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By Michael Greenstein
Depending on who you talk to, life has never been worse. Cancer seems to plague almost every family, financial ruin is at our collective doorsteps, divorce rates remain alarming high and the news is rampant with spiritual leaders that have abused our young and led us astray. Without much difficulty, you can add your favorite demise to this list. What are we to do? Almost every month a new remedy for our woes appears on the New York Times best sellers list. Each book promises the same hope as the one we read before. And if we are lucky, we glean some nuggets of wisdom. But all too often these nuggets somehow fade from our consciousness the moment we put down the book. Continue reading Sufism for Western Seekers – Book Review »
First published in 1999, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now has become an international bestseller. Written as a series of questions and answers, it presents a radical analysis of humanity’s current state and offers a revolutionary route back from unhappiness to enlightenment, which this article attempts to give the merest flavor of. If you read just one Spiritual book in your life, The Power of Now is a very strong contender to be that book. Continue reading Understanding The Power of Now »
From the vast collective literary output of mankind very few works are worthy of the epithet classic. Robert Pirsig’s 1974 semi-autobiographical(?) Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (ZMM) is one of the few – a true modern classic.
Essentially ZMM consists of three distinct but interwoven stories. Superficially it is a travelogue, about a man – the un-named narrator – motorcycling across the United States with his somewhat troubled son, Chris; for the first part of the journey they are joined by friends, the couple John and Sylvia Sutherland. It is also the story of a man haunted by a “ghost”, that turns out to be his former self. Finally, as suggested by the subtitle, An Inquiry Into Values, ZMM is a discussion on philosophy inspired by the cultural upheaval of the time (epitomized by the counter-culture and hippie scenes) concluding that a re-discovery of quality is the key to the re-harmonization of an increasingly dichotomous society. Continue reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance »
In 1908 then small-time reporter Napoleon Hill was invited by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie to interview millionaires with a view to discovering the secret(s) behind their success. First published in 1937, Think and Grow Rich, is the culmination of 25 years of work. That this book has remained not only in print, but also a major seller, for some seventy years speaks volumes for the potency of the message contained within. Continue reading Think and Grow Rich »
Many people report having spontaneous Spiritual or mystical experiences which commonly include being aware of the interconnectedness of the universe and having access to profound knowledge. You may even be fortunate enough to have experienced it yourself.
Colin Wilson has been a prolific researcher and writer on mysticism for over 50 years, his works including the 1971 classic, The Occult. In Super Consciousness: The Quest for the Peak Experience Wilson makes a broad exploration of such experiences, which he calls peak experiences, considering what induces such states and whether they may be attained at will. Continue reading Super Consciousness by Colin Wilson »
Do you make decisions with your head or your heart? As identified by Jung, thinking and feeling are two distinct modes of functioning and, according to Jonah Lehrer’s How We Decide, both have their place in the decision-making process.
Conventional wisdom has long held that rational reasoning is superior to emotion; after all it’s the ability to reason that differentiates us from our fellow creatures. Plato likened the emotions to powerful but wild horses that needed to be controlled by a charioteer, the logical mind. However, highly successful people such as Donald Trump often attribute successful decisions to ‘gut’ feeling. Continue reading How We Decide by Jonah Lehrer »
It was with some trepidation that I sat down to watch a recording of this UK Channel 4 documetary on Spiritualism, as some investigations of this discipline throw objectivity out the window. I need not have worried. Continue reading Revelations – Talking to the Dead »
Adeline Yen Mah’s Watching the Tree attracted me for two reasons. Firstly, as a Spiritual seeker I thirst for knowledge of the Spiritual traditions of different cultures in order to discern the common threads common to all. Secondly, as citizen of the 21st century I wanted to gain a greater understanding of China, widely predicted to be the world’s next economic superpower. Watching the Tree didn’t disappoint on either count.
Yen Mah gives a wide-ranging account of Chinese culture, showing how it has been shaped by ancient traditions of the Tao, Confucius etc. She brings the various philosophies to life by describing numerous fascinating episodes from her own past. Continue reading Watching the Tree »
How Science and Spirituality Can Serve Our World by His Holiness the Dalai Lama
First published in 2005 this fascinating account of Buddhism (or more generally Spirituality) meets science has particular relevance in 2009 as we commemorate Darwin’s 200th birthday and are reminded of the vigorous scientific vs. Spiritual debate prompted by the theory of evolution.
As anyone who’s ever taken the trouble to truly contemplate the basic tenets of the world’s major faiths will testify, at root all religions describe the same basic truths. However, over the centuries, science has often appeared to be in conflict with scripture. Continue reading The Universe in a Single Atom »
Dean Radin’s Entangled Minds provides a comprehensive review of the current evidence supporting the existence of various forms of psychic functioning, or psi. Finding there to be overwhelming evidence that something mysterious is going on it proceeds to examine a range of theories that might offer some explanation. Drawing close parallels between psi and the universe described by quantum physics, Radin proposes the latter may hold the key to understanding the former. Entangled Minds concludes by predicting the universal acceptance of psi in the not too distant future, and speculating how this may impact humanity. Continue reading Entangled Minds »
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Understanding The Power of Now
First published in 1999, Eckhart Tolle’s The Power of Now has become an international bestseller. Written as a series of questions and answers, it presents a radical analysis of humanity’s current state and offers a revolutionary route back from unhappiness to enlightenment, which this article attempts to give the merest flavor of. If you read just one Spiritual book in your life, The Power of Now is a very strong contender to be that book. Continue reading Understanding The Power of Now »