Rebecca S. Orton | Updates

Writing on the SubStack Platform

Rebecca S. Orton — Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Though SubStack has been around for quite some time, I finally decided to give it a whirl. I’ve been writing almost daily of late and enjoying it immensely. I can disappear for 2-3 hours, waking up afterwards rather lost to the present moment.

It feels rather delicious to disappear into memories, stories, words, and images. I also realize my great fortune that for whatever reason, the writing is easy, flowing, painless. I’m not agonizing over the words, or the subject matter. The topics sometimes arrive in the middle of the night waking me with an urgency as happened last night. I was sound asleep, and then I wasn’t, and sentences were flowing into my mind endlessly. What I wanted was to roll over and go back to sleep, but I knew I needed to capture this flow of words. Pulling up the notes app on my phone, I rambled into the microphone, slurring through my night guard, until the flow subsided. I spent three hours today crafting the somewhat garbled collection into a salient essay. I’ll post the result in Substack later this week.

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Slacker Blogger

Rebecca S. Orton — Wed, 26 Nov 2025 00:00:00 +0000

November 26, 2025

As a blogger I’m a bit of a slacker. Not that anyone is reading my blog posts…but in case you are here's a snippet.

It’s November, and the weather is of course, very Novemberish. Colder, off-and-on rain here in the PNW, gray skies, and it gets dark way too early. That’s what we get for being so far North. I don’t mind because it’s a wonderful time to cozy up with books and writing.

I’ve been reviewing my journals from my time in India and thinking about how fun it would be to write about all the quirky experiences, the feeling of being utterly confounded by so many things about the country and people, and what a gift it was to learn to lay my judgements to rest and just ‘be’ in an environment and culture completely contrary to mine. An awesome and irreplaceable lesson.

I’ve often said I have a love-hate relationship with India, primarily because of how much I was challenged and how grateful I became for those challenges. My perception of the world, my American culture and privilege as such, all were brought into stark relief against the contrast of India. Forever altered my view of the world and my place in it.

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Made it to the finish line!

Rebecca S. Orton — Wed, 24 Sep 2025 00:00:00 +0000

I am beyond thrilled with the cover artwork and the interior design of the book. The paperback is now available from Lulu and other outlets will follow.

It's been a long journey, and in many ways I'm glad that I didn't finish the book five or six years ago, as so much has happened in the past few years related to Tibet. Thus I was able to capture those updates for this 1st edition.

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White Tara

Rebecca S. Orton — Mon, 18 Aug 2025 00:00:00 +0000

For many years, White Tara has held special significance in my life. Images, sculptures, and thangkas emanate a calm, maternal compassion and remind me to seek alternate perspectives when my view of life becomes distorted.

White Tara represents the feminine side of spiritual growth. She is seen as a savior who listens to the suffering of all beings. Her purpose is to protect and help humans in everyday life and on the spiritual path.

In Buddhism, White Tara is depicted with 7 eyes. Three on her face—the third on her forehead—and 1 eye on each palm and the soles of each foot. Through this heightened ability to see, she possesses spiritual awareness and a deep understanding of the world beyond ordinary perception.

Standing or sitting on a lotus—a symbol associated with White Tara, and also significant in my life—she transcends worldly suffering and attachment.

The color white is also significant, symbolizing wisdom, purity, and compassion; the color white is regarded as a purifying and life-giving force.

Her hands positioned in a Mudra symbolize a gesture of granting boons or her ability to fulfill the wishes of her devotees.

The image here was painted by a friend, Rigzen.

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Weekly Update

Rebecca S. Orton — Wed, 30 Jul 2025 00:00:00 +0000

Next week, the full manuscript of Across the Snow Mountains: From Tibet to Exile will undergo copyediting. After so many years, I'm nearing the finish line!

With His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama just having celebrated his 90th birthday, there has been a lot of buzz on Tibet in the news, on social, and yes if you aren't looking for it, you've probably missed much of the reporting.

Here's a link to a BBC story. I love the BBC, they can always be counted on for news of Tibet.

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