Best religious leader biographies according to redditors
We found 779 Reddit comments discussing the best religious leader biographies. We ranked the 290 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
We found 779 Reddit comments discussing the best religious leader biographies. We ranked the 290 resulting products by number of redditors who mentioned them. Here are the top 20.
Jenna Miscavige wrote her memoirs of growing up in scientology. She is the neice of one of the rulers in the church. I read the book; it's good.
https://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Belief-Secret-Scientology-Harrowing-ebook/dp/B008XOJ7C2
Bias breakdown, in my opinion:
***
EDIT: Damn, I knew I'd forget some. Add these to the list above:
I fucking hate Scientology, but please don't spread false information. It only makes it more difficult for people to tell that Scientology is full of shit.
Ron Hubbard died in his motorhome on his ranch in Creston, CA. An autopsy was performed and then the body was cremated. The circumstances were suspicious and his followers were told that he had left his body for a higher plane.
Source: Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion (Scientology expose), also see wikipedia
Oryx and Crake - Margaret Atwood
10/10
Dystopic, Science Fiction.
A deep, sometimes disturbing dystopic sci-fi novel from an author that generally doesn't write in the genre. Definitely not an easy read on an emotional and literary level either but I couldn't put it down in grade 11 when I read it for a class.
Amazon - Oryx and Crake
Wa-Alaikum-Salaam.
I'm glad you are interested in learning about Islam. Here are a few videos of former Atheists finding Islam, and I highly recommend reading through the Quran, and a biography of prophet Muhammad (pbuh) as well.
---
---
---
More resources here.
YouTube playlist of a few people finding and embracing Islam.
Buddha was an freethinker. He was born into a high-class position and yet when he saw the suffering of others he rejected Hinduism and the evils of the caste system. He refused to believe that humans were destined to live a life of poverty while others lived lavishly. I doubt he was an atheist though he might have been but there weren't too many atheists during his time. If I have my guesses he was probably a Deist or maybe a Pantheist. Buddhism itself doesn't actually require a belief in a God. Here's a Book on the life of an Atheist Buddhist
Watch the documentary "Going Clear." It's on HBO or I'm sure you can rent it on Amazon or Google Play. It's riveting. The backstory on the guy who founded this religion is ... there are just no words to describe the guy. And they treat him like a god. Leah's book makes a nice companion piece to the documentary since it tells how a regular person became involved with the church. You also get a glimpse at how the connections within the church allowed her to succeed in Hollywood (and may be hurting her now that she's out).
If you still want more to read, I suggest Jenna Miscavige's book "Beyond Belief." She is the niece of the man who became the leader of the church after the founder died. You'd think that would give her some kind of elite status in the "church." It's shocking to read how just the opposite seemed to be true. She was treated horribly, like someone in a human trafficking ring minus the forced sex.
I'll assume you've already found the 4 noble truths and 8 fold path (if not give those a google). Here are a few suggestions that I've found personally helpful:
Mindfulness in Plain English (link to text)
Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist (link to Amazon)
Explore the different sects of Buddhism, but don't get too caught up if some of them seem too religious to you. Much of Buddhism spread by incorporating local traditions and gods/goddesses, and those are not the heart of Buddhism. Don't get too much into the theory before you get into the meditation. While Buddhism can be studied academically, you really need to practice to fully understand. (And by practice I mean meditate).
The documentary mentioned they "send the children away" so parents can focus on the Church. I highly recommend Jenna Miscavige's book if you want deep insight to growing up in Scientology and what's done to children at those camps.
I'm sorry, this is more than just a few sentences, but it's the simplest (but most complete) explanation I can manage:
Scientology began in the 1950s as a mode of self-improvement therapy called Dianetics, which was invented by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Dianetics is a series of visualization techniques where two partners do a form of guided meditation through painful memories, aided by an "E-meter," or electro-galvanometer, which practitioners say can detect stressful thoughts.
As Dianetics became popular and the public swarmed to pay for lessons, training, books and seminars, Hubbard regrouped and reformed his original organization into something more like a system of franchises. Individual Scientology centers could sell therapeutic sessions (called "auditing"), books, training, etc., and send money back to the central office. These individual centers (called "orgs") also took on volunteers who would trade hours of work for auditing or courses. According to Scientology, these philosophies and techniques (called "technology") can save the world from all ills, so they encourage people to proselytize.
Hubbard continued to write higher and higher levels of teachings, which devotees could sign up to learn (for a fee). Hubbard also demanded intense loyalty from his followers. Because Scientology was taking in a lot of money, Hubbard moved in the 1960s to establish it as a church, which in the USA does not pay taxes. Thus was born the Church of Scientology.
Hubbard's tight control of the church, his personal grudges and paranoias, suspicion of outsiders, and his conspiracy theories all led over the years to a hostile and insular "us vs. them" spirit in the Church of Scientology. Governments are suspect, and psychologists/psychiatrists are considered the enemy of mankind. Committing crimes to interfere with these enemies is quietly tolerated and even encouraged.
After Hubbard's death, a young Scientologist named David Miscavige took control as head of the Church and its various other groups (things like anti-psychiatric advocacy groups, drug rehab programs which preach Scientology doctrines, and many more). He, like Hubbard, is a paranoid and hostile leader.
Many Scientologists have left the church in recent years, dissatisfied with one or more of the following things:
Janet Reitman's book Inside Scientology is a great guide if you want to know more.
Anyone who has read Going Clear and Beyond Belief has been wondering where the FUCK have the Feds been on this? It's LONG overdue to raid their compounds. To hell with the Judicial nightmare that waits. Justice is supposed to be blind, not turning a blind eye ...
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
Simultaneously a post-apocalypse and a dystopian novel, the final novel in the trilogy was just released, so this might be a good chance for those of us (like me) who have never read this modern classic to catch up.
Read "Inside Scientology" - it is a fascinating read.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00A7K68UY/ref=redir_mdp_mobile
Crowley first carried out the Abramelin Operation at Boleskine after he left/was expelled from the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn. It's a medieval ritual first (as far as we know) written down in the form of a letter by Rabbi Abraham Von Worms to his son, Lamed ben Abraham. The film is accurate in many ways, especially in that the ritual is intended to attain 'the knowledge & conversation of the Holy Guardian Angel' (but not 'ask a favour', that part was fictitious) Whilst one (often inaccurate) translation of The Sacred Magick... was rendered by Golden Dawn founder-member SL MacGregor Mathers , completion of the ritual was never a pre-requisite to initiation into the Order. To become a member people merely had to be proposed, seconded and take part in the Neophyte Ritual of that order. Confusingly enough, one of the subsections in the initiatory grades of Crowley's own (later) magical order, ostensibly named the Argentium Astrum,or A:.A:., was also called the Golden Dawn (or G:.D:.).
All artistic license and supplementary info aside, I agree it's a fucking great film, I love it. It often makes me think what an amazing film could be made about Crowley's shenanigans at Boleskine House, or indeed any aspect of his colourful adventures. He was certainly a larger than life character- flawed, incredibly intelligent & well educated, sometimes morally questionable (to put it mildly) but not the baby murdering, satanic, black magick Svengali that the popular media of the day (& since!) had him down as. If anyone's interested enough I can thoroughly recommend the George Dehn translation of Abramelin and also Dr Richard Kaczynski's excellent biography of Crowley, Perdurabo.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Book-Abramelin-Hb-New-Translation/dp/0892542144/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Abramelin&qid=1565523394&s=gateway&sr=8-1
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Perdurabo-Aleister-Crowley-Richard-Kaczynski/dp/1556438990/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=Perdurabo&qid=1565523469&s=gateway&sr=8-1
Link to the book, and you can click reviews from there.
https://www.amazon.com/Truth-Seeking-High-Ranking-Mattsson-Eventually/dp/1722885750?crid=3LTV2OZ1CS8MM&keywords=truth+seeking&qid=1536298496&s=Books&sprefix=Truth+seeki&sr=1-1&ref=mp_s_a_1_1
Also search Mormon Stories for his interview. It's excellent, and was the first time I learned about the "second anointing", which was incredibly disturbing and a shelf-breaker for me.
I love imposter stories.
Ever read the book by the kid from Brown University who faked being a born-again Christian so he could attend Liberty University (one of the most fanatically religious and conservative schools) for a semester? It was a very entertaining read, and he painted the students at Liberty in a good light (mostly reasonable, ordinary kids).
I assume you were not allowed to live on campus?
Once my co-worker learned I was into meditation, she bought me a past-life-regression book — for my birthday if I recall correctly.
When I told her I didn't believe in that, she asked me why I thought it didn't exist. I tried to explain to her that I didn't think it didn't exist, I just hadn't come across stuff that convinced me it did. When she told me that those are the same, I tried to explain that being not-convinced-yet is different from being sure that the world contains a bunch of things that are not that.
'Convinced' people —for whatever, politics et cetera— have a hard time imagining that agnostic skeptics on their issue really do remain unconvinced as well as open to evidence that would convince them otherwise — I'm not necessarily convinced their thing doesn't exist; that's gnostic skepticism.
Edit 2: Please read this right now. I pulled the relevant appendix from the epub doc and made it into a PDF for everyone. I don't usually steal people's writing but this is IMPORTANT and I don't think the scholar in question would mind this use.
Aisha was NOT six (or seven or eight or nine). Many, many scholars are now conceding that the historical evidence supports her being much older. She was probably in her late teens/early 20's. But DEFINITELY of a marriageable age by all standards, up until quite recently when we started extending our adolescence into our 20's, as life got easier. (I think we can all agree that being a teenager then was incredibly different from being a teenager now. Nobody should be marrying a teen these days. Ugh.) That aside:
A while back we tried forming a book club here in r/hijabis and one of the books we read was Muhammad: Man and Prophet by Adil Salahi. I don't know how many of us finished it, but I did. The book is reputable, scholarly, lots and lots of footnotes, sometime a little dense and hard to get through. Sometimes it leans on preaching the perfection of Islam rather than sticking to the biographical details. A bit conservative overall. Nothing Islamically that anyone could find any fault with, no matter how strict the Muslim.
With all the footnotes and proselytizing etc: there is only ONE appendix. What's in the appendix? (Edit: I misremembered the tone a bit. It's not apologetic.) It is a quite firm defense of the argument that Aisha was older, a denunciation of the idea that Aisha was six and a condemnation of anybody who still believes it. IMPORTANT ENOUGH TO BE THE ONLY APPENDIX.
This is not some sketchy website, this is a reputable, mainstream, impeccable publication we're talking about and a respected scholar speaking up to correct the record. How ANYONE can still believe otherwise boggles the mind. Either they just don't know, or they WANT her to be six because they're disgusting pedophiles.
PS, as others have said, you should leave your husband, he has no right to treat you that way.
First, if you really want to know. Read a book on Sirah (biography).
My favourite.
