Giveaway of Beyond Boundaries

Goodreads Book Giveaway

Beyond Boundaries

by Bela Kaul

Giveaway ends August 31, 2018.

See the giveaway details at Goodreads.

Enter Giveaway

LOVE Beyond Boundaries

Love is limitless, it crosses bounds, spreads its wings across landscapes, and soars to encompass all. 

Love adds beauty by moving, testing and crossing the lines that are defined. 

Love's bucket is never full, as it flows like a river over the rim, across borders, into new territories. 

Love gathers more beauty along the journey and carries them in its folds. 

Love is beauty that is boundless.

Travel with LOVE Beyond Boundaries and experience its beauty with Taara and Janki’s journey.

Read...enjoy...review!

https://www.amazon.com/Bela-Kaul/e/B0785D36HJ

http://www.skyponygallery.com/bela-kaul-book-signing.html

Beyond Boundaries Book Reading and Signing Highlights

The Beyond Boundaries Book Reading and Signing was a fun event at Skypony Gallery in Plano, Texas. Chef Tara of Tara's Tasty Table delighted us with her delicious savories. Check out the highlights of the event in the link http://www.skyponygallery.com/our-events.html.

Order your copy of Beyond Boundaries from Amazon today at https://www.amazon.com/Bela-Kaul/e/B0785D36HJ. Journey with two women, Taara and Janki, who are separated by time and place, but bound by blood. Travel with them as they traverse their respective landscapes littered with perils in search for a sense of belonging and prevail beyond all bounds.

Be sure to leave a review on Amazon and Goodreads after you've read the book.

Links: 
https://www.amazon.com/Bela-Kaul/e/B0785D36HJ
https://www.facebook.com/author.belakaulauthor/
https://www.goodreads.com/author/dashboard
 www.facebook.com/tarastastytable and www.tarastastytable.com

Buddhism and Modern Psychology - An Essay

Does Modern science lend support to Buddhist ideas about the human mind and to the logic behind Buddhist meditation practice?

Based on Modern science’s understanding, Natural Selection Design’s purpose for the continuation of the species does not care about happiness. Its basis is to create desire, greed, and agitation to be motivated to move forward. As a result of changes in the environment at a faster pace than the evolution of Natural Selection Design for the human species, more and more humans are looking for a scientific understanding as well as seeking a way to overcome our predicament.

Buddhism, a non-theistic religion, recognizes the foundation of Natural Selection Design and challenges it by using meditation, as a tool to seek happiness.  With its mindful meditation technique, Buddhism teaching helps train the mind to be calm and content in order to eliminate agitation and desire, which is the basis of the Natural Selection Design.

Buddhist teaching recognize suffering exists and clinging as the cause of suffering as its first two noble truths.  Scientists have identified a part of the brain as the Default Mode Network, which they have concluded is designed to take advantage of free time.  Through study of brain scans, there is evidence that when one starts to meditate, the Default Mode Network part of the brain becomes active by filling it with thoughts.  However, with continued meditation which works to quieten the mind, Default Mode Network eventually surrenders and becomes quiet. This results in detachment from thoughts and feelings and elimination of desire as the path to end suffering, a logic that has evidentiary support in modern psychology.

Another claim that Buddhist teaching make is the concept of the Not-Self. This doctrine rejects the existence of soul or in essence, the Self.  In fact, it claims the existence of five aggregates which make up who we are. It further claims that these five aggregates are permanent, and we cling to them which is the cause of our suffering. Using mindful meditation we can recognize the five aggregates as fluid and impermanent and learn to detach from them in order to be liberated. Buddhists claim that our mind’s eye is more than its limited vision that Natural Selection Design supplies, and it allows a meditator to see their thoughts without the thinker. The Self is then denied as an ultimate sense and only exists as an abstract, relative sense.

In modern psychology, based on the split-brain experiments specifically by Michael Gazzaniga, there was conclusive evidence that questioned the existence of consciousness and defined the existence of a sub-conscious. In these experiments, each hemisphere reacted separately when the connection between them was severed, one hemisphere buying into fabrication and creativity, while the other honing into the detail and literal truth.  These findings are in line with Buddhist teaching of the question of non-self.

