Sally Ember's Blog, page 4
December 28, 2023
#Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales! #Free, 25 – 75% off! Only Three More Days, Through 1/1/24
Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales!#Free, 25% – 75% off! Only Three More Days, Through 1/1/24#SmashwordsEoYSale
The Spanners Series’ first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romanceby Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW!
The Spanners Series ‘ cover art and logo are by WillowRaven :http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/
Smashwords is having its 7th Annual End-of-Year Sale and The Spanners Series ‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are on sale for only 3 more days!—free (Volume I)—only $2.99 (Volume II), 25% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24—only $1.99 (Volume III), 50% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24
(usually $3.99 each for ebooks)! See below for links and more info.
And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for this great sale!
Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!Give ebooks for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!
The paperbacks of all three Volumes are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program at Amazon!See below for links, details and coupon codes (on Smashwords, only) for each of the Volumes.
This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series
Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.
Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions.
In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?
This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.
Are YOU ready for the changes?
Volume I, This Changes Everything:Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords :https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197and Amazon : http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart (in this case, download Volume I for free), you get a discount for the total package. Vol I Amazon link: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series
Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.
Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.
How would YOU do with the changes?
Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:EBOOKS now $2.99, 25% off the regular price of $3.99on Smashwords , any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol II Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B00KU5Q7KC
This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series
Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series . Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.
Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.
Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?
What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?
Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:EBOOKS now $1.99, 50% off the regular price of $3.99on Smashwords , any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol III Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B0177Z1KRM
The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks.
Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books
REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com
For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D. , her bio, books, blog, archived YouTube (Sally Sue Ember channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/SallySueEmber/videos) video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com
December 22, 2023
#Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales! #Free, 25 – 75% off! 8 More Days: Through 1/1/24
#Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales!#Free, 25 – 75% off! 8 More Days: Through January 1, 2024#SmashwordsEoYSale
The Spanners Series’ first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romanceby Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW!
The Spanners Series ‘ cover art and logo are by WillowRaven :http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/
Smashwords is having its 7th Annual End-of-Year Sale and The Spanners Series ‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are on sale for 8 more days!—free (Volume I)—only $2.99 (Volume II), 25% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24—only $1.99 (Volume III), 50% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24
(usually $3.99 each for ebooks)! See below for links and more info.
And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for this great sale!
Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!Give ebooks for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!
The paperbacks of all three Volumes are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program at Amazon!See below for links, details and coupon codes (on Smashwords, only) for each of the Volumes.
This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series
Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.
Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions.
In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?
This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.
Are YOU ready for the changes?
Volume I, This Changes Everything:Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords :https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197and Amazon : http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart (in this case, download Volume I for free), you get a discount for the total package. Vol I Amazon link: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series
Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.
Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.
How would YOU do with the changes?
Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:EBOOKS now $2.99, 25% off the regular price of $3.99on Smashwords , any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol II Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B00KU5Q7KC
This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series
Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series . Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.
Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.
Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?
What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?
Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:EBOOKS now $1.99, 50% off the regular price of $3.99on Smashwords , any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol III Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B0177Z1KRM
The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks.
Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books
REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com
For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D. , her bio, books, blog, archived YouTube (Sally Sue Ember channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/SallySueEmber/videos) video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com
December 13, 2023
#Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales! #Free, 25 – 75% off! December 15, 2023 through January 1, 2024
#Ebooks #Smashwords 7th Annual End-of-Year Sales!
#Free, 25 – 75% off! December 15, 2023 through January 1, 2024
#SmashwordsEoYSale
The Spanners Series’ first three Volumes of utopian science-fiction/romance
by Sally Ember, Ed.D. are on sale NOW!
The Spanners Series‘ cover art and logo are by WillowRaven:
http://www.willowraven-illustration.blogspot.com/
Smashwords is having its 7th Annual End-of-Year Sale and The Spanners Series‘ ebooks in every format (reader’s choice) are on sale for two weeks!
—free (Volume I)
—only $2.99 (Volume II), 25% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24
—only $1.99 (Volume III), 50% OFF, no COUPON CODE needed; sale on Smashwords, only, 12/15/23–1/1/24
(usually $3.99 each for ebooks)! See below for links and more info.
And, go browse on Smashwords for other great discounts and sales for this great sale!
Whether you’re sweating, freezing, rained or snowed on or anywhere in between, there is still time to READ!
Give ebooks for gifts for birthdays, graduations, holidays, anniversaries, vacations: any time!
The paperbacks of all three Volumes are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program at Amazon!
See below for links, details and coupon codes (on Smashwords, only) for each of the Volumes.
This Changes Everything, Vol. I, The Spanners Series
Dr. Clara Ackerman Branon, 58, begins having secret visits from holographic representations of beings from the Many Worlds Collective, a consortium of planet and star systems in the multiverse. When Earth is invited to join the consortium, the secret visits are made public. Now Earthers must adjust their beliefs and ideas about life, religion, culture, identity and everything they think and are.
Clara is selected to be the liaison between Earth and the Many Worlds Collective and she chooses Esperanza Enlaces to be the Chief Media Contact. They team up to provide information to stave off riots and uncertainty. The Many Worlds Collective holos train Clara and the Psi-Warriors for the Psi Wars with the rebelling Psi-Defiers, communicate effectively with many species on Earth and off-planet, eliminate ordinary, elected governments and political boundaries, convene a new group of Global Leaders, and deal with family’s and friends’ reactions.
In what multiple timelines of the ever-expanding multiverse do Clara and her long-time love, Epifanio Dang, get to be together and which leave Clara alone and lonely as the leader of Earth?
This Changes Everything spans the 30-year story of Clara’s term as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, continuing in nine more Volumes of The Spanners Series.
Are YOU ready for the changes?
Volume I, This Changes Everything:
Ebooks are PERMAFREE on Smashwords:
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/376197
and Amazon: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart (in this case, download Volume I for free), you get a discount for the total package. Vol I Amazon link: http://www.amzn.com/B00HFELTG8
This Changes My Family and My Life Forever, Vol. II, The Spanners Series
Intrigued by multiple timelines, aliens, psi skills, romance and planetary change? Clara and the alien “Band” are back in Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever.
Now as Chief Communicator, Clara leads the way for interspecies communication on- and off-planet. Fighting these changes are the Psi-Defiers, led by one of the oldest friends of the Chief of the Psi-Warriors, its reluctant leader, Rabbi Moran Ackerman. Stories from younger Spanners about the first five years of The Transition fill Volume II.
How would YOU do with the changes?
Volume II, This Changes My Family and My Life Forever:
EBOOKS now $2.99, 25% off the regular price of $3.99
on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol II Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B00KU5Q7KC
This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Vol. III, The Spanners Series
Clara, Moran, Espe, Epifanio and the alien Band of holos are back in This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change, Volume III of The Spanners Series. Psi-Defiers launch increasingly violent protests during this five-year Transition, attempting to block Earth’s membership into the Many Worlds Collective. Earth’s nations and borders must dissolve and Psi-Warriors must strengthen in their battle against the rebels.
Clara, as Earth’s first Chief Communicator, also juggles family conflicts and danger while creating psi skills training Campuses to help Earth through the Psi Wars. Clara timults alternate versions of their futures as the leaders’ duties and consciences force them to make difficult choices across multiple timelines, continuing to train and fight.
Will the Psi-Warriors’ and other leaders’ increasing psi skills, interspecies collaborations and budding alien alliances be enough for Earth to make it through The Transition intact? If there is no clear path for Clara’s and Epifanio’s love, does she partner with Steve or go it alone?
What do YOU do with wanted/unwanted changes?
Volume III, This Is/Is Not the Way I Want Things to Change:
EBOOKS now $1.99, 50% off the regular price of $3.99
on Smashwords, any ebook format (reader’s choice).
These paperbacks are in the Kindle Match/Kindle Matchbook program on Amazon. This means that if you purchase both the ebook and its paperback counterpart, you get a discount for the total package. Vol III Amazon link:: http://www.amzn.com/B0177Z1KRM
The Spanners Series‘ three paperbacks.