I have not read this one but it's getting a good reception.
Anyways, some hadith. This is only a small portion. Note, I got many of these from reading Abu Amin Elias's blog, so I relied on his translation. These are Sahih.
>Sa’d ibn Hisham reported: Ammar said, “O mother of the believers, tell me about the character of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him.” Aisha said:
> أَلَسْتَ تَقْرَأُ الْقُرْآنَ فَإِنَّ خُلُقَ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ كَانَ الْقُرْآنَ
> Have you not read the Quran? Verily, the character of the Messenger of Allah was the Quran.
>Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 1342
.
>Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
>لَا تَدْخُلُونَ الْجَنَّةَ حَتَّى تُؤْمِنُوا وَلَا تُؤْمِنُوا حَتَّى تَحَابُّوا أَوَلَا أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى شَيْءٍ إِذَا فَعَلْتُمُوهُ تَحَابَبْتُمْ أَفْشُوا السَّلَامَ بَيْنَكُمْ
>You will not enter Paradise until you believe and you will not believe until you love each other. Shall I show you something that, if you did, you would love each other? Spread peace between yourselves.
>Source: Sahih Muslim 54
.
>Anas ibn Malik reported:
> مَا رَأَيْتُ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ رُفِعَ إِلَيْهِ شَيْءٌ فِيهِ قِصَاصٌ إِلَّا أَمَرَ فِيهِ بِالْعَفْوِ
>I never saw a case involving legal retaliation being referred to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, except that he would command pardoning the criminal.
>Source: Sunan Abu Dawud 4497
.
>Aisha reported:
> مَا ضَرَبَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ خَادِمًا لَهُ وَلَا امْرَأَةً وَلَا ضَرَبَ بِيَدِهِ شَيْئًا
>The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, did not strike a servant or a woman, and he never struck anything with his hand.
>Source: Sahih Muslim 2328
.
>Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
> مَا مِنْ أَحَدٍ أَغْيَرُ مِنَ اللَّهِ مِنْ أَجْلِ ذَلِكَ حَرَّمَ الْفَوَاحِشَ
>None has more self-respect than Allah, so He has made obscenities unlawful.
> Source: Sahih Bukhari 4847
.
> Abdullah ibn Umar reported: A man asked the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, “Which Islam is best?” The Prophet said:
> تُطْعِمُ الطَّعَامَ وَتَقْرَأُ السَّلاَمَ عَلَى مَنْ عَرَفْتَ وَمَنْ لَمْ تَعْرِفْ
> To feed the hungry and to greet with peace those you know and those you do not know.
> Source: Sahih Bukhari 28
.
>As reported by Anas ibn Malik:
> أَنَّ يَهُودِيَّةً أَتَتْ النَّبِيَّ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ بِشَاةٍ مَسْمُومَةٍ فَأَكَلَ مِنْهَا فَجِيءَ بِهَا فَقِيلَ أَلَا نَقْتُلُهَا قَالَ لَا فَمَا زِلْتُ أَعْرِفُهَا فِي لَهَوَاتِ رَسُولِ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ
> A Jewish woman came to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, with a poisoned sheep and he ate from it. She was brought to him and it was said: Should we kill her? The Prophet said no. I continued to see the effects of the poison upon the Messenger of Allah.
> Source: Sahih Muslim 2190
.
> Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
> لَا يَنْبَغِي لِصِدِّيقٍ أَنْ يَكُونَ لَعَّانًا
>It is not befitting the truthful that they curse others.
>Source: Sahih Muslim 2597
.
>Anas ibn Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, reports:
> خَدَمْتُ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم عَشْرَ سِنِينَ وَاللَّهِ مَا قَالَ لِي أُفًّا قَطُّ وَلاَ قَالَ لِي لِشَىْءٍ لِمَ فَعَلْتَ كَذَا وَهَلاَّ فَعَلْتَ كَذَا
>I served the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, for ten years. By Allah, he never even said to me: Uff! He never said harshly for anything: Why did you do that? Why did you not do that?
>Source: Sahih Bukhari 5691
.
>Abdullah ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
> لَيْسَ الْمُؤْمِنُ بِالطَّعَّانِ وَلَا اللَّعَّانِ وَلَا الْفَاحِشِ وَلَا الْبَذِيءِ
> The believer does not taunt others, he does not curse others, he does not use profanity, and he does not abuse others.
> Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 1977
.
>Aisha reported:
> لَمْ يَكُنْ فَاحِشًا وَلَا مُتَفَحِّشًا وَلَا صَخَّابًا فِي الْأَسْوَاقِ وَلَا يَجْزِي بِالسَّيِّئَةِ السَّيِّئَةَ وَلَكِنْ يَعْفُو وَيَصْفَحُ
>The Prophet was not indecent, he was not obscene, he would not shout in the markets, and he would not respond to an evil deed with an evil deed, but rather he would pardon and overlook.
>Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2016
.
>يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ أَلَا إِنَّ رَبَّكُمْ وَاحِدٌ وَإِنَّ أَبَاكُمْ وَاحِدٌ أَلَا لَا فَضْلَ لِعَرَبِيٍّ عَلَى أَعْجَمِيٍّ وَلَا لِعَجَمِيٍّ عَلَى عَرَبِيٍّ وَلَا لِأَحْمَرَ عَلَى أَسْوَدَ وَلَا أَسْوَدَ عَلَى أَحْمَرَ إِلَّا بِالتَّقْوَى أَبَلَّغْتُ
>O people, your Lord is one and your father Adam is one. There is no virtue of an Arab over a foreigner nor a foreigner over an Arab, and neither white skin over black skin nor black skin over white skin, except by righteousness. Have I not delivered the message?
>Source: Musnad Ahmad 22978
.
>Abu Huraira reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, was told, “O Messenger of Allah, pray against the idolaters!” The Prophet said:
> إِنِّي لَمْ أُبْعَثْ لَعَّانًا وَإِنَّمَا بُعِثْتُ رَحْمَةً
> Verily, I was not sent to invoke curses, but rather I was only sent as mercy.
> Source: Sahih Muslim 2599
.
>Abu Ad-Darda reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
> أَلَا أُخْبِرُكُمْ بِأَفْضَلَ مِنْ دَرَجَةِ الصِّيَامِ وَالصَّلَاةِ وَالصَّدَقَةِ
> Shall I not tell you about what is more virtuous in degree than fasting, prayer, and charity?
>They said, Of course!” The Prophet said:
> صَلَاحُ ذَاتِ الْبَيْنِ فَإِنَّ فَسَادَ ذَاتِ الْبَيْنِ هِيَ الْحَالِقَةُ
>It is reconciliation between people. Verily, corrupted relations between people are the razor.
>Source: Sunan At-Tirmidhi 2509,
.
>Ibn Mas’ud reported: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:
> إِنَّ عَبْدًا مِنْ عِبَادِ اللَّهِ بَعَثَهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَى قَوْمِهِ فَكَذَّبُوهُ وَشَجُّوهُ فَجَعَلَ يَمْسَحُ الدَّمَ عَنْ جَبِينِهِ وَيَقُولُ رَبِّ اغْفِرْ لِقَوْمِي فَإِنَّهُمْ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ
> Verily, a servant of Allah was sent to his people and they denied him, rejected him, and made blood spill from his forehead and he said: O Lord, forgive my people for they do not know.
> Source: Musnad Ahmad 4047
These are sahih.
>What about when he was criticized, or when Islam was criticized, how did he react to or deal with the criticism?
Note: "Mudhammam" is a kind of insulting pun. Change on letter in Muhammad for Mudhammam. Muhammad means "one who is beloved" and Mudhammam is the opposite.
>Allah's Messenger (ﷺ) said, "Doesn't it astonish you how Allah protects me from the Quraish's abusing and cursing? They abuse Mudhammam and curse Mudhammam while I am Muhammad (and not Mudhammam). [Bukhari]
.
>non-muslim friends
Does Rabbi Mukhayriq count? He had a great relationship with Abu Talib as well but he was family.
Also watch this lecture on Mut`im b. Adi.
Feed is incredibly relevant: the internet and constant advertising in your head from birth, the northern hemisphere overrun with consumerism, and various companies fighting to maintain your brand loyalty while the rest of the world is rapidly poisoned.
Oryx and Crake is another good one, though the bogeyman here is genetic engineering and effective class warfare by segregating company workers from the pleebland masses. Multiple nefarious entities at work throughout this trilogy, mainly with conflicting goals.
>Truth Seeking
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1722885750
​
Hans Mattsson is the author.
عليكم السلام
Don't tell her she can't convert but guide her on a sane way to do this. It's okay if she converts for the aesthetics and then explores the religion slowly. She may need structure in her life and a foundation to hold on to, and you don't know, Islam could be the very thing she needs. People sometimes come into Islam for reasons other than believing in Allah (swt) and then end up finding Him in Islam. You are in the position to guide her to it in a good open hearted way and not leave her vulnerable to random extreme ideologies out there on the internet.
Obviously, she can't run off to the Arab world without speaking a lick of Arabic or knowing anything about it. Don't tell her she can't ever do it, but insist that she should be prepared.
She wants to be muslim, great. She wants to be shia, no problemo. Negotiate with her and become her guide to Islam and set some goals for her that she can reach. Like reading a few books first and discussing them with you <--- insist on this.
My recommendation of books to read:
Once she actually understands what Islam is and who the prophet is, if she'd like to read about the sunni/shia thing and make up her mind, there's plenty of books that talk about this.
Are there mosques near you? Sunni or shia? Have her attend Jum'a. Maybe go to halaqas or Arabic classes. If your friend is willing to run off to the Arab world, ask her to at least learn what it's all about.
Also, you should strongly recommend she see a therapist to help her deal with setbacks in her life.
I took Yoga at a college. It was offered as part of the exercise sciences program (phys. ed just wouldn't do any longer). The instructor was great and I benefitted and did recommend it to many people. It also had a blatant religious component. We were required to buy and read Paramahansa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. Then we had to complete a 10 page paper dealing with the text, the class, and our lives.
I enjoyed the physical development and noticed great gains (we had an initial set of tests and a final set to gauge improvement). I also enjoyed learning a bit about Yoga. It did occur to me that in p.c. new agey California religion could be taught and exercised in a public exercise class so long as it was not Christianity. Namaste.
Autobiography of a Yogi
Kundalini: The Evolutionary Energy in Man
You are welcome!
And yes! Book is out in English!
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1722885750
It's actually more complicated than that, but your instinct is correct!
At one point after the war, he was trying to get help for certain "ailments" (not the ones he claimed he suffered during the war - just ulcers, and generally feeling bad etc.) and was denied disability several times by the Veteran's Administration. Then at one point pre-Dianetics, he requested psychotherapy (which was a new field then), and wrote a detailed letter requesting it and telling his symptoms. It was also denied. My understanding is that he was trying to get more money out of the disability department, it seems.
