"The Tao of Now" was listed as one of the "150 outstanding Oregon poetry books" for Oregon's sesquicentennial in 2009 by David Biespiel, editor of "Poetry Northwest," and Jim Scheppke, Oregon State Librarian. "Spirituality and Practice" described "The Tao of Now" as being "suffused with the fragrance of the Tao Te Ching." Commenting on this collection, Oregon Poet Laureate Paulann Petersen writes: "This avatar of the Tao Te Ching comes to us as a contemporary, familiar creature, an incarnation both timeless and timely. In 'The Tao of Now,' Daniel Skach-Mills gives us wisdom as refreshing and new as this moment's wind in the trees, wisdom as secure in tradition as the cardinal directions with which we name any wind's path." In addition, editor and publisher Ken Arnold writes: "'The Tao of Now' shows us ourselves in eighty-one poems that, like the ancient Tao Te Ching, offer no answers. But they do challenge us to go beyond the intellect and reconnect with wisdom in a time of desperate need. As the author writes, 'The contemporary urgency for a consciousness and heart revolution is no longer an option if the planet, and humanity as a species, are to survive.' His poems are here to help us make that shift. Aimed not at the thinking mind but at that part of our being which already knows the truth of what is here, Daniel Skach-Mills' poems are more like a remembering than a teaching. Each one calls us back to another voice but leaves us right where it finds us. These writings stand as a contemporary witness that the eternal Tao is alive and well, if people would only unplug, unwind, and take the time to listen with their whole Being."

The Tao of Now

Literature & Fiction

Skach-Mills, Daniel

Poetry

Daniel Skach-Mills

"The Hut Beneath the Pine" was a finalist for the 2012 Oregon Book Award, sponsored by Oregon Literary Arts. In his judge's statement, American poet, writer, and Academy of American Poets Chancellor Carl Phillips writes: "I admire here how simplicity doesn't have to compromise authority. How, in fact, the spare directness of attention can often be more persuasive. Reminiscent of the Tang poets...I think of Wang Wei...these poems allow us to 'shake off the dust of the world,' meanwhile quietly illuminating the tea ceremony's role as a possible way toward the Tao, toward 'letting whatever unfolds be enough.'" Commenting on this collection of 32 tea-infused poems, award-winning poet and author Margaret Chula says: "Reading these poems, I feel like I'm in a Sung dynasty landscape painting, sitting in a mountain hut with a sage who pours me tea and recites poetry. The poems in 'The Hut Beneath the Pine' embody the spirit of the Tao, the rhythmic flow of nature."

The Hut Beneath the Pine: Tea Poems

Lucas, Dan

Religion & Spirituality

"One day a week can you fast from fast? Untangle yourself from the Internet? Break free from the cell of your phone? One day a week can you give your attention only to the twitter of birds? The recitation of a sacred text? A beeper-less page of poetry?" "Manzou"--a Chinese farewell that means: slow down; linger longer; don't hurry off in such a rush! "Never before in human history," writes poet and author Daniel Skach-Mills, "has this word been more needed." In a world relentlessly accelerated by blazingly fast Internet speeds, 24/7 wireless connections, and an endless torrent of images and sound "bites" that condition us to "consume" whatever's set before us, manzou is not only a farewell, but can be a welcome homecoming to sanity. Inspired by the ancient Chinese Taoist sages and poets, this collection by Skach-Mills is a pacemaker that can return your racing heart to its original state of balance and oneness with the natural rhythms of the universe, or what the Chinese call "Tao." A finalist in the Spirituality category of the 2015 Next Generation Indie Book Awards, "Manzou" contains 51 original English poems (many inspired by Lan Su Chinese Garden in Portland, Oregon), and is beautifully adorned with calligraphy, full-color Chinese paintings, and translations of a number of the poems into Chinese by Dr. Jiyu Yang. The book includes a full-length introduction by the author, and a glossary/notes section.

Manzou

"The Beyond Within: The Downtown Dao of Lan Su Chinese Garden" was a Finalist in the 2018 Body, Mind, Spirit Book Awards, and a 12th annual National Indie Excellence Awards Finalist in Spirituality. In "The Beyond Within," Lan Su Chinese Garden docent and award-winning author Daniel Skach-Mills opens the garden to us the way someone might breathlessly unlock a long-lost heirloom jewelry chest. Before our eyes, he pulls from the garden’s trove treasure after glittering treasure. Combining the glinting facets of five of the garden’s key elements with light from five Daoist principles, Skach-Mills guides us to where we, too, can reach inside this “jewel box in the city” and reclaim for ourselves the most precious gem of all—our true face.Illustrated with black-and-white brush paintings by artist Lu Kesi, this book can be used as a practical guide to Chinese gardens, and as a spiritual guide to rediscovering the Beyond within yourself.

The Beyond Within: The Downtown Dao of Lan Su Chinese Garden

Politics & Social Sciences

Philosophy

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Skach-Mills, Daniel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Skach-Mills, Daniel

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Skach-Mills, Daniel. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

The Tao of Now

The Hut Beneath the Pine: Tea Poems

Manzou

The Beyond Within: The Downtown Dao of Lan Su Chinese Garden