2007 BOOK TOUR

With the paperback publication by Three Rivers Press in the summer of 2007, I embarked on a unique kind of book tour – in fact, a warm-up for researching my next book about the roots of the wellness movement. I speak at hotel spa programs across the country – at such places as Enchantment Resort's Mii amo Spa in Sedona, Arizona, which just was named by Travel & Leisure readers as the “world’s best destination spa.” Having written about the growing niche of spiritual tourism for the New York Times Sunday Business Section and observing how spas are now considered spiritual destinations for many travelers and pilgrims, I developed a talk that I feel fills a gap in the spa experience.

Buddha's Massage:
The Ultimate Pampering of the Mind.
How to use the simple practice developed by the Buddha himself to cope with life's little (and big) stresses.

Let me explain. The holy trilogy of the wellness movement – in fact, the three-pronged foundation of the world’s great spiritual traditions – is the delicate balance of mind, body and spirit. Spas take very good care of the body with every sort of massage technique known to man and woman. With more and more frequency, spas also weave in the spiritual dimension with meditation and chanting sessions. But perhaps because spa directors feel people today are too much in their minds, the mind has been left out of the spa program. But the mind may well be the most overused but underutilized organ in the body. My talk offers the greater context that enables spa goers to better appreciate their spa treatment. I examine the social and cultural trends that have informed this growing interest in the quest for spiritual meaning, this desire to find “truth, meaning and happiness” – even if that means allowing yourself several hours of happiness in the hands of a skilled massage practitioner. I use Buddhism as a prism through which to further explore these fundamental pursuits.

In my talk, I offer examples from my own worldwide research examining what has been called the socially engaged Buddhist movement – which simply is the application of Buddhist practices and philosophies to all variety of suffering on the planet – whether that suffering is of the devastating sort, like the war in Iraq, or the merely niggling type, like they ran out of mocha cappuccino just as you approached the front of the long line. These practices are being applied to augment mental and physical health therapies and to advance political and environmental reforms. Athletes use them to sharpen their game. They helps corporate executives handle stress better. Police arm themselves with them to defuse volatile situations. Chronic pain sufferers apply them as a coping salve. You can read more about this by going to the Preface and seeing how my book “Buddha or Bust” begins – at a hospice program run by the Zen Hospice Project of San Francisco.

Whether you are a spa goer or a spa director, I invite you to contact me with your own feedback or to invite me to present my talk at your program.
Some of my recent appearances at wellness festivals and at hotel spa programs:

• Sun Valley Wellness Festival in Ketchum, Idaho, May 2007
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• Mii amo Spa at Enchantment Resort (winner of Travel & Leisure’s "world's best destination spa" award for 2007), in Sedona, Arizona, August 2007
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• Media publicity for my talks: www.redrocknews.com

Buddha or Bust was published by Harmony Books, a Crown Publishing Group imprint, a division of Random House, Inc., in June 2006; and by Three Rivers Press in July 2007