Print editions and ebooks published under Timult Books
REVIEWERS: Ask for FREE Ebook coupon codes for Volumes II and III on Smashwords any time: sallyember AT yahoo DOT com
For more information about Sally Ember, Ed.D., her bio, books, blog, archived YouTube (Sally Sue Ember channel, https://www.youtube.com/c/SallySueEmber/videos) video talk show (CHANGES conversations between authors), guest blog posts and guidelines, links to author interviews, book trailers and more: http://www.sallyember.com
November 13, 2023
Happiest of Birthdays to my Most Precious Teacher, Lama Padma Drimed Norbu!
Happiest of Birthdays to my Most Precious Teacher, Lama Padma Drimed Norbu!
I just found out that today is also World Kindness Day, and that is so appropriate! I write today to honor one of the kindest people I have ever known (and I’ve known a LOT of people), the person who became my Buddhist meditation teacher and guide, Lama Padma Drimed Norbu, known as Lama Drimed to most, Wyn Fischel to some.
In the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, the spiritual teacher is said to hold the key to one’s heart. Opening the heart (or, in Tibetan terms, the heart/mind) is fundamental to becoming receptive to the spiritual practices and their impact on us, allowing us to change, inviting the methods to work within us without impediment.
A teacher may play many roles and be of great benefit. The only limitations to the impact of a qualified teacher on students are in our own minds.
The story of how I “found” my spiritual teacher is a bit unusual, in that I had known Wyn Fischel before he had been ordained as a lama (we met in 1985). However, I hadn’t seen him in ten years, had only talked with him the previous fall twice on the phone, before coming to accept teachings from him in 1999, in his new identity as Lama Drimed.
He had told me on the phone in the fall of 1998 that people who had known him “before” had had difficulty accepting him as a teacher and warned me that it might not work for us, either.
I told him that I had already had many dreams in which he IS my teacher and that I was confident it would work. Secretly, though, I was nervous and a bit doubtful, myself. I knew what he meant because the first person I had considered as my teacher was also someone I had known before (Lisa Leghorn/Lama Shenphen Drolma) and things had become very difficult for both of us.
During or after this 1999 summer retreat with him, we would both decide if we could continue as student and teacher.
The day the retreat started that June day in 1999, we were all gathered in the shrine room (large space for meditation practice and teachings), waiting for him to arrive.
I had had no idea how the retreat would be structured, what went on, even where he would sit. There were colorfully draped thrones in the front of the room, but I had a hard time imagining that he would actually sit on one.
There was a curtain, a drapery wall, separating the shrine room from the porch eating area. It rippled and a man entered. At first, I didn’t recognize him as the man I had known. His hair was down past his waist and flowed as he moved. Last time I’d seen him, his hair was barely to his ears.
Even more different was the way he moved. More startling and unexpected was that I felt my heart burst open. My eyes filled with tears. In total silence and surprise, half bowed along with everyone else, I stood there staring at him. There was a glow around him that I could not actually see with my physical eyes but which I could perceive nonetheless. He emanated peace, confidence, warmth.
My heart was pounding and the tears increased as I watched him glide smoothly across the room carrying a single, long-stemmed rose in one hand.
He walked up to the throne of His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (who was living in Brazil at that time, but who passed in 2002) whose framed face rest on it. Gently and reverently, with immense love that I could feel from across the room, Lama Drimed placed the rose in front of the picture.
Then, he gracefully stepped back several paces and did three full-body prostrations in front of that throne, offering respect and devotion to his teacher. I felt Lama Drimed‘s devotion as pinpricks in my heart and my tears flowed.
He finished his prostrations and walked over to the empty throne. Climbing up onto it, I could feel the rightness of it: it was his seat, his rightful place.
As soon as he sat down, the room of about thirty students erupted in motion: everyone began prostrating to him as he had done to Rinpoche’s picture. I stood there, trembling.
