Alex Stone

These collected poems has been inspired by the works that the Tang-period poet Li Bai (701-762 CE) left after him as a great cultural heritage, and of whom I will have more to say on the pages below. It was with him that this book began; without him, none of what follows after the short essay would have been written.Fortunately or not, but I am not alone in this regard, as there are so many famously known creative figures in the West who have also been inspired by the poetry of Li Bai who lived and created on the other side of the world around twelve hundred years ago, but whose influence in some inexplicable way continued to grow in China and abroad.The following three poems of Li Bai translated and represented herein as preface to my collection of verses are unfolded around the common subject of the Chinese literature -- the moon and its imagery. Together with the reader, we are going to unveil some unnoticed (if not to say misunderstood or even wrong interpreted) moments of the poets legendary life.It sounds obvious but, again, we learn more about the world literature by studying the evolution of poetry through the centuries; as a result, we find out more of the worlds history, evoke our interest and understanding of the ancient writers and of humanity in general.Poetry analysis and its translation from the language like archaic Chinese, which is the foreign language for the contemporary Chinese as well, is not scientifically exact, it is somewhat subjective to how it affects the translators academic knowledge and daily experience. Yet, I find it very difficult to put a lot of credit on those representatives of the Old School (most of them are the famously known scholars of academic elite) who do not try to dig deeper about the poets of antiquity, and to reveal their motivations and find out those who affected them.Everything Li Bai did was tuned to the passage of time and the joys of Nature with brilliance and great freshness of imagination. The subjects that he studied in his poetry were swordplay, friendship and solitude constructed around the everlasting image of the moons disc reflected in the pool with its multiple tints and mythological riddles. His imagination and humorous characteristics of a freethinker are apparent in his poetry in full to be a powerful incentive for many others throughout the ages, and your humble author is not the exception.

Since ancient times, the writings on the art of relations between men and women have been circulated all over the world. Cervantes wrote, and so did Boccaccio, out of the sheer delight of creation. We find there many prescriptions that are correct and useful for the human body and spirit manifested in the realm of sexual life.The rules and methods of the so-called Oriental Erotica are a part of the worlds cultural heritage, and so I thought to make my own modest contribution to this critical side of human life.In Daoism and Zen Buddhism, for example, as in some other eastern religions, such as Tantrism, we find a very different attitude to sexual life. Many Chinese novels, like the tales of Boccaccio, have accused the monks and nuns of immorality. This is based on the universal human delight taken in exposing all forms of hypocrisy. It is natural and comfortable therefore to make Casanovas of Chinese monks, provided with witchcraft and secret aphrodisiacs. There are actual cases, in certain parts of the coastal provinces of China, for example, where a nunnery is but a brothel, but on the whole, the charge is unfair, and most monks are good, retiring, polite, and well-behaved people who perceive the Daoist bedchamber art very seriously, at the level of secret alchemy. So, any Don Juan exploits are limited to transgressing individuals and are grossly exaggerated in novels for a juicy but shallow effect. Besides, this misjudgment is because of the failure to see the connection between sex and religion in the Far-eastern region. For the Daoist and Zen Buddhist monks sex is the herald of that inscrutable, always only full of original properties of being, to which all their efforts to nurture life are well directed. They recognize sexuality as the natural part of human character, to renounce it is utterly unreasonable and even harmful. On the other part, however, it is just as foolish and fatal as to be a blind slave to ones passions. The bodily solaces are genuinely accessible to a mature and wise soul only. As the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung states, "Man is equally used to live with his inherent instincts and overcome them." Hence, we can conclude that the inherent relaxation does not deny self-control, but, actually, only thanks to it, this intrinsic relaxation becomes possible. Daoism and Zen teach us, first of all, to accept the feeling like a genuinely integral element of life; and, like life itself, the sense, in the eyes of them, justifies itself and finds in itself the strength and power for any further creative growth. A sagely minded man, according to the ancient thinker Zhuang-zi (4th century BCE), does not see with his eyes, and does not listen to with his ears, and does not rely on his mind, but entrusts himself to his spiritual desire. Identification in oneself this genuine desire, which is like life itself, has neither beginning nor ending, and free from any burden of attachment to any object, remaining to be crystal-clear, like the Great Emptiness or the Dao itself, is the ultimate goal of the Daoist and Zen asceticism. Cultivation of senses imposed by the conventions of civilization is replaced by the Daoists with their concept of awareness through cultivating the real feeling. And love that is made between a man and a woman is the best remedy for that.This book purpose is to add some additional details, fill in the gaps and make it a favorite reference for those who seek to achieve the fullest satisfaction ...

