Reddit mentions: The best christian worship & devotion books

Hey there, /u/Apollo_Manton. Honestly, I think some of the people in this thread are being a bit dickish, so I'm going to try to provide you with a satisfactory answer and some resources.

So I guess I would start by saying that asking for a summary of "Native American Spirituality" is similar to asking for "Asian Spirituality," in that you can have hundreds of different spiritual views existing on a single continent. Asian spiritualites include ideas from India, China, the Middle East (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all technically come from Asia), indigenous cultures in eastern Russia, Tibetans, and hundreds of others. Native American spirituality can be thought of as even more broad, because America is two continents, while Asia is really just two thirds of one continent (considering Europe is in Asia). That's first of all.

Having said all that, there are certain common themes which can be found in a great deal of indigenous cultures around the world, not only in the Americas but also in Australia, Asia, Africa, and even in Europe before the Neolithic invasions. Some of these themes include respect for the Earth; respect for humans, other animals, and plants; and taking only what is needed.

If you are interested in the subject, I have several books to recommend. The first is called Circle of Life: Traditional Teachings of Native American Elders by James David Audlin. If you don't read any other books, read that one. It is excellent, and is one of my personal favorite books, not only on this subject but in general. It's well-written, readable, informative, and enjoyable. Audlin (also known as Distant Eagle) has Lakota heritage, but is also familiar with Cherokee and several other indigenous spiritual traditions. In addition to that, he is quite familiar with several Asian religions, including Christianity (he is an ordained minister), Judaism and Islam, and he frequently draws comparisons between native spirituality and newcomer religions.

If you search for this book on Amazon, there is a newer edition called "Circle of Life: A Memoir of Traditional Native American Teachings." I recommend the older edition, because it is shorter, somewhat clearer and more accessible.

There is another book called The Wisdom of the Native Americans, by Kent Neburn. This book is much shorter, an easy read, and is almost entirely quotes from famous Indians in the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries. It's worth looking through, and will give you a very good summary of the native worldview. There is an entire chapter dedicated to the difference between native spirituality and Christianity which is quite good.

Another book I recommend is The Other Side of Eden, by Hugh Brody. Brody is a Canadian anthropologist who lives for several years with different indigenous groups in Canada, including the Inuit. This book is partially about his experiences, but is also about the history of humanity and how it relates to the story of Adam and Eve in the bible. It does a great job documenting the differences - and the relationship - between Christianity and indigenous spirituality during the European invasion. I recommend it because it is good, and because it will provide you with a broad perspective on human history that few people have, even among the educated.

One more book is Conversations with God, by Neale Donald Walsch. While not directly about native spirituality, it gives an excellent overview of spirituality in general, and is worth a read if you are interested in those topics. It is far more compatible with indigenous philosophies than with the Abrahamic religions, and it provides a refreshing and reasonable approach to the concept of God.

Finally, I recommend this YouTube video, Toby Hemenway: Redesigning Civilization with Permaculture. Permaculture is a design technique that was developed in Australia in the 1970s, but was largely inspired by the success of indigenous cultures before the European invasions. In this video, Hemenway gives a general overview of the historical and agricultural differences between Native America and Europe, and it's an enjoyable lecture.

As far as your second question, which asks for a basic description of beliefs and worldview, it's not really possible to reduce it to a basic description, just like you probably wouldn't be able to give a basic description of the Bible or the Quran in a few paragraphs. The best description available for that, in my opinion, is Audlin's book, Circle of Life. Any short description anybody can give here will not do justice to the rich traditions and philosophies that made up the various spiritual ideologies of the peoples who thrived in this continent before Columbus's arrival.

And having said all of that, I will try to give the best summary I can of native spirituality.

First, comes the idea of respect. Respect is the cornerstone of functional living. If you respect others, they will respect you. This goes not only for other humans of all nations, but for non-humans of the other nations, too - the dog nations, the fish nations, the bird nations, the plant nations, and so on. The spirit, my spirit, your spirit, whoever's spirit, does not die, but changes form. Reincarnation is very much a thing. The spirits of the grandparents are in the great-grandchildren, that kind of thing. Respect for all of life is a great priority. Respect does not necessarily mean do not kill, but it does mean, be thankful for the gifts given to you by members of other nations.

Not sure if this will help, but a bit about my life:

I was a late bloomer, when I was in 8th grade I looked like I was in 5th and this trend continued until I was around age 21 when a job doing physical labor helped to spark some testosterone in me and build a few muscles (not many, but my bicep was no longer as thin as my wrist).

All through the last half of jr. High and high school I thought to myself, "I'm sort of a geek, I want the girls, cool guys get girls, what would a cool guy be doing?". Cool guys played guitar, so I started playing. Cool guys ride motorcycles, so I started riding. Cool guys throw knives, so I learned to throw knives. Cool guys can fight, I took up a variety of martial arts. By the time I was around 22-23 I had a bunch of skills that your generic action hero or movie protagonist might. I also took great pains to build skills in the social arts. Charm, like any other skill, can be learned (a great starter book on this is How to Win Friend's and Influence People). I feel like I achieved my cool guy status when I went to a party only knowing one person, and I left knowing every single person's name and at least a bit about them. The art of genuine conversation is probably the most important skill you can get. The trick is the 'genuine' part, people can spot fake interest a mile away.

Somewhere between my mid teens and my early 20's I became the cool guy I always wanted to be. The funny thing is I don't feel a whole lot different. Sure I have confidence, but confidence builds naturally through success, and the foundation of success is failure. If you can summon up the courage to put yourself out there I guarantee you will fail, but you will also succeed. Soon the failures will barely be a blip on the radar towards your successes. One of my favorite quotes is by Henry Emerson Fosdick who said,

"Happiness is not mostly pleasure; it is mostly victory."

I find that to be more true each day I live.

Now I'm in my mid 20's and being 'cool' or a 'man' means something else to me. To me a man is someone who sticks to his morals and ethics even when it is uncomfortable or even deadly. A man tries to improve himself as well as the souls around him, not only through example, but also through kindness and compassion. I can't say I'm the best at this, but I do make a conscience effort every day. Some books I would recommend on your journey (I used to be a self help nut!).

How to Win Friends and Influence People - Dale Carnegie
http://www.amazon.com/How-Win-Friends-Influence-People/dp/1439167346/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278824794&sr=1-1

The Hagakure - Yamamota Tsunetomo
http://www.amazon.com/Hagakure-Book-Samurai-Yamamoto-Tsunetomo/dp/4770029160/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278824735&sr=8-2

The Emperor's Handbook / Meditations - Marcus Aurelius
http://www.amazon.com/Emperors-Handbook-New-Translation-Meditations/dp/0743233832/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278824862&sr=1-1

Zen Mind, Beginners Mind - Shunryu Suzuki (this one doesn't really pertain to being a man, but I find meditation to be particularly helpful in being mindful and focused during daily life).
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shambhala-Library/dp/1590302672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1278824911&sr=1-1


I think the most important thing to remember is that becoming the person you want to be is a gradual process that takes time. Something almost as important to realize is that all those people you think have it all together (be they some popular jock or long dead philosophers), struggle with the same sort of things you do. We all want to live up to our potential, we all want to make as few mistakes as possible, we all worry about what others think of us to some degree. Keep living life and don't give up, you can be as awesome as you want to be, just takes a little thought and some active choices.

Cheers!

Look for a lineage that speaks to your heart. Mastering the core teachings of the Buddha is the best direction for myself personally, which I found from this podcast which led me to this kind of wacky 3 part video, which inspired me to read the book. There is a free pdf of the book linked from the author's website. Time is probably better spent just going with something then flittering back and forth and always looking for a path but never walking one.

If you can manage to get yourself to a buddhist retreat do it. Practicing every moment every day for a week or so is incredible and I think inherently perspective/insight changing. I'd recommend studying what to do on retreats beforehand, so you are better able to practice effectively in every moment during the retreat, and better able to communicate questions to the teacher. Honestly, if you make a ten day retreat with some knowledge of what to do, and just keep on trucking through it to the end, you will probably reach insights & samadhi/jhana intensity which will make weed/alcohol appear essentially boring, and which will also really establish a pretty unshakeable Saddhā in the Dharma, with a strong sense that you know where you are going and how to get there (and a sense of how much it will actually take to get there.)

Put some dharma talks onto your phone/ipod. Listen when you drive/clean whenever seems appropriate. Joseph Goldstein is one of my favorite speakers to listen to. He's repetitive, but so are the original texts. Here is his kind of epic 46 part talk over 5 years on the Satipatthana Sutta.

I always use a timer for formal practice for myself, 20 minute sits etc., the fact that I may sincerely need to do something else timewise (eat, bathroom, pay bills) or be actually hurting myself from a certain posture for too long will require my attention otherwise.

Also, the world outside of practice is hard, especially when the heart is open. I've found The way of the Superior Man and especially some torrentable live discussions of the authors to be the most useful perspective I've come across for trying to deal with practical reality & relationships.

Metta my friend, may your path be easy and true.

Sorry for the delayed response...

The philosophy books I would recommend reflect my personality and what I find interesting. However, the way my interest started was really just browsing a shit-ton of wiki pages of the many philosophies. As I did that I began to become familiar with the well-known philosophers and what they were about. Then the philosophies/philosophers that struck my eye I purchased books by them.

An example of philosphies/philosophers would be Buddhist philosophy and Nietzche (Nietzche just has a whole bunch of good shit to talk about). I've read the Diamond and Heart Sutra which was very interesting (and relevant to my experiences with psychs). And I've always been interested in meditation which led me to read a Vipassana Meditation book which focuses more on the practice -- however the book is loaded with wisdom.

I just read Notes From the Underground by Dostoevsky and it really resonated with me because of the way the Underground Man thinks. He ponders existential questions but he is tremendously neurotic. While I'm not as loony as the Underground Man I still related to his thought patterns and how he constantly over-analyzes everything. It's actually quite humorous at times too.

I think it is fun to supplement philosophy with some good old knowledge of the brain and psychology. Consciousness has always fascinated me but I didn't know much about the brain to begin with. So I initially read a book about the brain where it explains all the various functions that compose the entire brain (brain stem, hypothalamus, corpus callosum, cerebrum, cerebral cortex etc.) and what they do, why they're important and how they all interconnect. Wikipedia is also good for that. After that I wanted to know more about how that all creates consciousness. I've just started reading "Self Comes to Mind" and I'm about half-way through and it's pretty good. It's by a neuroscientist named Antonio Damasio and he hypothesizes how consciousness came to be and then argues his point with some great and profound ideas.

Last but not least, I would highly recommend Jordan Peterson's lectures. They are absolutely amazing. He's a psychologist and he has various playlists to choose from. I'm currently listening to his Personality and its Transformations playlist and it is absolutely life changing. His lectures go all over the place -- he talks about it all. The human experience and existence. He has actually influenced my philosophy/perspective a lot and because of him I've found many great thinkers that I agree with (Piaget is one example).