The Buddhist claim that we are an illusion has evidence in modern evolutionary psychology in the Modular View of the Mind. The seven sub-selves identified by Douglas Kenrick in his book, “The Rational Animal” and further defined by Leda Cosmides, endorse the Buddhist claim of no one conscious, and that a specific module is triggered in our mind based on the environment. This view goes further to explain that the modules in our mind choose us by what we express based on a complex algorithm designed by Natural Selection. Furthermore, the psychologists have determined that the modules gain power with victory.  This is evident in the case of addiction, which is in line with the understanding of the Natural Selection Design to create motivation. As a result, mindful meditation is prescribed by psychologists to help one become aware of which module(s) is/are triggered and not allow them to become more aggressive. The practice quietens the Default Mode Network while observing the feelings without judgment. This allows us to let go of the sub-selves without clinging to any one of them, resulting in positive behavior as perceived by the environment.

Some may argue that Natural Selection is a constant drive towards achieving perfection, internal and external. However, while some may define perfection as gaining competitive advantage in furthering our species to new heights, others seek perfection in striving to eliminate suffering. While Modern psychology, through brain scans and experiments, has been able to describe and offer the truth about an unhappy mind, Buddhist teaching and tools have gone one step further by showing the way to find that happiness.

Both Buddhist teaching and scientific evidence lend themselves to accept that Natural Selection Design hasn’t kept up with the changes in the environment and that human species seek a deeper understanding of the mind.  Meditation, a practice ingrained in Buddhism since its inception as the means to a calm, content, and peaceful mind as a path to happiness has become the prescription of choice by modern psychologists for modern day psychological challenges of today’s human species.

Beyond Boundaries now in Paperback also

Dear Readers,

My debut novel, Beyond Boundaries is available for purchase in Amazon in both, paperback and downloadable Kindle e-reader versions.

Whether you like the rustle of a crisp leaf of paper as you turn the pages or the glow of a back-light as words dribble from a tablet, this book will engage you, take you into times and places beyond your boundaries. You will travel with Taara and Janki across oceans, lakes, mountains, valleys and through their journey will cross physical and metaphorical borders.

Order your book today and kick back, relax, cuddle up on a couch with a warm cup of green tea or a glass of red and a copy of Beyond Boundaries and enjoy the read!

Click here to order your copy of either the paperback or e-reader (kindle or kindle-app)

WO! Stand up! Fight back!

Woman is the “Wo” of Man

His power and strength

Ready to give him a hand

like a pillar she stands

Woman appears to live in negative space

Her presence subliminal

Her place profound

Unassuming, unseen but always around

Woman embodies all men

Carries them in her womb

She nurtures their tender soul

With unconditional love

 

Woman suffers in silence

Her tears dry

She keeps her family together

Nestles, fights, and ready to die

She sacrifices not for brevity

Her ego does not rule her

She fights to stand in equality

not to outwit or maneuver

Feminism is not about superiority

It is to stand for deserved rights

to fight for our dignity

We will not be objectified

So listen up Man

WOman today may reside in negative space

But her presence makes the man’s story complete

We are all pieces of a puzzle that fit together in a grand design

Each gender is lost without the other

We are all pillars of the same species

To support one another

To stand tall side by side

To uphold humanity

Woman is not a man

And man is not a woman

They are different for a reason

To help each other’s stance.

When women’s rights are under attack,

What do we do?

Stand up and fight back!

Respect

Showers of admiration

How great you are

You are put on a pedestal

That is not respect

Slaps on back

Praises from the crowd

You find yourself in the center

That is not respect

An audience lends their ears

To stories of your feats

You become the sole speaker

Attention is not respect

Love of family and friends

Who do all to keep you happy

You are the center of their universe

Love is not respect

Praise, admiration, attention

And even love, are not respect

These are given, taken

for a motive or it is so.