Since ancient times, the writings on the art of relations between men and women have been circulated all over the world. Cervantes wrote, and so did Boccaccio, out of the sheer delight of creation. We find there many prescriptions that are correct and useful for the human body and spirit manifested in the realm of sexual life.The rules and methods of the so-called Oriental Erotica are a part of the worlds cultural heritage, and so I thought to make my own modest contribution to this critical side of human life.In Daoism and Zen Buddhism, for example, as in some other eastern religions, such as Tantrism, we find a very different attitude to sexual life. Many Chinese novels, like the tales of Boccaccio, have accused the monks and nuns of immorality. This is based on the universal human delight taken in exposing all forms of hypocrisy. It is natural and comfortable therefore to make Casanovas of Chinese monks, provided with witchcraft and secret aphrodisiacs. There are actual cases, in certain parts of the coastal provinces of China, for example, where a nunnery is but a brothel, but on the whole, the charge is unfair, and most monks are good, retiring, polite, and well-behaved people who perceive the Daoist bedchamber art very seriously, at the level of secret alchemy. So, any Don Juan exploits are limited to transgressing individuals and are grossly exaggerated in novels for a juicy but shallow effect. Besides, this misjudgment is because of the failure to see the connection between sex and religion in the Far-eastern region. For the Daoist and Zen Buddhist monks sex is the herald of that inscrutable, always only full of original properties of being, to which all their efforts to nurture life are well directed. They recognize sexuality as the natural part of human character, to renounce it is utterly unreasonable and even harmful. On the other part, however, it is just as foolish and fatal as to be a blind slave to ones passions. The bodily solaces are genuinely accessible to a mature and wise soul only. As the Swiss psychologist, Carl Jung states, "Man is equally used to live with his inherent instincts and overcome them." Hence, we can conclude that the inherent relaxation does not deny self-control, but, actually, only thanks to it, this intrinsic relaxation becomes possible. Daoism and Zen teach us, first of all, to accept the feeling like a genuinely integral element of life; and, like life itself, the sense, in the eyes of them, justifies itself and finds in itself the strength and power for any further creative growth. A sagely minded man, according to the ancient thinker Zhuang-zi (4th century BCE), does not see with his eyes, and does not listen to with his ears, and does not rely on his mind, but entrusts himself to his spiritual desire. Identification in oneself this genuine desire, which is like life itself, has neither beginning nor ending, and free from any burden of attachment to any object, remaining to be crystal-clear, like the Great Emptiness or the Dao itself, is the ultimate goal of the Daoist and Zen asceticism. Cultivation of senses imposed by the conventions of civilization is replaced by the Daoists with their concept of awareness through cultivating the real feeling. And love that is made between a man and a woman is the best remedy for that.This book purpose is to add some additional details, fill in the gaps and make it a favorite reference for those who seek to achieve the fullest satisfaction ...

The well-known in the West term Zen was empty right from the start -- miss even one of its three letters and the whole notion goes wrong. Looking inward yourself or outward, all the same, you see there is no fixed Self -- the centripetal emotion turns into the centrifugal and conversely. So, break into the purgatory of your soul through the front gate if you want to take your proper place in Hell.Today, more and more people want to know what Zen is. The problem is that it is not an easy task to describe it, as Zen is beyond wording. It is something that cannot be talked about nor expressed in written form. The moment language is used we are no longer dealing with the spirit of Zen. However, Zen cannot be left unexpressed. In order to introduce the reader to the world of Zen, there is no alternative but to resort to the use of language; and that language is poetry. Thats why there are so many poems written by the numerous adepts of Zen.On the other hand, if Zen could be presented to another, men would all present it to their superiors; if it could be served up to others, men would all serve it up to their parents; if it could be told to others, men would all tell it to their brothers; if it could be given to others, men would all give it to their sons and grandsons. The reason why it cannot be transmitted is no other but this: that if, within, there be not the presiding principle, it will not remain there, and if, outwardly, there be not the correct obedience, it will not be carried out. When that which is given out from the mind in possession of it is not received by the mind without, the sagely minded man will not give it out; and when, entering in from without, there is no power in the receiving mind to entertain it, the sagely minded man will not permit it to lie hidden there. The point here is that the ordinary intellect is unable to function on this frequency of interpretation, and in its unenlightened or unevolved state, views the Buddhas logic as gibberish, or mystical inspired nonsense, when in fact, the Buddhas logic has more in common with higher science (i.e. quantum theory), than it does with theistic religion or the imaginations of superstitious based thinking. Therefore, better known in the West as Zen, it is a Western art-based movement that serves as the antithesis to established norms and conventions. It is a vague sense of performing a function, skill or art in the secular form that is devoid of strenuous effort, or somehow new or unexpected. In fact, Zen is not the experience, nor the realm, less still any heretical forms of Buddhist practice that ignores Buddhist conventions. Zen is just Zen, and thats it.