>I was worried I'd dislike programming and suck but fortunately I just suck.

I'm not sure how far you are into your programming classes but i definitely felt the same way about my self. I thought I was a garbage programmer and that I should just quit. But then there came a time where it all just clicked and it became a game or a puzzle.

Good luck friend!

> Everybody's going on about living in the moment. It seems to me we do nothing but live in the presence. Who has time for the future or the past? They seem a luxury for the men and women of leisure if we still have those kicking around. Of course it's a bit more complicated than just being forced to be in the moment. We can't stop our brains. How many times have I not asked it to please just shut down. I understand how people take to drink to dull the mind. Numb the constant pain etc. How do we know ourselves?

We were just talking about this at work just now. I recommended a book I picked up ten years ago that I really enjoyed, although I acknowledge that it's not to everyone's tastes: Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye. The author was a punk rock bassist before becoming a Zen Master, and so very well understands the chaos that the modern mind is confronted with. He does a good job of describing how to be mentally and psychologically still in the face of the vagaries of everyday life. I'll warn you he has a very no-nonsense way of expressing himself, though (in line with his roots in Punk) that might be off-putting to some.

> I think perhaps last week's quote may offer the beginnings of a resolution. If we act according to our purpose and values then maybe we can begin to find and eventually be and know ourselves.

Again, about ten years ago, I stumbled on a book written by some guy who decided he would say "yes" to any activity or opportunity offered him. He was advocating saying yes more often than we do, on the argument that we cut ourselves off from life-changing experiences if we don't. (I notice there's a brand new book on the bestseller list that is essentially a re-hash of the same concept). I've done that for the last ten years, and while I admit I had some amazing experiences as a result, I'm now tending towards saying that I need to say "no" more often lest I am literally drawn and quartered by all the things I have committed to do. Fundamentally, we need to know ourselves well enough to know what means the most to us, and be courageous enough to say "no" (in a nice way, of course) to things that don't match that, and most importantly, be OK with not doing everything. I don't know about you, but I've been hearing about women having to be "superwomen" for so long, admitting that I can't do it all is actually really hard.

> Your friends have a very good point. I used to mentor a lot of young a upcoming consultants. They're we all socially conscious, vegans, active members of you-name-it, hip PC etc. But the moment I gave them a test or a task they were at each others throat. Backstabbing that would make Brutus proud. They very often took personal affront at something and would go on and on about it. In short, special snowflakes indeed. Empathy was considered cool but I'm not sure they really knew what that concept entails.

Is "resilience" a concept you see a lot in your work environment? It's the new big thing here in my workplace - how to cope with an ever-changing work environment, and with the inevitable failures and flubs that come from working in such an environment. Many of our folks scoff at the concept, as though they are expected to be relentlessly positive. But that's not at all what it really means.

> I think humanism should focus more on that and also that with increased individual freedom also comes a certain responsibility. Sometimes I think we forget that in the crusade for more and more individual rights we run the risk of breaking the social contract. Also, a lot of people, these days could do with a little bit of humility in the face of the human condition.

Absolutely. Individuality at the expense of all others is a cancer on modern thought, and I really wish it would go away.

You have overlooked the only person who can help you; it's you. You are intelligent and perceptive and most assuredly sentient. You are a piece of the universe that can see itself. Through you, the universe can become self aware. This incredible experience is your birthright. Self-loathing is a very narrow-minded stance to take for a being in such a position. You are able to escape from your box and claim all that is yours, and it is spectacular beyond reckoning. Nothing can stop you except yourself.

Your state of mind is not something you should entrust to other people because you have no power over them and how they behave. You do, however, have power over your own mind, so clearly, this is the place to start.

I suggest you save yourself by allowing your mind to travel in a direction that is so fantastic and overwhelming that your attention will automatically change its focus from your family and all of their demoralizing troubles to something much greater and interesting: the search for the Big Picture.

By the Big Picture, I mean having some understanding of the true nature of the self and of reality. What exactly is this thing you call "I" that is not an object? What is going on in this space/time? What is being experienced and what is experiencing and how does it take place? What is real and what is illusory? How does all this fit together?

There are many ways to study reality. The academic or intellectual path is useful up to a certain point, but is inadequate in this case, because it necessarily objectifies and conceptualizes experience and experience is, by definition, completely subjective. Thus, the Big Picture must be sought from within. The goal is to see things clearly, just as they are, prior to conceptualization.

There are ways to train the mind for this journey. One of the best road maps I've come across for exploring the Big Picture is Zen Buddhism. The practice is very simple. You are not asked to believe in anything that deviates from your own experience. You are discouraged from relying on dogma or on the words and teachings of others because they won't help much. Zen is the see-for-yourself guide to insight. Meditation is the most important part of Zen. I'll give you the briefest peek into how it works.

You sit in a position that allows you to be relaxed yet alert and to be still without muscular exertion. Most sit cross-legged but it's of no consequence. Sit with your back straight and your muscles all relaxed and, instead of thinking, simply watch your breath. Watch your body breathing as if it were the most important thing in the world. Without going into further detail, as you watch your breath you discover that something you are able to observe cannot contain you. You, the observer, is not the body. After a while, you learn to observe the thinking mind instead of your breathing. You will find that you are able to observe your thinking mind without becoming involved in its context. Eventually, you will see that the thinking mind also doesn't contain the observer.

You go onwards from there; searching to discover where the observer is located and what is its nature. This path takes years but there are mind-blowing insights and experiences all along the way.

This, I think, is the most important pursuit a sentient being can undertake and the most fantastic. I won't go into further detail because I've already produced an embarrassing wall of text. Suffice it to say that Zen is a way to train the mind in such a way that it ceases to torment itself. This kind of practice is not only helpful for dealing with life's problems, but is also the source of a great deal of wonder and deep insight into how things are. Best of luck saving yourself from yourself. [Book suggestions: The Dhammapada, Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book. I haven't read the 2nd book but I like its table of contents and, from a quick glance, it seems legit.]

I think you might find better advice on /r/Meditation or /r/Buddhism. Actually, the best thing you can do if you plan to continue meditation is to find a real teacher. It's possible to get started with meditation on your own, but to make real progress, you're going to need to spend at least some time with a teacher.

Some schools of meditation would tell you that your experiences, while unusual, aren't any more important or any more or less real than your experiences working or studying or browsing reddit, and that it's important not to be seduced by the exotic. In other words, whether those experiences and those beings are "real" or not isn't really an important question; it's just something else to let go of.

Other schools would say that intense concentration allows you to both see things that you normally can't see and to mentally travel to realms you normally can't visit. Some schools even cultivate these experiences, which are variously called the siddhis, the Divine Eye/Divine Ear, and a bunch of other terms I'm too lazy to look up right now.

Another relevant angle would be found in The Progress of Insight by Mahasi Sayadaw (specifically section VI). This is an explicitly Buddhist approach that delineates the levels of insight that lead to the four stages of enlightenment. The Mahasi text is a hard slog if you're not familiar with Buddhist terminology already, but there's an easier-to-understand, though somewhat controversial, modern treatment written by Daniel Ingram called Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha.

A teacher in the Mahasi tradition, then, might tell you that this was an Arising-and-Passing-Away event, which signals the beginning of the spiritual path in earnest. Of course, the teacher might also tell you it was just a dream (and certainly wouldn't tell you anything at all based on just an internet post :) ).

Arising-and-Passing-Away is usually followed by all kinds of unpleasantness, all of which is considered necessary for mental purification. St. John of the Cross's Dark Night of the Soul is considered the best exposition of this process from a Western Christian perspective.

So, yeah. If you're determined to keep at this, it's probably best to find a teacher.

You are experiencing modern angst. If you had lived only 100 years ago these feelings [for the most part] would not have had a chance to have arisen in the form you are expressing [stardust, universe experiencing itself] - be grateful you can do do it at all [I'm not saying people didn't have these feelings, like Camus, Neitzche, Descartes and others but that most average people didn't have the chance to worry like this, in the information laden way you are spitting it, since most people were busy feeding themselves and their families by farming etc]. So, yes, you are alive and it's all so crazy to think about.

Oh and yes, we do actually understand more than a "spec" of reality.

You say that if I am calm about what your saying then I am missing the point and haven't grasped the full implication of it's meaning. I say truth is relative and the truth of what you're saying is one of many perspectives I can tap into and get lost in. You seem to be hyperventilating only one stream of thought - your existential purpose, validity, meaning.

You seem to want someone to validate your feelings with an equal amount of shock and awe. Well you might get it, so what then? I'm not saying the knowledge you are talking about doesn't lead one to existential angst and confusion, but just remember what the Buddha said about the nature of reality. All is change. All is impermanent. This isn't some lofty metaphysical concept that is impossible to apply to everyday life. On the contrary, it is imminently important to understand so as to get a grip on your situation. If all is impermanent, then your feelings, opinions, knowledge etc.. is all impermanent. You are holding onto the feelings of utter confusion and awe. You have made a mistake unconsciously, that everyone does, when they mistake their immediate phenomenal experience as a permanent "thing" in reality. To be consistent with the Buddha's revelation one must relax, quiet the mind and understand the nature of reality - impermanence.

Read - Buddhism: Plain and Simple and also Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind

Questioning, the kind you seem to be doing, is just spinning your wheels if not tempered with a calm awareness and composure. Do you want to seek contentment and happiness? Do you want to feel resolve? Then shut your mind up for a moment. Listen to the birds chirp. Sit quietly in your room and watch your breathe. Work with your hands and feel reality in all it's textures. Just be aware. Hopefully you will have a long life to ponder these questions you have but for now don't make the mistake that so many neurotics do; mainly the mistake of attaching oneself to a overly anxious perspective while neglecting other modes of thought that are just as easily attachable. You have control over your mind, and your mind is doing all this anxious thinking.

If you want to have these questions turned upside down and be thrown into a different sort of thought then you must read Krishnamurti and his musings about life, love, truth, intelligence, nature.... "A consistent thinker is a thoughtless person, because he conforms to a pattern; he repeats phrases and thinks in a groove." Jiddu Krishnamurti - more quotes here.

“Judge a man by his questions rather than by his answers” - Voltaire

Apply this quote to yourself. Spend time with it. What are you really asking and what answers are you really searching for?

“We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world.” - Buddha

Good luck.

I think Pope Francis is sincere, but I also think that it is more complicated than merely "doing what is needed to heal the breach." The Schism is as much about people as it is about theology. Human beings and the relationships between them are complicated at the best of times. The self-understanding of these two communities has been distinct for so long that it is easier to argue than to find common ground. There are currently "Byzantine" Churches in communion with Rome and it hasn't worked out terribly well for a lot of them (though there have been bright spots).

