Lawrence Pintak's Blog
May 23, 2025
The Miracle of Mindfulness
The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation by Thich Nhat HanhMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Many decades ago, when I was first "flirting" with Buddhism, this was one of the first books I read. For my new book, Lessons from the Mountaintop, I wrote about Sister Clear Grace Dayananda, a BIPOC "nunk" from California ordained in the late Thich Nhat Hahn's Zen tradition. I re-read this book as part of my research. Its simple, clear insights and instructions are as important now as they were back then.
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Evans-Wentz on the fairy world
The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries by W.Y. Evans-WentzMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Evans-Wentz is famous for writing one of the earliest books on Tibetan Buddhism. While researching Druidry for Lessons from the Mountaintop, I was amazed to discover this book he wrote as his PhD dissertation. Fascinating first-person accounts of folks in Scotland and Ireland who recount their "encounters" with the fairy world.
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Reading Mysticism
My book profiling ten modern mystics, Lessons from the Mountaintop, will be published Aug. 1.
This book marks a major departure from my career writing about U.S. policy toward the Middle East and America's troubled relationship with the world's Muslims.
Though mysticism across traditions has always been at the root of my own spirituality, and I have written the occasional article, this is my first book on the topic.
The process of interviewing these fascinating individuals has been a joy. With each, I did a deep dive into their particular tradition, spending months reading everything I could get my hands on and adopting the specific meditation techniques of that tradition. I learned so much -- even about traditions I thought I knew.
I thought it might be interesting to share some of that for those who want to go beyond my book and, as I did, dig into the wonderful array of literature.
So I have created a set of bookshelves: One for books written by the mystics I profiled and another that contains many of the books that provided the background for my research.
I will also create shelves that contain other books on mysticism and spirituality that I have enjoyed over the years.
I hope it's of some value to my Goodreads friends.
Oh, and don't worry, I haven't abandoned the Middle East or Islam. In October, Bloomsbury will release a paperback edition of my award-winning book, America & Islam, that includes the tragic Gaza War and the return of Donald Trump.
This book marks a major departure from my career writing about U.S. policy toward the Middle East and America's troubled relationship with the world's Muslims.
Though mysticism across traditions has always been at the root of my own spirituality, and I have written the occasional article, this is my first book on the topic.
The process of interviewing these fascinating individuals has been a joy. With each, I did a deep dive into their particular tradition, spending months reading everything I could get my hands on and adopting the specific meditation techniques of that tradition. I learned so much -- even about traditions I thought I knew.
I thought it might be interesting to share some of that for those who want to go beyond my book and, as I did, dig into the wonderful array of literature.
So I have created a set of bookshelves: One for books written by the mystics I profiled and another that contains many of the books that provided the background for my research.
I will also create shelves that contain other books on mysticism and spirituality that I have enjoyed over the years.
I hope it's of some value to my Goodreads friends.
Oh, and don't worry, I haven't abandoned the Middle East or Islam. In October, Bloomsbury will release a paperback edition of my award-winning book, America & Islam, that includes the tragic Gaza War and the return of Donald Trump.