Then, when he wrote Dianetics, and some fans set up Dianetics groups and he went out doing demonstrations and lectures, he tried to get the American Psychiatric Association to pay attention and give him credibility. He wrote them letters, talked about his groundbreaking "research", and had hoped to become the new Freud or Jung or the rockstar of psychiatry. They investigated and denied him and most of them sort of called what he did pseudoscience and quackery.
THEN, he started coming out with ever-increasing tirades in writing and lectures that basically said that the "psyches" (psychologists and psychiatrists) were evil and out to get them, etc. He went on to say that Dianetics cured so many illnesses that it was taking business and credibility away from them, so they were out to destroy him. His writing and lectures got increasingly anti-psyche over time, leading to the current incarnation.
However, pretty much everyone was out to destroy him, if you ask him.
Those days (around when Scientology was formed, post-Dianetics), he was also on about the communists. He ghost-wrote what he claimed was a communist brainwashing manual and held it up as proof that they were awful - as well as wrote a plethora of letters to the FBI accusing his enemies of being communists (remember McCarthyism and the Red Scare of the 50s/60s?). Many of those people had just wronged him in some way - it's obvious that he was trying to use the FBI and red scare to destroy people he didn't like.
Then the FBI didn't respond as he wanted (they called him something like "unstable" or "unhinged" in internal documents), so they became the enemy.
Of course, by that time, he'd had more accusations about money issues against him. He stole and ran away with and misappropriated money from people like Jack Parsons, some early donors/supporters, and the people running his Dianetics Foundation, among others. Some of those money issues became criminal-ish.
And he'd run afoul of the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) by making claims about what Dianetics and the e-meter could do health-wise (curing cancer, making the blind see, none of it true, of course). So when the FBI didn't listen to him and he was under scrutiny for a bunch of other stuff, the FBI and the government became the enemy. That was part of the advent of the religious cloaking (going from a pop-psychology thing and making it a religion), to decrease government scrutiny in many ways (and avoid taxes).
Basically, this was a man who didn't suffer narcissistic wounds lightly. When someone dismissed him, didn't listen to or believe him, or made him feel "less than", he used his followers as pawns to insult and hurt them (always making himself the persecuted savior).
The "psyches" were only one of his many "I want to be acknowledged by you and be seen as important by you" targets who didn't give him what he craved - admiration and attention.
Go googling around for some of his letters to the FBI and Veteran's Administration and stuff like that, there's lots of very interesting reading.
His hubris also really comes across when the government of Rhodesia was trying to form a new government post-colonialism, and he went and wrote one (some would say badly) and approached some officials (mind you, as an unknown entity, swaggering about with his secretive group and being cagy about who he was) and was like "here, I wrote the constitution for you, you can thank me later". He was incredibly depressed when they were like "who is this guy?" and dismissed him.
There's a great story about him getting two bottles of pink champagne and walking up unannounced to the door of one of the government officials there and rang the doorbell, expecting to sit and have champagne with this official's wife and thereby get his "in" into the government... of course he was turned away there too.
I mean, he approached everyone in that manner - like he expected to have his ring kissed and be granted medals and seen as important. And then when he wasn't, well, that person or entity became his next target.
It's interesting stuff. If you're interested, some of the stories are researched, documented, and told in books like A Piece of Blue Sky, Bare-Faced Messiah - which was recently re-released and is incredibly documented and researched, Going Clear, Inside Scientology. And others, but I think those are the works that are informative, with incredibly researched documentation of claims.
EDIT: Oh, I also forgot that he wrote to the US Government offering his incredible knowledge and research and said that it could solve all their problems, etc. Then, when he didn't get any response after trying mightily hard, he wrote again and threatened to defect to the Soviet Union. He said they'd offered him a sweet sweet deal, with some kind of research position and budget and teaching positions or something, and if the US Government didn't take him up on it he was going to go to the communists with it instead. Of course, that was an empty threat...
He also claimed later, in lectures and stuff, to have worked on the Manhattan Project with the leading scientists, to develop the Atom Bomb. Which was, of course, not true. And he claimed at various times to have worked undercover for the CIA.
Martin lings: Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
Tariq ramadan: In the Footsteps of the Prophet
http://www.amazon.com/Muqaddimah-Introduction-History-Bollingen/dp/0691120544/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1324898349&amp;sr=1-1
http://www.amazon.com/History-God-000-Year-Judaism-Christianity/dp/0345384563/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1
http://www.amazon.com/Islam-History-Modern-Library-Chronicles/dp/081296618X/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_5
I recommend these books:
and Muhammad: A Prophet for Our Time
Side note on Quran translation:
Stay away from
Try:
Misc:
Movie:
I'm sorry you feel that way but you obviously came here and felt the need to say something. If you have questions I am happy to answer for you so that I may shed some light into your darkness.
Edit: I would also like you to notice that you are the only person who is being negative. This community is far more understanding, forgiving and accepting than you realize and I implore you to do some research into what Islam really is. If you would like to check these out
The New Muslim's Field Guide https://www.amazon.com/dp/1981328998/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_OsN1Cb99E8BEQ
The Clear Quran https://www.amazon.com/dp/097730096X/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_ItN1CbGKXHNWW
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad https://www.amazon.com/dp/0195374762/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_PuN1CbMBE7QD9
If you want to really understand what you are making assumptions about DM your information or email I would be happy to send you some information so you may better educate yourself. Then you can formulate an educated opinion.
The Sealed Nectar is one of the most popular.
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources is another one that people like.
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad
You may not like my answer, but in the end it's up to you how you feel about this issue. First let me say that wikiislam is a propaganda islamophobic website. If I were to want information on Christianity, I would ask a Priest or a scholar of Christianity. So please don't read what you find on propaganda websites, some things are outright fabrications, others are taken out of context, others are misattributed etc. etc. So please don't read from those websites, but read from Muslim sources. If you are really sincere in what you say, you can do various things.
Read ''In the Footsteps of the Prophet'' by Dr. Tariq Ramadan, Professor of Contemporary Islamic Studies at Oxford University. He's a Muslim. He's well versed. He writes amazingly.
Read ''Muhammad: Man and Prophet'' by Adil Salahi. Book is somewhat expensive, but just read the top review by 'Mary' and I think that will tell you everything you need to know, haha. A biography on the life of the Prophet SAW! What more would you want!
You can always read the Qur'an - but that can be taken out of context. Muhammad Asad has a great translation of the Qur'an containing many footnotes describing the context of many verses. After all, in a book that was revealed over 23 years every verse has a context of its own.
The issue with all the above is that they cost money.
So in that case here is Dr. Yasir Qadhi's ongoing series about the life of the Prophet Muhammad SAW discussing many many things going on around his life from beginning to end. There are 98 videos and each has 1 hour.. And it's still going, so this can be really time consuming.
In the end I want to say: If you don't have the time to watch the series, or the money to buy and read the books (which are all sourced from Muslim scholars and even then the muslim scholars cite muslim scholars, the companions of the Prophet, and even the Prophet SAW himself) - then please hold your judgement on Muslims and do not let yourself be distracted by anti Islamic sources. To learn about vaccines, we learn from Doctors, not from anti-Vaccination supporters!
Welcome. Namaste. My humble suggestion is in agreement with Plutoid--order the sampler box. Hot yoga certainly doesn't have a corner on the market in being the most beneficial physically. It is on the athletic side, but as is several types of hatha yoga, power yoga etc. And I've been reading that the benefits of the heat tend to be more personal/experiential than scientific.
I'm no gymnast but Vinyasa has been the perfect equilibrium of physicality in postures (asanas), paired with breath strengthening (pranayama). I'd suggest you give it a shot to perfect your breathing, and then move on to the more physically demanding versions.
Re-reading your post, you did enjoy the heat--so my suggestion is to follow that direction if you still prefer it over the other styles, having worked on breath in this evaluative period.
Sidenote, in a very un-yogi-like observation, the founder of Bikram yoga, Bikram Choudhury, has been accused of many wrongdoings over the years. Despite the help and power he's given people over the years, he actually began to copyright his sequence of poses, which amassed him billions of dollars. In addition to his materialistic (and sometimes bizarre) pursuits, he has also been accused of sexual harassment by his disciples and trainees. If I did do hot yoga, I'd rather support a local studio that's not the Bikram brand.
Good luck and enjoy!
PS If you're interested in the spirituality and contemporary history, I highly recommend Autobiography of a Yogi, by Paramhansa Yogananda. He was a Shakespeare merged with a Buddha. Beautiful writing about Hindu yogic spirituality and his journey helping to bring yoga to America in the early 20th century.
Basically, you are not a body. If life after death is still a question, it means that you think you are a body. But there does come a point after which it is not a question, just a fact. You are Spirit.
At that point, your body is a "wholly neutral" thing (see "A Course in Miracles") because its forms aren't positive or negative. Just utilitarian. If you want to go get breakfast at McDonald's, it will help to have two legs. But other than that, you wouldn't be attached to any particular form. Just whatever's useful at the time.
As such, materializing and dematerializing at will would be something that happens without any mystery. Read Autobiography of a Yogi. The Great Babaji is known to materialize and dematerialize in locations as a means of travel. (Much faster than booking with kayak.com.)
Jesus doesn't really seem to materialize, per se, though I have no doubt that he could. Same with Mary. But they do appear to people and have throughout the centuries. Usually to encourage us. (I refer you to "The Great Apparitions of Mary" by Ingo Swann)
And the Babaji actually shows up in different forms (different physical descriptions). Sometimes he has facial hair, sometimes not. He also speaks all languages. (Known to converse with people in their native tongues). Really quite an interesting read. Really ... a must read. Pity it took me so many years to get around to it. It's more Christian than very many modernly-labelled "Christian" books.
The best thing would be for me to point you to where I found out about it. A yogi named Paramahansa Yogananda came to the West in 1920 and wrote the Autobiography of a Yogi which became quite well known and inspired the careers of many well known yoga teachers.
The organization he started explains the classical purpose of yoga here and goes deeper into explaining the eight steps of yoga
Classical yoga has spirituality as its base, which many redditors are allergic to. I was pretty skeptical myself in the beginning, but through the yoga methods they taught I learned to prove to myself the value of these systems in a step-by-step systematic way.
There are a great many yoga paths, but I am linking this one because it worked very well for me.
The Magus of Java by Kosta Danaos
Its a book about very esoteric Taoist energy manipulation disguised as a memoir. It is a gateway.
This is a great book on him!
https://www.amazon.com/Lying-Lord-Paul-Dunn-Stories-ebook/dp/B019JEYNS2
Have you actually read his biography? I bet you haven't.
Shameless plug of his biography.
Some have been indoctrinated from a very young age. I highly recommend Jenna Miscavige-Hill's book for insight into how the CoS manages to control and suppress its members.