If I might be so bold, the "liberal" people (I don't like that word, but I don't have another one) in both camps can hardly see the point in being separate, though they would like to change things in both their Churches in other ways that would make them unrecognizable. The challenge is to have the "conservative" people satisfied with the process and expected result of re-approachment, enough to establish common cause between them. A traditional Catholic has to see that the Orthodox showing up won't force them to budge on things that they are fighting with progressives in their own Church about. The same with the Orthodox. The famous resistor of "false union" Bishop Mark of Ephesus doesn't just appeal to those seeking to preserve the Orthodox faith, but also traditionally committed Catholics.

And what happens if the Catholics are willing to compromise on a great many things, but the Orthodox get difficult on some point? Would not the Catholics feel abused? "We've come all this way and it hurts us and you still won't give up on point 9?" This has been the problem with the Miaphysites. It looks like all the theological issues have been resolved, but we seem to be left with Saints and Anathemas on both sides that have rooted the problem beyond reconciliation. We seem to be "right there" except we have beloved saints on both sides that effectively said, "you can never go there." What do we do with these saints? How do we understand them?

As for something to read. There are several books depending on your interest in using big words. :)

Lossky would be the heavy weight: http://www.amazon.com/The-Mystical-Theology-Eastern-Church/dp/0913836311/

Though I much prefer Zizioulas, more approachable and puts apophatic theology in balance: http://www.amazon.com/Being-Communion-Personhood-Contemporary-Theologians/dp/0881410292/

Of course Bishop Timothy Ware's book is the usual "internet standard recommendation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Orthodox-Way-Kallistos-Ware/dp/0913836583/

If you want something very approachable (almost no technical terms) and a little more "what does this mean" you might try an introduction to sacramental theology in general: http://www.amazon.com/For-Life-World-Sacraments-Orthodoxy/dp/0913836087/

And probably the least "theological" but I think this is both my wife and my favorite: http://www.amazon.com/Bread-Water-Wine-Oil-Experience/dp/1888212918/

Well, there are tons of meditation practices. Metta/Maitri or tonglen cultivates compassion among other things, mantra meditations, Zazen, Qi Gong, body scans help relax, chakra meditations like Kundalini might be nice, one can do mindfulness meditation using objects like the ambient sounds, breath or anything we choose. For me, mindfulness meditation in which one will focus on an object of meditation has built my concentration (Samadhi) and calmness of mind (Samatha) considerably.

When we have the concentration and awareness we can then better observe our body, speech and mind and identify things that might be making us uneasy.

It's like having the ability to hit the brakes before we swerve off the road and go coasting through the woods. This ability is called insight (Vipassana). We can even begin to see other habitual tendencies like harmful reactions, always resorting to food or smoking when we are agitated, making excuses, defective reasoning and things like that. We can begin to really have control over actions, speech and thoughts. This can all help improve studies, sports and countless other activities.

Basic mindfulness meditation involves placing the mind on an object of focus. Many will use the in and out breath or an object, like a statue. When we get distracted, we patiently place the mind back on the object. It's ok to get distracted, I've written entire poems in my head and then caught myself and placed the mind back on the object. Shakyamuni Buddha taught on this practice, I would recommend reading the [Anapanasati Sutta] (http://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/mn/mn.118.than.html) to get an idea of how powerful the breath awareness can be. [Finding the Still Point] (http://www.amazon.com/Finding-Still-Point-Book-Communications/dp/1590304799) is a great beginners book.

I really appreciate lojong training and think it's pretty underrated. The Great Path of Awakening, Training the Mind, and The Practice of Lojong are great texts to work with.

Like contemplating insight, studying lojong is a pithy way of integrating / absorbing dharma. I've found that studying them intensively allows them to arise in the conditions they best benefit in. For example, yesterday I was feeling contracted and the slogan regard all dharma [experience] as dreams spontaneously arose in mind*,* which effected an instant release and shifted perception into a dreamlike state.

>Slogan 19. All dharma agrees at one point -- All Buddhist teachings are about lessening the ego, lessening one's self-absorption.

This reminds us to not get caught in sectarian squabbling, or perhaps help us appreciate whatever tradition is most available and keep us from continuously shopping for something "better."

>Slogan 22. If you can practice even when distracted, you are well trained.

This can help prevent us from overly-criticizing our practice when our minds are frantic rather than still, recognizing that we are being mindful all the same.

Hopefully you'll find something worth exploring in the slogans listed on the wiki!

I'm not into organized religion myself, however, if you like both psychedelics and Christianity, you might find this book very interesting- https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

The author, John Allegro, was a fairly brilliant linguist and I believe a Jesuit (though I may be misrembering), who had access to the Vatican archives and dead sea scrolls. He determined that Christianity originally started out as a sort of mushroom cult. Now Jesus was not a historical person, but a sort of collection of allegorical tales intended to teach moral behavior which was drawn from diverse mythologies that would have been known to those in Judea and the Roman Empire more generally at the time, such as the trials of Hercules (also the son of God/Zeus, begotten of mortal woman, and required to undergo various trials of the flesh in order to eventually attain apotheosis) and the resurrection of Osiris. And originally it wasn't a prudish belief system at all, it was in many ways a fertility cult.

While there is certainly a lot of nonsense that got tacked onto the collection of verbal traditions which became the Bible (New Testament, Old Testament is basically some Jewish texts that got tacked on), if one takes the more liberal/hippyish interpretations of it, it is rather reminiscent of the state one enters on psylocybin, no? John Allegro thought the mushroom (God's flesh as the early Christians conceived of it) was amanita muscaria (also featured in the color theme and a lot of early imagery involving Santa Claus, strangely, and Siberian shamans have reindeers eat amanitas and then drink the reindeer urine for a supposedly better, more concentrated effect)- which is common in shamanic traditions in much of Eurasia. I personally see the effects of psylocybin as much more likely to lead to a Jesusesque point of view, however; we are all one, forgiveness, a lessening of ego, pride, greed, and wrath, empathy, ect. Though psylocybin was widely used in Aztec rites and well, the Aztecs... so I guess societal reactions can vary- though to be fair, the Aztecs viewed their sacrifices as ultimately for the good as that was all that was keeping the dark ones from swallowing the Sun.

Also "St. Anthony's Fire", a manic state in which, according to the beliefs of the time (middle ages), the holy spirit would fill men and women, was caused by ergolines growing on grain. LSD was developed from compounds having to do with ergot, as you might know (those compounds are vasoconstricters and, in low doses, can be useful in the treatment of certain headaches).

Psychedelics, whether ayahuasca in the Amazon, various mushrooms in pretty much every hunter-gatherer society, the mysterious psychoactive vapors of the Delphic Oracle, cannabis in Hinduism and historically amongst the Scythians, peyote amongst certain Native Americans, and practices which can lead to psychedelic states such as fasting in the desert, meditation, yoga, solitude, vision quests, walkabouts, ect. are the original religion/spirituality. I did not believe that "sacred" was even a real feeling that actually existed until I experienced 4-aco-dmt. The spice must flow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wTLSF_h1fjg

I am confused what 'fallen in'' means and what your grandparents have to do with your question about your step-brother (or brother?).

Regarding your question, it seems that since your brother(s) is already 16, it is too late to have your mom make them get the sacraments. The spiritual life is now something that he needs to take ownership. Obviously, the love and guidance of you and your mom may help him in this endeavor.

In any case, I would encourage you to live and love the faith. Nothing changes hearts better than example (with God's grace, of course).
It seems that your mother is not the spiritual type. Evangelizing one's own family is a very difficult thing to do. I would talk with your mother about the spiritual life. Help her see that while she may have provided things like food and shelter (which are very good things), that isn't enough. Tell her that you realize in your own life, that need more than just physical life, but spiritual life too. You can tactfully extend this to your brothers whom you love. Over the course of some time, along with your own example and prayers, maybe she will see her responsibility to nourish her children's spiritual lives. You can also lovingly talk to your brothers. Also some books might help, they helped me when I first starting thinking about the spiritual life. My Daily Bread, The Faith Explained, Story of a Soul

Nice, man. I wish for you to persevere in your practice. Just like you I've studied and now practice Zen, Buddhism, and some of the Taoism.

I should look into the set of authors you've written. If you have time look into it, some of the books I found most inspiring in my practice are:

Zen mind, Beginner's Mind
Not always so
The two above are for inspiration and breathtaking take on the spirit of practice, the once below are for the practical and daily aspects of the practice:
Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha - Supremely useful!
Mindfulness in Plain English - Of course "Beyond Mindfulness" is equally as impressive, just goes into a greater detail on what to expect, and how to achieve higher jhanas.

One major advantage of MIPE is that it is freely available (legally, even) to anyone with an internet connection. It's not perfect, but it's a good introduction, and the author is very clear that he is speaking about one particular meditative tradition.

I find "Finding the Still Point" to be another great resource for beginners. It's very short, and deals almost exclusively with the basics of the physical act of meditation. It's a good introduction, but I don't know of a legal free version, which adds a barrier to people who are curious about meditation, but not yet committed to developing a practice.

As a bit of an investment, you might want to consider The Troth's two volume set Our Troth (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2). They aren't flawless and some content is worthy of criticism (as all things are, really) but there is a lot of good history and lore in there and a lot of good guidance on how to go about doing things and things to think about. Our Troth primarily puts forth the methodology of The Troth and is only one perspective but they are good books. It's a great deal better than "The Rites of Odin," that's for sure (please, don't buy that piece of crap, it's REALLY bad).

Also, take a look for books by Swain Wodening, James Hjuka Coulter, and Garman Lord. They offer more ideas and different perspectives on things. There are plenty of other respectable authors out there as well.

Of course anything we try to say must be a itsy-bit-tiny fraction of the real deal...however...the comparison that better resonated to me was something like that.

Imagine a soldier that was promised in matrimony, but gets drafted to war! He then endure war with loyalty to his fiancee! He writes her letters, he thinks about her, he refuses to be a dishonorable man and go with part of his troops have some fun with the girls from the city they just liberated. Finally, when the war is over...he gets sent back home. Waiting in the platform, his fiancee (who also showed similar virtues during his absence) awaits. They search for each other faces in the crowd, and when they lock eyes with each other...BLAM!!! That moment! That moment of joy locked forever is somewhat like Heaven! It's the satisfaction of the soul with finding his ultimate Love!

Notice that if the soldier hadn't developed the relationship this moment would not have happened! They would be like strangers to one another. Similarly, if he acted in a dishonorable way...he wouldn't feel the joy of that encounter! And that is Hell... it's... not standing or not being able to see God when the encounter was supposed to happen in its fullest form!

All this explanation/metaphor can be found in this book. None of this is from my head.

https://www.amazon.com/Faith-Explained-Leo-J-Trese/dp/1889334294

Life is not what we are led to believe it is. People have insane power using Love which is essentially like the Force in Star Wars.

As a starter kit to becoming a Jedi, you have to be love all of life, including yourself and God (if you believe in it) equally and keep channeling love from within to everything both outside and inside of yourself in your local reality. Also, everyone including yourself had to be forgiven by you. Finally end all attacks. All attacks are fail.

