BOOK REVIEWS
Waste and Want: A Social History of Trash
A new book by Pathways contributor Patricia Ullman Entering the Mainstream: Cultivating Mindfulness in Everyday Life (A Manual for Practitioners, Teachers, and the Simply Curious) Seeing the act of throwing things away as “a good thing” is not new. &RQYHQLHQFHFOHDQOLQHVVDQGGLVSRVDELOLW\KDYHEHHQH̆ HFWLYHVHOOLQJ SRLQWVIRUSURGXFWVVLQFHWKHUHZHUHSDSHUFROODUVLQWKHV:KHQ SURFHVVHGIUR]HQIRRGVHPHUJHGLQWKURZDZD\SDFNDJLQJ Consumer 5HSRUWV UHIXVHGLQ WRUDWHDQ\IUR]HQGLQQHUVRUFDNHPL[HVDV ³H[FHOOHQW´EHFDXVH³WKH\DUHQRW¿OOHGZLWKH[DPSOHVRIFXOLQDU\DUW at its best.” Another article argued that “prejudice toward prepared processed foods is keeping millions of women chained to unnecessary drudgery. And yet another article stated that “processed foods did not necessarily taste good but might be improved with a little work.” New products in new packaging along with the onset of advertising ³KDYHSURGXFHGXQSUHFHGHQWHGTXDQWLWLHVRISDSHUWUDVK´,QDGGLWLRQ “as fewer people earned their living doing handiwork, leftovers and scraps they might have valued have become trash instead” amidst the HPHUJHQFHRIDFRQVXPHUFXOWXUHLQ$PHULFD,QGXVWULDOL]DWLRQEURNH the cycle where “waste to one part of a system became resources to another part.” continued on page 62 What Should Matter? ³+DELWV WKDW GLVSRVH RI RXWRIVW\OH FORWKLQJ DQG RXWPRGHG equipment promote a veneration for newness that was not widespread before the twentieth century. Around the beginning of that century, “sanitary reformers combined with the onset of municipal trash collection began to weaken these established reuse and recycling systems.” Novel papermaking technologies replaced the clean rags ZLWK ZRRG SXOS ,QFUHDVHG PHFKDQL]DWLRQ IROORZHG E\ 3URKLELWLRQ ³GHVWUR\HG WKH XVHG ERWWOH EXVLQHVV´ 0DVV SURGXFWLRQ DQG PDVV GLVWULEXWLRQ IROORZHG ZLWK ³PRUH VWX̆ DQG QHZ PDWHULDOV VXFK as cellophane and aluminum foil that engendered a new class of household trash.”
By Susan Strasser 1999; Henry Holt and Company: New York 355pp; $27.50 HB ISBN 0-8050-4380-8
Provides writing exercises and imaginative techniques to help you receive the mystical wisdom of the Kabbalah, develop your creative powers, and open yourself to inspiration from the divine Doing It Right ³0RVW$PHULFDQVSURGXFHGOLWWOHWUDVKEHIRUHWKHWZHQWLHWKFHQWXU\ 0HUFKDQWVVROGPRVWIRRGKDUGZDUHDQGFOHDQLQJSURGXFWVLQEXON´ DQGLWZDVFXVWRPDU\WRUHXVHDVPXFKDVSRVVLEOHLQFOXGLQJUH¿OOLQJ ERWWOHV%DFN\DUGFRPSRVWLQJLVDORQJVWDQGLQJSUDFWLFHWKDWKDVNHSW food scraps out of the garbage and unwanted bugs out of the house, ZKLOHUHWXUQLQJEHQH¿FLDOQXWULHQWVWRWKHVRLOWKDWFRQWLQXHWRIHHG pollinators and other wildlife. Women also used their dishwater to water their plants. Literature the author cites in this informative book LQFOXGHV KRZWRVRUWIRRGZDVWHLQWKHHGLWLRQRI 7KH$PHULFDQ )UXJDO+RXVHZLIH ZKLFKZDV¿UVWSXEOLVKHGLQ $0DQXDORI 0HQGLQJDQG5HSDLULQJ :LWK'LDJUDPV E\&KDUOHV*RGIUH\/HODQG DQGRQUHSDLUDVDQH[WHQVLRQRIIDEULFDWLRQLQ Working .QRZOHGJH 6NLOODQG&RPPXQLW\LQD6PDOO6KRS E\'RXJODV+DUSHU
A mystical system for harnessing divine inspiration in your writing $18.99 • Paperback • 160 pages ISBN 978-1-64411-610-4 The Kabbalah of Writing Mystical Practices for Inspiration and Creativity Sherri Mandell
Lauded by critics as “brave,” “authoritative,” and “highly readable,” Entering the Mainstream features stories and guided meditations that are as stimulating to the seasoned practitioner as they are accessible to the novice. It is equally valuable for mindfulness teachers, offering guidance and a range of tools to help lead individuals and groups in urban settings. This new book and Patricia’s first book, Eight Steps to an Authentic Life: Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times , are available on barnesandnoble.com.
— Books for the spiritual and healing journeys since 1975 — Available wherever books are sold or shop online at i nnertraditions.com
PATHWAYS—Winter 22—61
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker