THE SANCTUARIES & KINDRED SPIRITS I FOUND IN MANY PLACES
Published in September 2023, soft cover & Kindle
You can find it in Amazon, and Alexandria, Virginia book stores
"Walking on Earth with Thich Nhat Hanh is more than just a memoir and a travelogue. It chronicles a kind of pilgrimage experienced by Dr. Magda De La Paz Cabrero since the time she made the decision to leave Puerto Rico at the age of 19, in search of experiences that better reflected the yearnings of her heart. It relates how a variety of existential and literary experiences have transported her towards self-discovery and spiritual transformation, shaping the new way she perceives her place in the world. It tells the story of how someone like her, who grew up on a tiny island, has found sanctuaries and kindred spirits in many places. In her essays, original art work and photos, she depicts a kind of walking meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh, her Zen Vietnamese spiritual teacher, whose mindfulness and meditation teachings have guided her steps since she found him through her spiritual exploration a decade ago.
Illustrated throughout with her original artwork, the book takes the reader through an allegorical labyrinth that brings Dr. Cabrero closer to her source and towards a cosmic kind of consciousness that is less categorical, temporal and spatial. She describes the spiritual encounters she has had with humble-hearted people all over the world, as well as her growing identification with the earth and its creatures. Ultimately, Dr. Cabrero aims to foster humility and understanding in the hope of challenging separatist and reductionist views, complexes of inferiority and superiority. This is a socially engaged mindfulness project that calls the readers to come together in order to bring more peace and interbeing to the world.
The story forms a full circle while showing the very different ways in which silence can resonate. It begins with silence as a yearning and a spiritual venue and ends with silence as an inescapable reality when she returns to a traumatized Puerto Rico to support her elderly mother."