*NEW* My Recommendations

Building a balanced life begins with eliminating stressful habits while cultivating good actions. “Mastering Tranquility” is a guide to the uplifting practices that have helped countless people manage and overcome the debilitating effects of stress. It is a companion for anyone who wants to adapt to the many anxieties, fears, and worries encountered in everyday life by pursuing fulfillment through revitalizing activities.

Spirituality is a uniquely individual experience resulting from an introspective assessment of the moral, ethical and compassionate components of our lives. It includes the non-materialistic aspects of life. Exploring one’s spirituality is a transformative process of the core need for solitude and includes ethical and moral choices. A human’s true self experiences personal growth during the contemplative process usually resulting in a more compassionate existence for themselves and others who they interact with during their lifetime. This book provides an in depth view to techniques, methodology and most importantly the history of modalities selected to bring the reader toward a more spiritual existence without or in combination with faith-based religions. The spiritual component to our daily lives is always a transformative path intended to create change as a result of spiritual practice. 

Zen Rohatsu is the A to Z of Zen, as it is the backstory of why we meditate, live mindfully and have a spiritual practice. The Zazen Meditation combines the practice with mind and body from a 2,700 year old philosophy. It informs us of the potential enlightenment from suffering that historical Buddha experienced while sitting under a fig tree in ancient times. Meditation keeps us in the present with focus, equanimity and stress management.

Rohatsu is a spiritual practice of meditative zazen that occurs on the eighth day of the twelfth month on the Gregorian calendar. The meditation sessions, which focus on Zazen Meditation rather than scriptures or rituals, are celebrated for seven days in advance of December 8th by Zen practitioners all over the world. The Rohatsu days and nights are replicated enactments of how we think historical Buddha from the Shakyamuni tribe achieved enlightenment. It includes a look at why Buddha sat in front of that banyan fig tree known as a peepul tree in Bodh Gaya in India.

Zen is but one branch of the Buddhist tradition that emerged as a result of those eight days, many years ago before written word. This is the story of how the concept of Buddhist enlightenment emerged from the Buddha’s days on earth. Rohatsu is unique to Mahayana Zen — Japanese Zen which celebrates the Rohatsu experience. It is an introduction to the spiritual practice. We learn from the historical perspective in this book of what motivated Siddhartha’s experience and the men and women who ultimately expanded it globally to share the core concepts. Buddha was a man, not a deity, who found his enlightenment and set his path, avoiding suffering by controlling his thoughts and desires. Buddha always replied, according to ancient verbal communications, “I am awake.”

The Contessa’s Legacy is a novella by Nora D’Ecclesis. The book tells the story of a family living in Pompeii, Naples in 79AD. It follows the lives of the family members as the ancestors eventually immigrate to America, including their relationships with each other, and their struggles to survive in a society that was not known for treating its citizens with compassion. The book explores themes of family, love, social justice, generational legacy and the impact of historical events on individuals and communities. The Contessa’s Legacy rejoices in the next generation and the perspective they bring to the world. It celebrates with gratitude and equanimity by looking back at all the generations of the family who were thankful for how far they had come as immigrants and as individuals. The ancient traditions enabled them to avoid the hedonic treadmill and rejoice in knowing that in the end the love they shared with humanity was everything. It is a journey of the joys and sorrows of generational legacy.

The non-judgmental acceptance of the feelings that emerge in our thoughts and emotions, in the present, manifests into a lifelong mindful practice. The similarities of the various modalities found around the world to practice mindfulness are more numerous than the differences in some cases than the activities of a culture. They are passed down from generation to generation with the name of the activity rather than the more trending term of mindfulness. Make no mistake, the names change from countries and cultures around the globe, but the intention is identical. Join me on a journey of how mindfulness exists in other cultures with the diversity and of the way things are done in other countries to formulate a lifestyle of staying in the present. 

I am thankful for….with deep gratitude…. On a daily basis begin to think of every good thing someone you met along the way has done for you or others. Feel the gratitude for those acts of kindness deep in your heart. Take an introspective journey with me and commit to a weekly gratitude journal. The format of this book is to give the reader a few starting ideas on how and why to keep a gratitude log and then to personalize it. Gratitude enables us to embrace equanimity which is, in simple terms, a more balanced life.

Challenging situations will always arise and stress in certain situations can be a healthy way to keep us focused on handling a problem or accomplishing a task. However, once the challenge is over, many bodies fail to return to a restful state because we are so accustomed to stress and anxiety. In order to accomplish this baseline of tranquility, we must immerse ourselves in activities that bring about this state of rest. A technique that has proven to be especially effective in the area of stress reduction is meditation through guided visualizations.

Twin Flame is a blending of views about faith, love and perseverance from a universal spiritual perspective. The fiction chapters are interwoven with introspective analysis of how all twin flames endure the process as they quest toward equanimity. The narration includes insights from her expertise in Zen, meditation, Reiki and Christianity. The book embraces the concept that there is a higher plan for everyone and that twin flames are created long before birth.