Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philosophy. Show all posts

Out Of Your Mind


Out of Your Mind

Out Of Your Mind, by Alan Watts

In order to come to your senses, Alan Watts often said, you sometimes need to go out of your mind. Perhaps more than any other teacher in the West, this celebrated author, former Anglican priest, and self-described spiritual entertainer was responsible for igniting the passion of countless wisdom seekers to the spiritual and philosophical delights of India, China, and Japan.

With Out of Your Mind, you are invited to immerse yourself in six of this legendary thinker's most engaging teachings on how to break through the limits of the rational mind and expand your awareness and appreciation for the great game unfolding all around us. Distilled from Alan Watts’s pinnacle lectures, Out of Your Mind brings you an inspiring new resource that captures the true scope of this brilliant teacher in action.

For those both new and familiar with Watts, this book invites us to delve into his favorite pathways out of the trap of conventional awareness, including:

• The art of the “controlled accident”—what happens when you stop taking your life so seriously and start enjoying it with complete sincerity

• How we come to believe “the myth of myself”—that we are skin-encapsulated egos separate from the world around us—and how to transcend that illusion

• Why we must fully embrace chaos and the void to find our deepest purpose

• Unconventional and refreshing insights into the deeper principles of Buddhism, Hinduism, Western philosophy, Christianity, and much more....

The Omega Point

By Mike Hockney

The Omega Point

The universe, via dialectical ontological mathematics, is converging on the perfect answer to everything. This condition is known as the Absolute or the Omega Point. The universe travels, mathematically, from Alpha to Omega, from perfect potential to perfect actualization. Even now, on this Earth, people are transforming into Gods

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The Surrender Experiment


The Surrender Experiment



From the author of the New York Times #1 bestseller The Untethered Soul comes the astonishing true-life story about what happens when you just let go.

A thriving spiritual community on over six hundred acres of pristine forest and meadows in Florida, a cutting-edge software package that transformed the medical practice management industry, a billion-dollar public company whose achievements are archived in the Smithsonian Institution, a book that became a New York Times bestseller and an Oprah favorite, and a massive raid by the FBI that would lead to unfounded accusations by the U.S. government—how could all of this spring from a man who had decided to live alone in the middle of the woods, let go of himself, and embrace a life of solitude? But this man had made a radical decision—one that would unwittingly lead him to both the pinnacle of success and the brink of disaster.

Michael A. Singer, author of The Untethered Soul, tells the extraordinary story of what happened when, after a deep spiritual awakening, he decided to let go of his personal preferences and simply let life call the shots. As Singer takes you on this great experiment and journey into life’s perfection, the events that transpire will both challenge your deepest assumptions about life and inspire you to look at your own life in a radically different way.

The Future of Spirituality



The Future of Spirituality: Why It Must Be Integral , by Ken Wilber

If the Buddha, Saint Teresa, or an enlightened shaman walked into the room today, would they find themselves in need of some serious spiritual catching up to do? The answer, says Ken Wilber, is yes. Human consciousness today is experiencing a burst of accelerating shifts, and as this landscape of knowledge grows, so does the potential of our own spiritual lives. What is the evidence for this upward spiral in our spiritual intelligence? And if it’s true, how do we experience these shifts directly, within ourselves? The Future of Spirituality presents this visionary and author in a series of in-depth dialogs on the profound ways that spirituality is evolving today—and why it matters to all of

Ken Wilber is one of the most influential and widely read American philosophers of our time. His books have been translated into more than 20 languages and include Integral Spirituality, Grace and Grit, and many others. Ken Wilber lives in Denver, Colorado.

Dawn of the Akashic Age

Dawn of the Akashic Age: New Consciousness, Quantum Resonance, and the Future of the World, by Ervin Laszlo and Kingsley Dennis

The world is changing. The transition from the mechanistic worldview to one that recognizes the interconnectedness of all life is upon us. It is the dawning of the Akashic Age. The Akashic field that connects the universe is now recognized by cutting-edge science. What we know about communication, energy, and consciousness is rapidly evolving in tandem with the new quantum worldview. Many adults are consciously evolving to meet the transitional challenges at hand, while today’s youth have arrived already hard-wired with the new consciousness. Rising from the ashes of the old systems, this Phoenix generation of radical change agents is seeding our evolution and spiritual transformation, a process that will continue over the next few decades.