Doing so creates ripples which turn into waves of positivity that splash onto society and ripple outwards to people you don’t even know.

Keep that mindset at all times and not only will you shake the world up in a positive way but you will grow in the force giving you even more power to help the world.

These are extremely basic instructions. If you want more precise info on how it all works, you would have to read this legendary book of secrets:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYJIJFA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Basically we all hold a lot of power but learn to unlock the power through knowledge and wisdom which is well explained in those books. It’s like the law of attraction on steroids.

You may want to start praying some deliverance prayers. These thoughts are usually amplified by you-know-who and praying specifically against him and his legions can be of immense help.

There are some powerful deliverance prayers here . You can even look inside the book on amazon and start praying them now.

Other websites with deliverance prayers are here. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

"My Lord, you are all-powerful, you are God, you are Father.

We beg you through the intercession and help of the archangels Michael, Raphael, and Gabriel

for the deliverance of our brothers and sisters who are enslaved by the evil one.

All saints of heaven, come to our aid.



From anxiety, sadness and obsessions,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From hatred, fornication, envy,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From thoughts of jealousy, rage, and death,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From every thought of suicide and abortion,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From every form of sinful sexuality,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From every division in our family and every harmful friendship,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.

From every sort of spell, malefice, witchcraft, and every form of the occult,

we beg you, free us, O Lord.



Lord, you who said, "I leave you peace, my peace I give you," grant that, through the intercession of the Virgin Mary, we may be liberated from every evil spell and enjoy your peace always, in the name of Christ, Our Lord. Amen."



_____

The above prayers are taken from An Exorcist Tells His Story by retired Vatican exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth.



Prayers for Deliverance and Healing from former Vatican exorcist

Traditionally, to be initiated meant to join a group or secret society. It can also imply participation in a life-changing spiritual/religious ceremony or rite which links you to others who have had the same experience e.g. being initiated into the mysteries at Delphi/Eleusis/etc. Once you've joined a group, you can technically claim the title of an Initiate and begin your training. Initiation implies a Beginning. The term Initiation likely comes to us in the occult world through (translations of texts from) ancient mystery religions, Freemasonry, and especially from The Golden Dawn, a late 19th c. British Hermetic order whose members included Aleister Crowley and W.B. Yeats. Until very recently (by my reckoning - I'm probably much older than most of you), Hermetic orders and Golden Dawn style magick were the only legitimate entrance points into this world. You almost HAD to be initiated into a real group to receive good information, training, and mentorship. Note that initiation into some (usually Hermetic) groups also involves an attunement process whereby the officers of the lodge ritually invoke/implant various energies into the sphere of the recipient so as to open him up psychically and hasten development. THIS is what initiation means to most older practitioners that I've known and worked with. It works, but it's not always a pleasant experience. Being forced to immediately deal with years of one's internal issues over a period of a few weeks can create considerable instability.

If you're interested in learning more about this topic, I highly recommend studying the rituals and Initiation ceremonies of The Golden Dawn, along with their commentaries describing the energy work that temple officers have to perform which isn't always described so well in the ceremony transcripts. While many groups/societies merely run you through a bit of psycho-drama/theatre in the hope that you might be affected subconsciously thereby, there are some that actively perform energy work to open up chakras and implant various energies and connections so you can learn to make use of them in your study. You still have to do the work, but the work becomes slightly easier, or at least more guided.

Edit: See John Michael Greer's book Inside a Magical Lodge. It'll answer many of your questions about what Lodges/Orders do and how they typically do it.

There are several popular 'flavors' of Buddhism, but unfortunately I have not read any general overview books covering all of the sects. Most of my generalized knowledge has come from podcasts like Buddhist Geeks and Zencast. Gil Fronsdal and Jack Kornfield are both enjoyable to listen to.

But back to books!

The most accessible Zen book I've read was Nishijima's To Meet The Real Dragon. Other overviews like Alan Watt's What Is Zen and Shunryu Suzuki's Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind are good but a little obtuse.

And while I can't give it a general recommendation because the writing style isn't for everyone, I really enjoyed Brad Warner's Hardcore Zen and Sit Down and Shut Up.

Of those mentioned, I would go with To Meet the Real Dragon unless you prefer a much more informal style -- then I would pick Hardcore Zen.

> I desperately need community and a place where people understand.

We do need others to keep us balanced and focused on Christ, you are right!

Perhaps staying off social media for a time (so as to not be ingesting all this bad news so much) if you can? Things are terrible. Yes. But remember the goal of the devil is to drive us to despair. That is not the goal of Christ, who said, "in this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world."

I would say put that ocd to good use (in an attempt to curb it of course) until you can say some good binding prayers or deliverance prayers over yourself regarding it and say the rosary. If there is something that can be done both productively and repetitively, it is the rosary.

Entrust your heart, your worries to Your Mother. She will cast your cares upon Jesus.

You have my prayers!

I highly recommend Adyashanti's True meditation book which can be found also in audio format in Vimeo:

Part 1, about meditation

Part 2, about meditative Self inquiry

Part 3, 3 guided meditations

First guided meditation is called: Allow everything to be as it is. Second: Let the Heart's will be done. Third: Meditative self-inquiry.

This was the first book I ever read about meditation and it was so good that it was also the last book I have ever read about meditation. It gave me everything I needed to know about meditation.

Adyashanti also has a collection of his teachings titled Death - The essential teachings that is worth checking out.

Also check out Eckhart Tolle's book The Power of Now He talks about finding peace in the midst of our turmoil.

Eckhart and Adya have lots of clips in Youtube. You might find something also from there!

May you find peace quickly!

I will name some names, link some links and include some quotes.

For a description of the symbolical meaning of the Liturgy you can read Maximus the Confessor's Mystagogy. You can find that text in parts in this book "Tasting Heaven on Earth" , or try his "Selected Writings" for the full text. I highly recommend the Mystagogy!

>CHAPTER FIFTEEN
>
>Of what the closing of the doors of the holy church after the reading of the holy Gospel is a symbol.
>
>The closing of the doors which takes place after the sacred reading of the holy Gospel and the dismissal of the catechumens signifies the passing from material things which will come about after that terrible separation and even more terrible judgment and the entrance of those who are worthy into the spiritual world, that is, into the nuptial chamber of Christ, as well as the complete extinction in our senses of deceptive activity.

For more information on how services ought to be performed you can read the "Abridged Typicon".

>The roofs of the temples are adorned with cupolas or domes: one cupola signifies the highest head of the Church, Christ Jesus Himself; three cupolas tell us of the three hypostases of the Holy Trinity; five cupolas express our Lord Jesus Christ and the four Evangelists; seven cupolas symbolize the Seven Holy Mysteries, seven gifts of the Holy Spirit, or the seven Ecumenical Councils; nine cupolas indicate the nine ranks of angels; thirteen indicate Christ and His twelve Apostles.

For a history of the development of the Orthodox liturgy you can read this.

>For Western Christians the Liturgy offers an experience of eucharistic worship of a kind which they cannot find in their own tradition, and which for many of them has a profound appeal. Their own rites have been renewed in accordance with what modern scholarship assures them was the practice of the early Church. The Liturgy appears to embody principles widely at variance with those they have come to regard as fundamental in worship: and yet for many of them it provides an experience which is deeply worshipful. Familiarity with the Liturgy provokes at least two questions for the Western Christian: How did a rite which claims to go back to the early Church come to assume a form so different from what we know of early Christian worship? and, Might the Western Churches have something to learn from the eucharistic worship of Orthodoxy? The rest of this book will be largely occupied with answering the first question, but will also suggest some answers to the second.

Another guide through the liturgy you can read is "Let us Attend: A Journey through the Orthodox Divine Liturgy".

>The practice of the laity receiving both the Body and Blood of Christ together on the spoon did not come in until the eighth century, and its use only gradually spread. Even by the middle of the eleventh century, its use was not universal. Byzantine canonist Theodore Balsamon wrote in the twelfth century that “in some churches” they had abandoned the age-old practice of receiving Communion in the hand—showing that even then the practice of receiving from the spoon was not universal. Scholars have no certainty regarding why the use of the spoon became the preferred method. Some have suggested that the faithful were taking the eucharistic bread home from the service for private and illicit use, and that using the spoon to deliver the gifts directly into the mouths of the faithful ensured they would actually consume it.

​

Good lord this sub sucks. In response to this question you were given mundane life advice and super shitty/cheesy quotes. No one mentioned meditation. I think that is what really gets me, ya'll talk the big talk but not once have i seen anyone discuss their practice. I think most of ya'll read fake buddha quotes, drop acid, and blow your wad way too prematurely. I cannot more firmly express my disdain for this community.

Op. You basically have two options. Ritual magic and meditation. For most people it is best to start with the latter.

https://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusually/dp/1904658407

Or

https://www.amazon.com/Mind-Illuminated-Meditation-Integrating-Mindfulness-ebook/dp/B01INMZKAQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1541627640&sr=1-1&keywords=the+mind+illuminated

The road is long, but it is well marked with signs and goalposts. Peruse these books, think on them, and buy the one that most agrees with your intuition. Your suffering is your own making and it will take some work to undo that. The two books are pretty similar, both written by high accomplished masters, both inspired by the same source material. Personally i would recommend TMI but either will get you extremely far in attainment and realization. There are no better manuals available to westerners. If you can set aside some time to do this every day you're life will change and blossom in ways you could never even imagine before. I pray you heed my words.

My favorite books about buddhism and meditation are:

[zen training] (https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590302834/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=zen+training&qid=1565793019&s=gateway&sr=8-1) ,
nothing special
, everyday zen - love and work , [the path to bodhidharma] (https://www.amazon.com/Path-Bodhidharma-Teachings-Library-Enlightenment/dp/0804832161/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+path+to+bodhidharma&qid=1565793271&s=gateway&sr=8-1) , and this one is a free e-book : [the 7th world of chan buddhism] (https://zbohy.zatma.org/common/downloads/SeventhWorldOfChanBuddhism.pdf)

Also, if you're interested in buddhism, visiting a temple if there is one near you and learning there provided you find it worthwhile is another way to learn and practice buddhism.

Between Dipa Ma, Munindra and Mahasi Sayadaw, they probably had the biggest impact on Buddhism in the 20th century, certainly in the west. Mahasi taught Munindra and early western styles are very influenced by Mahasi's works. Munindra, himself helped revitalize Buddhism in India, drove non-Buddhists from Bodh-Gaya and helped revitalize the temple. Mahasi was the main questioner at the 6th Buddhist council.

Dipa Ma's story is fascinating, including her attainments, which included the Siddhis. A self professed non-returner, which would typically, canonically, entail the mastery of the Jhanas, she was actually able to predict the contents of UN speech given BEFORE it happened and was able to bio-locate herself, this was witnessed by a professor and his students hundreds of miles away.

