proofs from Graywolf Saturday morning.
I have known Alyson for a long time. I have read every book she has written. I have read some of her stories twice. I have treasured every email, learned what she has generously taught me, savored the quality of her—no fair-weather friend, this Alyson Hagy. She is always there, she is never self-important, she takes time even though I am not entirely sure how she finds a speck of time, for she is as deeply involved in the life of the creative writing department of University of Wyoming (Laramie) as she is in the university's sports program. She snow shoes and plays championship tennis on the side. She celebrates students, other writers, townsfolk, horsefolk. She also writes books.
Oh, good Lord, does she write books.
My entire mood changed as I read the opening pages of
Boleto. My heart beat slowed. For once again Alyson is doing something new with language, she is pulling me in, she is calming me with the tremendous grace of her talent. I recalled the tone of Kent Haruf's
Plainsong as I read, one of my all-time most favorite books. I thought of how Alyson never stays in one place, is never happy with a single note, is perpetually tempted by language.
Here, for the time being, are the opening sentences of
Boleto. You are going to hear so much more about this book. And not just from me, I swear.
She was a gift, though he did not think of her that way for a long time. He paid twelve hundred dollars for her, money that came straight from his single account at Cabin Valley Bank. She was halter broke, and trailer broke, and she had been wormed for the spring.... He knew twelve hundred dollars was a bargain for a strong-legged filly with papers. He knew that even before he saw her.
Yes, reading Alyson Hagy is breathing.
Denver, 15 jun (EFE).- La novela de Tim Hernández, "Breathing, In Dust", recrea el mundo sórdido en el que viven los inmigrantes que trabajan la tierra en California.
Galardonada con el premio Aztlán, la novela es un relato de violencia y supervivencia, de pobreza y esperanza, que retrata los retos de las familias que cosechan una de los tierras más fértiles del país y cuyas vidas, paradójicamente, están marcadas por el hambre y la necesidad.
"Breathing" se centra en torno a la vida en Catela, un pueblo imaginado que contiene todos los detalles reconocibles de muchos otros como éste.
La novela está compuesta por 20 historias cortas entrelazadas mediante las cuales llegamos a conocer a los personajes que habitan Catela.
Por medio de Tlaloc (o Loc) el personaje principal conocemos a un grupo de jóvenes que se las arregla para sobrevivir en un entorno difícil, de pobreza y violencia.
Es un mundo sórdido en el que crecen estos chicos, rodeados de drogas, padres ausentes, persecución, alcoholismo, pero también belleza y poesía.
Hernández creció en el valle de San Joaquín en el seno de una familia inmigrante.
Sus recuerdos de infancia están llenos de historia
For several nights now I've been taking part in the New Reality Transmission worldwide event in which thousands, maybe tens of thousands, maybe millions of people are meditating on a world built on love for eleven minutes, at 11:11 (EST), for eleven days, beginning, of course, on 11/11.
Each evening I settle into a quiet place where I can sit comfortably with my back straight - or, as Baba would say, my antenna aligned. As I get settled I wiggle a little to loosen up, and exhale rapidly a number of times to clear my lungs, sometimes using my arms like chicken wings to help pump out the air. Then, relaxing more and more deeply, I take about ten of the longest, slowest breaths I am capable of taking, the out-breath roughly twice as long as the in-breath.
I use mantras with my breath practice. Ever since I learned it from Baba, a simple OM on the in-breath, OM on the out-breath, has been the core of my practice. Sometimes I sing the word to myself as I breath, going up and down the scale, or to some melody, but more often I just listen to my inner sound.
The syllable OM represents the primal vibration, the sound of the Big Bang behind space and time. Our ears cannot possibly hear it - but our bodies do sing, some more loudly, some very softly. The body's song is not respected in today's world; we call it "tinnitus." I call it my personal OM and I find listening to it immensely peaceful.
I revert to OMing in one form or another between periods of trying other mantras that have come to me from here and there over the years.
Currently, I am using abundance on the in-breath, surrender on the out-breath. I don't use the word, I feel the idea; it's vibrational.
When I am begin the slow, rhythmic breathing that I try to maintain through rest of the meditation, I think about a new world built on love, a world where the currency is love instead of money.
Each evening the thoughts that come to me when I set that stage are becoming clearer. I've been taking a few notes after each meditation. Over the next few days, I'll try to find the time to put some of those understandings here too.
By: Lauren,
on 6/21/2010
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Christopher A. Kearney is a Professor of Psychology and Director of UNLV Child School Refusal and Anxiety Disorders Clinic, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His new book, Helping Children with Selective Mutism and their Parents, provides information that can help readers better understand and combat selective mutism. In the excerpt below, Kearney provides some techniques to help children cope with their anxiety about speaking.