I'd just like to take the chance to mention this here
http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Scientology-Americas-Secretive-Religion/dp/B00A7K68UY
This is a really good book explaining in depth all of Dunn's lies.
https://www.amazon.com/Lying-Lord-Paul-Dunn-Stories-ebook/dp/B019JEYNS2/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1487958335&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=paul+h+dunn
What is really telling is that the church hasn't pulled or put a disclaimer on Dunn's conference talks that contained falsehoods.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. You are both probably getting into your college/post HS planning stage, and as smart younguns, would see all the allusions to modern-day life taken to the extreme (and now 10 years after it was published, not so extreme).
Maybe a long shot, but try Margaret Atwood's MaddAdam trilogy? I've read only the first so far Oryx and Crake and it definitely has a story with biology and the cultural impact. Give it a try! It's one of my favorites.
Yes! Margaret Atwood is, in my opinion, one of the modern greats. I suggest Oryx and Crake and The Handmaid's Tale. I think this despite the fact that she insists she doesn't write "science fiction." Who did you read in that course?
Very much agree about Card. :) Speaker for the Dead ftw.
First of all, can I just say how much I love giving and receiving book recommendations? I was a religious studies major in college (and was even a T.A. in the World Religions class) so, this is right up my alley. So, I'm just going to take a seat in front of my book cases...
General:
Christianity:
Judaism:
Islam:
Buddhism:
Taoism:
Atheism:
I did, i've read this one in english in particular. I've heard the one from Karen Armstrong is good too if you want one from someone who isn't a muslim.
I could suggest more complete ones in arabic if you can read it, but the one in the link from Tariq Ramadan is pretty accurate.
I ain't so good at book descriptions but here's some stuff I really enjoyed -
Ready Player One by Ernest Cline: http://www.amazon.com/Ready-Player-One-A-Novel/dp/0307887448
The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi: http://www.amazon.com/The-Windup-Girl-Paolo-Bacigalupi/dp/1597801585
The author would argue with me about this being SF - Atwood prefers the term "speculative history" I believe - but the entire Oryx and Crake trilogy is very good.
http://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676/ref=la_B000AQTHI0_1_2?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1397411558&amp;sr=1-2 the first book in Oryx and Crake, followed by Year of the Flood and Madaddam
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood.
I'm literally reading a book right now with this conceat. It's a fantastic read. I thought it was too technophobic at first, but as it goes on I see how the author may be making some terrifyingly valid points...
Kevin Roose also wrote a book when he was in college where he spent a semester at Liberty University called "The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University". It was really good and an interesting perspective.
A couple of the people involved with The Clergy Project's founding, Daniel C. Dennett and Linda LaScola, published a book called Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind (revised/expanded edition 2015), which might be helpful. It's a synthesis and qualitative analysis of more than 30 current and former pastors (including some seminary students/professors) on their life, struggles and nonbelief. Might be an encouraging read as well.
I just wanted to reach out to Brother Mattson and let him know about all of the other ways that we should be measuring the worth of our lives. Hans has a loving wife, loving children, and an interesting life filled with the best of modern civilization. His hope in Jesus Christ is one of pillars of western civilization. Intellectual integrity is its own reward. It's a gift a man gives himself.
Hans and Birgitta stared down into an eternal abyss ruled by a vindictive god and found a more authentic divinity complete with a hope in Christ they could not find inside the walls of the Frankfurt temple during a Second Anointing. His actions probably were a major contributor to the gospel topic essays, the "Saints" book, and the pants-wetting terror lurking behind the scene among the apostles. The institutional church is no longer poised to convert the whole planet. They are worried about remaining functional in Europe and relevant in the United States.
I will happily buy him a drink if I ever meet Brother Mattson. I suppose the least I can do is buy his book.
> I feel like I get a slight head change when I do it.
That feeling of getting a 'head change' will increase as your bran/mind gets this skill of meditating developed.
The effect can be quite pronounced.
> I do feel as though I have more mental energy and focus after doing this (placebo maybe?).
It's not at all a placebo effect. It comes from the fact that you have made your mind more efficient. Imagine a river that runs silently, so deep and quiet that it doesn't seem to move at all. Then imagine a whitewater stream that is chaotic and wild. Which has more power?
By harmonizing the flow of your mental energy, you stop it being wasted in chaotic patterns, which leaves you much more calm, rested, and energized.
>Eventually if I lose focus with reading will meditating for 10-15 minutes help bring the focus back?
Yes, although taking a light walk and breathing deeply with fresh oxygenated air will help as well.
Also, the meditation breaks will refresh and recharge you as well. After a while you could be surprised with what even a 5 minute meditation can do for you.
Part of what is going on when you are losing focus is that there is an internal conversation happening in your bran about the reading material that eventually takes over and takes you off track. You will find after a few months of continued practice that this conversation will start diminishing leaving you with a focus that will help you retain and remember the material much more efficiently.
>Very pleased with the results I've seen thus far. If you have anything you have read that you found especially helpful in your journey I'd love to have it.
What really got me going in meditation was a set of home-study lessons from an Indian yogi named Paramahansa Yogananda who came to America in the 1930s to teach meditation and internal yoga methods for achieving bliss to westerners.
He wrote the book Autobiography of a Yogi and while It deals with spiritual things, i figured that 'this guy could teach me how to meditate'. So I sent off for the home-study series of lessons he wrote in the science of internal yoga and meditation, and it actually ended up delivering in the promise he made of learning how to get in touch with inner peace and joy.
So that's how I ended up getting so excited about meditation -- essentially using Paramahansa's techiques of meditation I ended up learning to have spiritual experiences on demand. Which is pretty cool. The techniques themselves deal with the breath and so on, and the idea is that when the mind gets quiet enough then you can directly experience the inner bliss that is at the core of your being. What worked for me since I was extremely skeptical is that you can prove everything for yourself by direct experience.
I know you are basically looking for non-spiritual techniques / outlook on meditation, but since you asked, this is the stuff that's been inspiring me, teaching me, and thinking that meditation is the best thing ever.
A great book that connects meditation and spirituality is Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda.
Yoga is actually a science of meditation that allows a person to connect to the highest levels of spirituality -- realizing your essentially unity with all that is.
What we know in the West as "yoga" is mostly the preparatory exercises for making the body strong and healthy to be able to meditate deeply for long periods of time.
So this book is a wonderful introduction to the power of spirituality gained from deep yoga meditation.
This book is what got me started meditating!
If you want to learn more about his practice, I suggest you read a few books written about him by his students.
The Magus of Java
http://www.amazon.com/Magus-Java-Teachings-Authentic-Immortal/dp/0892818131/
Nei Kung
http://www.amazon.com/Nei-Kung-Secret-Teachings-Warrior/dp/0892819073/
There are more video's of Chang on youtube and his top western student Jim McMillan
Video of Jim passing his level 3 test.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKuXuDCPfds
This is an interview with his top western student Jim.
http://www.martialdevelopment.com/blog/five-questions-with-mo-pai-nei-kung-expert/
The Swedish rescue information can be found on mormon think. There is also very good information on this in Hans Mattsson's new book.
I would strongly recommend Tariq Ramadan's "In the Footsteps of the Prophet" to learn about Muhammed's -p- life.
I haven't really looked into teachers in particular, but Stephen Batchelor's books on both his path to secular Buddhism and Secular Buddhism itself are excellent reads. Here and Here
Well if you like Armstrong, she wrote Buddha but this was part of the Penguin short biographies series and that rather restricted her scope. For that and other reasons I didn't much like it (mine is on top if you look at the negative reviews).
Huston Smith's The World's Religions includes Hinduism and Buddhism. It's regarded as a classic. Search Amazon on "history religion" to see many others.
Weeeell, it's quite hard to explain it all in a post on reddit. First of all, Buddhist does not consider Buddha to become or transform into a god.
My advice is to read some book about it. For instance Buddha by Karen Armstrong. It's about the person Buddha rather than his teachings. http://www.amazon.com/Buddha-Penguin-Lives-Biographies-Armstrong/dp/0143034367
Good luck!
Hadith book collections such as Al-Buhkari are basically a collection of hadiths organized topically. It doesn't provide much in the department of context and what rulings can be derived from each hadith. some hadiths were valid for a set period of time for specific circumstances and then the rule changed later. Scholars call this "Al-Nasikh wa al-Mansukh" and it is found in the hadith as well as the Quran.
My point is that books like Al-Buhkari are meant as raw data for scholars who study the context and the reasons and the conclusions of rulings in the hadith. Not for the layman to causally read through.
If you want to read hadiths that are organized for the layman here are a few suggestions from the sidebar:
---
____LIFE OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD____
---
---
____HADITH/SUNNAH____
---
^^credit ^^for ^^preparing ^^the ^^list ^^goes ^^to ^^/u/LIGHTNlNG
^
Incoherence of Philosopher- Al Gazali
The Road To Makkah - Muhammad Asad
In the Footsteps of the Prophet-Tariq Ramdan
Musnavi-Rumi
The Burda of Al Busiri
Islamic Caliphate - Shah Wali Ullah
The First Book separates the subject of philosophy and religion very well, the second is an excellent biography of a journey of man to Islam, Third book is a very good start to know about the prophet, fourth and fifth are very beautiful 100 level Sufi books, The last book does a very good job in explaining what an Islamic Empire actually is.
Ustadh Nouman Ali Khan recommends this book to get a better understanding of the linguistics in the Qur'an.
I recommend this book of sirah to get better acquainted with Islam and its origins. Very easy reading.
I just read this book, Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist.
It talks a lot about many of the questions you have asked, and reads as an anecdotal account of one seekers journey as well as attempts to frame historical buddah. The opening story about meeting a Buddhist monk much revered for his ability to control the weather sets the book up nicely.
"Charting his journey from hippie to monk to lay practitioner, teacher, and interpreter of Buddhist thought, Batchelor reconstructs the historical Buddha’s life, locating him within the social and political context of his world. In examining the ancient texts of the Pali Canon, the earliest record of the Buddha’s life and teachings, Batchelor argues that the Buddha was a man who looked at human life in a radically new way for his time, more interested in the question of how human beings should live in this world than in notions of karma and the afterlife. According to Batchelor, the outlook of the Buddha was far removed from the piety and religiosity that has come to define much of Buddhism as we know it today.
Both controversial and deeply personal, Confession of a Buddhist Atheist is a fascinating exploration of a religion that continues to engage the West. Batchelor’s insightful, deeply knowledgeable, and persuasive account will be an essential book for anyone interested in Buddhism."
edited for quote.
Compare Brunner's epic The Sheep Look Up with Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. (If Sheep Look Up proves to hard to find reasonably, substitute Shockwave Rider, also by Brunner.)
Or, if you're feeling really froggy compare Mark Twain's Letters From the Earth with one of his more popularly acceptable works like Huck Finn or Tom Sawyer.
Check out Oryx and Crake by Margret Atwood.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood, if you haven't read it. One of my favorites.
