Some Swamis are Fat

"Some Swamis are Fat" is an informal approach to truth-seeking. Enlightenment and truth—what and where are they? Ava Greene, a yoga instructor, bares her soul in a quest that's both light-hearted and agonizing. Her late-night rants—including lucid realizations, cosmic questions, and quirky sidetracking—lead us easily along. Yet the metaphysical "dawn" Ava yearns for remains out of reach. (excerpt:) "Do you really want to just hit the road and follow the winds of fate?" Greg asked. "No...that's not what I want. I just want to be fearless. But a part of me feels too practical. It's a polarity. The practicality of fearlessness is probably what I should look into." (excerpt:) "Some people don't have to belabor this stuff. Like slugging the ball over the fence, their lives are those kind of homers from the start—Greek fishermen, rice growers in Indonesia, those who never miss a beat, rise with the sun, and do their day's work, cyclically as nature. They go innocently around the calendar, decade after decade, marrying, parenting, aging, then dying; they hit the ball out of the ballpark first time at bat; they walk the bases. They're neither jaded nor part of the problem. Somewhere they chose (or didn't choose) not to have too many choices. Others of us play nine long evolutionary innings and on into overtime. Singles, doubles, a lot of fouling out." It's not until Ava helplessly admits she's getting nowhere that a naked stillness sets in... And she then stumbles upon the essence of the quest: that surrender (from our own designs) can be the more direct path, while trying too hard often leads to more of the same. "Some Swamis are Fat" is a not-so-serious look at what is sacred. You'll both lose and find yourself in the fresh, energetic writing. Gutsy and real, it will put you at ease with your own inner voice.

"Some Swamis are Fat" is a not-so-serious look at what is sacred. Ava Greene, a yoga instructor, bares her soul in a quest that's both light-hearted and agonizing. "Enlightenment," "truth"...what and where are they? And why always just out of reach? Greene's late-night rants and quirky sidetracking lead us easily along, wanting more of her courage and insight. But the metaphysical "dawn" she yearns for remains out of her grasp. - excerpts - "Do you really want to just hit the road and follow the winds of fate?" Greg asked. "No...that's not what I want. I just want to be fearless. But a part of me feels too practical. It's a polarity. The practicality of fearlessness is probably what I should look into." "Enlightenment is just a tool. What you do with it, how you use it to make peace, how you serve the universe, that's the next step. Some people don't have to belabor this stuff. Like slugging the ball over the fence, their lives are those kind of homers from the start. Greek fishermen, rice growers in Indonesia, those who never miss a beat, rise with the sun, and do their day's work cyclically as nature. They go innocently around the calendar, decade after decade, marrying, parenting, aging then dying. They hit the ball out of the ballpark first time at bat. They walk the bases. They're neither jaded nor part of the problem. Somewhere they chose or didn't choose not to have too many choices. Others of us play nine long evolutionary innings, and into overtime. Singles, doubles, a lot of fouling out." It's not until Ava admits to getting nowhere that a naked stillness sets in. It's then she stumbles upon the essence of her quest: that surrender (from our own designs) can be the more direct path, while trying too hard often only leads to more of the same. In this journal-style account spanning a year and a half, the entries touch on love, friendship, self-care, seeking, creativity, meditation, yoga, birth, death, and purpose. But Ava Greene's gutsy traction keeps ultimately bringing us back to the present moment, that elusive experience that matters most. You'll both lose and find yourself in the fresh, energetic writing.

Ava Greene wrote her first poem at age sixteen, lying in the grassy yard. Something clicked—creativity and emotion combined into something tangible, something to keep. From that day, writing became a friend. Ava's flailings always seemed to somehow hold water on paper. And, through tougher times, the pen learned to work almost as a compass. Ava finished her first book in 1981, after working on it five years, then wrote six more. It was always about dissecting the moments, not about sharing or publishing. "Some Swamis are Fat" is actually her sixth book, but the first to be launched. (Some others will follow, including poetry and short story collections.) Meanwhile, Greene has extensively traveled the world, learned languages, fictionalized some novel romances, become an actress, activist, and journalist (all under another name), and is now a massage therapist and yoga instructor, advocate for the environment, and animal lover in Hawai`i. She frequents the Mainland, and is available for book readings. Stay tuned at "AvaGreene.com" for future works from this dedicated, entertaining, and accomplished writer.