Respect is unique

it can only be Earned

the hardest to receive

and fastest to burn.

Beyond Boundaries BookPromo

BEYOND BOUNDARIES

Excited to share my debut novel, Beyond Boundaries is available on amazon kindle for pre-order with a release date of January 1st, 2018!

Here's the link to place your order.
https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Boundaries-Bela…/…/ref=sr_1_1…

Beyond Boundaries is a story close to my heart inspired by women in my family. It takes us into the journey of two women separated by time and place, but bound by blood, as they cross borders and boundaries in search of their sense of belonging.

Emptiness Paradox

The world today seems to have exploded with biases. But, then again, it probably always was that way, just not advertised as much. With the advent of mass media, alternate ways of decimating viewpoints, the information overload is twirling people’s mind, questioning their own biases. 

All the arguments discussed in public via Facebook or on CNN panel, each side push their agenda, each side make sense to many after a while and then everything becomes noise. Right or wrong become fuzzy. 

The thing is that humans are born with biases, adopt a label or two and even some sort of stereotypes. We become hard wired with our opinions in all sorts of issues. The biggest discussion that hurts my heart the most is the biases based on gender and race. 

Based on our innate nature, we label people and interact according to the label we have attached to them. When a girl or boy child is born to a couple, she or he is nurtured based on societal gender norms. Selective colors and toys these children are made to associate with and a definition of their place in society is affixed, allowing for even more labels to be attached and stereotypes formed. 

Gender fluidity, on the other hand sets the stage for that child to grow up as an individual, a human being who can go down a path based on her or his innate qualities. When we take the labeling and as a result, stereotypes out, we are allowing a human being to be a good citizen of the world. That world citizen is then free and able to carve a path for her or his self on their, and ultimately, the human race’s success. 

Same thing applies to biases on Race. Seeing a woman in a headscarf, a person of a different skin tone or an individual with ethnic features leads to a mental block. Most of us do not attempt to look behind the curtain of whatever label we have stamped on them from face value. We have already made up our mind on that individual before even saying hello.  

Bringing it down to a more “ordinary” level, we apply labels to everybody we interact with. Seeing a woman at the mall wearing trendy clothes and high heels, we classify her as an upper-class snob. When we see a teenager with a hoody coming our way down the path in the neighborhood, we immediately cross the street. Or in the case of the woman who comes to clean your house or man who comes to mow your lawn, we form an opinion that she and he is uneducated, whereas they may be a Master’s degree holder in the country of their origin and have figured out that there’s more money in running their own business cleaning or mowing than in working for a company as an underpaid employee because of their inability to converse in the language of their adopted country.  To state the cliché, we are judging these books by their cover and labeling our biases accordingly. 

We, as a human race, need to scratch the surface, go beyond and meet eye to eye every individual at a human level. We need to empty our minds and become open to discovery. Allow our biases to recede and flow away as we introduce fluidity of an open mind. Instead of having heated discussion or arguing over whether men are better than women or vice versa, acknowledge that each gender is different and complimentary to each other. We are pieces of a large, grand design puzzle who fit together to make a whole. This mindset will help us take away the question of gender and race all together and allow an individual to be. Just Be.

Just Be.

 

Illusive Reality - Conclusion

In the tiny apartment, Maya sat uncomfortably on the gray leather sofa, her one suitcase by her side. She waited for her husband to return from his foray, wherever he had gone off to after dumping her at the apartment. She looked at the walls around her, decorated with large art pieces. Images of wildfire in a forest, or flames rising from the roof of a house. Drops of sweat beads began to form on her forehead as she sat surrounded by intense scenes in the small space. Her breath became short and her throat suddenly felt dry. She made her way to the kitchen to get some water. Just at the last of the last of her sips trickled down her throat, she heard the door open. Her husband staggered in and seeing her standing in the kitchen he momentarily showed a look of surprise, as of he’d forgotten who she was. He stumbled into the living room and slumped onto the sofa. As if suddenly remembering who she was, he ordered her to serve him a drink.

