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October 25, 2006
Looking for a decent publisher.
If anyone has had a good experience with a publisher or literary agent then please let me know at PersonalTao@gmail.com . I am beginning to explore possibilities for an inexpensive print version in addition to the online and hand crafted art versions currently offered on the site.
Add and read comments for helping out.
October 1, 2006
With a solid print version of Personal Tao nearing completion (now in last edit check, the preliminary version is on the site now). I can begin to concentrate on other parts of the Personal Tao project.
What's next?
Help get the word out.
Well I have started to track traffic to the site a few months ago. A Personal Tao gets roughly 5,000 visitors with 500 copies of the book read online or downloaded in a given month.
Not bad for a new Taoist site. Yet I have set up the site to serve quite a bit more so I could use help getting word out about the book. Please let your friends know about the site and the goal to pass on a smile. Writing A Personal Tao was my first step towards making a larger difference. Now it's time to begin taking some more direct action: by simply sharing :).
Add and read comments for helping out.
September 24, 2006
The final print and online versions of Personal Tao are complete. A few minor edits for grammar and flow might still happen but the book is done to the point I feel I can move to new projects.
New Sections for the Personal Tao book are:
What's in it for us?
Practical Limits
Illuminating the Empty Space
I also cleaned up the ending a bit.
What's next? Maybe find a larger publisher so I can get a less expensive print version out. But I am in no rush. Things work out with patience so we will see what calls to be done next.
August 30, 2006
Of late I have been making a few political
comments. Taoism and Politics have a long history. Taoism is a peaceful
practice, but that doesn't preclude standing up to government's practices that touch
our life. To be yourself: includes the practice of advocating your own rights in society.
The best political practice according to Taoism is the practice that lets the people
be themselves without hindrance. Be true to this.
I know not everyone will agree with my statements, Yet society is about the
merging of these statements. Only by speaking out, with action, can society grow to
reflect the population that composes it.
The point is to speak and act to your nature; it's the only way society can represent you.
July 11, 2006
Its been one year.
Brisamina is running about being one year old as of yesterday!
A Personal Tao has been out for a year. As a living book it's been changing and growing also.
Being a father, the one simple desire I have is a gift to my children. Not a gift as a thing, but a gift in life to help make society a place worth living in.
We can make a difference, society is merely a reflection of our actions! We can help each other to be ourselves, To remove false layers of pretense. A secret is that to be truly ourselves is to create a future which is wonderfilled.
This is the message that Martin Luther King, Jesus, Gandhi and others of peace have shown us.
Who am I to think I can say it any differently?
I am just a father holding out my hand and lifting others by passing on a smile then to swirl to make us both laugh. We are all hoping someone is out there to toss us back up into the air to fly, if even for a moment as a child again.
Being an angel means ---- having no wings
means lifting up to their feet
those who have fallen off the beat
What those great people would say today... Isn't for them to say
Its been handed to us now, here and now
To stand up and make our way into truth
Because we don't have wings ---- yet we can help each other fly
Its the only gift I know which can last and will make a difference.
The gift to say: Hey just be yourself :).
It's enough to make one fly.
Peace and Sincerely
Casey
Add and read comments for the one year anniversary
June 24, 2006
The Personal Tao is very much a living book.
It has over the past year grown and I will continue to refine the words to best match the melody of humanity .
In this batch of changes I updated 5 or 6 chapters with minor flow corrections
and the Immortality section
was re-worked heavily to be what I hope is a clearer explanation of Immortality.
The reason for so many changes comes down to the nature of language
and how slippery words are when trying to describe concepts containing
contradictions and multiple levels of truth.
Given that language and culture constantly changes,
no perfect match with words will ever be possible.
Yet I do discover nicer ways of saying things every month or so.
When will the book be fully done? In my mind the book is always complete and finished, but each day I discover a little more to share. :)
June 11, 2006
Updated the Smile and Water chapters.
May 24, 2006
The site has been stumbled upon. Hello to everyone passing thru. :)
I find myself cleaning up a bit now and making the web site a bit smoother.
Currently I am working on the 5th edition, and it's going well. New art work is included with the writing continuing to be polished
and clarified as I get fantastic feedback from readers. Preliminary 5th edition text has been posted on the site with hopefully a final version
sometime in July. All depends on when it feels finished enough.
May 23, 2006
I added a brief Taoism Course page on the site.
May 17, 2006
I added a new Zen Garden page on the site.
It's going to be fun working with Chris and I look forward to hosting a small gallery of his art over time as he explores his own growth.
If anyone is interested in contacting Chris about his work, he can be reached thru the general Personal Tao contact page right now.
Mar 26, 2006
I began to expand the Zen Garden on the site.
Over time I will be adding hidden Zen Garden pages,
but I decided to start by adding a Zen Garden Heart first.
While some people need to wander, others begin from their center,
so it felt only right to add a second Zen Garden entrance.
I debated whether to make the heart hidden or not,
but I felt too many people keep their
hearts hidden, so to instead break form and start in the open first.
Feb 27, 2006
Updated the Art section into a set of galleries. Starting later this week friends will be adding their work to the Personal Tao site. Chris will be stirring in his water colors. Mars and Joseph will be mixing in their poetry magic and Sheri penciling in a surprise or two over time. I am looking forward to some surprises myself as it all comes together.
Feb 12, 2006
The final 4th edition version of the book, has been uploaded to the site.
This change includes: minor grammar fixes, streamlining of the writing in each section and
reworking the religion chapter intensively.
The next major text revision will be released in May to give everyone some time to process some feedback on the material.
If you have any comments I would love to hear them.
The next two months I will be working on the art copies,
building tools to make hand crafting the books easier
and playing with the actual art and paper in the printed copies. Its great to be able to use different types of vellum,
and hand cutting the paper to add another level of physical feeling to the writing.
Jan 20, 2006
Lots of little things have been happening, but nothing overly exciting. I added a few new pages to the site. Also updated the site so you can read the whole book online now. Started adding a Zen Garden to the site, and will over time add hidden pages. I am just playing around with this idea, so I am not sure where the final result will lead to yet.
Jan 1, 2006
A new year and a freshly revised 4th edition copy onto the site!
Also over the next week or two I will be updating the book once more as I go thru
the last major edit. Its been a busy month and the writing has been simplified and
cleaned quite a bit. After this next series of edits, I will place all the sections
of the book online so people can read the whole book live without having to download
it. I am then switching back to my art and producing some full hand bounded
art copies for shows and clients. I ran across a new friend Rina on the plane last month who has been inspiring
me to play in a few new directions. Thanks Rina!