Up until then, despite having attended several teachings, one retreat and several empowerments with other teachers, including Lama Drimed‘s and one of mine, His Eminence Chagdud Tulku Rinpoche (who passed in 2002), whenever I had done prostrations, I hadn’t felt anything. I did them out of respect, but without my heart engaged.
This time, as I bent to the floor to join the others in this ritual, tears fell on the carpet and my heart felt as if it would burst. The English translation for the words to the prayer we say as we do the prostrations echoed in my mind with new meaning:
“From now until I reach the heart of enlightenment, I take refuge in the Lama, who is the Three Jewels.”
Not “the” Lama: THIS Lama. I felt gnosis resonating in me as I prostrated.
My devotion and dedication awakened that afternoon as it had on no other day in this lifetime, yet it felt as if I were coming home. I had found my teacher, my spiritual guide and friend, the key to my heart/mind. Right there, that day.
Now, over twenty-four years later (fall of 2023) , I am even more devoted, dedicated, grateful and certain of my good fortune to have Lama Padma Drimed Norbu as my teacher. He scares me, he amuses me, he teaches and guides me. We argue, we talk, we laugh, we discuss.
Lama Drimed as a lama represents the embodiment of enlightenment. As a man, sometimes he puts kale into his juicer and talks to me about my being a sci-fi author.
He brings me to tears: of gratitude, frustration, discouragement and awe.
I stretch, I learn, I grow. So does he.
I am so lucky that he is alive and teaching, willing to have me as a student.
He is a constant inspiration to all of his students, especially now, as he remains in samadhi (meditative absorption) in the fourth year of his second “long” personal, individual, mostly silent retreat (date of this one’s ending still unannounced).
Thank you for being the key to my heart/mind, Lama Drimed. May you continue to have a long, healthy, wonderful life filled with benefit and happiness.
May all beings benefit. May all find their spiritual teachers and meet with them in this and every lifetime.
************************************************
PHOTOS, top to bottom, of this post:
Lama Drimed, 2017;
Lama Drimed‘s rose for Rinpoche (or very like…);
Lama Drimed and I in front of the Guru Rinpoche statue and fountain at Rigdzin Ling during retreat, 1999;
Lama Drimed and I at one of his southern California rentals in Marin County, 2010;
Lama Drimed teaching, 2021 (in a video he made for his students, during this “long” retreat).
November 11, 2023
“SAG-AFTRA Reveals More On Wage Increases & Other Details Of ‘Landmark’ Deal With Studios; Ratification Vote To Start Tuesday”
Following a vote Friday by the majority of SAG-AFTRA’s National Board to approve a tentative agreement reached with studio CEOs and the AMPTP earlier this week, the actors guild has released more details of the deal. As they have repeatedly said over the past two days since reaching a deal with the studios to end…
SAG-AFTRA Reveals More On Wage Increases & Other Details Of “Landmark” Deal With Studios; Ratification Vote To Start Tuesday
November 6, 2023
My (and many other authors’)”favorite #reads of the year” list are now published!
My (and many other authors’)”favorite #reads of the year” list are now published!
Here is my list on Shepherd Books‘ website: https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023/f/sally-ember
Three other authors chose my first book as one of theirs! I am usually an “outlier,” so that’s fun to see.
Here are the total results from all authors (by genre and other categories), and the “100 Best Books of 2023” (in which I have read 12): https://shepherd.com/bboy/2023
Love to read? Learn more about Shepherd Books and other author-generated “best of” or “favorites” from the last two years, here: https://shepherd.com/
“10,000+ authors have shared five of their favorite books around a topic, theme, or mood. Then, we make it fun to discover the books they love based on a book you love, an author you adore, or a Wikipedia topic that interests you. “
Here is the first list I created for this site, “The best speculative fiction books that every science-fiction author needs to read,” which gives the title, author and cover for each selection PLUS my reasons for choosing it: https://shepherd.com/best-books/speculative-fiction-sci-fi-author-need-to-read
My list’s page then offers: “5 book lists we think you will like!”
