Introduction: Take My Newsletter, Please!

A Newsletter AND a Podcast? I'm In!

On January 27, 2020, I'm launching TEMPLE TALES, a newsletter sent by email three times a week.

It'll be about a page long (500 words or so) and illustrated.

Best of all? It's FREE!

Every newsletter will also contain a link to a Podcast version of the same material, adapted to the spoken form. (See the bottom of this page for an example.) The Podcast will seldom be over fifteen minutes.

The newsletter itself will be posted here, to serve as "Show Notes" for the Podcast, and the Podcast will be shared through the usual "podcatchers,"currently iTunes, Google Podcasts, and Spotify.

But you may be asking: Why a newsletter? Aren't they sort of passé?

Not according to the tech news; apparently, they're making a comeback!

For another thing, my website (TheTempleGuy.org) has gotten HUGE, and fast! It now holds over a thousand pages and posts, and it's still growing. So serving up small portions of its content, revised a bit for palatability, seems like a good move.

Why not just make a blog, you ask? Well, the issues or episodes will be posted as a blog (right here!). But serving it up directly to you, three times a week, saves you the hassle of clicking into it all the time. It's like regularly-scheduled pizza delivery!

And listen to this, here's something special: ONLY the emailed newsletter--not the blog, not the podcasts--will end with a few "thought questions" to help you integrate the lessons in each edition into your own life. "How can this benefit YOU?" is the issue.

But wait! That's not all!

There will be a "secret group" on Facebook--available ONLY to newsletter subscribers--to discuss those questions.

And we're not finished yet!

Newsletter subscribers may also receive occasional "extras," short ebooks or similar publications that will also be sold on my website.

Now, let's take a closer look at this Newsletter-and-Podcast content. Each episode will focus on one of the following themes:

• Temples and/or the Figures found in them (Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, etc.) [I've been to a LOT of them like around 700 in Japan and China alone!]

• Historical Figures, especially famous Japanese and Chinese monks;

• Buddhist and other folk stories from Japan and China;

• The Buddha's teachings (Dharma) and the background and contents of Buddhist scriptures (Sutras)

• Scenes from the Buddha's life

• Reviews of Buddhist books and films

• PLUS, occasionally, I'll cover similar topics but instead of focusing on temples, I'll zoom in on the Spanish missions and Native sites of California, Baja California, and the American Southwest--all part of my travels and longtime interests.

And guess what? IT'S ALL FREE! (Oh, did I say that already?)

Once you sign up--which I truly hope you will--expect the Newsletter to arrive Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, starting January 27 (that's the first Monday after Chinese New Year). Here are the approximate delivery times, by location:

• East Coast: 7AM EST / 8AM EDT

• West Coast: 4AM PST / 5AM PDT

• Most of East Asia: 8PM year round; an hour earlier in Japan and Korea

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Well, that's about it.
Please, send me your email (it'll be kept safe, I promise!). You can use one of the many subscribe boxes found here on Substack, or you can send it to thetempleguy@gmail.com  Then watch for a "Thanks" mail with more information.

Remember, it's FREE, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

So what have you got to lose?

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GET MORE:

• Subscribers can join the conversation in the Temple Tales "Secret Group" on Facebook! (You won't find the group by searching; it's SECRET!) Of course, if you don't use Facebook--sorry! If you’re NOT a subscriber—hit that button and sign up!

• Listen to the audio version of this post at Archive.org.

• Find the Podcast on iTunes or Spotify (find the raw feed here)

You may unsubscribe to Temple Tales at any time by simply replying to this letter and writing "Unsubscribe." You will receive one more letter as confirmation.

If you have any problems reading the Newsletter or accessing the Podcast, please write to me directly at TheTempleGuy@GMail.com, and I'll help you any way I can!

In the next episode: Learn where I get the nerve to call myself "The Temple Guy"!