The Word

Tag: nonfiction

  • Word of the Day

    Daily writing prompt
    If you could have dinner with any philosopher, who would it be?
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    I took a lengthy philosophy class in college, and one takeaway from it was that I would never want to have dinner with Plato or Socrates.

    Dictionary.com’s first definition of philosopher is “a person who offers views or theories on profound questions in ethics, metaphysics, logic, and other related fields.” Based on that, I’d say Hell Yeah to a dinner with Pete Holmes. For those who are unfamiliar, he’s a comedian; he’s also a very deep thinker and has profound views on spirituality. He’s kind of my hero.

    Some quotes of his that I like:

    • “We’d all like to increase pleasure and minimize pain, but the truth is, suffering, even collective suffering that we’re going through, is often the earmark that some real change is happening.”
    • “There’s nothing you can do to increase or decrease the love that God has for you, but there are things you can do that increase or decrease your awareness of that love. That’s certainly been my experience.”
    • “I am a comedian. My brain is critical – it’s overthinking – but you can find ways to turn it down and realize that’s not who you really are.”
    • “I needed to let go of the idea of a God who was mad at me for feeling how I was feeling. Now, I bask in an understanding of the divine that delights in truth and the complexities of the human experience – even when it’s not very ‘clean.’”

    I’ll also leave this here. I mean, just imagine a conversation like this over some chips & guac!

  • Word of the Day

    Daily writing prompt
    What’s a book that completely surprised you?
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    I have two because it’s never a simple answer with me!

    Fiction: The Gargoyle by Andrew Davidson

    • This book is phenomenal. It starts off provocatively; no chance for attention to wander elsewhere from a slow pickup, it’s immediately thrown into a visual ferocity that would not let my mind’s eye look away. Once the plot got going, the fantastical spirituality in the historical fiction of this story was groundbreaking. Much like the protagonist, my spiritual awakening began here, and this book will either be in my hands or proudly displayed on my shelf forever.

    Nonfiction: American Cosmos: UFOs, Religion, Technology by D.W. Pasulka

    • I love this book. So many before it tried to convert me from fiction to non, and they all failed. Even Helter Skelter couldn’t keep me, and that’s Shannon Alley if there ever was one. D.W. Pasulka writes with such fluidity, mixing skilled storytelling with mind-bending research, that I almost forgot I was reading nonfiction. With every page, I felt intellectually enriched. This book gave me the courage to walk through the door of an entire literary category that was once too intimidating to explore.