A few somewhat different fantasies, with some scifi -
Roger Zelazny's Nine Princes in Amber
Jasper Fforde's [Shades of Grey] (http://www.amazon.com/Shades-Grey-Novel-Jasper-Fforde/dp/0143118587/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1449631553&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=fforde)
Margaret Atwood's [Oryx and Crake] (http://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1449631735&amp;sr=1-5&amp;keywords=Margaret+atwood)
John Crowley's [Little, Big] (http://www.amazon.com/Little-Big-John-Crowley/dp/0061120057/ref=sr_1_3?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1449632089&amp;sr=1-3&amp;keywords=little%2C+big)
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0399590501/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_U2YRDbGHNTMZY
I picked one of the top sellers at random, the hardcover is a dollar cheaper than the ebook. Nearly every book I’ve bought over the last year was more expensive digitally.
Doesn’t directly answer your question but check out “Educated” by Tara Westover. Great read, she also left home to pursue education and could be a source of inspiration for you
If you read this book, it will give you a better experience and explanation of it.
Scientologist are crazy. Read this book
Day 4:
I finished everything I had set out to do yesterday, which I haven't done for what feels like forever. I picked up Many Lives, Many Masters at the recommendation of my wife. Really good book! I'm about halfway through it now, should finish either today or tomorrow.
See, now this is the crazy thing. It's been 4 days since I've made the conscious effort to really be better, and actually started putting in the effort that something like that deserves. I've already exceeded my initial post by more than honestly I would have thought possible. I'm almost done two books in four days. I haven't read two books in a single month probably since I was about 12, let alone a week!
Started on a site called nowloss.com after reading about their "Jumping Jack Workout" on Lifehacker. I love it. It's so unbelievably simple, but at the same time extremely challenging. Pretty happy with how I feel after working out for the past few days. I decided I should probably keep a picture log. I'm not going to post it in these updates, but I think it'd be motivating all the same to have for myself.
There is a book called Many Life Many Masters by Brian L. Weiss, where he speaks about his time as a clinical psychologist where he had a young troubled patient, he uses regression therapy to make her experience her past lives and that way overcome her issues.
It is pretty interesting even if you don't believe in reincarnation. There are also several youtube videos that teach you how to go step by step through the regression process. There are other books, you would have to find them on Amazon so you can buy them.
Not referral link btw.
Not from this sub, but a collection of true stories from hypnotherapists on exactly this topic can be found in books by Brian Weiss and Michael Newton. I highly recommend starting with Many Lives, Many Masters since it's easy to read and sort of the "gateway drug" to this whole world. Michael Newton's books, like Journey of Souls, go into far more detail (and include word-for-word transcripts from dozens upon dozens of his therapy sessions).
This is fascinating to me because the general premise of both these books (as well as many others by other legitimate hypnotherapists who have put clients "under" to the point where they could access past lives as well as lives between lives) is exactly what's quoted in the short excerpts in OP's post: we are spirits living in imperfect and irrational human bodies, and our entire experience on this planet is essentially so we can learn and grow as spirits. In fact these books indicate that Earth (and our human experience) is a more "advanced" or "accelerated" school for spirits (and more difficult as a result).
All of this stuff fascinates me because the story is so consistent among all these therapists who have had first-hand experience with clients "tapping" into this world and among all the anecdotal stories on subs like this.
I read the title and came to say this: I lost my mother to prescription-pill suicide when I was 15. She was also a closet drinker. It was the coldest day of the world when we buried her.
You do, indeed, 'move on'. But, from experience I can tell you, it shapes you, the loss does. Whether you will it so or not. But it does not define you. Losing a parent young, being wounded...it's tough, and what I found is that I was fine, like, for a year or more, and then I would break down over something maudlin, but, I always knew what was the driver of those tears.
Dad died of a heart attack seven years later.
It took me far too long to realize what had happened to me. It will likely be the same for you. Ten, twenty years or more afterward, you have a revelation. But before that, we just can't see it.
First, he's right there with you. Dad's still on duty, he just got promoted. I found I could, in quiet moments, talk to my Dad and sometimes I would hear an answer. I knew I was OK when I started hearing good advice I didn't want to take.
[This book took away my fear of death[(https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860) and taught me a bunch of stuff.
I wish you Peace.
Autobiography of a Yogi - While not mind altering, it gave me a new perspective on things I would have initially labeled as quackery.
The Believing Brain by David Shermer - explains the mechanics of why we believe in the things we do without any critical examination especially on topics like religion, politics, ghosts, and conspiracy theories.
Awareness by Osho - Osho might have been a controversial personality, but some of his writings were brilliant and refreshing. This book blew me away and provoked me to live life more consciously and with greater deliberation.
The Freedom of Choice by Tom Chalko - Simple but powerful read (only 100 pages)
A physics-guru friend of mine recommends this three-pronged punch: In Search of Schrödinger's Cat, The Tao of Physics, and Autobiography of a Yogi. Haven't gotten to the third one yet myself, but the first two were quite excellent.
this is a classic? http://www.amazon.com/Autobiography-Yogi-Paramahansa-Yogananda/dp/0876120834
I can point you to the book that launched my exploration of that third level -- it's called "Autobiography of a Yogi" by Paramahansa Yogananda.
It was written in the '40s and has been a bestseller ever since. It's about the life of this guy who used techniques of meditation to get to that higher level of life, and who brought techniques of how to do that to the West.
I started using those techniques, and they worked wonderfully - it was direct proof, and although I had to put in effort, I could prove to myself whether it was really true through my own experiences (rather than having to rely on others).
If you want to talk to more people like me you can probably find them through centers you can find on this website. If you can make it down to Southern California there are some amazing places, and they have monastics there who are pretty amazing themselves. It's basically people who have dedicated their lives to focusing on this pure goodness that they have learned to find within themselves, through calming the mind so that it stops obscuring that internal "sun" of goodness.
If you find my words helpful I am happy to keep discussing it with you -- I understand how challenging life can be, and don't know what I would do without this stuff.
But it doesn't have to be this particular path -- it's like the way that many people find music healing. Any type of music can heal, as long it helps bring a connection with that level of life that healing comes from. Jazz, Classical, Soul, even Metal -- it can all be healing, as long as there is an artist that is in touch with that healing source, then they can channel it through their music. So there are also different paths to that healing level of life, and they all have different names, but they can all be channels to that level, or not, just as not all music is healing. But the wonderful thing is that when you find something that works, it can be a tremendously rich source of good things.
I don't really like the other book recommendations in here (no comment on Livia Kohn's book, never seen it). None have very clear instructions or progressions.
Opening The Dragon Gate is an entertaining introduction into the practices - it's a biography of one of the practitioners. That lineage has a book out with specific practices and it has a comically long name.
While I think the lineage sucks, John Chang - Magus of Java - is very interesting. They don't accept students, so don't fall in love with this one. I found out about this lineage form this video. Take it with some grains of salt.
I think those are pretty solid representations of the practices. Mantak Chia is kind of new age, senior citizen practices.
----
You asked about specific practices though and I just gave you a list of books. So I'll try to address your actual question.
The main practice is meditation. Different schools have different meditations. Some of them are steeped in ritual, some are pretty bare bones.
Exercises refer to qigong and martial arts. Qigong is best understood as holding stances, focusing on breathing, and energy.
As for diets, Taoists traditionally abstain from grains. I know the esoteric justification for this, but it's hard to explain without defining a lot of terminology. I pass it off as a bit of dogma - even though I eat gluten free for other reasons. The gist of it though, not eating grains makes your mind more clear and makes you more balanced mentally and emotionally.
Sexual exercises are something popularized by Mantak Chia through a few books. I don't think it is inline with real Taoism. Most the hard core Taoists go celibate for some time to benefit their practice.
----
The theory behind all the practice is that they wish to change physical energy (jing), to energy (chi), and energy to spirit (shen) - through energetic practices, mainly meditation. They believe strengthening their spirit will allow them to attain consciousness after death and continue their practices, refining their spirit and reaching higher planes. They believe that without these practices you are continually shuffled through a cycle of reincarnation.
Basically, they go for a promotion in the spirit world.
Hope this helps.
links for the lazy... The Magus of Java. It's an entertaining and convincing read for sure. Also this youtube video is of the fellow described in the book. He lights paper on fire with his bare hands at around 2 and a half minutes in.
> I've never even heard of Mopai. What is it, what do people claim about it,etc.
Check out this book.
Then go to youtube and search for "John Chang".
So supposedly mopai is the name of a Daoist lineage from China, although John Chang himself doesn't live in China according to the stories. If this is even a real lineage, it's got to be very obscure, because I've never heard of it before the whole John Chang hoopla.
Look at the traditional list of the Daoist sects:
http://www.shangrala.org/father/RELIGIONS/8Taoism/Sects.html
Here's another article:
http://www.chinaculture.org/library/2008-02/04/content_24899.htm
Mopai isn't mentioned. That doesn't mean mopai is certainly not real, btw. China is famous for its secretive clans who may hold secret lineages that are unknown outside the family. But... there is plenty of room to doubt that mopai is even real because it doesn't appear to be a well-known Daoist sect, if it is anything.
The reason everyone went crazy for John Chang and mopai is because of how seemingly real his super-powers are. Lots of people believe that the video footage is 100% genuine and they believe that all the things you see in the video are real.
Of course there are other amazing videos, like the guy who presses a rotating drill to his head on Stan Lee's superhumans (or say Vim Hof's videos), but for whatever reason I think people really took to John Chang's videos because they are the most flashy videos in terms of supernormal powers.
So ever since the book came out and the videos, some people just can't remain calm anymore. They're so excited about it that they've gone berserk.
Muhammed: How he can make you extraordinary
The Productive Muslim - Where Faith Meets Productivity
Dua, Weapon of the Believers
Revive Your Heart: Putting Life in Perspective
The Art of War
Khadija: The First Muslim and Wife of the Prophet Muhammed
Muhammed: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
Dua's for success in this world and the next, over 100 Duas
Fortress of a Muslim
Reclaim your heart
These are some of the books I have at the moment and I highly recommend them after reading them. I am waiting on a few more books but a lot are non Islamic but still really useful [:
Edit: Like this
Mark "Marty" Rathbun (righthand man) and Jenna Miscavige (leader's niece) have both written books. Miscavige's was recently a NY Times Bestseller, and isn't bad at all. It's really kind of a sad book. I haven't read Rathbun's book.
[What is wrong with Scientology - Rathbun] (http://www.amazon.com/What-Wrong-With-Scientology-ebook/dp/B008EMF628)
[Beyond Belief: My Secret Life Inside Scientology and My Harrowing Escape - Miscavige] (http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Belief-Scientology-Harrowing-ebook/dp/B008XOJ7C2/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1368198556&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=miscavige)
Marty provided a lot of info for [this Tampa Bay Times Time Scientology series] (http://www.tampabay.com/specials/2009/reports/project/).