Maya rummaged through the cabinets in the kitchen and found a bottle of rum. She anxiously poured some in the glass and brought it to her husband. He took it roughly from her hands and before he could take a sip, passed out on the sofa spilling the drink she had just handed him all over his shirt, the sofa, and the carpet. The glass rolled down the soft carpet without breaking, but empty of its contents.

The next day Maya’s husband raped her. Unsure of what to do after he had passed out, Maya had retired to the bedroom and had drifted off at dawn after a tearful night. She woke with her husband’s hand on her arm in a tight grasp. He grabbed her roughly and pulled her to him. She screamed in shock and got a slap on her cheek in response. Her lip bled from while her reddened ears pulsated with pain. It was over as soon as it had started, leaving her in pain and her heart bleeding.

Days became weeks turning to months and Maya saw no way out. He came and went as he please, expecting food and drink when he was home. Fear gripped Maya and she performed to his bidding. In the first week she had contemplated running away, but where would she go? Surely not to her aunt, whose life would become hell if Maya went into her life again. In any case, her uncle would send her back or call her husband. She had no one and nowhere. Her current life offered her shelter and if she didn’t offend him in any way, her life was normal.

He was rough in the bedroom but she closed her eyes during those times and let her mind travel to the images of her parents. Even in those vision she often was haunted by the blood ridden shirt of her father or the heart wrenching scream of her mother. Those nights she stayed up late plotting her escape while her husband snored next to her. Sometimes she reflected on her life and its meaning. She thought of the downward spiral it had taken since the tragic passing of her parents. The ten years at her aunt’s place were not ideal but at least she had the freedom to go to school and the love of her aunt who also shielded her from her uncle’s wrath, absorbing all his blows herself.

She thought about the violence that shaped the direction of her life and continued to do so. She was weakened, her spirit broken, she felt abandoned by her parents to face the cruel world alone. Her tearless eyes cried, her soul felt sorry for herself, her head fell in her palms, dejected. Suddenly, her head jerked up, her dark, pupils dilated shifting from left and right, as if she was possessed. Maya stood up and in the darkness felt her way to the door.

Out on the street, a blast of cool air slapped her as she stepped onto the sidewalk. Defying the blast, she walked head on, letting her dark hair sway in its disheveled state. She picked up pace as her bare feet jogged across the cool ground.

Blind with tears, the salty liquid she hadn’t felt since childhood, Maya ran on and on. The street was empty and she continued running, toward a bright light, the beacon of hope at the end of a long, dark tunnel.

Maya opened her eyes to see whiteness greet her. A bright, white light shone high above and she was mesmerized by its glow. She felt a presence by her side, but couldn’t see its form. She felt an immense presence of love, as if it were a solid thing that nestled her within, just like her mother had held her on their last, fateful day together. Maya realized she was not alone, that her parents and countless other forms who cared for her, loved her, they all surrounded her. She was free at last.

The End

Illusive Reality - Part 3

One week after her birthday a young man came to the house for dinner with her uncle. Aunt and niece prepared a hasty meal and visited with their guest, who charmed the ladies. After he left, Maya’s uncle announced that the wedding will be in a month. With that Maya’s fate was sealed. The wedding was simple with only two guests in attendance – Maya’s aunt and uncle. The groom either had no family or chose not to invite them. Her aunt stood next to her through the quick ceremony, her head lowered as if she was afraid to meet her niece’s eyes.

Maya followed her new husband to his apartment in the city, 100 miles from her only living relative. The car ride was smooth and silent. From the corner of her eyes in the passenger seat, she studied her husband. He was handsome in an odd way with point nose, sharp chin and a prominent Adams apple. In profile he appeared to be a man with sharp edges and defined contours. What brought all his facial contours together into a handsome face were his dark, dark eyes under long, feminine lashes. With perfectly timed blinks, his look charmed his companions. She was mesmerized under his look, but his silence contradicted his warm eyes. She watched the wildflowers whizz by and admired the cloudless sky that smiled down at her.

to be continued...