Lewis Carrol's Birthday

In 1832, in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, Lewis Carroll was born. (His real name was Charles Dodgson, Lewis Carroll was his pen name.)

He is perhaps best known for writing Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass, but he was also an accomplished mathematician and photographer.

His poem "Jabberwocky", which appeared in Through the Looking Glass (and What Alice Found There), is one of my personal favorites, and always makes me smile.

Tim Burton is about to release a film version of Alice in Wonderland, you can see the official trailer here. It's due for release March 5, 2010, and stars Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter. I saw a preview of the Imax 3-D version, and plan to see it in Imax 3-D when it comes out. I will post a review here after I see it.

Perfect Kindness

I was reading Bob Burg's blog today, he wrote a post about thoughtfulness. One of the comments reminded me of one of my favorite sayings, "Perfect kindness acts without thinking of kindness."

I added a comment to Bob's blog, but wanted to talk a little more about thoughtfulness and kindness. There is such a pervasive sense of doom and gloom everywhere I go, at least partly caused by all the bad news in the traditional media.

This blog is one of my responses to the pervasive darkness, one small thing I do to try and add some brightness to the world. Hopefully, it helps brighten your day a little, and brings you a smile or a laugh when you need it.

Out in the "real" world, being thoughtful of other people, even in small ways, can make a big difference. Just a kind word, or a smile, can often make the difference between someone having a good day or a bad day. (I also read about some research that demonstrated that people witnessing an act of kindness, without any active participation on their part, are positively affected, and their brains produce more feel good endorphins, as do the people actively
involved .) So, if you act kindly towards another person, not only will you feel better, and make them feel better, everyone who sees the act will also benefit. A small act of kindness can have a very large ripple effect.

So, be extra nice to someone today. And smile!

Where Do My Stories Come From?

A reader recently asked me about where the stories I share in this blog come from. I will tell you what I can about their sources.

They don't come from a single source, I have been collecting stories (especially teaching stories) for most of my life. Many of them come from Sufi sources, some of my favorite teaching stories are about a character named Nasrudin. He is sometimes a fool, sometimes a wise teacher, and the stories are often very funny. You can find many stories about Nasrudin here: Nasrudin Stories Collections by Idries Shah. (Idries Shah also wrote many other books, one of my favorites is Learning How to Learn.)

I was initiated into the Sufi Order in the West by Pir Vilayat Khan. Hazrat Inayat Khan, Pir Vilayat's father founded the Sufi Order in the West, and some of the stories I tell come from their writings, as well as personal encounters with other members of the Order. Pir Vilayat wrote a book The Message in Our Time about the teachings of his father, it is a good introduction to Hazrat Inayat Khan's teachings.

I have also collected stories at workshops, including Taoist meditation, the Sufi Healing Order, Zen Buddhist meditation and The Omega Institute.

Other stories some from story tellers I have met throughout my life and travels, and my eclectic reading of far too many books to mention here. I average about three books a week, more if they are short. (The Nasrudin stories are usually very short, and make quick reading.)