The best speculative fiction about sex and society
The best fantasy and science fiction novels with feminist themes and strong female lead characters
The best science fiction books focusing on character and anthropology vs hard science
The best books to pick for book club
The best sci-fi and speculative stories depicting queer lives
You could spend WEEKS finding great reads on this site, because each list leads you to 5 more related lists, which leads you to 25 more related lists, etc.
Happy reading!
November 3, 2023
#Meditation is Good for Our (#Aging) #Brains
#Meditation is Good for Our (#Aging) #Brains
In case you were wondering, and I was, why so many of my Buddhist friends and fellow meditators are mentally so healthy and over the ages of 65, 70, 75, I decided to “look it up” and see if my suspicions were correct. They are.
If we’re lucky enough not to have anything else kill us or ruin our brains, meditation DOES have a measurably profound, positive impact on our mental and physical health, particularly on maintaining cognitive functionality into our senior years.
And, it’s not just those in my experience whose brains are doing great: meditators everywhere (if we could study us all) most likely have brains that are younger, more pliable, and less prone to diseases of aging, even as the calendars march us onward. This is a club you want to join!
No need to ditch your current religion, spirituality, atheism or anything: just learn to meditate and do it regularly!
“A [2016] study suggested that taking time from your busy schedule to meditate can actually help preserve your mind and slow Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias. Learn more about how meditation can slow Alzheimer’s.” https://www.jeffersonhealth.org/your-health/living-well/yes-meditating-can-reverse-cognitive-decline-heres-how#:~:text=Yes%2C%20Meditating%20Can%20Reverse%20Cognitive,Here’s%20How%20%7C%20Jefferson%20Health
Meditation has been shown to slow the typical aging effects on our brains very specifically. This longitudinal individual study, quoted and linked, below, makes me smile, since I know this Rinpoche (an honorific Tibetan term meaning “precious teacher”).
“Using MRI and a machine learning framework which estimates ‘brain-age’ from brain imaging, [neuroscientist, Richard] Davidson and lead scientist, Nagesh Adluru, studied the mind of Tibetan Buddhist meditation master, [His Eminence] Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche, over the course of 18 years….
“Rinpoche was first scanned in 2002 at the age of 27. At the time, he had already completed nine years of meditation retreats. He was scanned again at the respective ages of 30, 32 and 41 years old.
“The last time he was scanned, he had just returned from a four-and-a-half-year wandering retreat, and his brain was calculated to be 33-years-old, eight years younger than his biological age.
“The researchers compared Rinpoche’s aging brain to a control group and his appeared to age much slower than the general focus group.”
https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/20/health/meditation-slows-brain-age-trnd-wellness/index.html#:~:text=A%20recently%20pubished%2018%2Dyear,compared%20to%20a%20control%20group
So, how long does it take and how much meditation do we need to do to gain positive effects? Read on and check out the longer articles in each link.
How long you need to meditate to see results for your body and brain
“…[M]editation can affect the brain and body in myriad ways, from reducing the risk for chronic diseases to lowering the risk for anxiety and depression….
“Research shows meditation reduces stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms. A 2016 study found that longer-term meditation practice was associated with structural changes of the ‘white matter’ in the brain, which is responsible for ‘relaying sensory information’ and can explain why meditation helps people stay in the present moment and may help combat age-related cognitive decline.
“A more dated study found an increase in gray matter in the brain’s hippocampus, the areas associated with memory, emotional regulation, self-processing, and perspective taking, with regular meditation.
“‘The practice also enhances attention, and increases the ability to cultivate awareness around emotions so they don’t bubble up later,’ Gonzalez says….
“Studies point to 8-weeks of meditation practice to see results. One study found improvements to memory, emotional regulation, and mood with 8 weeks of 13 minutes of meditation a day. But there isn’t a magic number.
“Gonzalez, who has trained over numerous leaders in the practice, says: ‘as little as 10 minutes can make a difference. What matters most is dedicating yourself to the technique (that means not checking work notifications in the middle of a practice).'”
It can take as little as 10 minutes a day to rewire the brain. Twenty minutes or more: even better!
