Synopsis:

Personal narrative about the spiritual quest of a woman who lives in the Midwest. Although born a Baptist she gradually embraced Hindusim as her religion of choice. At first she rejected her Baptist faith, but finally realized that both religious traditions were meaningful in her life and both contributed ultimately to her development of her own philosophy of spirituality.
The reader becomes intimately familiar with her childhood in Bloomington, Indiana where she grew up in a secure upper middle class family with intellectual leanings. Later her family experienced some very difficult times, and her Hindu beliefs provided support. Other influence included friends, sorority sisters and the landscape. Her turning toward Hinduism in a predominantly Christian society is supported with specifics such as her immediate identification with the blue God/Krisna and her mother braiding her hair in the style of a child in India. These examples lead interest and credibility.

She discusses how her college experiences at Berkley in California, the topic of her thesis and her career choices were influenced by her Hindu beliefs. The general climate of the 1960’s also contributed because religious experimentation was condoned, and Hinduism was promoted by the Beatles and the hippie movement in general. She felt the necessity of choosing between the accepted professional careers of doctor of lawyer, and chose the later because of the opportunity it would give to write and champion causes close to her heart such as the environment.

Later she spent time working for the Department of Agriculture in Washington, D.C.

She has been a spiritual searcher her entire life and recounts her experiences with several gurus both in the U.S. and through correspondence to India. These detailed accounts provide the reader opportunities to learn from her mistakes and successes. Hinduism became more and more attractive to her because of its universality, emphasis on the care of the environment and belief in reincarnation. She also enjoys the sensuality and affinity for cows, and polytheism, and worship of a female as a major deity. Hinduism reveres the entire universe and all life forms, not just humans. It believes that we reincarnate back into the world after a brief stay in Heaven. To the author, life on earth is very enjoyable. She remembers her previous lives, one as a man in India, and believes she was reincarnated in Indiana after misreading the sign that said India. Similar examples of tongue-in-cheek humor are interspersed throughout the book, and make it an enjoyable reading experience.

The author also discusses how Hindus adopt to Midwestern culture, and her need to remain connected to a local church while having the freedom to experience spirituality in the privacy of her home or in nature and especially through the practice of yoga and meditation. Hinduism has proven to be much more satisfying to her in answering the questions she has about the universe and our place in it than the Christianity she grew up with.

I particularly enjoyed reading her experiences with the different gurus, and her reasons for not staying with a guru for a long period of time. Also her observation that Indians can learn from Midwesterners that it is worth the freedom not to be with a guru for a long period of time.

I think that environmentalists will find this book gives some spiritual basis for their beliefs and some hope for the survival of the earth. The discovery that God resides within all living organisms and that the earth is the blue pearl of the universe are particularly attractive concepts from the Hindu teachings. Hinduism appears to appreciate the beauty and delicacy of nature whereas Christianity is silent on the subject or encourages the destruction of the environment in everyday practices. Hinduism reminds us of the importance of agriculture and the spiritual value of being connected to the land.

All in all this is a fascinating book about a serious spiritual journey, filled with interesting experiences, humor and observations on the meaning of life, death and the afterlife. The author has intertwined observations from her legal career and insights from her study of agriculture and geology. Gentle sarcasm about the mores of the Midwest and a more ascorbic treatment of Midwestern Christianity give the book a refreshingly different viewpoint. This work will certainly provide a unique guide to others seeking their own individual experience of the divine.



(Excerpt from)

Gaze, then, thou Son of Pritha! I manifest for thee Those hundred thousand thousand shapes that clothe my Mystery: I show thee all my semblances, infinite, rich, divine, My changeful hues, my countless forms. See! in this face of mine, Adityas, Vasus, Rudras Aswins, and Maruts; see Wonders unnumbered, Indian Prince! revealed to none save thee. Behold! this is the Universe! - Look! what is live and dead I gather all in one - in Me! Gaze, as thy lips have said, On God Eternal, Very God! See Me! see what thou prayest!
. . . . . . . Thou canst not! - nor, with human eyes, Arjuna! ever mayest. Therefore I give thee sense divine. Have other eyes, new light! And, look! This is My glory, unveiled to mortal sight!

A Day of Legal Bungles
Author: Julia Wilder
Publishing Date:  2008

Synopsis:

A day in the life of a fictional couple who have a variety of legal problems.  This gives the author an opportunity to discuss several aspects of the law and give valuable advice before these problems actually happen to the reader.   Entertaining and a wonderful general legal reference on bankruptcy, divorce, buying a house, automobile accident and insurance law, custody, identity theft and probate law to name only a few of the types of legal issues covered.