Amy Schmidt wrote a great biography on her, pieced together by interviews with students and people who knew her. I would recommend the book to anyone who wants to know more, it's a fascinating read:
http://www.amazon.ca/Dipa-Ma-Legacy-Buddhist-Master/dp/0974240559

Fr. Trese's The Faith Explained is a great book! It gives a great overview and is relatively small considering the rich tradition of the Catholic Church.

Perhaps a book like 365 Tao: Daily Meditations would be good to add in. It has a few sentences for each day and its nice to read in the morning before you meditate and think on it. I was given it years ago, and I enjoyed it so much I gave a friend a copy a couple years ago and they still read it daily.

Genuine Happiness by B. Alan Wallace is the book that got me into meditation and stuff. Each chapter includes a meditation exercise, and then he talks about the meaning behind them and how they relate to Buddhist practice and such. I found it very straightforward and easy to read.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a rather famous current Buddhist writer and teacher, and while I haven't read him myself, I've heard very good things about a lot of his work, particularly The Miracle of Mindfulness.

I hope you find some of this helpful!

> Just getting into it and want to learn more.

Then the ones I would recommend are:

[zen training by Katsuki Sekida] (https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590302834/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=zen+training&qid=1554340070&s=gateway&sr=8-1)

[everyday zen - love and work] (https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Zen-Love-Work-Plus/dp/0061285897/ref=sr_1_1?crid=J90HSTXQF25Y&keywords=everyday+zen+by+charlotte+joko+beck&qid=1554340125&s=gateway&sprefix=everyday+zen%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-1) and [nothing special - living zen] (https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Special-Charlotte-J-Beck-ebook/dp/B001VA1PIE/ref=sr_1_2?crid=J90HSTXQF25Y&keywords=everyday+zen+by+charlotte+joko+beck&qid=1554340179&s=gateway&sprefix=everyday+zen%2Caps%2C236&sr=8-2) by Charlotte Joko Beck

[The path to bodhidharma by Shodo Harada Roshi] (https://www.amazon.com/Path-Bodhidharma-Teachings-Library-Enlightenment/dp/0804832161/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=the+path+to+bodhidharma&qid=1554340239&s=gateway&sr=8-1-fkmrnull)

and "the 7th world of chan buddhism" by Ming Zhen Shakya which is free [here] (http://zbohy.zatma.org/common/downloads/SeventhWorldOfChanBuddhism.pdf) .

It's shifting your attention in a very subtle way to resting as awareness itself.

The goal for this type of practice is always catered toward less and less technique. There's nothing wrong with focusing on the breath to help bring you into the present, but try allowing a few minutes at the end of each session to merely rest as awareness - the space in which everything else happens.

Adyashanti does a much better job explaining than me :) Check out some of his videos on youtube, or his book "True Meditation"

Meditation is just one facet of the gem though. For a concise version of the rest, check out ["The Way of Liberation"] (http://www.amazon.com/Way-Liberation-Practical-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1937195171/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8) (Also downloadable for free on his website)

**If it's not obvious, I really like Adyashanti

Conversations with God (9 book set) is a must read in easy high school level language.

Urantia is the next must read but it's complex university level language. I recommend reading this book on an iPad for its easy access to the built in dictionary tool.

Here is book 1, 2, and 3 of conversations it's God:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AYJIJFA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1

Urantia:

https://www.amazon.com/Urantia-Book-Revealing-Mysteries-Ourselves-ebook/dp/B004PYDC0M/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1501642281&sr=1-1&keywords=Urantia

One approach would be to check out a book called "365 Tao." It's a wonderful book that gives you a Tao passage every day and then expands upon the meaning of it. 365 Tao on Amazon

Also you could check out Alan Watts' "Tao: The Watercourse Way." I personally really enjoy Watts, and this book is a nice exposition of some Tao ideals. Tao: The Watercourse Way

I do meditate and am even a Teacher in Training at the local Zen Center. I used to meditate once in the morning and once in the evening for 25 minutes each. However, since the birth of my son, I have not been able to get in my morning practice.

I have noticed a profound effect with my training which I attribute to meditation. It has helped keep my fuckarounditus at bay. Just as with meditation, it is rare that each practice session will yield many noticeable results. But trusting in the process and sticking to it, the results present themselves. For some, those results are fast and dramatic. For others, they are slower to come. But this is irrelevant because the path is the goal: sitting meditation is the goal of meditation; lifting is the goal of lifting.

Another way that meditation has helped me in training is that when I am lifting, I simply lift. I am there 100%. I don't have to scream, grunt, or pound my chest. I step up to the bar and pull/push. Either the bar moves or it doesn't (it moves 99% of the time). Then I move on.

And finally, in a surprising twist, seated meditation has helped me with my form. At the base, the legs are in as close to the lotus position as you can get. My legs are too short and think for full lotus, so I sit half. This has opened up my hips making ass-to-grass possible. Moving up, the proper spinal alignment for meditation is the same as for lifting. Sitting meditation makes this the default setting. The same holds true with the neck and head, where the gaze is neutral and the chin slightly down.

TL;DR: 2xday for 25 mins., helps mental preparation and body alignment, always enough time, tons of value. SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!

I think psychedelics have great influence on many of our major religions. An example of mushrooms and early Christianity is talked about in John Marco Allegro's novel, The sacred mushroom and the cross. He talks about early fertility cults taking mushrooms and eventually turning into Christianity. Pretty interesting stuff.

I was recommended this after getting into Vipassana. I could only read part way though because it honestly felt like a more muddled repackaging of something to-the-point, simple, and honest like The Art Of Living.

Hey there,

I haven't read your whole post yet. But where siddhis are concerned I, for one, have had many "supernormal experiences" in my life and they have only cotinued and increased in frequency and intensity since starting TMI. But I really don't want to discuss these things, particularly in this forum for reasons I went into here: https://old.reddit.com/r/TheMindIlluminated/comments/cjvtga/best_resources_for_understanding_practicing_the/evhk6t6/

That being said, I am part of a small group (who practice TMI) and are very open-minded and experienced in both meditation and magickal practices and I have found it extremely beneficial to discuss these things with them when it is really warranted.

If you're interested in this topic I suggest you read Dipa Ma's Biography ( https://www.amazon.ca/Dipa-Ma-Legacy-Buddhist-Master/dp/0974240559/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=dipa+ma&qid=1564831819&s=gateway&sr=8-1 ) she was an acknowledged master of the siddhis. I would also highly recommend the works of Paul Brunton, specifically, "a search in secret india" ( https://www.amazon.ca/Search-Secret-India-Paul-Brunton/dp/1844130436/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=a+search+in+secret+india&qid=1564831889&s=gateway&sr=8-1 ) which started my interest in Buddhism and the supernormal many years ago.

Metta

The book that got me started was Finding the Still Point, which was a very good primer on zazen without a lot of Zen philosophy. After that, I agree that Hardcore Zen and Opening the Hand of Thought were good for introducing me to some deeper stuff.

That sounds interesting! Do you happen to remember the author? On Amazon I see:

• Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye by Brad Warner
  
• Sit Down & Shut Up: A Guide to Simple Meditation & Practical Wisdom by Thom Rutledge, and
  
• Just Sit Down and Shut the F--k Up: 7 Easy Steps to Meditate Like a Monk... by Brady Nelson, though that just seems to be an audiobook

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha: An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book

It used to be online for free until recently. It's an excellent read. More specifically it addresses meditation in a far more from a western "how-to" formula. "Do this, see what happens". I generally appreciated that approach.

Well if you really believe it to be true, why are you posting about it on reddit asking people to refute you rather than asking people where you can go to get the paper peer reviewed and published accordingly?

Convincing a subreddit of people who take LSD isn't going to get the work recognized by the majority of the world.

I mean this guy's theory over the beginning of religion has tons of evidence, and people still don't believe it's true or accepted. Of course it's a matter of history, that which can not be proved with our current sciences. But still, until you can prove it true it doesn't make it true.

You probably already know what meditation is, so I'll skip the "meditation for dummies" references and jump you to the best literature I have come across.

Chögyam Trungpa

Training the Mind - Cultivating Loving-Kindness

He has a whole series of books on talking about his philosophies and training your mind to generate only good thoughts.

I came across him through a podcast on Shambhala teachings and it turns out that he is the Tibetan Buddhist who created it.

Someone might be interested in this book on the topic.

Not a perfect text, but there's some compelling and thought provoking evidence. There are other resources too, but that's the original 'famous' book on the matter.

There's actually a pretty deep rabbit hole to go down on this subject.

https://www.erowid.org/

Should have anything you need, not exactly sure what you mean by "cool facts or figures"?

Also might want to check out Food of the Gods by Terence McKenna for some insight about the history of most psychoactive plants.
Hope that helps.

http://www.amazon.com/Food-Gods-Original-Knowledge-Evolution/dp/0553371304

PS: Sacred Mushroom and the Cross is also worth checking out.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276

Done! There's a well recommended deliverance prayer book you can get from a Exorcist Priest here. He also recommends the 7 Sorrows Devotion and has a good talk on Spiritual Protection as well. If you have any serious sins you're attached to please ask Jesus to break those attachments!!!

​

Sure. Dipa Ma a Buddhist lay woman was said to have developed them. This book goes into more detail.

There's stories of Ajahn Chah having super normal abilities.

One example from Ajahn Nyannadhammo

Ajahn Cattamalo speaks of a paralyzed Ajahn Chah doing something that a paralyzed person shouldn't be able to do.

Ajahn Jayasaro on Ajahn Chah

Have you by chance read anything by John m allegro? He throws some really fascinating ideas around regarding amanita muscaria and religion/Christmas. Very interesting.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276

Thanks. Yeah I think they both definitely complement each other, but the "what can I bring forth" mindset really resonates with me moreso.

It is pretty aligned with the Buddhist concept of "genuine happiness," that Alan Wallace really discusses in his work and teachings:

http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Happiness-Meditation-Path-Fulfillment/dp/047146984X

I'm going with the interpretation in Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. Jesus was an euphemism for a cult of shroomheads, and his resurrection is the shrooms regrowing after you eat them. Actually, I don't really think this is the full accurate story, but it's the most amusing possibility. And since Peterson does talk about the spiritual experiences of psilocybin, I hope that he talks about this interpretation.

Sorry! Forgot to reply, was on the go when I read this.