Neurologists, neuroscientists, gerontologists, psychiatrists and others are VERY interested in these results! More, below.
“‘Mental training that targets stress and attention regulation has the potential to improve both cognitive and emotional aspects of ageing,’ researcher [Dr. Chetelat] says….
“Dr. Chetelat said: ‘Strategies to prevent dementia are urgently needed. Mental training that targets stress and attention regulation has the potential to improve both cognitive and emotional aspects of ageing.
“’Previous studies have shown mindfulness meditation improves cognition, specifically in older adults across multiple domains including attention, executive functions and self-awareness or meta-cognition.
“’Mindfulness meditation can also reduce stress, anxiety and depression – including in older adults.’…
”Dr. Chetelat said: ‘Meditation appears to be a promising approach to preserve brain structure and function as well as cognition and thus to reduce dementia risk by directly targeting psycho-affective factors.’”
“The study is in the journal JAMA Neurology.”
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/meditation-dementia-causes-mindfulness-study-b2200022.html
You can learn basic meditation from an app, a book, or a friend.
Advanced or more complicated techniques require a teacher or a class/workshop, but these are not necessary to acquire benefits listed above.
Really. Get to it, NOW! #MEDITATEDAILY!
October 5, 2023
#MacArthur Foundation’s 19 Newest Fellows, 2023: #Scientists, #Filmmakers, #Artists, Legal Scholars, #Sociologists, #Musicians, #Writers, #Activists and #Historians
#MacArthur Foundation’s 19 Newest Fellows, 2023:
#Scientists, #Filmmakers, #Artists, Legal Scholars, #Sociologists, #Musicians, #Writers, #Activists and #Historians
logo 2023The 2023 MacArthur Fellows are applying individual creativity with global perspective, centering connections across generations and communities. They forge stunning forms of artistic expression from ancestral and regional traditions, heighten our attention to the natural world, improve how we process massive flows of information for the common good, and deepen understanding of systems shaping our environment.
Marlies Carruth
Director, MacArthur Fellows
“The MacArthur Fellowship is a $800,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential….Since 1981, 1131 people have been named MacArthur Fellows….
“Nominees are brought to the Program’s attention through a constantly changing pool of invited external nominators chosen from as broad a range of fields and areas of interest as possible. They are encouraged to draw on their expertise, accomplishments, and breadth of experience to nominate the most creative people they know within their field and beyond….
“The MacArthur Fellows Program is intended to encourage people of outstanding talent to pursue their own creative, intellectual, and professional inclinations. In keeping with this purpose, the Foundation awards fellowships directly to individuals rather than through institutions. Recipients may be writers, scientists, artists, social scientists, humanists, teachers, entrepreneurs, or those in other fields, with or without institutional affiliations. They may use their fellowship to advance their expertise, engage in bold new work, or, if they wish, to change fields or alter the direction of their careers.
“Although nominees are reviewed for their achievements, the fellowship is not a lifetime achievement award, but rather an investment in a person’s originality, insight, and potential. Indeed, the purpose of the MacArthur Fellows Program is to enable recipients to exercise their own creative instincts for the benefit of human society.
“The Foundation does not require or expect specific products or reports from MacArthur Fellows and does not evaluate recipients’ creativity during the term of the fellowship. The MacArthur Fellowship is a “no strings attached” award in support of people, not projects. Each fellowship comes with a stipend of $800,000 to the recipient, paid out in equal quarterly installments over five years….”
“There are three criteria for selection of Fellows:
Exceptional creativityPromise for important future advances based on a track record of significant accomplishmentsPotential for the Fellowship to facilitate subsequent creative work.”Meet the newest crop of very fortunate creative sorts, this year’s MacArthur Fellows, who will each receive $800,000/year spread over 5 years, to do WHATEVER THEY WANT!
MacArthur Fellows 2023 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
For bios, specific info on each Fellow (photos, videos, websites, more), and plenty about the Program and the Foundation, check out their website: https://www.macfound.org/programs/fellows/
Imagine: There are no outside or public applications or nominations. The process for selection is so secretive and unknown that very few people (no one outside the Foundation, supposedly) even knows who the nominating and selection committees’ members ARE each year!
