Award-winning author Dean Sluyter will present and discuss his book, “The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics,” on Tuesday, April 12, 7 p.m. at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena.
Sluyter’s book “beautifully demonstrates how inspiration and spiritual insight can be found anywhere, at any time, in any situation,” according to Michael Bernard Beckwith, founder and spiritual director of the Agape International Spiritual Center in Beverly Hills.
“Dean Sluyter’s unveiling of the sacred within the secular is wonderful to experience, a satisfying feast for the mind and soul. Savor it,” Beckwith writes.
“Suppose you could read Hemingway as haiku, learn mindfulness from Virginia Woolf and liberation from Frederick Douglass, see Dickinson and Whitman as buddhas of poetry, and Huck Finn and Gatsby as seekers of the infinite; discover enlightenment teachings in “Macbeth,” “The Catcher in the Rye,” “Moby-Dick,” and “The Bluest Eye,” a description of the book on Amazon says. “Some of you were lucky enough to have one passionate, funny, inspiring English teacher who helped you fall in love with books. Add a lifetime of teaching Dharma – authentic, traditional approaches to meditation and awakening – and you get award-winning author Dean Sluyter.”
With droll humor and irreverent wisdom, Sluyter (pronounced “slighter”) unpacks the Dharma of more than 20 major writers, from William Blake to Dr. Seuss, inspiring readers to deepen their own spiritual life and see literature in a fresh, new way: as a path of awakening.
Dean Sluyter (pronounced “slighter”) has taught meditation and awakening since 1970, from elite prep schools to maximum security prisons. His books “Fear Less” and “Natural Meditation” were back-to-back Amazon bestsellers in stress management.
A student of Eastern and Western sages, Sluyter has completed numerous pilgrimages and retreats in India, Tibet, Nepal, and the West. He is known for conveying authentic teachings in a form that is practical, accessible, and fun.
This is a free in-person event. By visiting Vroman’s, you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to COVID-19. Masks are strongly encouraged for this event.
For more information, call (626) 449-5320 or visit www.vromansbookstore.com/dean-
Vroman’s Bookstore is at 695 E. Colorado Blvd. in Pasadena.