As I pick up these familiar, dog-eared books I know exactly what's going to happen, I know how they'll end, who dies, who lives and yet I cannot wait to be immersed in the familiar again. I love seeing how I've changed as I notice which parts now make me cry, which characters touch me more, which passages grab my heart. I also love seeing how at specific moments I'm still moved the exact same way, by the same characters and the same highlighted passages. Re-reading favorite books is so Tantric in the sense that you are really seeing how you are exactly the same and also how much you've changed...

The author is an atheist. I find that whenever I see atheists being interview on TV like Richard Dawkins, or Christopher Hitchens, or Sam Harris, the discussion usually stays on whether God exists or not, and that's it. Rarely do I hear atheist talk about how regardless of whether there is a higher power, let's try to make our lives meaningful here on Earth, let's try to live to the fullest. I rarely hear atheist talk about that. Pullman, on the other hand, has created a trilogy of books that are all about creating Heaven on Earth. Are all about honoring our bodies, our senses, the physical world. These books are extravagant on the way they honor the gift of life, which is truly why I love them so much!

I look forward to next year, diving again into this creatively daring story, immersing myself with characters that I've come to love. Then putting the books down and looking out at the world seeing such beauty, reminding myself to stay open, curious, to enjoy my body, my senses and this particular moment.

I'm off to do a yoga class-which is just like re-reading a book. You know where it's going, you know how it begins and ends! And yet you also get to see how you are different today! Then off to the Teacher Training which is just a few weeks shy from being over.