In the Foundation’s favor, this year—for the SECOND time since I’ve been tracking it, which is many years—the female-appearing Fellows are exceeding the male-appearing Fellows: 5 seeming male and 13 seeming females fellow. The Fellows process has been great on “diversity” and varying geographic locations for quite a while (still heavier on both coasts than within the USA, though). This year, only about 6 appear to be Caucasian. You can check out the stats on their site any time.
Again, LOVE this! Here are mini-bios of each Fellow for 2023:
E. Tendayi Achiume, Los Angeles, CA, Legal Scholar: “Reframing foundational concepts of international law at the intersection of racial justice and global migration.”
Andrea Armstrong, New Orleans, LA, Incarceration Law Scholar: “Bringing transparency to detention policies, conditions of confinement, and deaths in U.S. prisons and jails.”
Rina Foygel Barber, Chicago, IL, Statistician: “Developing tools to reduce false positives and improve confidence in high-dimensional data models.”
Ian Bassin, Washington, DC, Lawyer and Democracy Advocate: “Working to strengthen the structures, norms, and institutions that make the United States a democracy.”
Courtney Bryan, New Orleans, LA, Composer and Pianist: “Melding elements of jazz, classical, and sacred music in works that reverberate with social and political issues of our time.”
Jason D. Buenrostro, Cambridge, MA, Cellular and Molecular Biologist: “Developing methods and technologies that advance our understanding of the mechanisms regulating gene expression.”
María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Nashville, TN, Multidisciplinary Artist: “Exploring personal and collective histories across the Caribbean with a distinctive and expansive visual style.”
Raven Chacon, Red Hook, NY, Composer and Artist: “Creating musical works that cut across boundaries of visual art and performance to illuminate landscapes, their inhabitants, and histories.”
Diana Greene Foster, San Francisco, CA, Demographer and Reproductive Health Researcher: “Investigating how reproductive healthcare policies and access impact individuals’ physical, mental, and socioeconomic well-being.”
Lucy Hutyra, Boston, MA, Environmental Ecologist: “Investigating impacts of urbanization on environmental carbon cycle dynamics.”
Carolyn Lazard, Philadelphia, PA, Artist: “Exploring the limits of aesthetic perception and using accessibility as a creative tool for collective practices of care.”
Ada Limón, Lexington, KY, Poet: “Counterbalancing grief with wonder in works that heighten our awareness of the natural world and our connections to one another.”
Lester Mackey, Cambridge, MA, Computer Scientist and Statistician: “Pioneering statistical and machine learning techniques to solve data science problems with real-world relevance.”
Patrick Makuakāne, San Francisco, CA, Kumu Hula and Cultural Preservationist: “Blending traditional hula with contemporary music and movements and uplifting Hawaiian culture and history.”
Linsey Marr, Blacksburg, VA, Environmental Engineer: “Examining indoor and outdoor air quality and the airborne transmission of infectious bioaerosols.”
Manuel Muñoz, Tucson, AZ, Fiction Writer: “Depicting with empathy and nuance the Mexican American communities of California.”
Imani Perry, Cambridge, MA, Interdisciplinary Scholar and Writer: “Giving fresh context to history and the cultural expressions forged by Black Americans in the face of injustice.”
Dyani White Hawk, Shakopee, MN, Multidisciplinary Artist: “Illuminating the enduring strength, presence, and influence of Indigenous artistic practices within modern and contemporary art.”
A. Park Williams, Los Angeles, CA, Hydroclimatologist: “Uncovering new insights into how climate change influences drought, wildfires, and tree mortality.”
Amber Wutich, Tempe, AZ, Anthropologist: “Documenting the impact of water insecurity on human well‑being and the social infrastructure communities use to cope with inadequate water.”
You can view ALL 1131 recipients of this “Genius Grant” (all the Fellows): https://www.macfound.org/fellows/search/all
September 20, 2023
Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this weekend, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri.
