DavidKundtz.com / Stopping.com

Now Available -- COMING TO: A BIOMYTHOGRAPHY -- This is something different. A memoir but not a narrative. Every chapter -- of twenty -- is a distinct literary form. It includes poetry, drama, essay, letters, journal notes, and more.

To order a copy ($14.95) click on the amazon link to the left.

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David's writing in Coming To is a winged thing that flitters gently in the chest, soars assuredly across the mind's eye and fishes in the rivers of our varied lives to reveal the essence of humanity. Part collage, part anthology of one – his work is a multi-genre telling of a singular story that speaks to everyone listening without losing its way. Coming To is the closing and opening of a person – a body, a soul, a spirit, a mind – and all of the sharp angst and sweet revelation that entails. Savor and enjoy!
-- Elissa Perry, writer, artist, and co-editor of "Everything Indiactes: Bay Bridge Poems and Portraits"

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I'm glad you stopped by. To start you off, here is a selection from Awakened Mind:

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Within

O pure people who wander the world,
amazed at the idols you see,
what you are searching for out there,
if you look within, you yourself are it. --Rumi

Of all the common teachings of the world’s religions and of the spiritual masters, this, I would guess, is the most basic: in searching for the most important in human life, look within yourself. The poetic expression of the idea quoted above is from Rumi, a thirteenth-century Islamic saint and poet.

Thus, the idea is nothing new. Certainly anyone with the least exposure to spiritual practice will have known this truth and assented to it heartily.

And yet…

…we keep wandering off the track and need to be reminded, which of course is consummately human. We are, as the poet says, truly “amazed at the idols” we see out there – simply because they are truly amazing: incredible riches, exotic and erotic pleasures, simple indulgences, palaces and pleasure domes, compelling beauty, personal and corporate power, unceasing acquisition, and so on. We know “the idols” don’t we, you and I? And of course it seems much easier (or is it just more safe?) to look into the lives and souls of those around us rather than into our own.

But Rumi addresses us as “pure people” thus hinting at our basic innocence, pointing to a fundamental fact of our human nature: It is natural for us to be dazzled! The pleasures of the world, both the natural and the manufactured, are designed to please us.

So our saints and our spiritual teachers (do you ever consider that you might fit into either of those categories?) continue to remind those who would hear: First and last: Look in! “You yourself are it”!


In your game of “Tag” this week:
Remember “You’re it!”

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... to a Quiet Corner of the Web. The background image on this web page is a photograph of a nebula from outer space, the result of gasses escaping from a dying star. I chose it because such images of space as seen through the telescopic camera can help give us earth-dwellers a sense of perspective which, when transformed into a practical expression, give us what I especially need, patience. DK

... you can browse the books (click "Books" above) by reading reviews and a few excerpts, learn some biographical information ("About"), and by clicking "Art" you might find some of my forays into the world of art.

...you can also order any of the books on amazon.com. Clicking the title at the bottom of the right column will take you to the amazon link.

Thanks for your visit. I warmly welcome feedback and commentary from site visitors -- about the books, the web site, or any ideas that they might stir in you. My email is at the bottom of the column just to the right.

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Sitting in the sun relaxing, I found myself reaching for David's book and finding so much insight into my Self. I've gotten into the habit of opening this book every day - randomly - so a new 'wake-up' call is gifted to my consciousness.

This book isn't about sleeping through life, it's about waking up to it! As David shares in his preface there is a difference between simple innocence and terrible innocence. The latter is when you know that what you are doing or what is happening is wrong but choose to turn a blind eye regardless.

These little wake up calls assist us to participate more fully in our day. I bet there isn't a person around who could honestly not find a handful of David's insights applicable to their own life.

This book is about sharing very short messages with the reader. Each one is two pages long, a very quick read but don't let that fool you. The depth of these messages can be very cutting—right to the soul.

My personal favourite? I honestly don't have one as every time I open this book, I find exactly what I need to hear. That is my favourite thing about 'Awakened Mind' - exactly what I need to hear/​learn/​experience within that perfect moment.

Reviewed by
Aleesha Stephenson
www.timelessspirit.com

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When it was published in 2006, Moments in Between, was final-listed for ForeWord Magazine's Book of the Year Award in the category of Self-help. Here’s a review of the book from amazon.com:

A lot of books we buy as gifts fit that person's hobby or special interest, like flowers, cars, mountains, music, etc.

Moments in Between is a gift book you must give to yourself first--then think of others who could benefit from the message.

I found the content filling me up with spectacular photos to mark the chapters and the pointed and appropriate quotes to enhance the message in the well-thought-out prose.

The message is about time--that in-between space we think of as insignificant, when compared to the big events--spaces that are very important.

The author says, "The quiet moments--rests--in your day make your whole day sound well."

If you are like me, you have trouble "doing nothing." I don't mean vegging out in front of the TV either. Now I know that doing nothing means stopping, looking, feeling, sensing, taking in whatever is in that quiet time. Maybe it's a "blue moon" or any awe-inspiring full moon. Maybe it's a bird's song. Maybe it's a smile from a loved one, or a stranger.

The book's wise stories, et. al,, are a retreat that allows us to be restored. Through the message you will find new ways to deal with life and learn how to pay closer attention to the big moment--and the tiny flash of brilliance we often overlook.