I haven't read much, in truth. I'm a musician, so sound is my thing. I've listened to probably over 500 lectures/audio recordings by Alan Watts and Adyashanti over the past year. Those two changed my life and opened my mind, allowing me to begin the process of becoming the real me. I'll leave you a few that really, really helped me. In terms of books, though:

https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Insecurity-Message-Age-Anxiety/dp/0307741206/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HD4HJV4XGZMFYQQ8YHYY

https://www.amazon.com/Become-What-You-Alan-Watts/dp/1570629404/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_14_t_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=HD4HJV4XGZMFYQQ8YHYY

https://www.amazon.com/True-Meditation-Discover-Freedom-Awareness/dp/1591794676/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493318617&sr=1-1&keywords=adyashanti+true+meditation

https://www.amazon.com/End-Your-World-Uncensored-Enlightenment/dp/1591797799/ref=pd_sim_14_4?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1591797799&pd_rd_r=NTAKM081ZBWQN84XRDF5&pd_rd_w=GbrQB&pd_rd_wg=4ikC1&psc=1&refRID=NTAKM081ZBWQN84XRDF5

https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenment/dp/1577314808/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1493318650&sr=1-1&keywords=eckhart+tolle+the+power+of+now

http://www.lawofone.info/

Now, below I will list a few audio recordings that I absolutely love:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZ4_75nT6_M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1hJX4JN8U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ESVoQzOhZNQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbbCkdrAdeI

There are lots of different kinds of meditation. That said:

Turning the Mind Into an Ally

And if you're into Vipassana: [Goenke's The Art of Living] (http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Living-Vipassana-Meditation/dp/0060637242)

I'd advise seeing if you can find a center to get some in person instruction if at all possible. Best of luck!

>Should I not be proud of my accomplishments or of places God has brought me in life?

You (we) should be grateful for the places God has brought you in life, knowing full well that you did not earn them. Your (our) accomplishments themselves are still God's gift to you (us). What if your (my) opponent had been stronger? What if you (I) had gotten sick? What if you (I) had been distracted, or stupid, or hadn't been able to work as hard? All of these factors were gifts from God, not your (our) hard work.

>In that same vein, what exactly does it mean to be humble, in God's eyes?

To think of and treat yourself as a worthless sinner, and everyone else as though they were Christ Himself walking around you.

>What does it really mean to be modest or meek?

Side note: I hate modesty. It's not a virtue. At best, it's a fortunate byproduct of humility and chastity (with regards to dress).

Here's a great book on humility:

http://www.amazon.com/A-Spiritual-Psalter-Reflections-God/dp/0912927402

Here's an okay one:

http://www.amazon.com/Way-Ascetics-Ancient-Tradition-Discipline/dp/0881410497

You have to meditate, as it was said. Also, you can look for a zen temple and join their group and practice there. That would be ideal.

And there are books on zen by modern masters that give practical instructions, they will be more clear on what to do to learn zen than the teachings of Huang Po. I personally like these:

http://zbohy.zatma.org/common/downloads/SeventhWorldOfChanBuddhism.pdf

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Training-Philosophy-Shambhala-Classics/dp/1590302834/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523600052&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+training

https://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Zen-Love-Work-Plus/dp/0061285897/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523600082&sr=1-1&keywords=charlotte+joko+beck

https://www.amazon.com/Nothing-Special-Charlotte-J-Beck/dp/0062511173/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523600082&sr=1-3&keywords=charlotte+joko+beck

https://www.amazon.com/Three-Pillars-Anniversary-Updated-Revised/dp/0385260938/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1523600135&sr=1-1&keywords=three+pillars+of+zen

https://www.amazon.com/Zen-Merging-Roshi-P-Kapleau/product-reviews/0385261047/ref=cm_cr_dp_d_hist_5?ie=UTF8&filterByStar=five_star&reviewerType=all_reviews#reviews-filter-bar

https://www.amazon.com/Path-Bodhidharma-Teachings-Library-Enlightenment/dp/0804832161/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1523600289&sr=8-3&keywords=harada+shodo

The makers of the bible copied a lot from literature around that time. They did so in the "category", or theme, of most writings of the time: hiding the true meaning of their writings within the text using puns and other literary tools as cryptography. I recommend a great book called "The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross" by John Allegro, a linguist who studied the dead sea scrolls, among other writings of that time, who put together probably the best understanding of the bible that we can, or ever will, have.

RAW's The Illuminatus! Trilogy and Cosmic Trigger when I was 13 and Bloom's The Lucifer Principle when I was older. Howard Bloom is almost certainly our greatest living thinker.

The Invisibles fucking changed my life.

Conrad's Heart of Darkness.

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha is a recent read, but I think it might just be life changing as well.

A more philosophical discussion of the Chinese language can be found in Alan Watts "Tao: The Watercourse Way" link, particularly Chapter 1 on the Chinese Written Language. You should proceed with caution, though. Having read DeFrancis, you'll be in a good position to critique Watts' description of Chinese.

"365 Tao" link and "Everyday Tao" link, both by Deng Ming-dao are not scholarly works, but they include some interesting philosophical discussions about particular characters which include some etymology.

"The Composition of Common Chinese Characters(an Illustrated Account)" link by Guanghui Xie also includes the etymology of specific characters.

Also, interested.

I picked up a couple of books at the library that I have been meaning to get through. Only partially started one...

Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment, I just started this one...

And this is the other I am going to be getting to: Wherever You Go, There You Are

I know of a somewhat related book - The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross. The author makes some pretty huge leaps but it could be somewhat useful in your research if you have not heard of it before.

I really liked The Three Pillars of Zen by Philip Kapleau. It was my first introduction to Zen, and remains my go-to book on all things Zen.

I also really like Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma Eye by Brad Warner

Actually, I just spoke with my friend who also does meditation books. She uses this one. Says it isn't religious or anything but more based on the philosophy of Taoism.

This is the blurb on it

>365 Tao is a contemporary book of meditations on what it means to be wholly a part of the Taoist way, and thus to be completely in harmony with oneself and the surrounding world.

Check out this book The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross. Also, try out a Google Image search on "Mushrooms Adam Eve Biblical Art" and variations of that. Pretty interesting.

Here are a few suggestions

https://www.amazon.com/Life-World-Sacraments-Orthodoxy/dp/0913836087

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0281070989/ref=ox_sc_act_image_4?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Liturgical-Theology-Alexander-Schmemann/dp/0913836184/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?keywords=alexander+schmemann&qid=1570773874&sprefix=akexander+schm&sr=8-3

https://www.amazon.com/Orthodox-Worship-Living-Continuity-Synagogue/dp/1944967540/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?keywords=Orthodox+worship&qid=1570774074&sr=8-1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0881410829/ref=ox_sc_act_image_6?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/988785154X/ref=ox_sc_act_image_5?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

https://www.amazon.com/Hymn-of-Entry-Liturgy-and-Life-in-the-Orthodox-Church-Contemporary-Greek-Theologians-Series-No-1/dp/0881410268/ref=cm_cr_dp_mb_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8

Vespers

https://www.amazon.com/Evening-Worship-Orthodox-English-Russian/dp/088141011X

And here is a lecture on the history of the different divine liturgies.

https://youtu.be/i-39xxdeZ9Q

And here is a lecture on what litugircal theology is from the view of fr. Alexander Schmemann delivered by a theology professor with Notre Dame (both authors are linked above)

https://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/svsvoices/the_anchor_of_schmemanns_liturgical_theology

Inner Paths to Outer Space by Strassman and three others
http://www.amazon.com/Inner-Paths-Outer-Space-Psychedelics/dp/159477224X
The Cosmic Serpent by Jeremy Narby
http://www.amazon.com/Cosmic-Serpent-DNA-Origins-Knowledge/dp/0874779642/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302588552&sr=1-1
Astrothelogy and Shamanism by Andrew Rutajit asd Jan Irvin
http://www.amazon.com/Astrotheology-Shamanism-Christianitys-Revolutionary-Reinterpretation/dp/1439222436/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302588605&sr=1-1
The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross by John Marco Allegro
http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1302588605&sr=1-3
these guys have some good interviews and a movie called "The Pharmacratic Inquisition" for free on the site
http://www.gnosticmedia.com/

Non-directive meditation is found in different traditions. The main one's I've found are:

Taoism

• Zuowang, see http://oldoakdao.org/blog/
  
  Buddhism
  
  
• Zen (zazen, inspired by Taoism, see the book True meditation, Adyashanti)
  
• Dzogchen/mahamudra: See for example Shift into freedom
  
  Hinduism
  
  
• Tantra: Doctrine of vibration
  
• Vedic meditation
  
  You also find it in other traditions:
  
  
• Neo-Confucianism: Jing zuo //similar to zuowang and zazen
  
• Esoteric and contemplative Christianity Centering prayer
  
  Perhaps /u/sovereign_self has something in mind as well

True Meditation by Adyashanti. I've read a lot of books and this guy's the best.

The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross is an interesting read, you might like it.

John Michael Greer has a neat little book that can walk you through the entire process...

http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Magical-Lodge-Western-Tradition/dp/156718314X

Also, study GD and Masonic ritual.

Manly Hall's lost keys of freemasonry has some interesting insight into the nature of initiation that extends beyon Masonry

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1585425109/ref=mp_s_a_1_5?qid=1452196442&sr=8-5&pi=AC_SX118_SY170_QL70&keywords=manly+p+hall&dpPl=1&dpID=51LfyBpwM7L&ref=plSrch

https://www.amazon.com/365-Tao-Meditations-Ming-Dao-Deng/dp/0062502239

365 Tao Daily Meditations by Deng Ming-Dao

It’s this book. Part of Tao is understanding what works for you and what doesn’t. I don’t get much from the Tao Te Ching I have trouble understand it and interpreting its meaning but I understand this book it puts it into a form that works for me so in forms of Tao I think this book makes a lot of sense for me. 365 daily lessons each with a title, symbol, poem, and passage. The author is also a world renowned Taoist. To you, peace be the journey.

We don't know. Nobody knows. And to say that we don't know is less shameful than pretending that we actually know, which is something some religious people tend to do. Religions generally tend to give us this message of universal oneness, but sadly people tend to take all the rest far to literally. The old aramaic scriptures are barely comprehensible and the translations heavily rely on interpretation, which means that there are several ways to understand the bible. The sacred mushroom and the cross is a good read about some other perspectives. All in all, I think that spritiuality is good for you . But religion and spirituality are two different things. By being strictly religious, you are following a dogma that someone else thought of. By being spiritual, you are forming your own picture of the world with the things you find out and know, which is healthier in a lot of perspectives because it makes you think for yourself. Sapere aude! Sometimes, I get the impression that religion is an attempt to bring spirituality to those who aren't privileged enough to spend time on forming an own world view. But in this day and age, everyone can afford to think for himself and still many people don't.

When you said Seikida, did you meant this translation of mumonkan that gets posted on the forum every day?

Yes I've read that, as well as the Cleary and Blyth translations.

I thought you were referring to Zen Training which I haven't read and didn't know about until today.

Way of the Ascetics by Tito Colliander. Small, short, simple, but extremely helpful.

Way of the Ascetics by Tito Colliander.

