The place Bailey's Gym, Los Angeles, California-6am-the fall of 1999...From a bourgeois neighborhood in Beirut to the schools of the streets of Europe and the United States, the story takes you on a journey of self-exploration and transformation that goes through weight rooms, boxing rings, libraries and the stock market. Relentless, unconventional and independent; these successive experiences yield immense benefits for personal development. Your life is not set in stone, it's a gift for which the first page is carved in your DNA and the rest is yours to pen. When history fades pale next to our daily trials and tribulations, survival comes from a boundless, insatiable thirst for learning, social justice, as well an iron will for breaking up with tradition, and walking the unbeaten trails drawing our prints in the dust and mud we all come from.
by Gisela Dixon
Coffee Shop University: A Book About Mythology, Spirituality, Philosophy, Psychology, Religion, Politics, Economics and the Ecology can best be described as a collection of thoughts, musings, and reflections by Mario Kfoury on variety of subjects, most of which are in the realm of metaphysics, psychology, and philosophy. Coffee Shop University starts off with a self-introduction by Mario and then the book is broken down into simple chapters, each usually dealing with a certain point in Mario’s life. As Mario tells some of his life story in these pages, we learn about his background from Lebanon, his experiences in America and Europe, some of the influential people in his life, his various professions which included hard physical training in the gym, and of course his own philosophical ideas and discourses on life and its meaning.In Coffee Shop University, Mario touches upon various topics and ideas from the Eastern philosophies such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Taoism, and more, along with ancient Greek philosophy and notable teachings from these fields. Not only this, Mario also discusses aspects of psychology and the scientific movement of the last few centuries, along with thoughts on economics, politics, religion, spirituality, and existential questions about prophets, God, meaning of life and death, and the universe. The writing style is pleasant to read, and is very straightforward, engaging, and interesting. I liked reading about some aspects of his life and, more importantly, his fascinating ideas and insights about life. I would highly recommend this book.
Coffee Shop University by Mario Kfoury takes us on an almost 10,000 year journey through the history of man's attempt to understand the Universe and his place in it. Through the life of the author, born in Beirut now living in California, we examine and briefly look at all of the great philosophies of humankind, from the teaching of Buddha, Confucius, Lau Tsu, right through the history of man, up to today's new understanding being uncovered in the area of quantum physics. The author also casts a scathing eye across the bastardisation of good teachings at the hands of organised religion. The ultimate conclusion appears to be that life is a never ending search for knowledge and social justice. Our lives and the future direction of humanity are in our own hands. We, as individuals, can and should make a difference to our world.As a starting point for examining the purpose of our life, Coffee Shop University is a useful tool. The author, Kfoury, has clearly done his research well and I suspect there are very few philosophies or religions he has failed to cover in this book. The size of the book has meant that many important and interesting theories are given no more than a passing mention. As I said, if you are looking for something that lays out the full gamut of man's spiritual journey on this earth to allow you to find something of interest to further examine, then this would be a great book for that purpose. I did find Coffee Shop University an enjoyable read for two reasons; the author has similar beliefs to my own with respect to man's point in being, and because of the breadth of history he managed to cover, albeit just touching the surface. A good, solid introduction to philosophy and worth the read.