Breathing
A simple way to help children reduce physical feelings of distress is to teach them to breathe correctly. Many children experience shortness of breath, breathe shallowly, or hyperventilate when upset. Doing so actually makes the feeling of anxiety worse, so helping a child regulate breathing is important. Have the child sit before you in a comfortable position. Then ask the child to breathe in slowly through the nose (with mouth closed) and breathe out slowly though the mouth. As the child does so, encourage him to breathe deeply into the diaphragm (between the abdomen and chest and just below the rib cage.) The child may need to push two fingers into the diaphragm to experience the sensation of a full, deep breathe. The child can then breathe slowly out of his mouth. Parents may even join the process to help their child practice at home.
For younger children such as Austin[age 6], you may wish to create an image during the breathing technique. Austin could imagine blowing up a tire or pretend he is a large, floating balloon. As Austin breathes in, he can imagine filling up with fuel and energy. As he breathes out, he can imagine losing fuel and energy (or tension). The child must come to understand the difference between feeling tense when the lungs are full of air and feeling more relaxed after breathing out. The following breathing script adapted from Kearney and Albano (2007) may be helpful:
Pretend you are a hot air balloon. When you breathe in, you are filling the balloon with air so it can go anywhere you want. Breathe in through your nose like this (show for your child). Breathe slowly and deeply – try to breathe in a lot of air! Now breathe out slowly through your mouth like air leaving a balloon. Count slowly in your head as you breathe out…1…2…3…4…5. Let’s try this again (practice at least three times).
Key advantages of the breathing method are its ease, brevity, and portability. The child can use this method in different stressful situations and usually without drawing the attention of others. I recommend that a child practice this breathing method at least three times per day for a few minutes at a time. In addition, the child should practice in the morning before school and during particularly stressful times at school. Some children benefit as well by practicing this technique whenever they are around other people and an expectation for potentially speaking is present. For example, a child could use the breathing technique prior to and during a church service.
Muscle Relaxation
Another method of helping a child reduce physical feelings of anxiety is progressive muscle relation (PMR). Youths such as Austin are usually quite tense in different areas of their body, especially in the shoulders, face, and stomach. Different methods of muscle relation are available, but a preferred one is a tension-release method in which a child physically tenses, holds, and then releases a specific muscle group. For example, a child may ball his hand into a fist, squeeze as tightly as possible and hold the tension for 10 seconds, and then suddenly release the grip (try it). When this is done two or thr
This week's focus is Tim Hernandez, poet, performer, and novelist. Tim is the recipient of several awards including the American Book Award for his poetry collection Skin Tax, the Zora Neale Hurston Award, and the James Duval Phelan Award from the San Francisco Foundation. Tim's interview follows my review of his outstanding novel, Breathing, In Dust, now available through Texas Tech University Press. Tim is one of those "writers to watch."
Review
Breathing, In DustTim Z. Hernandez
Texas Tech University Press, 2010
I have been an avid reader for more than fifty years and yet I continue to be amazed by the power of the written word. I can still be overwhelmed by the well-crafted paragraph that deserves multiple readings; or by a patch of gritty dialog that echoes conversations I remember distinctly; or by a descriptive phrase that manages to convey place, emotion and character, all at the same time. Reading occupies my mind like few other experiences, and to this day I am grateful for the subtle encouragement from parents and grandparents to read and exercise my brain. My reading is made all the more enjoyable when I know that the writer only recently set off on her or his literary journey and so the expectations are high. The promise of future excellent reading has been renewed – the world is better.
Tim Z. Hernandez is the latest writer I have read whose promise is obvious, whose talent is rich, and whose honest and unflinching debut novel,
Breathing, In Dust, deserves a wide-readership and critical attention.
Hernandez comes from the San Joaquin Valley of Central California. His book is set in a fictionalized reflection of that land. Say “San Joaquin Valley” and we may reference Fresno, may understand the Steinbeck connection, and we most likely accept the importance of agriculture to the image of the Valley, one of the “breadbaskets of America.” Those of us not from this Valley may imagine verdant, massive farms; a hazy summer country life; a small-town American ideal. But Hernandez reveals an unfamiliar, hidden Valley. The people of Catela, the primary setting for the book, are swimming against the stream, drowning in day-to-day survival struggles, and losing the battle. Tim Hernandez gives his readers the heart of the American dream suffering from a weak and erratic pulse.
The San Joaquin Valley is plagued with poverty. For example, according to a 2009 article in the
Golden Gate University Environmental Law Journal, written by Lloyd G. Carter, the Twentieth Congressional District, which includes a portion of the western San Joaquin Valley down through Kings and Kern counties, has the “dubious distinction of being the poorest of the 436 congressional districts in America. The region is rife with social problems ranging from high unemployment to gang and drug problems, high teen-pregnanc
Beautiful! (I know you hate that word, but I love it.)
That does draw me in right from the start.
This sounds lovely!