Sadhguru: The Man, The Myth. A Very Brief Introduction ...

Early June, I was tumbling through Youtube when I stumbled upon an interview of 'Hindi Yogic Mystic', Sadhguru, with an anesthetist and a neurologist at Harvard Medical School. I didn't know who he was or why he'd be sitting with these medical scientists. I was intrigued. He was adamant at the onset that he was "uneducated", and then proceeded to enthrall them all with his perspective. It was an eye-opening discussion, for more reasons than one. Primarily though, as I listened, I was amazed at how he was evidently satiating a deep and nearly universal 'spiritual hunger '... Watch for yourself.

Link with Harvard 'scientists': https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7irEcQHChw

From there I started to explore further: WHO is this man? Where did he come from, where is he going?-  And what has he done? - All this involved, to start, continued viewing of Youtube posts. 

Two popped up immediately that have been done within the last six months, each has had more than 1 million views as of today. He spoke with actor, Matthew MacConaughey @Matthew McConaughey, and the other, with a Youtube sensation, Logan Paul. The charisma that flowed between Matthew and Sadhguru was intriguing, satisfying and insightful. The latter, the one with Logan Paul, a 'super stud' air-head, with his posse, The Maverick Team, was equally as intriguing and insightful, primarily because Sadhguru was dealing with a collection of young American males who have no idea  that they are living, in many ways, Humanity's Best Life, yet are stunningly frivolous - and, as he pointedly notes, very un-"profound." 

Today, I caught up with a conversation that he's had with Vusi Thembekwayo, ​@Vusi Thembekwayo,  a popular and 'successful' South African business man. Each interview continues to illuminate and inspire. And yes, there is some repetition as he articulates his perspective, AGAIN and AGAIN.

Link with Matthew: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAoffyn2xpM

Link with Logan Paul:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oINxyuIUYU4

 

 Link with:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqnBq3UB9LM

 

I then did a Wikipedia search ... This man started with a relatively humble beginning in the south of India, where he completed a 'B.A. in English', that, after 30+ years, he subsequently established and expanded a "$25 million" empire for a 'not-for-profit' foundation "run by volunteers", the Isha Foundation. 

When I googled this, I fell onto a 12-hour video that celebrates the moon's cycle and the Hindu God - Shiva, aka #MahaShivRatri2021, Throughout this spectacle, aside from the potency of the temple, I was surprised and intrigued to see Sadhguru revered like a 'rock star', except that, throughout the spectacle, he did not gyrate or yell. Instead, he sang mantras, lead blessings and lead short meditations to the assembled thousands. He did walk slowly down a long illuminated platform engaging playfully with the audience while the music played. He did dance towards the end in a gentle, spirited jump-about. His calm demeanor was riveting. He also raised his concerns about the disintegrating Tamil temples that he is actively attempting to 'raise consciousness' about in order to re-claim them for devotees from the disengaged government before they disappear forever ... 

 LINK: (NB: 12 hours) -  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvIbG6zMbME or on the Foundation website, complete with advertisers: https://isha.sadhguru.org/mahashivratri/live-webstream/

On Twitter, he has a following of over 7 million. From there, I learned that he posts #DailyQuotes of him generally standing outdoors speaking about 'knowledge, education, and higher consciousness'.

He's currently riding his motorcycle across America, exploring and talking to select 'celebrities' and educators who, by association, raise mutual profiles and 'influence'. (It's like seeing a grandpa-hippie on a road-trip!) He has spoken with many, many people, from all walks of life, as can be seen on his prolific Youtube station.

... Can I now joyfully admit, that regardless of what I still do not know about Sadhguru,as a man and as a myth (and there is plenty), I continue to be enthralled by the impact and teachings of this global teacher?  

In the following conversation, as example, with Sir Ken Robinson, he details what he means by bringing true KNOWING, INSPRATION and JOY back into a 'broken' Humanity.  It is wise. What more needs be said?

 -- It is WISDOM ... 

Watch, Listen and Learn ...

LINK with Sir Ken Robinson: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAaWZTFRP9Q

 

Additional links for you to continue to explore on your own: 

Youtube: https://youtube.com/sadhguru or https://www.youtube.com/user/sadhguru, 

Facebook: https://facebook.com/sadhguru, 

Instagram: https://instagram/com/sadhguru, 

Twitter: htpps://twitter.com/SadhguruJV 

And yes, there is an app for that ... https://onelink.to/sadhguru_app

VISIT STUDIO of MLHolton, Canadian Artist & Author - CULTURE DAYS 2021

 

 

-- Thrilled to be included in this cross-Canada initiative to promote Canadian arts and culture. 