Spine Indie Bookstore & Cafe is hosting its first annual #bookfair this weekend, 9/23/23, Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM, in St. Louis, Missouri
This is an outdoor event, on Illinois Street, near the bookstore (which is on Arsenal Street) on Illinois Street, adjacent to Benton Park.
The Spine’s bookstore and cafe are also open during this time, so browse inside as well: MY books, from The Spanners Series (https://sallyember.com/spanners/), and those of many authors featured in my video chats from the YouTube archived Episodes of *CHANGES* Conversations between Authors (https://sallyember.com/changes-videocasts-by-sally-ember-ed-d/)
are in this bookstore, and some will certainly be vendors!
There will also be various meetings and discussion groups to enhance the experience for the writers and readers in attendance.
Check the bookstore website (https://www.spinebookstorecafe.com/) for the schedule and details.
September 18, 2023
Not too late for #DoYou10Q? Rosh Hashona through Yom Kippur, September 15 – September 24, 2023 (#Jewish New Year/ High Holidays), Read, Respond, Review, Forecast
You don’t have to be Jewish or celebrate the #Jewish High Holy Days (Rosh Hashona, Jewish New Year, and Yom Kippur, the “Day of Atonement”) to want to spend some time considering your life and your goals/ accomplishments each year. I was raised Jewish, but I am a practicing #Buddhist.
In the last 12 months, I have even more than ever to be grateful for and take none of this for granted:
—I am a grandparent! I got to meet my granddaughter in May and plan to see her again in November;
—I had a terrible reaction to the 2nd Shingles vaccine (lost part of the vision in my right eye after a severe Shingles-induced gum infection on my right side of my jaw), but some of the vision has returned and it won’t get worse;
—My mom celebrated her 91st birthday with a small group of vaccinated friends and family in a few weeks of spread-out visits and meals;
—I marked my 69th with no fanfare (my choice);
—#45 and his fellow criminals, the treasonous, lying, anti-democratic #reThuglicans, are being indicted, arraigned, arrested, jailed/imprisoned, convicted, sued, and otherwise getting what they deserve (we hope).
Again this year, the group running this event (http://www.rebooters.net/) has offered 10 important reflective and predictive questions. These are only available through September 25 or 26, so get going!
It’s free! http://doyou10Q.com and #DoYou10Q are the connection points.
You can respond to all 10 Questions from September 15 through September 24 (and a day or so afterwards), online, and have them put into the “vault” for yourself for next year’s reflections.
10Q: “Reflect. React. Renew. Life’s Biggest Questions. Answered By You.”
The title and all the info, below, come from the 10Q site. Visit! Sign up! Do it!
http://doyou10q.com/
“Answer one question per day [or more than one per day, if you have some to catch up on] in your own secret online 10Q space. Make your answers serious. Silly. Salacious. However you like. It’s your 10Q. When you’re finished, hit the magic button and your answers get sent to the secure online 10Q vault for safekeeping.
“One year later [a few days before Rosh Hashona, so, September 13, 2023, this year], the ‘vault’ will open and your answers will land back in your email inbox for private reflection. [The Hebrew lunar calendar has 13 months, so you can’t go by the Western calendar’s “year.” If you sign up, the site will send you a reminder and an “opening the vault” day email.]
“Want to keep them secret? Perfect. Want to share them, either anonymously or with attribution, with the wider 10Q community? You can do that, too.
“Next year, the whole process begins again. And the year after that, and the year after that.”
Click here to get your 10Q on.
How do you want to 10Q? It’s up to you!
*************************************************
Here are two of my 2022 questions and responses, from the Vault:
8. Is there something (a person, a cause, an idea) that you want to investigate more fully in the coming year?
My Answer:
Current styles/philosophies/methods for parenting and grandparenting that I would be comfortable embodying/ supporting are primary, for me.
11. What are your predictions for the coming year?
My Answer:
I commit to doing more meditation, even a short retreat (about 1 week), for the first time in many years and I am SO GLAD.
I also strive to be less angry, intolerant, impatient, and condescending.