Christian content aside, it's a beautifully written book that should give you some food for thought.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0881410497

Mastering the Core Teachings is VERY dense, but I highly recommend it: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/1904658407/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504129824&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=mastering+the+core+teachings+of+the+buddha&dpPl=1&dpID=517lPE5zu9L&ref=plSrch

Anything by Stephen Batchelor

[Genuine Happiness: Meditation as the Path to Fulfillment] (http://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Happiness-Meditation-Path-Fulfillment/dp/047146984X) by B. Alan Wallace

Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha, An Unusually Hardcore Dharma Book:

free online: http://integrateddaniel.info/book/

on amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusually/dp/1904658407

It's more Therevada and is heavily inspired by the Visuddhimagga but even if it's heavy and highly technical, it's progressive and complete in his presentation.

In order:

1. Mastering the Core Teachings of the Buddha from Daniel Ingram
   
2. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
   
3. Shobogenzo
   
   The first one is very neutral, and very good. In the other ones I assume that you have an inclination for Zen (which might or might not be the case).

I enjoyed Being as Communion by John Zizioulas when I read it a few years ago.

By "AoL," are you referring to the use of S. N. Goenka's method of teaching Vipassana (insight) meditation? If so, one can easily learn it from the book of the same title.

cc: u/rhyno44

One of my favorite books. :)

Doh. In that case I've heard good reviews of this.

This has a lot of good prayers, more than those two combined

Deliverance Prayers: For Use by the Laity https://www.amazon.com/dp/154105671X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_ysV2DbJBE45SS

Just saw this book on deliverance prayers for the laity by Fr. Rip! A sure must have (he's the exorcist!)

https://www.amazon.com/Deliverance-Prayers-Fr-Chad-Ripperger/dp/154105671X/ref=pd_sim_14_2/147-7963382-9839801?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=154105671X&pd_rd_r=92bdca55-3902-11e9-9f14-0518718f1dc0&pd_rd_w=rDxdw&pd_rd_wg=CFRJg&pf_rd_p=90485860-83e9-4fd9-b838-b28a9b7fda30&pf_rd_r=YJZEN9EZJ6Y9HMTCYST8&psc=1&refRID=YJZEN9EZJ6Y9HMTCYST8

I was doing some morning reading on the bus this morning. It was mentioned that Adam of Bremen, when writing about Uppsala, said that sacrifices were made to Fricco. This isn't a name we're familiar with today, but it is generally thought to be a Germanic cognate of Frey. This quote from Wikipedia sounds like it was pulled almost straight from the book (The Troth: History and Lore):

> "Adam says that the three gods have a priest appointed to them each who offer up sacrifices to the deities from the people. If famine or plague occurs, a sacrifice is made to Thor; if there is war, a sacrifice is made to Wodan; if a marriage is to be held, a sacrifices is made to Fricco."

So, just another backup source on the Frey idea. :)

The Faith Explained

Hi again

This book was great and the first I read after the Poetic Edda

http://www.amazon.com/Our-Troth-History-Kveldulf-Gundarsson/dp/1419635980

The other book that really opened things up for me was this one, but you need to read the Poetic Edda a couple of times first

http://www.amazon.com/Masks-Odin-Wisdom-Ancient-Norse/dp/0911500731/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1347640806&sr=1-1&keywords=the+masks+of+odin

i use this in my midday meditation.

http://www.amazon.com/365-Tao-Meditations-Ming-Dao-Deng/dp/0062502239

and i like it.

I'd recommend checking out Zen Mind Beginners Mind.
http://www.amazon.com/Zen-Mind-Beginners-Shambhala-Library/dp/1590302672/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264994140&sr=8-1

The book I used to learn just the straight meditation technique (without the chanting, robes, weird parables and other bullshit found in a typical zen center) is Zen Training by Katsuki Sekida. There's still some Buddhist philosophy in there, but it's pretty hard to get completely away from that stuff.

Well, most living people don't remember the art used around Christmas time over 100 years ago. And I wouldn't say an entire book on the topic is merely a suggestion.

http://imgur.com/QZpCIj2
http://imgur.com/uE0mJir

• Dipa Ma's story is very inspiring: https://www.amazon.com/Dipa-Ma-Legacy-Buddhist-Master/dp/0974240559/
  
  
• Ayya Khema (haven't read it, but find her teachings very inspiring): https://www.amazon.com/I-Give-You-My-Life/dp/1570625719
  
  
• Irina Tweedie (not buddhism but sufism): https://www.amazon.com/Daughter-Fire-Spiritual-Training-Master/dp/0963457454/

Apparently I'm not the intellectual in this crowd ;)

As someone new to Buddhism, this is my current reading list:

• Buddhism for Dummies
  
• How to Practice: The Way to a Meaningful Life by the Dalai Lama
  
• The Art of Living: Vipassana Meditation as taught by S. N. Goenka by William Hart
  
  I had started reading The Buddha in your Rearview Mirror because it said it was about living as a Buddhist in modern society. I found that I did not like its bias toward the Nichiren sect. I was looking for something a bit more general.
  
  I anticipate reading more of the Dalai Lama's books in the future.
  
  edit: added links

Read Vipassana Meditation and then go on a Goenka weeklong retreat and you'll know just about as much as any expert.

I use Rippergers collection: Deliverance Prayers: For Use by the Laity https://www.amazon.com/dp/154105671X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_KzWCDbFG6DAQ8.

Since he's an exorcist he knows where the limit of authority a lay person can use is. You might like to listen to his spiritual warfare videos given your current situation.

You're not alone

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

Ehkä hän olikin jotain ihan muuta?

Kirjan saa vielä jussiksi kätösiinsä täältä. Kuitenkin sataa.

Sacred Mushroom and the Cross

Pharmacratic Inquisition

http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276/

Cut to the chase.

Sit Down And Shut Up is the name of a book by Brad Warner, who happens to look remarkably similar to one of the dudes in this video.

Here is the book mentioned in the post above:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/154105671X/ref=cm\_sw\_em\_r\_mt\_dp\_U\_4rDzDbVQSEYNK

Here's a rad book on it.

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276

You should read “the sacred mushroom and the cross”

The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East

https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982556276/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SLopDbSFRKVEA

The Art of Living by William Hart. It focuses on Vipassana Meditation as taught by S.N. Goenka who has very universal non-sectarian approach to Buddha's teaching.

https://www.amazon.com/Deliverance-Prayers-Fr-Chad-Ripperger/dp/154105671X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3EEILYO9DVEII&keywords=deliverance+prayers+for+the+laity&qid=1569077391&sprefix=deliverance+prayer%2Caps%2C210&sr=8-1

The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East https://www.amazon.com/dp/0982556276/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_-z4EDbWFEQT1P

The Psychedelic Gospels: The Secret History of Hallucinogens in Christianity https://www.amazon.com/dp/1620555026/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_SA4EDb1CJH5WS

Astrotheology & Shamanism: Christianity's Pagan Roots. A Revolutionary Reinterpretation of the Evidence (Black & White Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1439222428/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_bB4EDbW0ZGGTT

Sacred Knowledge: Psychedelics and Religious Experiences https://www.amazon.com/dp/0231174063/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_rC4EDbZ2RWDBS

DMT and the Soul of Prophecy: A New Science of Spiritual Revelation in the Hebrew Bible https://www.amazon.com/dp/1594773424/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_9C4EDb46EFXG4

❤️

Jesus was a mushroom.

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

Deliverance prayers for the layity.

https://smile.amazon.com/Deliverance-Prayers-Fr-Chad-Ripperger/dp/154105671X?keywords=prayers+for+the+laity&qid=1536799585&sr=8-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1

Read this.

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

Ya know... There are a few theories in that vein...

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

The Sacred Mushroom and the Cross - John Allegro

[Start with this book](Our Troth: History and Lore https://www.amazon.com/dp/1419635980/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_UHsSCbNMWNTNM)

https://www.amazon.com/True-Meditation-Discover-Freedom-Awareness/dp/1591794676/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=true+meditation&qid=1555949568&s=gateway&sr=8-1

​

Dhamma.org

A mushroom covered in God's semen

I haven't read this book yet but I've hear about it on the Joe Rogan Experience:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0982556276

I think it's about finding a balance. I just read Zen Training by Katsuki Sekida, and he spends an extraordinary amount of time speaking of proper posture and breathing in meditation.

But as the story goes, when asked about meditation, the Buddha said that your mind should be neither too focused, nor too slack.

Maybe https://www.amazon.com/365-Tao-Meditations-Ming-Dao-Deng/dp/0062502239

but im not sure

If you have any data on this could you source it?

The guy who translated the dead sea scrolls says the ancient fertility cults who started Christianity actually worship the mushroom amanita muscaria as Jesus. This is why the scrolls were so controversial.

https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

We have dry-cleaning receipts that are older than the supposed birth of Christ, but you can't source any historical forensic evidence of the man called jesus.

No questions but you should check these books out!

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1371438304&sr=8-1&keywords=sacred+mushroom+and+the+cross

http://www.amazon.com/The-Holy-Mushroom-Judeo-Christianity-re-evaluation/dp/0982556209/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1371438304&sr=8-2&keywords=sacred+mushroom+and+the+cross

Quoting Revelation for anything is almost always stretched out bullshit. Most of the scriptures could mean anything, while at the same time meaning nothing. It's the perfect book to quote when you're spreading bullshit.

Not even joking, I'm convinced the writer(s) of Revelation were on drugs. I know psychedelic mushrooms grew wild in the area, I'd image other naturally occurring hallucinogens were as well.

Fun note, I'm about to start reading this book

I like John Marco Allegro's theory better... (He was one of the world's foremost scholars, and the only translator on the Dead Sea Scrolls who wasn't religious).

http://www.amazon.de/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276

Many people think the forbidden fruit is the Amanita muscaria, Id suggest reading the book [The sacred mushroom and the cross] ( https://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276) by John M. Allegro if you find it interesting he spent 14 years of his life deciphering one the dead sea scrolls and went on to write this book. Oh and heres a pic of [the tree of knowledge] (https://www.google.ca/search?q=the+plaincourault+fresco&rlz=1C1GIWA_enCA680CA680&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjF6cm4g-_aAhUGiIMKHd4eBgwQ_AUICigB&biw=1542&bih=954#imgrc=QwQPllz5Pw0uZM:) from 12th century France you tell me what it looks like

Buddhist author Daniel Ingram calls himself "the arhat". http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Core-Teachings-Buddha-Unusually/dp/1904658407/

Geshe Michael Roach claims to have become an arya through direct perception of emptiness at age 22. His claim is questioned in several blog posts here https://michaelroachfiles.wordpress.com/tag/seeing-emptiness

There are reasons for sitting in the half/full lotus position. It's important not to forget about the physiological aspect of meditation. Proper posture and breathing go a long way in altering how the mind works. Meditation isn't just a mental exercise.

As you bring your spine into alignment and breathe properly, your mind will begin to quiet itself. Tension in the body is mirrored in the mind. You can't really fix one without fixing the other. It's easy to underestimate the power that our bodies hold over our minds, and it's important not to fall into the trap of thinking that meditation is just an exercise in relaxation.

Katsuki Sekida's book, Zen Training, has some interesting discussion on the physiological aspects of Zen.

