Roaring Lion Publishing

ON PRIVACY AND SOLITUDE / MINE AND YOURS 

Many of you are wondering why I have become reclusive and place such high value on
privacy. The American novelist Tom Robbins said it best: "Very few people can write in
a crowd. This is a very solitary occupation. I have known people more talented than me
who never made it. And the primary reason was always that they couldn't stand to be
alone for several hours a day. Any writer worth anything has mastered the art. The art of
solitude."

I hope you'll come to love this anonymous poem as much as I do: "Oh! for a book, and a
cozy nook, and oh! for a quiet hour, when the care and strife and worry of life have lost
their dreaded power..."

Sadly, however, there are some people who would delight in stealing that time away;
with nothing better to do with their time, they stalk us and intrude on our privacy. Privacy
is a possession in the eyes of the law. That's why we have laws protecting each person's
right to privacy and anti-stalking laws. A person's past is his or her possession, and a
person's time is his or her life. To steal or slander any of these sacred values is to devalue
one's own life.

In Stephen Hayes's beautiful book Wisdom from the Ninja Village of the Cold Moon, he
writes, "Despite the love you feel and the joy you radiate, there are those misguided
persons in the world who would see you harmed. They will confront you with fists or
await you in the darkness with their blades drawn. Do not fear them..."

Since realization is both a burden and a privilege, it is in the nature of things that some
will seek to harm you. Since their lives have no quiet center, they easily become
destructive. I do not become angry with them, for they know not what they do.

The very reason I protect my life and privacy is to be able to create beautiful things to
inspire, motivate, and encourage you to seek your own path. If I have done my part and
you have done yours, we will then have accomplished a miracle-we will have presented
to the world two improved human units.

This is why I seek solitude and do my best to safeguard my privacy. If I am to be known
at all, I wish it to be for the contents of my heart. Thomas Merton wrote, "It is in deep
solitude that I find the gentleness with which I can truly love my brothers. The more
solitary I am, the more affection I have for them. It is pure affection, and filled with the
reverence for the solitude of others. Solitude and silence teach me to love my brothers for
what they are, not for what they say."

I hope I've said all that needs to be said. For now, it's time for a walk. In the words of
Thoreau, "I come to my solitary woodland walk as the homesick go home." And if you
see a 185-pound dog, realize he's not as friendly as I am!

 PROTECTING YOUR PRIVACY

ROARING LION PUBLISHING is committed to protecting your privacy! Only limited personal information is collected about you, and that is only used to enable shopping and make return visits to the site much easier.

When you confirm an order we obviously need to take your name, e-mail address, home address, and your credit card details. This information is vital so that we are able to actually process your order, and so that we can deliver your goods. Your payment details ARE NOT stored anywhere on the web site, nor in the database that runs the site, hence the reason that you will always be asked to input your card details every time you place an order. It might seem like an inconvenience, but we believe this is the safest approach.

We do store some personal information about you but this is in a SECURE database, and is entered via a SECURE order form. All personal and card information is entered via our secure server, who's software (Secure Socket Layers (SSL)) encrypts all data you enter before it is transmitted to us.

Our site makes use of Cookies, which are small text files that are stored on your local PC. The Cookie for our site does not hold any personal information, just a couple of meaningless numbers that help the site recognize you on a repeat visit.

We will never sell any information gained via our site to any third party or organization. We may very occasionally make use of it ourselves to let you know about any goods or services that we think you may be interested in. These will be things that are pertinent to the subjects that we deal with.

Most of all we thank you for visitng and shopping on our site. If you have any further questions about our privacy policy please email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or call 800-491-7141.

RETURNS

Returns will be accepted on any item or items, (Except Bedding products and Saunas) within 30 days of purchase, after which no refunds are given. Thank you.