"What is life if, full of care, we have no time to stand and stare." -- W.H. Davies. Armchair Interviews agrees.

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Kundtz's radical self-help book says that the best thing to do to improve one's life is nothing. Yup, nothing--just stopping awhile and seeing what happens. Therapist and priest Kundtz contends that many today suffer from living on "the mountain of too much." They have tried to deal with overloaded lives very typically, cramming more into each hour and cutting back on some things. Trouble is, they have reached the point where they can't cram more into the little time they have, and they are cutting out pleasurable things (lunch, friends, holidays) to try to accommodate crowded schedules.

Kundtz then offers three kinds of stopping: "stillpoints" (little pauses), "stopovers" (longer times of stillness), and "grinding halts" (life-changing periods of stasis). Written in pithy, short chapters--his audience is the overscheduled, after all; they don't have time to read for long--the book is a good, commonsense adviser on a pervasive problem. --The Rev. John S. Livingston, UCC

This is a straightforward but profound book on cultivating pauses in our lives to enrich our lives and ultimately improve the quality of our existence. It seeks to maximize "the beats in between the notes" as moments to cherish. In a rush/​rush world that seems to have ADD, the suggestions of author David Kundtz resonate. It offers excellent suggestions to "sharpening the saw" by incorporating tiny, medium-sized or extended pause points in our lives to step back, take stock and get ourselves centered. A wonderful book that merits multiple readings! --from a review on amazon.com

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A pioneer in the sphere of men's mental health In the popular book Nothing's Wrong: A Man's Guide to Managing His Feelings, dynamic author and speaker David Kundtz sheds light on three steps men can take to achieve emotional fitness. Written exclusively for male audiences, Kundtz's entertaining journey through "Feelings 101" encourages men to be comfortable with experiencing, identifying and expressing emotions. --from comments on Hazeldon Books Web site: hazelden.org

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David Kundtz offers a soothing, experienced and wise helping hand to readers in desperate need of a break! More than just a meditation book, Quiet Mind is a wonderful series of reflections that can illuminate every aspect of life. These reflections invite you to do nothing, but with purpose, meaning and value in order to become more fully awake and to remember who you are.
-- from a review on Alibris.com

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Difference is the essence of humanity. Difference is an accident of birth and should therefore never be the source of hatred or conflict. The answer to difference is to respect it. Therein lies a most fundamental principle of peace: respect for diversity. --John Hume

Americans are both deeply religious and profoundly ignorant about religion. --Stephen Prothero

Why should one imagine that when there is a problem there is always a solution? --Terry Eagleton

Human diversity makes tolerance more than a virtue; it makes it a requirement for survival. --Rene Dubos

There is a strange kind of tragic enigma associated with the problem of racism. No one, or almost no one, wishes to see themselves as racist; still racism persists, real and tenacious. --Albert Memmi

As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there's a twilight where everything remains seemingly unchanged, and it is in such twilight that we must be aware of change in the air, however slight, lest we become unwitting victims of of the darkness. --Justice William O. Douglas

There is a powerful craving in most of us to see ourselves as instruments in the hands of others and thus free ourselves from the responsibility for acts which are prompted by our own questionable inclinations and impulses. -- Eric Hoffer

The less justified a man is in claiming excellence for his own self, the more ready he is to claim all excellence for his nation, his religion, his race or his holy cause. -- Eric Hoffer

The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts. -- Bertrand Russell

Family isn't about whose blood you have. It's about who you care about. -- Trey Parker and Matt Stone

It is useless to attempt to reason a man out of a thing he was never reasoned into. --Jonathan Swift

Morality, like art, means drawing a line someplace. --Oscar Wilde

You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still, and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet. --Franz Kafka

A person buying products in a supermarket is in touch with his deepest emotions. --John Kenneth Galbraith

Not to transmit an experience is to betray it. --Elie Wiesel

The only way to get rid of my fears is to make films about them. --Alfred Hitchcock

If you bring forth what is within you, what you bring forth will save you. If you do not bring forth what is in you, what you do not bring forth will destroy you. --Jesus, Gospel of Thomas

Nothing in the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity. --Martin Luther King, Jr.

I have spent many days stringing and unstringing my instrument, while the song I came to sing remains unsung. --Rabindranath Tagore

I wonder how all those who do not write, compose or paint can manage to escape the...fear which is inherent in the human situation. --Graham Greene

To be enlightened is simply to be absolutely, unconditionally intimate with this moment. No more. No less. --Scott Morrison

Someone sold us out -- but only when we ceased to pay attention. --Timothy Findley (The telling of Lies)

If you are what you do, when you don't you aren't. -- William J. Byron

The only thing that keeps us from floating off with the wind is our stories. They give us a name and put us in a place, allow us to keep on touching. --Tom Spanbauer

Except for the point, the still point,
There would be no dance, and there is only the dance.
--T.S.Eliot (The Four Quartets)

If I hazard a guess as to the most endemic, prevalent anxiety among human beings -- including the fear of death, abandonment, loneliness -- nothing is more prevalent than the fear of one another. --R.D. Laing

There's nothing very mysterious about free will. You do what you want to do, and you don't do what you don't want to do. --Rebbe Nachman

The deepest feeling always shows itself in silence. --Marianne Moore

Beyond living and dreaming
there is something more important: waking up. --Antonio Machado

When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. And that's my religion. -- Abraham Lincoln

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