EDIT: What do we do whenever we need to focus intently on something? We tighten our abdomen and hold our breath. Stress and anxiety--constant mental chatter--lead to chronic tension in the abdomen. The intercostal muscles tighten, shrinking the chest cavity and increasing pressure on the internal organs. Breathing is more shallow, and the brain receives less oxygen. The shoulders slump forward and the spine is pulled out of alignment. Pain in the body makes it more difficult for the mind to focus, making it that much more difficult to reach a calm, centered state.

Using the lotus positions allows one to bring the spine into alignment, and provide a good, sturdy foundation for sitting properly. Correcting these physical manifestations of stress go a long way towards quieting the mind. It's important not to underestimate how much of a difference proper posture and breathing make in fixing the mind.

I did get the Socrates thing wrong along with many other things I said as comptroller!! I've gotten some pretty furious tweets over my butchering of facts on this episode of Harmontown and I think it's wonderful.

It does hurt to get harshly corrected by people who know more than you but it's exactly the kind of pain I like. And believe it or not I actually grow from that sort of critique. So thanks, assholes.

That being said I do think Santa represents the Amanita muscaria mushroom and I'm shocked that more people stood up for Santa not being a mushroom than for Socrates not being a pedophile.

Here's a link to the Santa/mushroom/Jesus book I got my info from:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity/dp/0982556276

Thanks for all the sweet comments and I hope that those of you infuriated by my fact butchering continue to rage against enthusiastic fools. It's inspiring and in some small way makes the world a much better place.

>What? Are you actually spouting Zeitgeist stuff?

No, I get my information from books. Not youtube videos, like yourself.

I'd like to see your faggot ass argue against John Marco Allegro on a philological basis and post it here.


(You can't, you dumb)

> Mi pregunta es si sientes que el hecho de no tener un motivo es algo negativo.

No es algo negativo, es algo triste, y no aplica a sólo lo espiritual, sino en general.

> Crees que una persona que no cree en un plan divino a fuerza no sabe qué onda con su vida? O que piensan que sólo están de paso y que no vale la pena hacer nada?

No, pero tristemente éso pasa a la mayoría de las personas.


> Hay muchos, pero muchos, ejemplos de lo contrario.

Bien por ellos.

> La gente religiosa tiende a ser conformista, después de todo su razón de existir es complacer a Dios,

Ah mira, que bonito, Dios nos quiere ver bendecidos, que no nos conformemos a éste siglo ni al venidero, quiere que vayamos de victoria en victoria y que su luz replandezca en nosotros, que tengamos éxito y bendiciones, tantas que nos sobren y las podamos compartir a otros, y eso no viene de a gratis, hay que trabajar por ello.

Uno simplemente no puede pasarsela en la iglesia hincado y pensar que con eso ya esta cumpliendo su plan de vida, valiendole cuacha el servicio, su familia o su trabajo.


> y la Biblia no menciona nada de empujar el conocimiento y la ciencia hacia adelante.

De dónde sacaste eso? Porqué dicen que la Biblia está peleada con la ciencia o con el conocimiento? Dios es un Dios de ciencia, Él creó todo.

Proverbios 13:15
El buen entendimiento produce favor, mas el camino de los pérfidos es duro.

Proverbios 17:18
El hombre falto de entendimiento estrecha la mano, y sale por fiador delante de su amigo.

Éxodo 31:3
Y lo he llenado del Espíritu de Dios en sabiduría, en inteligencia, en conocimiento y en toda clase de arte,



Proverbios 10:21
Los labios del justo apacientan a muchos, Pero los necios mueren por falta de entendimiento.


Y éste es uno de mis favoritos:

1 Corintios 13
1 SI yo hablase lenguas humanas y angélicas, y no tengo amor, vengo á ser como metal que resuena, ó címbalo que retiñe.
2 Y si tuviese profecía, y entendiese todos los misterios y toda ciencia; y si tuviese toda la fe, de tal manera que traspasase los montes, y no tengo amor, nada soy.
3 Y si repartiese toda mi hacienda para dar de comer a pobres, y si entregase mi cuerpo para ser quemado, y no tengo amor, de nada me sirve.


> http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

Si lo dice un libro, debe de ser cierto, investigaré.

This is a gem. I've listened to hundreds of hours of TM and never came across this one before. It must be part of a larger talk.

Allegro wrote this very controversial book "The Mushroom and the Cross", which was lambasted and ridiculed by catholic/jewish scholars. Allegro's stellar, leading scholarly reputation was immedially destroyed by his contemporaries after the critical review, and although he published some more, he was blackballed and his work forever tainted. No one wanted to collaborate with him again.

So if his stuff was so worthless, then why did he get so completely destroyed by his work in that book? Why were the scrolls he wrote about sealed and still to this day, not released for peer review? Anyway, I've read this book and it's extremely difficult to read but it's also convincing. Some parts of it were really great.

• John M. Allegro - Dead Sea Scrolls Cover Up
  
• Why the Dead Sea Scrolls were hidden away by Scholars

I have seen incredible change. I started using Ryan Holiday's The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance and the Art of Living as a journal prompt. Not everyday is relevant, but it has become an important part of my nightly ritual. I have recently added Deng Ming-Dao's 365 Tao: Daily Meditations to my routine.

Soon after getting involved with stoic thought, I made a New Year's resolution to stop swearing. I did it because I realized a lot of my negative traits were tied up with how I spoke to the world. My swearing worsened my agitation and led to poor interactions. Swearing cheapened me, and I can see now my anger was often directed at things I cannot change. I was angry at things I could not change, and that only made me more angry.

I have a simple example from this month. My town sewer line backed up and flooded my basement with sewage. It sucked. But I didn't get angry. I dealt with it. I called the town and they fixed the issue. The insurance company paid me. It has been a lot of work, but some good has come of it, too. I have discarded many things I do not need. My life is simpler now. And I have seen what good friends I have who came to help.

>1.- Digamos que yo siento que todos tenemos un motivo por el cual estamos aqui, todos y cada uno.

Mi pregunta es si sientes que el hecho de no tener un motivo es algo negativo. Crees que una persona que no cree en un plan divino a fuerza no sabe qué onda con su vida? O que piensan que sólo están de paso y que no vale la pena hacer nada? Hay muchos, pero muchos, ejemplos de lo contrario. La gente religiosa tiende a ser conformista, después de todo su razón de existir es complacer a Dios, y la Biblia no menciona nada de empujar el conocimiento y la ciencia hacia adelante.

>Ya no soy una unidad generica humana, y de eso se trata lo que dejo Jesus, de ir a ayudar a los demas, y a dar de gracia lo que de gracia recibimos que son las bendiciones y la salvacion, uno simplemente no puede quedarse con las bendiciones porque el agua tiene que fluir, si no, se estanca y se apesta.

Esto no entra en conflicto con tu idea de que la gente es pobre porque quiere? No estás usando una alegoría de bendiciones que también puede ser aplicada para la repartición de riqueza a nivel mundial? O tu idea es que el gobierno no debe ayudar a los que más necesitan, sino que deben esperar ayuda de Jesús?

>3.- Jajajaja, de donde sacaste esa teoria? La verdad no la habia escuchado, se ve interesante.

http://www.amazon.com/Sacred-Mushroom-Cross-Christianity-fertility/dp/0982556276

Some speculate that Norse berserkers used "magic mushrooms".

>Berserkers (or berserks) were Norse warriors who are reported in the Old Norse literature to have fought in a nearly uncontrollable, trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the English word berserk. Berserkers are attested in numerous Old Norse sources. Most historians believe that berserkers worked themselves into a rage before battle, but some think that they might have consumed drugged foods.
>
> . . .
>
>Modern scholars believe certain examples of berserker rage to have been induced voluntarily by the consumption of drugs such as the hallucinogenic mushroom Amanita muscaria, commonly known as the fly agaric or fly Amanita, or massive amounts of alcohol. While such practices would fit in with ritual usages, other explanations for the berserker's madness have been put forward, including self-induced hysteria, epilepsy, mental illness or genetic flaws

The notion that A. muscaria was used to produce their berserker rages was first suggested by the Swedish professor Samuel Ödman, who based his theories on reports about the use of fly agaric among Siberian shamans, in 1784, though there is nothing in the old sagas suggesting that was the source for their battle frenzy, so many dispute the idea.

In The Sacred Mushroom and The Cross: A study of the nature and origins of Christianity within the fertility cults of the ancient Near East, the author, John Allegro, speculates that Christianity was founded on a secret Jewish mushroom cult. John Charles King disputes that assertion in A Christian View of the Mushroom Myth.

There's also Magic Mushrooms in Religion and Alchemy in which the
author, Clark Heinrich, states ancient cultures used them in rituals meant to bring them into direct contact with the divine and links them to to the symbols of ancient Judaism, Christianity, and the Grail myths. He argues that miraculous stories such as the burning bush of Moses and the raising of Lazarus from the dead can be attributed to the use of such mushrooms.

You are free to think that I am shallow. I believe that myself. I found two books that were meaningful to me.They appealed to my American mind:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/0804831866/ref=sr_1_2_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449117302&sr=1-2&keywords=101+zen+stories

There are enough stories that surely one or two will be meaningful to YOUR American. My own personal favorite was the one about "Attention"

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/1590302834/ref=sr_1_1_twi_pap_1_olp?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1449117522&sr=1-1&keywords=zen+training+sekida

This book tells you how to sit. Be warned it is difficult (for me anyway) to read. But it DOES tell you how to sit. Suffice it to say that one can not write, talk or even think about Zen. It just does not work that way. I believe it is said in this book that there are 8000 books written about Zen but not one word has ever been uttered that is Zen. Sekida directs us to sit. Sekida knows what he is talking about. Sit. Now this is where the bad marketing slogan comes in: It is hard work and it hurts. The only way to train the mind is to train the mind. Training the mind is hard work and it hurts. Sit. I once read: The mind commands the body and it obeys; the mind commands itself and it meets resistance. One must sit and feel the resistance. It is real, it is difficult and it hurts. Read and talk and write all you want to but the mind is trained only once it has been quieted.

Try something other than a koan. Try counting to ten. Sekida explains that quite well. Since I am an American, I found that the alphabet helped my just about the most. But that is me. Just remember that only those things that you can touch and feel and smell and hear and taste really matter. That means that only YOU can do the hard work. You can't listen or read your way out of the hard work and pain of training your own mind. A master can only guide you. It is, in the end, you and you alone who can train your mind.

You should sit simply because those who came before you said that you should sit. I will not be easy and you will fail many times and there is not one person in this world who can help you. And in the event that you should see the smallest amount of something that glimmers you will feel a slip of the ropes that bind you. But, PLEASE!!keep your mouth shut about it!! People stink who would tell others about the WONDERS of Zen. They STINK! I know because I wallowed in it for a time. Just sit and sit some more and keep it to yourself because this most valuable thing in the world can never be given away. It doesn't work that way. Sit.