Read Inside Scientology and Jenna Miscavige's (The niece of the current leader David Miscavige) Beyond Belief. I was curious and recently read these and they blew my mind. How this is still happening in the U.S. is insane. I would recommend Inside Scientology first to get a background on all of their beliefs and terminology. They have their own jargon that is incomprehensible to anyone not in the group. Jenna's story tells about her life growing up inside the Sea Org and how she had to escape. Before reading this I had no idea that they were holding people captive and using child labor. It is a very interesting subject to learn about, especially since no one ever talks about it.
I can recommend the new Dunn biography, "Lying for the Lord." https://www.amazon.com/Lying-Lord-Paul-Dunn-Stories-ebook/dp/B019JEYNS2
Prayer is very comforting. I do not believe in a traditional "God" and hate organized religions. I have experience 2 deaths (my parents) being with them 24/7 in their final days. I am convinced there is something more. After one death I started reading Elisabeth Kubler Ross, on death and dying, trying to understand what that something is. In one of her lectures to a room full of doctors and scientist she recommended a book by a psychiatrist Brian Weiss, Many Lives Many Masters. This book is a true story of his experience. It really changed my life and gave me a whole new perspective on what is possible. Also another true story book he wrote is amazing too , Only Love is Real. http://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1453817211&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=many+lives+many+masters+brian+weiss
I personally prefer:
Translation: http://www.amazon.com/The-Quran-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535957
Book on Prophet (pbuh) life: http://www.amazon.com/Muhammad-Man-Prophet-Adil-Salahi/dp/0860373223/
Insha'Allah, the above two should suffice.
India is definitely the place for that! I am born in the US but visited India in my college years when I was getting interested in spirituality. I am blessed that I had some strong experiences in the US and had a few in India. You can take that as confirmation that you are on the right path. You are right, they will just happen when you least expect it. Sometimes I get experiences like deja-vu, but I just take it as a confirmation that I am where I am supposed to be. I had a few amazing ones that really pushed me into spiritual life as well.
When I was getting interested in spirituality I was a big fan of Paramahamsa Yogananda's Autobiography of a Yogi. A classic from earlier in this century. This is maybe off topic, but when I was visiting Kurukshetra I had a sadhu stop me on the road and wanted to show me things and then asked for money. He actually changed a rock into some sugar candy in front of me. I thought "OK whatever, he did some slight of hand". Then he had me pick up a rock in my own hand, close his hand over mine, then chanted a mantra and it turned into sugar rock candy within my closed fist. I ate it. I had read about those things in the Paramahamsa Yogananda book and it was happening. He then asked for money and wasn't happy with how much I gave. He opened his shirt and showed me scars and said he had been doing a lot of austerities!
An interesting experience. I eventually read more of Shrila Prabhupada's books and settled in as a Hare Krishna devotee. Shrila Prabhupada and even Paramahamsa Yogananda explained that those sort of mystic powers are not the end goal of self-realization.
This is also a great book, this person is still alive and has written an amazing tale of his travels from the US around the world in search of God. How he ends up in Himalayas living amongst the yogis and then meets his guru.
The Journey Home
The authors site: http://www.thejourneyhomebook.com/
Do you like fantasy stories? The Gita is actually just one chapter in India's greatest epic, the Mahabharata. It's an amazing story, and gives a great cultural background for Hinduism. Hindu's other epic, the Ramayana, is also lauded by many. I actually just began reading it recently.
Hindu's purest (and probably the world's longest) treatise on non-duality is the book at the very top of the bookshelf, Vasistha's Yoga. It's intense, so if you are just beginning, it's probably not the best intro to Hindu thought.
The most ancient written roots of pure Hinduism are found in the Upanishads. Eknath Eswaran's introduction and commentary are sublime.
A more modern, yet just as mystical take on Hinduism is The Autobiography of a Yogi.
Autobiography of a Yogi - Paramahansa Yogananda
The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali - Swami Satchidananda
The Yoga Teachers' Toolbox - Le Page
The Essence of the Bhagavad Gita: Explained by Paramhansa Yogananda, As Remembered By His Disciple, Swami Kriyananda
Ohh I got some goodies for ya, Hermann Hesse is amazing and opened me up to many books.
3)Another with a similar feel as Siddhartha The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
So these top 3 are the "closest" to Siddartha that I've read. You will defintely like the top 3, they are amazing books with such fundamental truths told through a story. All easy to read and similiar in length.
These next 4 are just suggested for anyone that is into these types of books, I would almost guarantee that you will love them! They are just less "story" like. The Autobiography is an amazing read, and is indeed a story but it's non-fiction. The Way of Zen is just a beautiful book, but is not a fiction along with the Bhagavad and The Monk Who Sold His Ferrari (The author actually suggests Siddhartha in it!)
Paramahansa Yogananda
5)And his translation of The Bhagavad Gita
6)Good ol' Allan Watts The Way of Zen
Enjoy my friend!
I recommend checking out Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramahansa Yogananda if anything it was entertaining to read and helped me look at things differently :)
Autobiography of a Yogi
You should read this book
It's considered the definitive modern biography of Aleister Crowley.
http://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Revised-Expanded-Edition-Aleister/dp/1556438990
This book would seem to match your interests...
https://www.amazon.com/Caught-Pulpit-Leaving-Belief-Behind/dp/1634310209
To my knowledge, http://clergyproject.org is not associated with Richard Dawkins. It's history mainly involves Daniel C. Dennett and Dan Barker. Not only is it anonymous, but to join the community, you must directly contact the people who run it. They confidentially work with the applicant to prove they are indeed a member of clergy to prevent infiltrators who would join just to seek the identities of those involved.
EDIT: I also highly recommend Caught in the Pulpit. This is a book produced by Daniel C Dennett and Linda LaScola. They took the stories of pastors who are stuck just like your pastor friend. If nothing else he will find himself in the pages of that book and realize he isn't alone.
I started (and finished in like 24hrs) Beyond Belief which is a memoir of David Miscavige's niece growing up in Scientology. If you liked Going Clear, it has a lot of the same stuff. Reading/learning about the CoS makes me feel icky but I'm also morbidly fascinated by it so yeah stayed up til 2am on Christmas reading it
I'm also trying to get myself to read more short stories, so I bought The Best American Short Stories book. It's good! I always get sad because I want to live with the characters longer than a short story allows me to haha.
I also recently read Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World -- somehow totally missed the Murakami cultural movement -- so I'm considering starting 1Q84 but it's daunting. For now, I'm trying to restart Infinite Jest for like the fourth time (although actually getting somewhere now!).
Also also earlier this year I read Salinger and I fell even more in love with him/his stuff than I already was so I'm now working my way (slowly) through his whole oeuvre of short stories and whatnot.
Buddha by Karen Armstrong is quite good. Non-fiction though, don't know if that's what you were looking for, as vanishingstar said.
You should read the Qur'an. That might help increase your faith. Also, read about Imam Ali (a.s) the son of Prophet Muhammad (Peace be upon him and his progeny). There is a good book called "In the footsteps of the Prophet (a.s)". You can look it up to see how our Prophet lived. Also look up the Nahjul Balagha, or "Peak of Eloquence" which is about Imam Ali (a.s). This book has strengthened countless people's faith in God. There is a hadiths which I roughly translate saying "If I am the city of knowledge, then Ali is the gate".
We are translating from Arabic to English, so if anything upsets you please send me a message. I have come across bad translations, and passages which need clarification. That said, this is my favorite English Qur'an, because it is so well translated, and it's language is not Old-English.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Quran-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535957
This is a free online link to the Nahjul Balagha. I have not read it, but I do have two copies of this book with different publishers. One of them slanders Imam Ali (a.s), because of the terrible printing job they did. Know that this man did not commit any sins, because he is a part of the household of the Prophet that was purified by God. This is a major event, and you can research it. Tell me if there are errors, and I can try to send you a better link InshaAllah. I highly recommend going to the sayings, and then going back to the lessons.
http://www.al-islam.org/nahjul/index.htm
Again Arabic can be poorly translated, and context is often left out in these quotes. For ex. There is a saying where he compares women to scorpions. I told my friend, and he told me it meant bad women, and not all women. ( phew )
http://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Prophet-Lessons-Life-Muhammad/dp/0195374762/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1372348452&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=tariq+ramadan
This book is pretty clear, and is also popular. The guy is an excellent translator.
I really liked the book In the Footsteps of the Prophet to read up on stories of the Prophet and his mission
Yes, I do!
The 3 best ones that I have ever seen are:
The Sealed Nectar
Muhammad: His Life Based On The Earliest Sources
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad
The last one is by Tariq Ramadan. It would probably be the easiest one to digest/read for someone not too familiar with Islam or Muhammad peace be upon him.
(courtesy of /u/lightnlng):
Check what you like from this list of Resources. I recommend starting with the Quran and a biography of prophet Muhammad (pbuh). If you want books, these ones are popular:
----
Introduction book to Islam:
-----
Some popular videos on YouTube:
You asked for everything really, but here is a selection I personally like that is more focused on the biography of Muhammad.
For Muslim books on the biography of the Prophet, I highly recommend:
A Biography of the Prophet of Islam: In the Light of the Original Sources, an Analytical Study
In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad
Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
On the more academic side of his life and following centuries, I recommend:
Muhammad: A Very Short Introduction
Hadith: Muhammad's Legacy in the Medieval and Modern World
In God's Path: The Arab Conquests and the Creation of an Islamic Empire
The Death of a Prophet: The End of Muhammad's Life and the Beginnings of Islam
For the four best primary sources of his biography translated into English:
The Life of Muhammad: Al-Waqidi's Kitab al-Maghazi
The Life of the Prophet Muhammad: Al-Sira al-Nabawiyya
The Life of Muhammad
The Expeditions: An Early Biography of Muhammad
Don't forget "In the Footsteps of the Prophet: Lessons from the Life of Muhammad" by Tariq Ramadan.
Salam Brother, I recommand Abdel Haleem translation of the Qur'an (Oxford World's Classics). I believe it's the best translation. The footnotes gives you the context and additional info about the verses.
I also recommand reading the autobiography of the Prophet, the best one I read so far is Tariq Ramadan's : In the Footsteps of the Prophet
&#x200B;
May God make things easy for you
Buddhism to me is more like a practice than a religion itself.
My Islamic civilization lecturer once brought this up in the class "The true Buddhism doesn't believe in god".
Anyway, I'm not a good debater but you can read this book to find out more.
I mean it in the sense that I agree with the general teachings and philosophies of Buddhism (4 noble truths, 8-fold noble path, interdependence, impermanence, etc.); but don't believe in the "organized religion" aspect of it or some of the metaphysical stuff that happens in the sutras.
