All Our Waves Are Water: Stumbling Toward Enlightenment and the Perfect Ride

My local library sends a report each year estimating that I read about $2500 in books per year. That seems like a fairly substantial number of books, and Jaimal Yogis writing has consistently landed on my "top 10" recommendations, often alongside serious classics. I've never really sat down to articulate why I think his writing is so special, and I hope that I'll do it justice here. All Our Waves Are Water is a walk alongside the spiritual journey of a modern-day Diogenes (to the exclusion of some of the philosopher's more controversial sentiments and behaviors). Reading Saltwater Buddha and All Our Waves Are Water together provides a meaningful glimpse into the heart of someone truly engaged in trying to understand the human condition. In his efforts to help his friend, a displaced Tibetan monk, I see someone trying to be the best version of himself - to champion a cause, to accept responsibility for the circumstances of another human being, to refuse to be discouraged. In his efforts to recover from a crushing heartbreak, I see someone trying to attain a true version of love, and a metaphor for every moment in which our collective expectations fail to manifest into our desired reality, every moment in which we must let go of something we want to cling to forever. During interludes in Bali, Mexico or Ocean Beach, I see the struggle of many (particularly young professionals) between absolute freedom and conformity to a more traditional path. This is not the Jaimal Yogis of Saltwater Buddha, but a version with a stronger sense of both identity and tragedy. If he has gained a stronger grasp of the esoteric mysteries he has been chasing, it has not been without cost; and that maturity permeates through All Our Waves Are Water. If Saltwater Buddha represents a "Fool" archetype, dancing near the edge of a cliff, this represents more of a "Hermit," someone trying to be more thoughtful and selective about their experiences. This is a book written by someone who has made life choices the author of Saltwater Buddha could only speculate and daydream about. After all, Yogis now has a young family, and this book leaves me with the sense that he has started to appreciate that his spiritual journey may not be neatly wrapped in a bow at the end (much like All Our Waves Are Water, which ends with more of a wistful nostalgia than crisp resolution), but rather be passed on to those who are now looking up to him as a mentor each day; who are just now starting their own journeys. I believe that anyone who has ever found peace suspended in or on the waves (or, frankly, any part of nature) will share my love for this book, and Yogis voice, which is filled with broad-minded tolerance, humility, humor, and candor. This has four stars only because I believe that his best work is still to come. I especially recommend this book for anyone with an interest in surfing, spiritual growth, travel and philosophy. In an era where spirituality can often be reduced to platitudes on Instagram, Yogis is doing the real work, and it's a pleasure to read his perspective. He makes the indefinable accessible by removing the pretention from it.

For those of us who read (and lent to everyone we know) the first book by Jaimal Yogis, "Saltwater Buddha," ordering this newest volume of his memoirs was a no brainer. His subtitle here, "Stumbling toward Enlightenment" is apt: Jaimal (somehow his authorial voice begs for the familiarity of his first name) isn't a perfect guy. He does stumble. He gets dumped by his first great love. He gets angry and sometimes rash. And he frequently runs away in frustration. But he has a strong need to understand the infinite, to become enlightened, to return to the path even when it hurts. But unlike so many teachers of enlightenment, he has his feet firmly planted in the real world -- and often that real world is on water, for surfing takes a central role for his quest -- and as a metaphor for our place in the universe. No jargon (but some technical words), no airy language that gestures at meaning, nothing that separates us from his quest. We encounter his mentors -- and they show up in all forms from monks to the Queen of Ocean Beach -- and we get to know them as real people, often hilarious but always fundamentally sound as spiritual mentors, not just as lesson givers.One of the great strengths of his writing is his ability to place us in vivid situations in many different locations: India, Bali, Jerusalem, NY City, Ocean Beach, etc. There is a section near the end of the book when he surfs near a reef. Fair warning: Buckle your seatbelt and pull your feet off the floor, because it is harrowing.Jaimal is a young man, and a young father of three boys, a husband, a serious and talented writer, but writing a memoir so early should present problems: what is there to write about? what wisdom can he impart? Is this a lesson in arrogance we're about to read? He objects to his own choice of memoir early in the book and then shows us the proof that he has plenty to write about, and his wisdom is about process, not about arriving at the state of enlightenment. He's not there yet, and I doubt many of us are, but the adventure (spiritual and physical) is exciting.I am a college professor, and I have lent out his previous book to several searching young teens, and his quest has rubbed off on them, shown them a way to be authentic when society doesn't really honor or encourage authenticity. This one will be making the rounds, too.

Another entertaining, insightful and all-around excellent book by Jaimal Yogis. If his first book "Saltwater Buddha" is "Intro to Jaimal Yogis 101", then AOWAW is the 200-level course, as Yogis expands upon several of the religious, philosophical and travel/surfing themes that he first raised in SWB.What makes Yogis's work exceptional is that he tackles many of life's biggest questions and delves into dense philosophical and religious topics in an engagingly fun and readable style. Yogis describes his own personal journey (spiritually and literally-- Yogis takes us along on his travels from Tibet to California to NYC to Islands of the South Pacific) in a fun and self-effacing manner. It's easy to forget that you're reading about such lofty topics as the differences between western and eastern theologies because you're smiling at the author's stories of hanging out in a Franciscan friary in New York or living in a hut in the himalayas with a practicing buddhist monk.And in addition to learning a lot about buddhism on this fun romp across the globe, I found some nuggets that I believe will last me a lifetime. His description of a Columbia University religion professor's debate with an atheist is the best argument for the existence of a deity that I've ever read. His brief paragraph towards the end of the book about the importance of "storms" in our lives is an insight I've reminded myself of several times since and will always carry with me.And while there's plenty of surfing in this book, don't be afraid to share it with your non-surfing friends. I have recommended it to several non-surfers and all of them have enjoyed it. I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking for a fun and thoughtful read.

I loved this book because it felt like I was reading Spiritual Travel Writing, the quest to get "tubed" paralleled with religious experiences from the Franciscan monks to the Wailing Wall made this a very pleasurable read.

This book along with Saltwater Buddha have changed my attitude to life. Thought provoking, you begin to question not only what you are doing with your life but also why; sometimes it may take a whole chapter to challenge your mind but more often than not Just a single phrase from Jaimal hits home. This book won’t make me or anyone else a better surfer, but you will become a better person for reading this book.