Authors Ervin Laszlo and Kingsley Dennis look at the chief engine of the coming changes--the growing global understanding of nonlocality--and the development of practical applications for it. They examine how the new values and new consciousness taking hold will reorganize society from top-down hierarchies into grassroots networks like those revealed through quantum physics’ understanding of energy and information waves and experienced daily by millions through social media.

With contributions from visionary thinkers such as futurist John L. Petersen, ex-CEO of Sanyo Tomoya Nonaka, media activist Duane Elgin, systems scientist Alexander Laszlo, and spiritual economist Charles Eisenstein, this book explores the future of education, spirituality, the media, economics, food, and planetary citizenship as well as the expansion of consciousness necessary to reach that future.

When Mountains Sing

When Mountains Sing, by White Feather. We are formless energy and consciousness moving through and manifesting in the world of form. White Feather elaborates on what happens as we move from Source energy into form and then develop identities tied to that form. The separation between our true divine identity and the egoic form identity is the chasm we are trying to bridge in our journey of self-awareness. We build that bridge by embracing unconditional love and the NOW. To begin that bridge building there are choices that must first be made and White Feather illuminates those choices and the ensuing path of loving our selves into existence.

See also White Feather's novel, Park Bench Mojo

Occupy the Moment: A Mindful Path to a New Economy

Occupy the Moment: A Mindful Path to a New Economy, by Rick Heller. A 99 cent book for the 99%! The Occupy Wall Street movement has arisen to give voice to the large number of Americans who are dissatisfied with the growing inequality in wealth and opportunity in the United States. Change is needed, and not just trimming around the edges.

Occupy the Moment lays out a path to a new economy based on the principles of Buddhist Economics pioneered by E. F. Schumacher in his book Small is Beautiful a generation ago. The new Buddhist economics is informed by neuroscience and behavioral economics, and is integrated with the practice of attention to the present moment known as mindfulness.

The current economic crisis is the result of the growth of a culture of greed over the last 30 years. While political action can help, greed is essentially a spiritual problem. In the Four Noble Truths, the Buddha described the causes of greed and a way to heal it through practices like mindfulness.

Occupy the Moment presents a set of meditation practices to show how to become mindful of sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch. Mindfulness helps overcome greed by quieting the inner voice that tells us that what we have is not enough. When mindful, you find the present moment to be fresh and engaging. Happiness is within your reach right now.

Mindfulness as presented in Occupy the Moment is a secular practice suitable for people of all religious orientations, and is entirely consistent with mainstream academic science. By being more mindful, the 99% can change the culture from one that promotes greed to one that honors compassion. Occupy the Moment shows us how to do it.

Click here to instantly download this Kindle e-book for just 99 cents!

Destiny vs. Choice

Destiny vs. Choice: The Scientific and Spiritual Evidence Behind Fate and Free Will, by Marie Jones. Since the day we are born, we are bombarded with the contradictory claims that our lives are predestined and that Fate deals us the cards we must play, or that our lives are the results of our choices and that we shape it as we go along.

Destiny vs. Choice examines the philosophical, spiritual, and scientific evidence for both claims, and shows us how we can live better, more fulfilling lives no matter which side ultimately "wins" the debate.

Destiny Vs. Choice explores the historical battle between Fate and free will, intelligent design, evolution, the Big Bang, and DNA as blueprints for life, the Law of Attraction, intention, and consciousness as ways to create reality, how quantum physics offers evidence for both destiny and choice, and fate and the paranormal: ghosts, life-after-death experiences, and astrology.

Click here for more information or to order.

