The Tao of Now

"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."