Maybe "Buddhist Atheist" is redundant - but I was introduced to the term from:
http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1292871808&amp;sr=8-1-spell
Hope this helps to clarify
Yep, atheistic Buddhism.
Stephen Batchelor was excellent on Reasonable Doubts:
http://doubtreligion.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/episode-73-confession-of-buddhist.html
He wrote a book:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527063
> I will not define Buddhism in any way
There's a wide range, apparently. The more dogma and lack of evidence involved the less I like it. There's nothing fundamentally wrong with trying to achieve inner peace, learning about your own consciousness, and all that.
Thinking I might learn something, I recently added Confession of a Buddhist Atheist to my wish list.
you mentioned being a fangirl; i've been reading some amazing, recent sci fi works written by women authors lately, maybe you'd find them interesting? all 3 of these are among the absolute best sci fi i've ever read:
the time traveller's wife by audrey niffenegger
^ forget about the movie, the book is fantastic
oryx and crake by margaret atwood
^ nice and dark
lilith's brood by octavia e. butler
^ amazon reviews calls it "profoundly evocative, sensual -- and disturbing", which sums it up pretty well
Hmmm. I JUST got the Maddadam trilogy (delivered on Sunday by Amazon, huh?), so I'm beginning Oryx & Crake by Margaret Atwood today. I also got Issue 49 of Lightspeed, the "Women Destroy Science Fiction" special edition, but that may be a choice for another time. I'd rather focus on the book than the controversy.
Open to suggestions, what's on your short list?
This was almost super hard for me until I thought about my grandmother and aunts. My mom is a distant mom. I feel like it is hard to explain in a few short sentences. She never seemed involved in my life. She was very much all about herself. My grandmother did a lot to raise me when I was a small child, well up until 4th grade and then times when I really needed her. My 3 aunts have always been there to bond with me over my moms actions. They help me realize that it isn't me, it is her. This can be hard when you think you aren't worth the love/time because your own mother doesn't want to be involved. I still struggle with those feelings in other areas. I'm glad you had a mom you can be proud of, and I'm sorry for your loss <3
Everyone in my family loves books :)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385721676/ref=cm_sw_r_udp_awd_.5Jhtb0PA280C
Hey Bean!
I have really liked the maddaddam trilogy.. the third book comes out this september!
Also if you dont mind YA.. you might want to try the Birthmarked trilogy or the Divergent trilogy! =)
Oryx and Crake
It really is an awesome book.
I'm reposting something I posted a couple of years ago:
Well, perhaps the most famous recent post-apocalyptic novel was McCarthy's The Road. Quite a bleak book, and very characteristic of McCarthy's spartan prose, this became a huge international best seller and a successful Hollywood movie. I certainly recommend it, but it's not really an uplifting book and has several confronting scenes. Still, very good.
The other obvious recent "literary" PA novels would be Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake" trilogy. They start with Oryx and Crake, are followed by Year of the Flood and conclude with MaddAddam. These are very good books with strong feminist and ecological themes (a good thing!). Highly recommended.
The Dog Stars is yet another recent PA novel which garnered a fair bit of praise (I picked it up after hearing a segment on the novel on NPR's Fresh Air). I enjoyed it, despite the cliched "Survivalist" aspects and occasional far-fetched coincidences. A good, fun read; especially if you're a dog lover. :)
Other recommended titles (which I won't link to directly for time reasons) include Justin Cronin's The Passage trilogy (kind of a mash up between post apocalypse and horror), Stephen King's The Stand (ditto), A Canticle for Leibowitz, Earth Abides and Alas Babylon (the triptych of classics of the genre).
Good luck. I love these books even though I'm a positive optimistic guy! :)
EDIT: I overlooked Lucifer's Hammer by Larry Niven (fun, action packed but accused by some of racist undertones), The Postman by David Brin (so so so very much better than the movie it spawned. So much better), The Year of the Plague by someone I forgot (rather original PA novel with nano-technology rearing its head) and even Blood Music by Greg Bear (though most people consider this full on science fiction, it does feature an apocalypse... or a sort. :)
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
Since then, I've thought of (or read) a few more. Perhaps one of the most famous is Station Eleven. It garnered a fair bit of media attention and mainstream critical acclaim a couple of years ago. It's a bit of a slow burner, and whilst it's not my favourite post-apocalyptic novel, it's certainly worth picking up. The Girl with All the Gifts was a recent hit. Set in the UK, it tells the story of a band of British scientists and soldiers searching for remaining survivors, as they bring along a very strange and very dangerous survivor of the recent plague. It's great fun and was made into a movie recently. I believe the author recently published a sequel (The Boy on the Bridge?), but I haven't read this.
Wastelands is a collection of short-stories. Some really good stuff here, and if you're not feeling up to a full length novel or comptemplating the end of humanity, it's well worth a look.
Let me know if you want more. It's a favourite genre of mine. :)
Orxy and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Read it my senior year of high school for a random book group. It was awesome!
Faulker wrote:
> "Read, read, read. Read everything -- trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it.
That said: I'd recommend Margaret Atwood's Oryx and Crake. It's a fun story, and she represents several different styles of English writing and speech between the different characters.
This may not be what you're looking for but its along the same line:
Oryx and Crake
It's a post-apocalyptic novel that takes place in a world destroyed by bioengineering.
Okay - then to start, I will recommend Oryx and Crake and Year of the Flood, both by Margaret Atwood. They're part of a trilogy, the third book is due out this fall. Atwood defines them as speculative fiction; they're set in the not-to-distant future, and follow the downfall of civilization. I like Year of the Flood better, but both are pretty awesome.
For fantasy, I really like The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay. It's a blend of celtic mythology, fantasy, and arthurian legend. Some people don't like that it's basically an homage to LOTR, but it's one of my absolutely alll-time favourites.
For YA dystopian fiction, I'd suggest Divergent and Insurgent - also a trilogy, not sure when the third one is due out, off-hand.
One of my favourite sci-fi series is Phule's Company and the following books, by Robert Asprin. I also love Time Scout by him and Linda Evans. His writing is ridiculously clever and witty, and he's one of last century's greatest writers, in my opinion.
And finally, I love anything by Terry Pratchett - his Discworld series is amazing. So very very British and hilarious.
I would have to think about it, since a lot of those incidents don't come readily to my mind (no surprise, I've tried to forget about most of it). It's less about individual events I remember and more about the overall experience that what the extreme Christians say among themselves is much different than what they say in public.
This is the reason that documentaries like Jesus Camp are so shocking to people on the "outside", I think. It's a look behind the curtain at what these people are like when they think they're among their own.
This article is more about the neo-conservative movement than Christianity, but the two are very connected, and this article demonstrates the amount of crazy they throw around in private.
A book called The Unlikely Disciple is also a really good look at the crazy that goes on behind the scenes. I would highly recommend it if you want to understand what the evangelical movement is like from the inside. It's a fairly accurate depiction of the world that my family used to live in.
The Unlikely Disciple
boom. Great book.
I am almost done with the book, "Inside Scientology." It's a great read if this is something you are interested in.
Ah, I was going to say if you were, I was told this book is the best one out there about Scientology.
How about a Book if you are interested. Or you can Wiki it.
basically, it is a "religion" that is based on hogwash that you have been brainwashed and not remember your past life-s. And that we are created from aliens...Well, just the delusions of a charismatic mad man. The funny thing is how they treat their followers. Which include, brainwashing, beating, spying, abuse, torture etc...and that's to their own, not the people who are against them. Very very interesting on their Modus Operandi but it gets dark very fast. i spend some time reading about them out of curiosity but i had to noped the fuck out before i go mad.
Start with this one: God and the Afterlife: The Groundbreaking New Evidence for God and Near-Death Experience https://www.amazon.com/dp/0062279556/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_vxgSBbC82834X
And when you’re ready for it, go on to this one: Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671657860/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RzgSBbJ4CQSWD
Then this one: Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives https://www.amazon.com/dp/1567184855/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_RygSBbAD9C961
I don't know man, it's too complicated for me. Did you read many lives many masters?
Read this book and you'll confirm that you're right. Fortunately for some scientologists, it's a temporary insanity. These lucky ones regain their sanity and get the fuck out.
Buddha by Karen Armstrong. A good short guide to what's known about his life, and what he actually taught (as opposed to what all the successive generations of Buddhist sects have been teaching).
Most of the Pali Canon is in the form of the Buddha responding to one question or challenge or another, so you can sort of infer a personality from much of that.
I enjoyed Karen Armstrong's book Buddha which tries to paint a picture of what the actual Buddha may have been like by placing him in his correct historical and sociological context as an ascetic wanderer, philosopher and teacher on the Gangetic Plain of 2,500 years ago.
I really enjoy the book ‘Buddha’ by Karen Armstrong.
It’s less a history about Buddhism, but more a micro-history about the founder of Buddhism.
I’m not sure if it’s what you’re looking for though, because Armstrong freely acknowledges that the biography doesn’t match up to modern standards of historical biography. There’s just not enough to go on, and the myths can’t be untangled from what history remains. Still, it’s probably one of the best sources you can get on this particular topic from a neutral POV.
I really liked this one: Buddha by Karen Armstrong. She gets some of the key inflections in the story right. It is not a good book for learning the Dharma, but some of the things she said in her account are things that I recall when I'm thinking about how to practice, and that's saying a lot.
The movie Little Buddha also had a very nice rendition of the Buddha's life story, although it wasn't the main focus of the movie, and I wouldn't consider it complete.
Under Buddhism, yes, this is generally the belief followed. However, I believe that OP was specifically asking about historical substance relating to the buddha called Siddartha Gotama.
Personally, I would reccomend Karen Armstrong's book on his life, as it provides very well-consolidated insights into the world that we presume Siddartha came from. Unfortunately, I don't remember any of the texts I've read well enough to provide much more insight than that.
EDIT: Apparently Karen Armstrong is less popular than I had anticipated. I wasn't aware of this.
Well, I think Zen Koans are different than Buddha stories. Here are a few Koans - then are usually short stories and illustrations that force you to consider truth and meaning and reality and face your doubt.
A Buddha story is usually a longer account of an event that illustrates a deeper meaning, like this:
>The Buddha was sitting under a tree talking to his disciples when a man came and spit on his face. He wiped it off, and he asked the man, “What next? What do you want to say next?” The man was a little puzzled because he himself never expected that when you spit on somebody’s face, he will ask, “What next?” He had no such experience in his past. He had insulted people and they had become angry and they had reacted. Or if they were cowards and weaklings, they had smiled, trying to bribe the man. But Buddha was like neither, he was not angry nor in any way offended, nor in any way cowardly. But just matter-of-factly he said, “What next?” There was no reaction on his part.
>Buddha’s disciples became angry, they reacted. His closest disciple, Ananda, said, “This is too much, and we cannot tolerate it. He has to be punished for it. Otherwise everybody will start doing things like this.”