Marie D. Jones is the best-selling author of The Déjà vu Enigma; 11:11 The Time Prompt Phenomenon; and 2013: The End of Days or a New Beginning? She is also a screenwriter, radio show host, and popular public speaker who has been interviewed on hundreds of radio shows all over the world. She was recently featured on The History Channel and is a regular contributor to Intrepid magazine and New Dawn magazine.

Shamanism for the Age of Science

Shamanism for the Age of Science: Awakening the Energy Body, by Kenneth Smith. A practical guide to understanding and awakening the human energy body. At a time when consciousness and other aspects of our energetic anatomy are finding their way into modern science, Kenneth Smith blends traditional shamanism with cutting-edge research in bioenergetics, neuroscience, and psychology to offer this user’s guide to the energy body--explaining what it is, what its capabilities are, and how to harness it as a vehicle for higher consciousness and heightened awareness.

For more than 5,000 years, shamans of the Toltec tradition have worked with the energy body, learning its structure and perceptual capacities as well as mapping it as an objective, measurable part of our anatomy. Drawing from his decades-long involvement in this tradition and his work in the field of bioenergetics, Smith explains how the energy body shapes our perceptions, determines our state of consciousness, and forms our reality from the infinite possibilities presented by our thoughts, feelings, and those around us. Illustrating our energetic anatomy and its connections to the nervous system, chakras, and meridians, he provides step-by-step exercises to awaken the energy body, expand awareness, and begin consciously building a creative life.

If you want to change your life, simply change your mind. This simple truth is perhaps the greatest tool for personal change that remains unknown by most of the contemporary world. My hope is that Shamanism for the Age of Science might contribute to the understanding that we truly have a major role in co-creating our lives and our world, and it is a role that we can no longer neglect to take seriously.” - Kevin J. Todeschi, author of Edgar Cayce on Vibrations

Click here for more information or to order.

Kenneth Smith, writing under the name Ken Eagle Feather, has published several books on Toltec philosophy, including On the Toltec Path and Toltec Dreaming. He apprenticed with Toltec shaman don Juan Matus and has served on the staff of the Association for Research and Enlightenment and The Monroe Institute. The executive director of The Institute for Therapeutic Discovery, a medical science research institute, he lives in Richmond, Virginia.

How Quantum Activism Can Save Civilization

How Quantum Activism Can Save Civilization: A Few People Can Change Human Evolution, by Amit Goswami. Beginning with Taking the Quantum Leap by Fred Alan Wolf, there have been a number of books that have created new paradigms for integrating science and spirituality. These books have been long on theory and short on application. This work represents something completely different for this genre.

In his previous book, God is Not Dead, Goswami proved that not only are science and religion compatible, but that quantum physics proves the existence of God. In this new book, Goswami moves beyond theory into the realm of action. He asserts that quantum thinking is striking the death blow to scientific materialism; that quantum thinking allows us to break from past bad habits and bring us into of free will and possibilities.

Beginning with the question: "God is here, so what are you going to do about it?" Goswami calls for a plan of action that involves applying "quantum thinking" to a variety of societal issues. He issues a call for a spiritual economics that is concerned with our well-being rather than only our material needs; democracy that uses power to serve, instead of dominating others; education that liberates rather than shackles; and new healthy practices that restore wholeness.

Amit Goswami, Ph.D. is a professor emeritus in the physics department of the University of Oregon. Click here for more information or to order.

The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness

The Soul of Leadership: Unlocking Your Potential for Greatness, by Deepak Chopra. Bestselling author and spiritual guide Deepak Chopra invites you to become the kind of leader most needed today: a leader with vision who can make that vision real. Chopra has been teaching leadership to CEOs and other top executives for eight years, and the path outlined in The Soul of Leadership applies to any business, but the same principles are relevant in every community and area of life, from family and home to school, place of worship, and neighborhood. “At the deepest level,” Chopra writes, “a leader is the symbolic soul of a group.” After identifying your own soul profile and the core values you want to develop, you can use these seven skills to allow your potential for greatness to emerge. Only from the level of the soul, Chopra contends, are great leaders created. Once that connection is made, you have unlimited access to the most vital qualities a leader can possess: creativity, intelligence, organizing power, and love.

