Christiana Polites appears for a bonus episode to celebrate the 10 year anniversary of her independent publishing house, Sky Press Publications.
Available on Youtube, iTunes, SoundCloud & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.
Christiana recounts the origin of Sky Press Publications, her ongoing collaboration with Dr Nida Chengatsang, and reveals why their venture has never had a coherent business plan.
Christiana takes us through the entire catalogue with anecdotes and reflections about the publishing and reception of books such as “Karmamudra: The Yoga of Bliss” and “Foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism: A Guide to Yuthok's Healing Path”.
Christiana also gives her advice for assembling and leading creative teams and reflects on the future of religious publishing.
00:00 - Intro
00:51 - A love of books
03:40 - Founding Sky Press Books with Nida Chenagtsang
07:36 - No business plan
10:16 - Print on demand strategy
12:26 - Dual mission of Sky Press Books
14:53 - Moral aim of the karmamudra book
17:25 - Showing Karmamudra: The Yoga of Bliss
18:14 - Medical perspective gives context to Buddhist teaching
20:32 - Religion and culture
22:22 - Criticism of the karmamudra book
24:00 - “Mirror of Light” book tour anecdotes
25:41 - Weapon of Light: Introduction to Ati Yoga Meditation
26:28 - Nejang: Tibetan Self-Healing Yoga
30:19 - Surprisingly powerful practice
31:40 - Nejang vs tsa lung trulkhor movements
33:50 - Foundations of Sowa Rigpa: A Guide to the Root Tantra of Tibetan Medicine
36:18 - Working with Dr Ben Joffe
39:03 - Reflections on building a team
42:38 - Systems that support the vision
44:18 - Supporters and benefactors
47:17 - How does Sky Press fit into the dharma publishing scene?
49:30 - Let Meditation Be Thy Medicine: The Timeless Healing Wisdom of Tibet
50:50 - Foundations of Vajrayana Buddhism: A Guide to Yuthok's Healing Path
52:44 - Translations into foreign languages
53:48 - Using books for home retreat
55:30 - A Guide to Kunye and the External Therapies of Sowa Rigpa
56:40 - The Flight of the Garuda
58:02 - The Sowa Rigpa Journal, including Steve’s article
59:16 - Thoughts about book collecting
01:00:30 - Advice for those who wish to self publish
01:01:40 - The next decade of Sky Press Publications
01:04:47 - Audiobooks, music, and the arts
01:05:34 - Preserving Tibetan teachings
Previous episodes with Christiana Polites:
Find out more about Christiana Polites:
For more interviews, videos, and more visit:
Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James
If you value the podcast and would like to support its continued production, you can do so here: https://ko-fi.com/guruviking.