Will be hosting a ONE-DAY event on Saturday, October 16th, from 11am to 4pm with an OPEN STUDIO. Kindly note, my studio is otherwise open By Appointment ONLY. - Mark your calendar!

In order to visit on October 16th, you MUST pre-book your 1/2 hour visit via email at lynholton at gmail dot com. NO EXCEPTIONS. Once the day has been booked up, that's it. 

MLHolton

Additional and complimentary events may be planned in tandem with the intended new CD & Short Story Collection LAUNCH, but much of that will depend on the provincial COVID advisory at that time ....

And yes, this is a FREE event! 

During the summer I will be working on the CD and story collection. I will be adding teasers and covers to this post, so, please book-mark and pop back to find out more as all unfolds .... 

For additional details, including detailed map &  other visuals, click on the Culture Days LINK. 

 Look forward to meeting you!

MLH Studio is on the Western End of #LakeOntario in Canada.

MLH Studio is on the land bridge, known as the Hamilton Beach Strip.

A close-up map with exact address can be found via the Culture Days LINK.

-- Hope to see you in the fall! -- :)
 

The Gilded Beaver by MLHolton - Extract & Review -

Great shout-out from #author and blogger, Sally G. Cronin of Ireland, for the paperback version of my award-winning Canadian novel, The Gilded Beaver, (2nd Edition). 

The Gilded Beaver is a SUPER title to add to #summerreading lists - especially for #DIY #cottage & #lake crowd who have acute interest in #trees, #design and #woodworking ... 

Story is set in #Canada. Have a gander. Order via Amazon 

#literature #novels #writing #readerscommunity #booknerd  #interiordecorating #finefurniture #Canadian #decorativearts

 

#WritingCommunity on Twitter

Bit of a ramble follows ... but just wanted to say how, in this Time of COVID, it has been a real pleasure over the past year to get to know a number of indie and traditional authors through the #WritingCommunity on Twitter. 

For a year, while sheltered at home, creatives have done what they've always done, create in isolation ... COVID did throw a spanner in the works making it impossible to gather with any friends or family. Still, within the daily grind of being a writing and working artist, genuine consolation was found in that lively, generous and fun-loving group. Those within the group are a good bunch: supportive, kind and in the main, very serious too about their writing. (As example, #writingtips are shared with other early risers, the #5amwriters.)  Hashtags are liberally used to narrow down interests and/or genres. It is remarkably efficient. 

Over the past year, with daily interactions of, on average, an hour or so, I've managed to grow my Twitter following from a paltry 500 to over 23K+. Engaging with others in the same realm, while following them with them following you back, quickly builds mutual SUPPORT. And yes, those numbers do translate into unsolicited book reviews, writer critiques and sales. It's been amazing, really. It's a great crowd of like-minded #authors, who span generations, cultures, and ethnicity. 

Many often complain about the bile and bitterness on Twitter, but I don't see or engage in any of that toxicity. There are plenty of good people sharing good thoughts and helpful advice in the #WritingCommunity.

Unexpected synchronicity can also occur. A few days ago I was chatting, in the DM mode, with a young poet friend from Jamaica. One thing lead to the next and I wondered if, by chance, he may have known of a DJ who I had befriended in Negril some years ago, Winston Flynn ... He didn't know Winston. He was too young to know him. 

Nonetheless, that sidebar conversation inadvertently hurled me off into a fond memory of that wonderful trip to the island. I had had so much FUN during that two week sojourn back in the 1990s. I started to ferret through my older musical tapes until I found the boot-legged recording that Winston had made for me of a blind island musician, Frankie Paul. I pulled out my old dust-gathering tape deck, popped in the tape and was instantly hurled back ... Winston and I had gone to see Frankie Paul in a late night concert in my first week there. It was vintage Jamaican reggae under the brilliant stars. Googling, I discovered that Frankie Paul had died, in 2015, at the very early age of 51. The postings on Youtube and Spotify profile him as an 'island legend'. Google pulled up 17 million references in under 5 seconds ... Geez, he would have been just a kid when we saw him perform back then, pre-internet ...

I also googled my old long-lost friend, Winston. I was shocked and amazed that he was listed on both Facebook and LinkedIn. Unluckily, both pages stopped posting around 2015. I don't know if he is 'there' anymore or not. I have reached out and hope to hear soon from a kind man who befriended me when I was exploring that lovely, bewitching island over 30 years ago.

It's strange how people can intersect, how paths cross and lives are changed forever through these  meetings. I never would have met Winston at all if another Canadian had shown up as had been arranged before I'd flown down to Jamaica ...