Corey has never stopped carrying a torch for her ex-boyfriend Steve when they reunite her brother Daniel does everything he can to come between them and when she is pushed to the limit one night changes their relationship forever. When Polly finds out her sister had a secret daughter adopted as a teenager she tries to find her but when Harmonys adoptive mother finds out who Polly is and the truth about Harmonys adoption is she ready to have her heart broken?

Polly has grown up in care in Liverpool when she is thirteen she is sent to live in Ireland by her mysterious uncle Craig for a better life he pays for her to go to an all girls private school outside Dublin Angelsfields there she navigates her way through life with best friends Stacey and Romina.

Polly is seventeen and is training to be a hairdresser when she is spotted on Oxford Street in London as a glamour model.As she becomes a celebrity it changes her life forever but life in showbiz is not all she thought it would be.When manager Adrian tries to control her career music boss Steve offers her the chance to manage her and a new start.Polly must decide if she still wants to be a star after all sequel to English Girl Irish Heart.

Sisters Corey and Victoria run a coastal cake shop on the Irish coast along with their singing careers however their lives arent so perfect Victoria has spent her life hiding her sexuality now out the closet she tries to find love but its not as easy as she hoped and when Corey begins to suffer from a serious health condition it changes her life and she must re-evaluate everything she has ever known.When Victoria comes face to face with a dark secret she must face her past and look to a new future.

Polly and Corey are happily married when Corey has an affair with an old friend their marriage is threatened.Corey is trying to build a relationship with her teenage son but her mothers jealousy threatens to ruin everything.And when she clashes with her brothers fiancee will it damage their close relationship?Stacey is ready for true love but is her new boyfriends secret past and soon to be mother-in-law about to come between them?

Un viaje fascinante al mundo de la magia Desde los sótanos donde se reúnen los antiguos clubs de magia de Nueva York hasta los laboratorios de psicología más avanzados, de los trileros en las esquinas a los casinos mas lujosos, Engañar a Houdini cuenta los esfuerzos de Alex Stone por entrar en el mundo de los maestros de la magia. A medida que se adentra en esta peculiar y a menudo hilarante subcultura, poblada por brillantes excentricos, Stone nos muestra una comunidad que permanece en secreto, obsesiva y brillante, y organizada en torno a una necesidad imperiosa: probar la valia propia engañando a los demas. Pero el viaje de Stone es mas que una historia de trucos, rutinas y loquitos. Al contemplar algunos de los rincones mas olvidados de la psicologia, la neurologia, la fisica, la historia e incluso el crimen, Engañar a Houdini llega a sorprendentes conclusiones sobre como funciona la mente, y por que, a veces, no lo hace. Reseña: Un viaje iluminador e irresistible al mundo de la magia. Stone ha escrito un libro magistral repleto de energia, creatividad y la sensacion de asombro en cada pagina.Steven Levitt, autor de Freakonomics

Un viaje fascinante al mundo de la magiaDesde los sótanos donde se reúnen los antiguos clubs de magia de Nueva York hasta los laboratorios de psicología más avanzados, de los trileros en las esquinas a los casinos mas lujosos, Engañar a Houdini cuenta los esfuerzos de Alex Stone por entrar en el mundo de los maestros de la magia.A medida que se adentra en esta peculiar y a menudo hilarante subcultura, poblada por brillantes excentricos, Stone nos muestra una comunidad que permanece en secreto, obsesiva y brillante, y organizada en torno a una necesidad imperiosa: probar la valia propia engañando a los demas. Pero el viaje de Stone es mas que una historia de trucos, rutinas y loquitos. Al contemplar algunos de los rincones mas olvidados de la psicologia, la neurologia, la fisica, la historia e incluso el crimen, Engañar a Houdini llega a sorprendentes conclusiones sobre como funciona la mente, y por que, a veces, no lo hace.Reseña:Un viaje iluminador e irresistible al mundo de la magia. Stone ha escrito un libro magistral repleto de energia, creatividad y la sensacion de asombro en cada pagina. Steven Levitt, autor de Freakonomics