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Dreams lead author to write about tales from Tibet

Publication: Santa Fe New Mexican; Date:2004 Nov 17; Section:News; Page Number: 37 JULIA BELL Down the Street

Naomi Rose holds Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas, her recently published book.Jane Phillips/The New MexicanNaomi C. Rose always has believed in the power and importance of listening to the messages of her own dreams. “I have always used intuition and dream life to guide me,” Rose said. By honoring the wisdom in her dreams, Rose gained the courage to embark upon a road that would allow her to write and illustrate a book of three wise and simple tales that will charm children and adults alike.

She also would become a student of Tibetan wisdom, ultimately meet the Dalai Lama and develop a medium through her book to share the ancient wisdom of Tibetan culture with the world. In Rose’s book, Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas, the tales use mystical beings, yaks, wild goats, horses, an enormous sow and a Yeti as vehicles that provide an enchanting glimpse of Tibetan culture while leaving the reader with a little wisdom.

“Everyone wants to be happy and to overcome whatever problems they meet in their lives,” the Dalai Lama writes in the forward. “One of the most important means of fulfilling this wish is through education. Even today, in this age of television and electronic communications, I believe that reading books is an essential part of education. Therefore, we can give our children tremendous help if we teach them to read and give them an appreciation of books at an early age.”

Rose, too, wanted to be happy, so she began really listening to her dreams. Although she had been writing ever since she can remember, it was at the age of 8 when she finished her first book of stories, Morals. The book illustrated how to live a better life through short tales , each ending with a “moral” to the story.

“Thinking back, I realized that I had always wanted to write with the purpose of offering ideas on how to live a better life,” Rose said. But it wasn’t until 10 years ago that Rose realized how she could make her dreams a reality. “Ten years ago, I had a dream telling me to go to art school,” she said. After a little research, Rose realized that there was an art school 10 minutes from her house on Bainbridge Island in Washington State. “I decided to audit a class and left humiliated,” she said. “Everyone was so much better than me with natural talent. But I realized that my desire and passion to become a painter was so intense that it outweighed my fear of going back to the school. So, the next day, I returned to the class and soon applied for a degree.

“After I crossed that bridge of attending art school, I had another dream,” she said. “The dream told me to follow in the path of Tibetan Buddhism. Practicing Tibetan Buddhism gives me a peacefulness that is deep and expansive. It also gives me a framework.”

After studying Buddhism for a short time, Rose discovered her teacher had a gift for her.

“I told him that my dream was to write and illustrate children’s books,” she said. “The next thing that I knew, he handed me his book of adult Tibetan tales based on ancient wisdom tales and suggested I turn some of the stories into children’s books.

“It was exciting and challenging. I not only had to translate these tales from Eastern thinking to Western thinking, but into a form children could understand. Although this is primarily seen as a children’s book, I believe wisdom can sink in at any age, from 3 years old to 103 years old, anyone can learn from my book.”

Another way that the principles in these stories are enjoyable is the fact that just sitting down with a book is calming.

That calmness is a gift that Rose also feels in her new home of Eldorado.

“My husband and biggest fan, Robin Weeks, and I came here because my publishing company, Clear Light Publishing, is in Santa Fe. We fell in love with the night skies, the openness and for me my morning ritual of attending the Santé Gym is an absolute treat filled with a great space, special company and nourishing elements.”

How did she meet the Dalai Lama and how did he come to write the forward?

Rose answers by saying one of the most important attributes of completing your dreams is perseverance. After a draft of the book was finished, Rose felt strongly that the Dalai Lama would really appreciate the book.

“I felt that perhaps he’d be willing to write an endorsement for the book,” she said. “So we sent the book to a friend who knew a Tibetan monk in Dharmsala. The monk said my request was presumptuous. Fearing that he did not understand what I was asking for, I wrote him again to explain myself further. He then passed it on to a monk working directly for the Dalai Lama. For months, I had no response and then 9/11 occurred. I decided that I would write one more time to say that now more than ever we need a book like this in the world. Two weeks later a fax arrived with the forward to my book.”

Ultimately, Rose would get the opportunity to meet the Dalai Lama in person. But as her publisher introduced Rose, a strange thing happened: she went blank.

After the meeting, her publisher showed her a picture taken of Rose and the Dalai Lama. Rose stared at it and was puzzled, asking when the photo was taken.

“I was so overwhelmed by this meeting,” she said.

“The truth is that in life you can have many dreams and talent, but it is essential to put those dreams into action with perseverance, passion and to become friends with any obstacles that you may stumble upon,” she said. Rose will read from and present a slide show about Tibetan Tales for Little Buddhas from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, at Borders Books, 3513 Zafarano Drive. She will be the featured author at storytime hour beginning at 11 a.m. Nov. 30 at Borders Books, 500 Montezuma, in Sanbusco Center. She will appear at Clear Light Book Gallery in Villa Linda Mall from 1 to 3 p.m. Nov. 28. Paintings and prints from the book will be on display through Nov. 21 at Peaceful Wind Gallery, 129 W. San Francisco St. Rose is having a book signing there on Friday from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, call 989-9590 or go to www.naomicrose.com.