I was sitting on a bar-stool in Negril at dusk, alone, waiting for the contact. I had noticed Winston across the bar. He was quietly sipping on his beverage and obviously waiting too. Time passed and neither of our respective mates showed up. As we sat silently, an attentive bartender, realizing that we were both at lose ends, graciously introduced us. He introduced Winston as THE DJ of Negril and I introduced myself as a Canadian fine furniture designer from Toronto ... (that's what I was doing at the time ... ). Awkward and shy, we clumsily started a chat over the next rum and coke. It had been kindly offered for free by the generous bartender. That ambling chat soon turned into a fond friendship.

Winston, during most of my stay in Negril, was an outstanding island ambassador. He introduced me to aspects of the the island culture that I never would have seen nor experienced on my own as a 'gringa'.  We explored off the beaten paths and interpreted what we experienced together. He was always interested in my Canadian perspective as I was in his Jamaican one. It amazed me that Winston had never traveled. He had never left the island. For me, it was an extraordinary opportunity to truly live within a foreign culture, rather than just be a tourist. To this day, I am ever grateful for that fortuitous meeting. 

On reflection, our brief week-long encounter would make a good template of how 'strangers' should treat each other. Civil, kind and considerate: with an undertone of curiosity and respect for each other's 'otherness'. Travelers instinctively know that people met on the road can often become the very best of friends. Yet, it's always deeply understood, travelers do travel - they move on. Personal freedom, the journey itself, is always honoured.

The #WritingCommunity on Twitter is kind of like that. We're like 'ships in the night', passing by, sharing our stories. In the midst of that passing, good friendships are being forged. We have come to know of each other - our dreams, our foibles. We have privileged glimpses of the highs and lows of each other's writing journey. And we treat each other with the same 'travelers code': civil, kind and considerate, with an undertone of curiosity and respect. For, it too is understood, writers must travel, they must move on ... For now though, as COVID winds down, the unique #WritingCommunity is an exemplary collection of ambassadors who have helped each other along life's wild journey ...  

It's been very pleasant, guys and gals. Thank you!

Find me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/TrillLINDSAY  

After One Year of COVID: Interview with Margaret Lindsay Holton

It's always so interesting to look back at various point in Time ...

In this instance, I was invited, in early April 2021, to discuss where I'm at - as an artist and author - one year after the onset of COVID. 

I remember the start of the pandemic rather vividly. It was mid March of 2020 and suddenly it seemed that everyone was going into lock-down mode. I just instinctively knew, as did so many others, that this was SERIOUS. We had to hunker down. I did not do a run out to stock-up on toilet paper, but I was struck by the disappearance of all fresh eggs from the local grocer. For two days, I literally hunted for fresh eggs - finally finding a dozen in a small convenience store. And the 'new reality' sunk in. 

Interestingly enough, James Strecker and I go back a lot further than one year ... Many years ago, when he was running a small and vibrant publishing house in Hamilton, I submitted a poem for an local anthology about 'what Life meant'. (A typical kind of artist Q&A!)  It was also one of the first poems of mine ever published. Here's the blurb for that #poetry book, This I Believe ...

 Well, time goes on ... as do writing projects ... 

Now, some 30+ years later, with three novels under my belt, numerous photo-books, two books of poetry and a social history about religion in Toronto, James and I have circled around again to each other. In the following interview, James asks, again, about 'what does Life mean' ... 

 

 

JAMES STRECKER: If, before the COVID crisis, you were asked for 50 words to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you have said about your purpose and creations?

MARGARET LINDSAY HOLTON: I’ve been active in the local, national and international arts community for over 40 years now through a variety of disciplines: Canadian fine furniture design & making, painting, writing, experimental photography and short film works. Essentially, I am offering my vision of ‘how I see the world’ from this exact point – in Time and Space – on this, our amazing home planet. This has been my job … 

Read the rest of the free-ranging interview here.

Follow up with an MLH Book : https://linktr.ee/MargaretLindsayHolton

Or just follow MLH on Twitter: https://twitter.com/TrillLINDSAY

Or just drift off with some MLH Music: https://canadada.bandcamp.com 

MLHolton in new 'Storytime for Grownups' Anthology

Thrilled to be included in the inaugural ‘Storytime for #Grownups Anthology: Series One & Two’, a #Paperback, published on April 17, 2021, edited by Jacqueline Belle 

 

JB: “This all started as something fun to do during covid-19 isolation & to promote positive mental health; especially for those isolated alone... it turned into so much more ... ‘Storytime for Grownups’ showcases indie & traditionally published #authors of various genre & #writing styles from around the world. It’s a wonderfully dynamic group of authors from different backgrounds, experience & abilities. 