The Soul of Leadership aims to fill the most critical void in contemporary life, the void of enlightened leaders. “You can be such a leader,” Chopra promises. “The path is open to you. The only requirement is that you learn to listen to your inner guide.” In this unique handbook you are shown how to do just that, in words as practical as they are uplifting. The future is unfolding at this very minute, and the choice to lead it lies with each of us, here and now. Click here for more information or to order.

Waking From Sleep: Why Awakening Experiences Occur and How to Make Them Permanent

Waking From Sleep: Why Awakening Experiences Occur and How to Make Them Permanent, by Steve Taylor. How much of your waking time are you fully awake? On the other hand, how often do you stumble through the day on autopilot, half-asleep and out of contact with yourself, instead of feeling connected and alive?

In this astounding book, Steve Taylor suggests that our normal consciousness is really a kind of “sleep” from which we sometimes “wake up” into a more intense and complete reality. He provides what is perhaps the first-ever clear explanation of higher states of consciousness, or “awakening experiences.”

This work delves into: the methods we human beings have used throughout history to induce awakening experiences, including meditation, sex, sports, psychedelic drugs, and sleep deprivation; how higher states of consciousness were normal and natural to some of the world’s peoples (and still are, in some cases); and how we can make “wakefulness” our normal state again.

By fully explaining awakening experiences, the author makes them much more accessible, which may lead to a revolution in our psychological development as human beings!

Steve Taylor, the author of The Fall and Making Time, is a teacher whose main interests are spirituality and psychology. He taught courses on personal development at the University of Manchester in the UK for several years, and is now a researcher in transpersonal psychology at Liverpool John Moores University. Click here for more information or to order.

The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha

The Lotus and the Cross: Jesus Talks with Buddha, by Ravi Zacharias. Have you ever wondered what Jesus would say to Mohammed? Or Buddha? Or Oscar Wilde? Maybe you have a friend who practices another religion or admires a more contemporary figure. Drop in on a conversation between Jesus and some well-known individuals whose search for the meaning of life took them in many directions -- and influenced millions. Popular scholar Ravi Zacharias sets a captivating scene in this first in the intriguing Conversations with Jesus books. Through dialogue between Christ and Gautama Buddha that reveals Jesus' warm, impassioned concern for all people, God's true nature is explored. It's a well-priced, hard cover volume readers will want to own, and also share with others.

Ravi Zacharias was born in India, immigrating to Canada at age twenty. After earning a Masters of Divinity at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, he began a speaking ministry that has taken him worldwide (including the campuses of Harvard, Princeton, and Oxford University) as a recognized authority on comparative religions, cults, and philosophy. Zacharias' holds three doctorate degrees, and his books include the Gold Medallion winner Can Man Live without God, Deliver Us from Evil, Cries of the Heart, Jesus Among Other Gods, and two children's titles. He teaches a weekly, international radio program entitled Let My People Think. Ravi lives with his wife, Margaret, in Atlanta. They have three grown children.



Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates

Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates: Using Philosophy (and Jokes!) to Explore Life, Death, the Afterlife, and Everything in Between, by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Question: Why are there almost as many jokes about death as there are about sex? Answer: Because they both scare the pants off us. Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein first made a name for themselves with the outrageously funny New York Times bestseller Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar. Now they turn their attention to the Big D and share the timeless wisdom of the great philosophers, theologians, psychotherapists, and wiseguys. From angels to zombies and everything in between, Cathcart and Klein offer a fearless and irreverent history of how we approach death, why we embrace life, and whether there really is a hereafter. As hilarious as it is enlightening, Heidegger and a Hippo Walk Through Those Pearly Gates is a must-read for anyone and everyone who ever expects to die.

Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein both majored in philosophy at Harvard, after which Cathcart dropped in and out of various divinity schools and Klein became a joke writer. Cathcart lives in New York City and Klein in the Berkshires.



