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A Personal Tao is about reaching out to make a difference. I have made new friends as a result of the book, sharing both life and a helping hand. This collection of book reviews for a Personal Tao is a pleasant reminder that reaching out makes a positive difference in life. The world does becomes a better place with a helping hand and being yourself.
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A Personal Tao recieved the Avatar Gold Award for 2008
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The
Avatar Award is given to those writers, authors, musicians, etc. who have displayed
excellence, clarity, and a non-compromising stance when assisting in humanity's
spiritual awakening.
"A PERSONAL TAO" by author Casey Kochmer is a book that inspires self-expression.
In order to receive an AVATAR AWARD must book must meet
high standards of "spiritual excellence." The message must
be well written, clear and inspiring. Casey Kochmer opens a new portal to Eastern
philosophy and mysticism. His unique style eases you into the WAY, the Tao in a
sometimes humorous, poetic and narrative style. His receipt
of the AVATAR is well deserved.
Philip F. Harris
AVATAR AWARDS COMMITTEE
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Simply stated, I love this book and I've read it three times.
A Personal Tao is a beautiful collection of thoughts, poems and art that explore
life's biggest questions from a Taoist perspective.
I like to read one passage per day, usually on my lunch break, and then take my
time to digest it. I highlight the areas that I find the most thought provoking,
so that I can revisit them later. This is not a quick read. It is full of nuggets
of wisdom to ponder, such as:
"To go with the flow doesn't mean to do what's easiest; it means to be true to your
nature."
and
"Moving on often means letting go, watching what was in our lives move on to its
own destiny without us."
This book is organized, in my opinion, to remind the reader to come back to the
present moment. The author addresses some profound Taoist principles in a very contemporary,
friendly and human style. Whether you've been a Taoist for a while, are just discovering
Taoism, or just like to think about things, you will enjoy A Personal Tao.
Casey Kochmer has given the world a book like no other. Written in an unconventional
style that does not give the authors perspective but rather asks the reader to use
their own. Through poetry, verse, pictures and insight the reader is offered one
mans journey, not as a road map, but as a means of expressing the endless possibilities
that exist for us all.
I have found great pleasure and peace reading A Personal Tao and am grateful to
have stumbled upon it.
Casey Kochmer's mixture of art, poetry and Taoism discussions adds up to a very
touching work that serves to guide and encourages the reader find his/her own path
in life (or more aptly, to accept the one that he/she has always been on). As a
person who has embarked on a transformation process of his own, I very much enjoyed
reading about the author's journey and how he arrived at his understanding of how
to be true to his own nature, and how to live his life. This book is uses art and
poetry in a playful and instructive way, and these elements give the work an emotional
quality that a narrative alone could never achieve. This was definitely one of those
"right books at the right time" for me, and will be one that I will revisit often.
Thought provoking and passionate, Casey dives into A Personal Tao as a man experiencing
his own mid-life transition to bring us a work of wisdom, stories, poetry and art.
The Personal Tao has something for everyone, at any point in their life. Once you
pick up this book, read it as a student, and your life will change.
Thank you Casey for such wisdom. May all men and women have the courage, as Casey
did, to embrace the challenging and transitional times of life and be giving.
The near death of my father threw me into extreme turmoil recently, causing me to
re-evaluate virtually everything in my life. What does one do when a man one feels so connected to is dying on another continent?
I was on the verge of switching continents, ditching family here for family there.
Pitching my tent on his doorstep. Itching to save him from himself and all of Africa
in between.
What causes such extreme self abandonment?
If this isn't an 'out of the body' experience then what is?
I'd like to thank my friend Casey Kochmer for walking by my side throughout this
process. Casey never said 'go' or 'stay' he simply said, 'be'.
Be who you really are.
Naturally this leads to deep reflection: Who am I, essentially? Under all the layers
of self-deception, what really makes me happy?
The sun on my face; a fire to look into; wild berries in my garden; a smile from
a neighbor; my son doing cart wheels; the purring of my cat.
I'd like to thank Casey for putting a Personal Tao out into the universe. Even though
I was looking at 200 million other things at the same time, Casey's book Personal
Tao served and continues to serve as a sea anchor throughout this period.
It's a book to be dipped into, not read cover to cover. And, even though I've hardly
dipped beneath its surface, it's touched me deeply. A Personal Tao is a grounding experience. A path back to oneself through poems, paper
aeroplanes, experiencing, art. It's a way to press 'pause' and reconnect with who
you really are. The simplicity of being ..the perfection of a healing smile from
a complete stranger.
One day I'll have a loo with a view. And a hammock nearby with a hand-crafted edition
of Personal Tao tucked permanently in it.
If you want to curl up with a book that has a suspenseful start, tidy ending, and
is a quick read this is not your book. If you consider yourself well versed in books
of Life and it's purpose, you might think this is an easy read - yet with time,
and with each idea this book causes you to ponder, I believe you will find that
it will take several readings to understand and incorporate into your life. This
is what I have pleasantly discovered.
In the last 10 years I had amassed a rather
considerable library of books and articles about Life, Meaning, Purpose, etc. and
found at least a tiny tidbit of information that I could plug into my life with
each one. With this book, however, I was caught off guard. It all became part of
a magical spell that started drawing me away from my perfectionist world and into
his colorful, intuitive, and wonderfully deep understanding of Life. Life and how
it should be lived as, to use his concept in one chapter, perhaps a musical composition.
One that at times we will find ourselves in harmony with, other times we will be
the solo melody or perhaps the small but necessary single note.
I ordered the full first run draft. With this expanded version, I found the comfort, beauty
and wisdom to help pull me through the death of my mother, the discovery of a mild
but lifelong illness of my son, and the decrease in life's luster that often accompanies
age and loss. Not long after this, and many emails passing between us, he gifted
me with his first, tentative book run. A gift indeed. Casey's mesmerizing artwork,
and - my favorite - his lovely poetry that moves like a song, whether he is rambling
on about death, change or the little unnoticed moments in a lifetime, make this
book not just a book, but a trip to a museum, a concert and a walk through a park
all in one unobtrusive little diary. Once again - it is not lengthy; it is uncluttered
with "words". It is not a Beginning, Middle and End. It is Unconventional and Freeing.
And if you allow yourself time to breathe and think of a passage here or there,
your life can only be the richer for it.