 

‘Storytime for Grownups’ is a complimentary Twitter & YouTube-based narrated video project co-produced by Jacqueline Belle Poems and Guru Art Lifestyle. 

 

#Paperback includes short stories & poems by authors: Barbara Avon, Jacqueline Belle, Cheryl Burman, Kathleen Cranidge, Stoney deGeyter, David DeWinter, Jon Hart, Margaret Lindsay Holton, Karen Honnor, Jane Jago, Julie Kusma, Melinda Lucas, Sallie Moffitt, Val Ormrod, Bella Rayne, Romston, Carol Sheppard, Shylovedheart, Doug Stuber, Melony Teague, Duncan Wilson, Albert van der Steeg, and W Rix Victory II.” 

 

 

‘Storytime for Grownups’ BOOK LINK: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09328MCMV 

 

(SAMPLE of 3 MLH YOUTUBE VIDEO LINKS): The Frozen Goose, written by MLHolton, narrated by Jacqueline Belle > https://youtu.be/sDMTk62UD68 

 

Companion Playlist for entire ‘Storytime for Grownups’on Youtube > https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaacYUCB9SHJqIL6rWRlleejs_WHW0U-d

 

Four-Page Spread - MLHolton in #HillStrath Spring 2021 Review

 

From my old primary school, situated on top of the Niagara Escarpment in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada - a very nice profile of my work over the past few decades in both art-making and writing ...

      As an 'old girl' (from many moons past went), I can attest to the solid educational framework that this private day school offers.  As an attending youngster, I LOVED the teachers, (even though some were ferocious on the outside, hint-hint, Mrs.LeRoy!). 

Overall, I appreciated the small class sizes, the wide-ranging curriculum that was devoted to creating well-rounded little girls and boys, the active sports days & theatrical productions, the life-long friendships made and the mushy peas at lunch hour in the school cafeteria! It was a wonderful place to just 'grow' .... 

'Immersed in Art' - a very much appreciated four-page spread about me in the 2021 Spring Edition of the Hillfield Strathallan College Review. 

Read the whole article here: https://www.hsc.on.ca/alumni/hsc-review

 (Page 3 of 4 ... Read the rest via link above.)  

MLHolton Interview on IndieBookButler

There are varied ways and means to 'get-the-word-out' for #indie #authors. There are the traditional legacy media outlets that provide authenticity in one's local community. It can be a long process though that can take months, even years, to get good coverage. There are also local radio and news programs, augmented with Public Service Announcements (PSAs). These are fun to do, but fleeting in both the public imagination and as a 'record'. By far, the best reviews, interviews and community engagement comes from enterprising and focused bloggers who, not only know their audiences, but provide interesting and tasteful platforms for authors to just 'be themselves' ... 

I recently hired Indie Book Butler to do an interview with me. The have a very active presence on social media and are well plugged into the Twitter #writing and #reading communities. To my mind, two weeks of 'promo' from them, (includes daily promotion by them across social media platforms), is well worth the very reasonable $15 fee. It's effective, efficient and does reach the intended audience - YOU. 

... Here's a sample of how the interview started ...

Indie Book Butler: Let’s start things off with an introduction. Tell us a little about yourself for those not already aware of you and your work.

ML Holton:   'Hello all. – By profession, I’m an award-winning Canadian artist from southern Ontario, Canada. I live and work beside the magnificent great lake of Ontario and have been very active along its southern shore for over 40 years.

Few locals know that aside from my long-standing art practice is a dedication to the written word that has also spanned 40+ years.  I studied English Lit and Philosophy at University of Toronto, with an independent study year to pursue the ‘History of the English Language’ at the University of Edinburgh. After several years of other work, I returned to university to understudy with 2-time Giller Prize winner, M.G.Vassanji, in the Graduate Creative Writing Program at Humber College. In other words, I’ve played with words – their sounds and meaning – for as long as I can remember.

Today, aside from my visual art practice, I have completed two poetry books as well as a spoken-word/garageband album – ‘CANADADA: TAKE TWO’. I’ve been published in several anthologies (here and abroad), edited a social-religious history about Toronto, compiled eight small-press picture books that highlight my pinhole photography and paintings, written and directed a short narrative film – ‘The Frozen Goose’, written freelance art articles for local news outlets, and finally, I’ve completed three full-length novels, to date. In sum, I like to have serious fun!'

READ the REST of this fun & engaging interview on their site.

Wholeheartedly recommend their service. Timely, efficient and 'on point'.  

p.s. Just in case you missed it, here too is the MLH Spring 2021 News Update

ENJOY SPRING EVERYONE!!

The Clearing, Painting by MLHolton