The Proof: A 40-Day Program for Embodying Oneness

The Proof: A 40-Day Program for Embodying Oneness, by James F. Twyman. The saints and mystics are unanimous in their belief that we are not the separate beings we believe ourselves to be, but that we are in reality—One. Best-selling author, filmmaker, and musician James Twyman tested this in a dramatic experiment that has inspired hundreds of thousands of people, proving that our thoughts can be shared and that we are not as isolated as we once thought. There is a bond that exists between us, an unseen link that unites and satisfies us in ways that nothing else can. In the end, what we are seeking is not the riches of the world, but the richness of our souls; and this can only come from realizing that we are connected and whole. Simply put: We are One.

Join James and spiritual teacher Anakha Coman as they break down the process of discovering Oneness into 40 practices that can profoundly change your life and how you see the world. Through step-by-step instructions, you’ll be able to tap into your own hidden power to achieve the miracles you only dreamed of before. This is more than an instruction manual—it’s a doorway into a new world.

James F. Twyman is the best-selling author of ten books, including The Moses Code, Emissary of Light, and The Art of Spiritual Peacemaking. He’s also an internationally renowned “Peace Troubadour” who has the reputation for drawing millions of people together in prayer to positively influence crises throughout the world. He has been invited by leaders of countries such as Iraq, Northern Ireland, South Africa, Bosnia, Croatia, and Serbia to perform The Peace Concert—often while conflicts raged in those areas; and he has performed at the United Nations, the Pentagon, and more. James is the executive producer and co-writer of the feature film Indigo, and the director of Indigo Evolution and the documentary The Moses Code. He is also a member of the Order of St. Francis and the co-director of the World Community of Saint Francis.

A Story Waiting to Pierce You: Mongolia, Tibet and the Destiny of the Western World

A Story Waiting to Pierce You: Mongolia, Tibet and the Destiny of the Western World, by Peter Kingsley. Revealing a forgotten truth in the present day, this account illuminates the crumbling political and economic structures of the West, shedding light on an ongoing and arduous search for a sense of purpose. Recounting a true story, this exploration tells of a wandering Mongol shaman who made a dramatic appearance around the Mediterranean centuries before the time of Christ. Highlighting how this nomad came as an envoy on a mission of purification, this study records how he met with a man who became tremendously influential in Western science, philosophy, culture, and religion: Pythagoras. The essence of Western civilization is said to have originated from this meeting and this examination argues that today’s conflicts and tensions have stemmed from taking this monumental occasion for granted, forgetting that there must be a greater meaning to life than everyday efforts and struggles. Reflecting on a time when Eastern and Western cultures were one, this evocation contends that there is still a common spiritual heritage to all civilizations. A unique collaboration between the author and archaeologists, historians, and shamans from around the world, this document has the potential to change the future for all.

“Piercing. Peter Kingsley is a master of adamantine prose and peerless scholarship. His work is truly worthy of that overworked term wisdom. And he is a master stylist: he turns you upside down and inside out without your knowing it is happening. This book will inspire, delight and enlighten many but will also challenge others because it is a mirror that reflects our most stubborn prejudices about the origins of our most sacrosanct cultural beliefs. And for that, Peter Kingsley deserves the highest praise.” —Larry Dossey, M.D.

Peter Kingsley is an honorary professor at both Simon Fraser University in Canada and the University of New Mexico. He is the author of Ancient Philosophy, Mystery, and Magic; In the Dark Places of Wisdom; and Reality. He lives in Asheville, North Carolina.



The Pocket Ken Wilber

The Pocket Ken Wilber, by Ken Wilber. Ken Wilber—the author of over twenty books of philosophy and psychology—is a pioneering thinker who has developed an integral “theory of everything” that embraces the truths of both Eastern spirituality and Western science. The Pocket Ken Wilber highlights the personal wisdom of this popular author with short selections of inspirational and mystical passages drawn from his publications. These heartfelt writings include poetic passages of contemplative insights and reflections as well as inspired descriptions of Spirit, Nondual Awareness, the Witness, One Taste, and other topics. Ken Wilber is the author of over twenty books. He is the founder of Integral Institute, a think-tank for studying integral theory and practice, with outreach through local and online communities such as Integral Naked, Integral Education Network, Integral Training, and Integral Spiritual Center.


