Spirituality for Badasses and 21 Days blossomed out J. Stewart’s life as a spiritual seeker, finder and teacher. He teaches based on his direct experience, twenty-nine years of interaction with numerous nonduality-advaita-zen-unorthodox teachers, his ongoing education / certification in modern mindfulness and a degree in communications / engineering from Syracuse University.
He has been interviewed by Rick Archer on Buddha at the Gas Pump, was the meditation editor of the mind/body/spirit blog All Things Healing, was a board member of Sevenoaks Retreat Center (a nondenominational spiritual retreat center in Madison, VA) and is the owner/founder of a tech design -install firm called Charlottesville Audio Visual Services.
J. Stewart Dixon has been a very creative individual for most of his life. In addition to two self-published books, he has written and produced a rock musical, has two professionally produced and recorded CDs with his former band Alchemy and has dabbled in abstract art.
He lives in central Virginia with his family. When he’s not working or creating he can be found cavorting with the fish, bears, and bald eagles on the local rivers with a fly rod in his hand.
His latest book is Spirituality for Badasses: How to Find Inner Peace and Happiness Without Losing Your Cool.
Visit his website at http://www.spiritualityforbadasses.com or connect with him on Facebook.
Can you tell us what your book is about?
Spirituality for Badasses is a non-religious approach to discovering the spectrum of awareness, told through the POV of the author while accompanying you, the reader through a series of adventure travel destinations and experiences. There are numerous how-to exercises. There is cursing. There is humor. There are sobering opinions offered about honesty, shadow, ego, mind, depression and many of the typical obstacles that prevent us from discovering our genuine, unique "spiritual badass" natures.
Why did you write your book?
Ever see one of the info-graphics divided into 3 parts- skill, passion and market? …They meet and combine in the center and that’s where your purpose or destiny lies ? That’s why I wrote this book. I was destined to write a best-selling, award-winning potty-mouthed self-help book. Yep. Go figure.
What
kind of message is your book trying to tell your readers?
Finding your own inner spiritual badass nature can change your life for the better…and you can do it without losing your cool- no saintly, new-age, incense burning, crystal-chakra tuning theatrics required.
Who
influenced you to write your book?
Mark
Manson, the international best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not
Giving a FUCK.
Jed McKenna, the underground, niche best-selling author of Enlightenment- The Damnedest Thing.
Is it
hard to publish a nonfiction book?
Technically
no: Write it. Edit it. Upload it to Amazon. Published. Done.
Theoretically Yes- you gotta 100% practice what you preach.
Which
author(s) do you admire?
Mark
Manson, the international best-selling author of The Subtle Art of Not
Giving a FUCK.
Jed McKenna, the underground, niche best-selling author of Enlightenment- The Damnedest Thing.
What would you do with an extra hour today if you could do anything you wanted?
Go fly-fishing.
Which holiday is your favorite and why?
4th of July-
The fourth of July has always been my favorite holiday for a number of reasons:
1. Everything in nature is in the peak of green and
bloom.
2. It’s hot out.
3. There’s some really good fishing.
4. There’s some
really good swimming– in lakes and rivers of course. (Pools are okay but
nowhere near as nice)
5. We’re at the half-way point of the year- so it’s all
down hill from here (LOL- whatever that means)
6. I love fireworks, both the large ka-boom type and the
small snap-crackle type.
7. And finally: It’s Independence Day– and in a superficial outward way at least, we’re all celebrating what it means to be independent and free…
If we were to meet for lunch to talk books, where
would we go?
Any restaurant in downtown Charlottesville, VA
What do you like to do for fun?
Go Fly-fishing.
What do you like the most about being an author?
Well, my previous job was physically demanding and
exhausting.
This job is creative and fun (most of the time) so it’s a hella-of-a-lot better.
What kind of advice would you
give other non-fiction authors?
Ever see
one of the info-graphics divided into 3 parts- skill, passion and market? …They
meet and combine in the center and that’s where your purpose or destiny lies
? If you wish to be a successful
non-fiction author, you’d sure as hell need to exactly on-target with your
purpose or- you will fail.
