“One City- A Declaration of Interdependence” by Ethan Nichtern – Book Review

Well for those of you who are Facebook friends with me, you would have seen that in my profile photo, I’ve had my nose buried in Ethan Nichtern’s new book “One City- A Declaration of Interdependence” for the past week since receiving it in the mail, or… perhaps you have read my previous blog post linking to the prologue and had inferred that I was completely jazzed about this book. Well here’s a little ‘book report’. Please feel free to chime in with your thoughts on the book via comments or use this as a means to decide if you will pick it up and check it out (although I wholeheartedly encourage you to do so!!)

Ethan covers a lot of ground in this book. From ‘Buddhism 3.0′ to body image, video games, hip hop, the ad industry and mySpace, he proposes that by working to better understand ourselves and others we can effectively co-exist in this interdependence rather than feel isolated from the world we inhabit. (as I sit in front of my computer typing this I am smacked with the realization of how truly unconnected I am when I am connected umbilical-like to my mac).

Meditation practice is emphasized throughout ‘One City’ as is the importance of taking one’s meditation practice from the cushion out into the world. The transition from solitary practitioner (Pratyekabuddha) into a connected and engaged bodhisattva is apparent in the book and provides us with an expanded view of how we may misconstrue many elements within our world and day-to-day existence.

I feel that this little description of ‘One City’ hardly does it justice so I will post a bit more once my mind has settled in and decompressed from being caught up in the chaos of the city I live in. Thankfully Ethan’s book has proposed some solid techniques those seeking to neutralize the passion, aggression and desire experienced by a pedestrian (not mentioning any names.. heh heh…) who leapfrogs through polluted streets while trying to protect her little dog from leashless hell-hounds and is assailed by the wafting smells of KFC as well as the retina pulling billboard advertising tight pants, unnaturally hollowed rib cages and carcinogenic hair dye as trends to be lusted after.

Well done Ethan.