One: Essential Writings on Nonduality

One: Essential Writings on Nonduality, by Jerry Katz. This book compiles the most lively expressions of nonduality, which is the understanding that existence is one undivided whole and that the daily distinctions we make within this unity are useful, but not ultimately true. The book conveys what nonduality itself is, in a nonacademic style that draws heavily on modern, popular writing on the subject. Also included are spirited passages from major traditions--Buddhism, Taoism, Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. This book weaves the desire for nonduality, the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, self-realization confessions from major traditions, and the nondual perspectives of psychotherapy, education, art, and the movie The Matrix, to present a sweeping introduction to the teaching of nonduality. Diverse, sparkling, classic writings make-up this compilation, which might serve as a foundation to a collection of nonduality books.

I Am a Strange Loop

I Am a Strange Loop, by Douglas R. Hofstadter. Douglas Hofstadter's long-awaited return to the themes of Gödel, Escher, Bach--an original and controversial view of the nature of consciousness and identity. Can thought arise out of matter? Can self, a soul, a consciousness, an "I" arise out of mere matter? If it cannot, then how can you or I be here? I Am a Strange Loop argues that the key to understanding selves and consciousness is the "strange loop"--a special kind of abstract feedback loop inhabiting our brains. The most central and complex symbol in your brain or mine is the one called "I." The "I" is the nexus in our brain, one of many symbols seeming to have free will and to have gained the paradoxical ability to push particles around, rather than the reverse.

How can a mysterious abstraction be real--or is our "I" merely a convenient fiction? Does an "I" exert genuine power over the particles in our brain, or is it helplessly pushed around by the laws of physics? These are the mysteries tackled in I Am a Strange Loop, Douglas R. Hofstadter's first book-length journey into philosophy since Gödel, Escher, Bach. Compulsively readable and endlessly thought-provoking, this is the book Hofstadter's many readers have been waiting for.

The Great Transformation

The Great Transformation: The Beginning of Our Religious Traditions, by Karen Armstrong. In the ninth century BCE, the peoples of four distinct regions of the civilized world created the religious and philosophical traditions that have continued to nourish humanity to the present day: Confucianism and Daoism in China, Hinduism and Buddhism in India, monotheism in Israel, and philosophical rationalism in Greece. Later generations further developed these initial insights, but we have never grown beyond them. Rabbinic Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, for example, were all secondary flowerings of the original Israelite vision. Now, in The Great Transformation, Karen Armstrong reveals how the sages of this pivotal “Axial Age” can speak clearly and helpfully to the violence and desperation that we experience in our own times.

Armstrong traces the development of the Axial Age chronologically, examining the contributions of such figures as the Buddha, Socrates, Confucius, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, the mystics of the Upanishads, Mencius, and Euripides. All of the Axial Age faiths began in principled and visceral recoil from the unprecedented violence of their time. Despite some differences of emphasis, there was a remarkable consensus in their call for an abandonment of selfishness and a spirituality of compassion. With regard to dealing with fear, despair, hatred, rage, and violence, the Axial sages gave their people and give us, Armstrong says, two important pieces of advice: first there must be personal responsibility and self-criticism, and it must be followed by practical, effective action.

In her introduction and concluding chapter, Armstrong urges us to consider how these spiritualities challenge the way we are religious today. In our various institutions, we sometimes seem to be attempting to create exactly the kind of religion that Axial sages and prophets had hoped to eliminate. We often equate faith with doctrinal conformity, but the traditions of the Axial Age were not about dogma. All insisted on the primacy of compassion even in the midst of suffering. In each Axial Age case, a disciplined revulsion from violence and hatred proved to be the major catalyst of spiritual change.

Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous other books on religious affairs, including A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, and Buddha. Her work has been translated into forty languages, and she is the author of three television documentaries. Since September 11, 2001, she has been a frequent contributor to conferences, panels, newspapers, periodicals, and other media on both sides of the Atlantic on the subject of Islam. She lives in London.