|
TM
Girl Seeks Bliss
Zen and the Art of Modern Life Maintenance By Nicole Beland
Reviewed by Madelyn Miller, the TravelLady
Who
wouldn’t want bliss. It is a word like chocolate that is universally appealing.
I seek Bliss wherever I go, whenever I travel. But is Bliss like love, something
that becomes more elusive the harder you look for it? Buddha seems to know the
answer. And so does Nicole Beland, the author of this empowering book.
Buddha is everywhere! From the hottest restaurants, fashion
labels, to celebrities, America’s fascination with Buddhism—sparked in part by
the yoga craze—is growing fast.
And there couldn’t be a better time for it. Today’s women
are desperate for the balance and serenity that Buddhism has to offer, but have
little patience for the overly sentimental or religious tones that pervade
traditional books on the topic. GIRL SEEKS BLISS: Zen and the Art of Modern Life
Maintenance (A Plume Original Trade Paperback, $13.00), by Nicole Beland, will
enable women to apply the basics of Buddhism to their Sex and the City
lifestyles in ways that are fun, practical and meaningful. This is Buddhism made
easy for the girl-on-the-go—the perfect book for any young woman looking to
unclutter her mind, her heart, and her closet.
For example:
-
Create A Zen Space: Small changes that turn an ordinary
pad into cloud nine
-
Improve Your Love Life: Use the Eightfold Path for
finding a good guy
-
Spice Up Sex: Five Tantric tricks that lead to nookie
nirvana
-
Bring Buddha to Work: Buddhist secrets for feeling
satisfied with your career, at any and every stage
-
Take a Buddhist Retreat: To kick start a Zen lifestyle,
hitting the road is just what the guru ordered
Complete with explanations of the basics tenets of this
Eastern philosophy, plus mini-meditations for each area of your life, GIRL SEEKS
BLISS is the hip how-to Buddhist handbook for incorporating Zen into the busy
20- and 30-something woman’s life.
I am at least 25 years old than the target market for this
book, but I got some hints that I would have loved knowing sooner.
The travel section lists Zen retreats and the only one I
have investigated, Bishop’s Lodge, is the first place I visited as a
travelwriter. Perhaps I started in the Zen direction, but merely got waylaid
along the way.
I wish I had more opportunities to try Buddhists secrets to
soulful sex.
But my favorite suggestion in the whole book is on creating
a Zen space that suggests giving away all the things you keep because they might
make a good Halloween costume someday. How did she know how many I had? Maybe
that is a title for a book.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Nicole
Beland writes Men’s Health magazine’s sex and relationship advice column “Ask
the Girl Next Door” and is the author of the books Ask the Men’s Health Girl
Next Door and The Cocktail Jungle: A Girl’s Field Guide to Shaking and
Stirring. A regular guest on Fox’s The Best Damned Sports Show Period, she
lives in Brooklyn, New York.
www.penguin.com
Other books to help you get a more balanced Life
KEEPING LIFE SIMPLE
380 tips and ideas
By Karen Levine
Discover what really gives you satisfaction and enjoyment then toss out all the
other junk.
Storey Publishing
www.storey,com
FENG SHUI DOS AND TABOOS
By Angi Ma Wong
Storey Books
www.storey.com
THE COMPLETE IDIOT’S GUIDE TO ZEN LIVING
By Gary R. McClain, PH.D and Eve Adamson
Calming mediations, enlightening exercises and lifestyle changes
Alpha Books
www.idiotsguides.com
THE EVERYTHING FENG SHUI DECLUTTERING BOOK
By Katina Z. Jones
Help with simplifying your environment and your life
Clear your space, clear your mind
Adams Media
www.everything.com
MARK TWAIN’S HELPFUL HINTS FOR GOOD LIVING
A Handbook for the Damned Human Race
Edited by Lin Salamo, Victor Fischer and Michael B. Frank
A Mark Twain Project at the University of California, Berkeley
ORGANIZING FOR THE THE GOOD LIFE
By Celia Rocks
A path to Joyful Simplicty—Home to Work and Back
Facts on Demand Press
THE ONE-MINUTE ORGANIZER, PLAIN & SIMPLE
By Donna Smallin
Storey Publishing, September 2004
256 pages; two-color throughout
$9.95 trade paperback
ISBN: 1-58017-584-8
www.storey.com
ESCAPE TO NATURE
Without ROUGHING IT
25O hand-picked Resorts, Inns and Lodges in Amazing Natural Settings
www.fodors.com
Back to TravelLady Magazine |