Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence

Author - Jane English ... [Goo?] [Posters]

This Paperback Book item from Earth Heart was reviewed on 9-Sep-2008.

Search ISBN:0934747229 offer from Abebooks or used books from Alibris. Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence Reference Book. Classifications : General Photography Arts & Photography Subjects Books General Biographies & Memoirs Subjects Books Modern Philosophy Nonfiction Subjects Books General New Age Religion & Spirituality Subjects Books Ne . Click the following link to view the cover of Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence.

Related topics: General. Photography. Arts & Photography. Subjects. Books. General. Subjects. Books. Modern. Philosophy.

1) Paperback Book Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence by Earth Heart. One of the facts offered up in _Fingers Pointing to the Moon_, Jane English´s imaginative and discursive little autobiographical essay, is that she and Gia-fu Feng were married briefly in the early 1970s, and must have been in the early stages of their love relationship when they conceived and gave birth to their celebrated translation of the Tao Te Ching. They were married in a Buddhist ceremony on Christmas Day, 1970, by none other than Alan Watts. If you had to mark the official beginning of the "New Age," it would probably be that day.

But the real love affair at the heart of this book is Jane English´s love affair with the natural world. From her PhD in particle physics, to the way her photographs seem to caress the the objects in her camera´s lens, to her statistical experiments with Tarot, to her fascination with Native American culture, to her dream-imagery, her way of looking at things is one of open-minded exploration and Whitmanlike love, tempered by a dry curiosity that raises her book above the level of popular science writing.

I have to believe that English´s upbringing in eastern Massachusetts, so near to Concord where Thoreau and Emerson walked, has something to do with the turn her mind took in the late 1970s, when, by her own account, she abandoned a career in physics for the uncertain freedom of the life of a photographer and artist. Some of her insights are as instantly illuminating as Emerson´s are: for example, her thinking about the effect of her own cesarian birth on the development of her personality. If there is occasionally something a little arms-length and cool about these revelations, something of the eremite, it is the Concord influence coming through.

Nothing in this book smacks of excuse-making, that bane of autobiographers. In her exploration of the things that have interested her over her lifetime, English simply states the phenomena and events -- sometimes rapturous, sometimes anxiety-ridden -- that have captured and held her attention.

Finally, the artwork is simply wonderful. English has an amazing eye that sees the beauty -- and the comedy -- in the simplest of things. The fact that she has never been a celebrity, in the Oprahesque sense, demonstrates that she lives her life in accordance with the ideas she holds dear. She is a true philosopher.

Highest recommendation.¤

2) Paperback Book Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence by Earth Heart. Jane English´s memoir, Fingers pointing to the Moon, is an intriguing little book. Jane is an unusual person, with a vast breadth of interest, ranging from particle physics to the Tao Te Ching, from photography and illustration to hot air balloon piloting. Her memoir reveals and illuminates he connections between these disparate topics and places them in the framwork of her personal journey. Particularly intriguing is her statistical analysis of the Tarot. The volume is fully illustrated with Jane´s photographs, drawings, and paintings. I enjoyed this book; I think you will, too.¤

3) Paperback Book Fingers Pointing to the Moon: Words and Images of Paradox-Common Sense-Whimsy-Transcendence by Earth Heart. In the spirit of the Zen teaching story that speaks of not mistaking a finger that points to the moon for the moon itself, this book contains photographs, words and paintings that point to ineffable yet commonplace realities that are beyond words and images.

This engrossing collection has a delightful mix of serious and light-hearted approaches. It explores diverse subjects, from the implications of being born non-labor cesarean to proving statistically that the Tarot divination system in fact transcends the supposedly immutable laws of chance. In an insightful essay Jane examines the gap between technology and consciousness, seeing nuclear energy as both problem and opportunity. Drawing on her own experiences she also explores the relationship of white and Native American cultures. Raising more questions than she answers she gives readers the opportunity to examine their own journey and ask themselves, "How willing am I to explore my own depths?"

Fingers pointing to the Moon is a unique and autobiographical telling of significant events and pathways in the life of Jane English, author, photographer, artist, and hot-air balloon pilot, who also holds a doctorate in subatomic physics.¤

Page Updated: Robert N. Goolsby, 7-Oct-2008, 09347472299780934747226, 290-8

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