Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
I’m a yoga teacher who specializes in the practical application of traditional yoga philosophy to life in the modern world. I’ve been practicing yoga as a spiritual science for the better part of 40 years. I’ve lived in yoga ashrams and intentional spiritual communities. I’ve also had a professional career that’s included positions at both Fortune 500 companies and small, privately held firms. I’ve written one book so far and am working on two more.
What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called ‘In Search of the Highest Truth: Adventures in Yoga Philosophy’. As a frequent guest instructor at yoga teacher trainings, I was often asked to recommend a book that provides a general overview of the fundamentals of yoga philosophy. This proved to be surprisingly challenging: although I have my favorite translations biographies, and highfalutin scholarly tomes, I had yet to find a concise and accessible overview of traditional yoga philosophy that I felt confident in recommending. What I felt was needed was a book that combined theory with practice for both personal and social applications and written in a style that was both conversational and reflective. I hope this book fills that need.
Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Almost everything I write is based on recordings of my lectures, which are themselves more like dialogues, or correspondence with my students. I have a synthetic rather than an original imagination; the energy of real-time engagement with questions and challenges is what inspires my best ideas about how to make seemingly esoteric philosophical concepts accessible, real, and relevant to my audience. So, I save all of my correspondence and I record all of my talks. When a talk goes particularly well I have transcribed. The finished product is the result of editing and augmenting the talk with additional material.
What authors, or books have influenced you?
The author that’s had the biggest influence on me by far is A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Everything I write about can be traced back to his translations and commentaries on the principle texts of the Vedic yoga tradition, particularly the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad Bhagavatam (also known as the Bhagavat Purana). All of my teachers are Bhaktivedanta Swami’s disciples. George Orwell, Susan Sontag, Thomas Merton, Karen Armstrong, Wassily Kandinsky, Hannah Arendt, and Thomas Jefferson are other authors whose influence can be found in my writing.
What are you working on now?
I have two books in progress right now – we’ll see which one gets to the finish line first. One is called ‘Sex, Death, and Yoga’. It’s a collection of related essays that connect yoga philosophy to sex and death, which are themselves intimately connected to one another. Yoga philosophy illuminates the nature of their connection in some very unconventional ways.
The other book is called ‘Awaken Your Spiritual Senses’. It’s composed of two parts: a guide to the inner practice of yoga that includes forms of meditation and contemplation that facilitate the awakening the title suggests and a guide to connecting the values of yoga to how we engage with the world. Essentially, the book is about preparing for and engaging in spiritual activism.
What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I’ve been using Kindlepreneur’s KDP Rocket as a tool for developing my ad campaigns on Amazon. Other than that, my newsletter and my own website in combination with a steady schedule of teaching and speaking engagements has been the way that’s worked so far.
Do you have any advice for new authors?
DIY! Unless you have a real publisher, do it yourself. In fact, even if you DO have a real publisher, you may want to do it yourself just for the sake of maintaining ownership and control of your product. I outsourced everything – from editing to formatting – to handpicked freelancers and went to CreateSpace for my distribution and fulfillment. I was able to manage every part of the process directly and get the results I wanted. And now I have part-time virtual and not-so-virtual assistants through whom I can exercise complete control over my marketing and promotion.
What is the best advice you have ever heard?
“Just chant ‘Hare Krishna’ and your life will be successful.”
What are you reading now?
I’m always re-reading the Bhagavad-gita. I’m also reading ‘Falling Upward’ by Richard Rohr and ‘American Nations’ by Colin Woodward.
What’s next for you as a writer?
Webinars, online courses, and speaking engagements. I expect to be busy over the next three years with two more books and building online learning opportunities for my readers.
If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
Bhagavad-gita, the Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Krsna – The Supreme Personality of Godhead, and How To Live Forever – so that I would still be alive when someone finally came to rescue me.
Author Websites and Profiles
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