>Buddha said, “You keep silent. He has not offended me, but you are offending me. He is new, a stranger. He must have heard from people something about me, that this man is an atheist, a dangerous man who is throwing people off their track, a revolutionary, a corrupter. And he may have formed some idea, a notion of me. He has not spit on me, he has spit on his notion. He has spit on his idea of me because he does not know me at all, so how can he spit on me?
>“If you think on it deeply,” Buddha said, “he has spit on his own mind. I am not part of it, and I can see that this poor man must have something else to say because this is a way of saying something. Spitting is a way of saying something. There are moments when you feel that language is impotent: in deep love, in intense anger, in hate, in prayer. There are intense moments when language is impotent. Then you have to do something. When you are angry, intensely angry, you hit the person, you spit on him, you are saying something. I can understand him. He must have something more to say, that’s why I’m asking, “What next?”
>The man was even more puzzled! And Buddha said to his disciples, “I am more offended by you because you know me, and you have lived for years with me, and still you react.”
>Puzzled, confused, the man returned home. He could not sleep the whole night. When you see a Buddha, it is difficult, impossible to sleep again the way you used to sleep before. Again and again he was haunted by the experience. He could not explain it to himself, what had happened. He was trembling all over and perspiring. He had never come across such a man; he shattered his whole mind and his whole pattern, his whole past.
>The next morning he was back there. He threw himself at Buddha’s feet. Buddha asked him again, “What next? This, too, is a way of saying something that cannot be said in language. When you come and touch my feet, you are saying something that cannot be said ordinarily, for which all words are a little narrow; it cannot be contained in them.” Buddha said, “Look, Ananda, this man is again here, he is saying something. This man is a man of deep emotions.”
>The man looked at Buddha and said, “Forgive me for what I did yesterday.”
>Buddha said, “Forgive? But I am not the same man to whom you did it. The Ganges goes on flowing, it is never the same Ganges again. Every man is a river. The man you spit upon is no longer here. I look just like him, but I am not the same, much has happened in these twenty-four hours! The river has flowed so much. So I cannot forgive you because I have no grudge against you.”
>“And you also are new. I can see you are not the same man who came yesterday because that man was angry and he spit, whereas you are bowing at my feet, touching my feet. How can you be the same man? You are not the same man, so let us forget about it. Those two people, the man who spit and the man on whom he spit, both are no more. Come closer. Let us talk of something else.”
I don't really have a source for these stories, I just try to collect them when I see them. I usually just get books on Buddhism and read them, and buy the ones I like. You can usually order most any book from your local library for free. Each person has different needs and grows in a different way, so what is meaningful to me may be different from what is meaningful to you.
I gravitate mostly to Zen, and the idea of Direct Pointing. So I like to read books like D.T. Suzuki's Zen Buddhism. I am also currently reading The Life of the Buddha: According to the Pali Canon for a more complete understanding of the Buddha and his teachings - and so far, it is fantastic. A more basic book on the Buddha, and a good place to start in my opinion, is Buddha by Karen Armstrong. However, it is somewhat her interpretation of the Pali Canon's account... and many Buddhists would rather go directly to the source... but I think it's a good beginning.
I also bought this version of the Tao Te Ching. I think it's fantastic, even though it's technically Tao instead of Buddhism... but I find it practically indistinguishable from Koans in its value and wisdom. And the text can be found online for free, but there are many translations.
As mentioned before, I would always first recommend The Way Of Zen as it had the most profound effect on my life and mind of all the books I've read.
Also, make sure to engage in meditation. The direct realization of non-duality is of utmost importance. Book learning and words are the shadows of meaning - direct realization is entering in the gates.
https://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Prophet-Lessons-Life-Muhammad/dp/0195374762/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&amp;ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1485748359&amp;sr=1-1&amp;keywords=tariq+ramadan+in+the+footsteps+of+the+prophet
In The Footsteps of the Prophet
When it's your turn:
http://www.amazon.com/In-Footsteps-Prophet-Lessons-Muhammad/dp/0195374762/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&amp;refRID=0HJ2QKBSHJE3J8PE1V0B
In the Footsteps of the Prophet (T. Ramadan)... just a beautiful and inspirational read... easy to digest
https://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Prophet-Lessons-Life-Muhammad/dp/0195374762/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1502498496&amp;sr=8-2&amp;keywords=in+the+footsteps
Welcome to /r/Islam :)
About the basics of Islam, read this
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Firstly, Praise to God. I am sure alot of other people will answer better than me, but I'll try. First off, for Muhammed (saw) in the bible, here is a very interesting video by a former Christan youth minister titled - "How the Bible Led me to Islam"
His story is so interesting because he figured out that a through read of bible itself made him realize something, and convinced him to study other religions in which he found finally found Islam, his story is something every typical Christian should hear.
Secondly, You said:
>I'd like recommendations for a quran translation.
I personally believe that people willing to learn about Islam should read the biography of Muhammed (saw) first to get a grasp of the message of Islam, how it spread, and how we come to respect this man as the greatest of all creation. The best book I recommend is Tariq Ramadan's Book about Muhammed and his life.
Once you've done that, I recommend an exegesis over a translation because your understanding is enhanced.
But a good translation is: http://quran.com
An exegesis (recommended) is: http://www.amazon.com/The-Quran-Oxford-Worlds-Classics/dp/0199535957
Hope that helps.
Thank you for your sincere interest, people like you deserve respect and admiration. Muslims doesn't mean scholars automatically, there is many responses already here, I agree with them on general yet It's difficult to respond formally with full knowledge and proof, but since your questions are mostly about the prophet and early years of Islam, I recommand to read the biography of the prophet to see his full perspective and contexts, this one is easy and into the point by the Oxford Professor Tariq Ramadan: In the Footsteps of the Prophet .
http://www.amazon.com/Footsteps-Prophet-Lessons-Life-Muhammad/dp/0195374762/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1426453522&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=tariq+ramadan
I've been reading Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist and he delves into concepts like these. It was really eye opening. He could be twisting things, but he paints the Buddha as an atheist according to the Pali cannon based on some key things he had said. Then delves into how you can be a religious atheist. I've found many benefits in religious practices throughout my life, they are a good anchor, it's just the metaphysical dogmas I can't dive into as an atheist. But the ideas of community, meditation and ritual can benefit anyone's life. I think every religion has a good philosophy to offer once you strip away beliefs.
If you are not comfortable with mystical concepts like karma and rebirth, but would rather focus on concepts like mindfulness and compassion, you can read Stephen Batchelor, http://www.amazon.com/Confession-Buddhist-Atheist-Stephen-Batchelor/dp/0385527063/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;s=books&amp;qid=1291073951&amp;sr=1-1
The Reasonable Doubts Podcast (one of my favorites, BTW) did a 3 part series on the good and bad of Buddhism Epsidoes 73-75. They had as a guest Stephen Batchelor, one time high ranking Buddhist monk turned atheist, and author of a number of books including Confession of a Buddhist Atheist
If you're interested, it's as good an overview as you'll find anywhere I think.
Anyone who's read this book will be very hesitant of embracing it https://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676
Leaving aside the Mars part, it's similar to Oryx and Crake by Maragret Atwood: http://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood
It's about how overpopulation coupled with bioengineering ruin the planet from the view of a man called Snowman (his real name is Jimmy) who survived the plague along with a new human species he calls the Crakers. Seriously awesome book, and its a 3 book series. Just finished the second book and am dying waiting for the third.
Margaret Atwood already did it in two of her books.
But I'd also love to see different renditions of the same kind of scenario.
Linky...
Margaret Atwood has two companion books, both of a dystopian nature. I prefer Oryx and Crake, but The Year of the Flood is a nice afterword. The Handmaid's Tale is her most popular work. She calls it speculative fiction instead of science fiction.
She's one of my favorites, obviously.
Hmm I really don't like most scifi covers, especially the retro pulpy stuff! I have to say I do love all the iterations of Orxy and Crake by Margaret Atwood, like this one, this British one or this other British one.
Unfortunately, I don't own any of these editions!
'Oryx & Crake' by Margaret Atwood (Trilogy, I've only read the first one.)
'Viral Nation' by Shaunta Grimes (Upcoming series, I've only read the first one.)
Yep. It's[ this one ]
(http://www.amazon.com/Oryx-Crake-Margaret-Atwood/dp/0385721676/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1342129015&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=oryx+and+crake)
If you haven't yet read Oryx & Crake, you might really dig it. At any rate, you've described it very well here.
Obligatory wiki links: Dystopian Literature. Although, some of the titles listed don't seem to fit (The Dispossessed?). Nuclear holocaust fiction, and your general apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction.
Some of the better/more popular ones:
Zombies: World War Z, Raise the Dead, Marvel Zombies, Zombie Survival Guide, Day By Day Armageddon, I Am Legend.
Also, just for kicks, some of my favorite dystopian movies:
Brazil, Soylent Green, 12 Monkeys, Blade Runner, Akira, Children of Men, Dark City, A Boy and His Dog, Logan's Run, Idiocracy, Equillibrium.
On The Beach by Nevil Shute is probably the closest I've read to that level hopeless apocalyptic scenarios.
Earth Abides by George R. Stewart is another one. It's not as dark, but it has some key things in common that you may like.
Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood No sci-fi or apocalypse thread is getting very far without me recommending it.
“Educated” is a 2018 best-selling memoir written by a woman who grew up in this type of environment (and whose parents were also against formal education to boot) and later went on to get her PhD (and vaccines)! Given that she has older siblings, we are looking at 35+ years of this kind of gig. I highly recommend the book. By the way, her mother STILL runs a successful essential oils business.
I just sent my NC letter today.
It took me about 4 months to get to this point. What made me actually send it was reading a book called Educated which is a memoir about a borderline dad. Not the same, but it showed me how an entire family can orchestrate themselves together to help support the person with the disorder.
What I expect moving forward is that I won't see a lot of my family on her side. She is very close to two of my cousins, and I don't expect them to understand my point of view. I expect that they will potentially try to force us together.
This means that I, and you, have choices. If you are feeling this struggle, I wonder if your brother is too? He might be more receptive than you think to meeting without your mom involved at all. No matter what, it is your choice if you see her or not. It is your choice if you want to communicate with her or not. If your childhood was like mine, you spent a lot of time raising yourself - and probably some time raising her as well. You don't need her to be a good person, or to justify your choices, or to live your life happily.
Good luck!
I'd strongly recommend this book. It's pretty objective and balanced and sort of gave me closure to a lot of things.
http://www.amazon.com/Unlikely-Disciple-Semester-Americas-University/dp/044617842X
Also, in reference to the sexual misconduct (not sure what you were referring to)
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,286153,00.html
When reading up on most sexual abuse cases, its necessary to put things into perspective. Most abuses in Protestant churches happen from non-clergy or adjunct clergy (unlike other denominations, it's more like a job interview and any major qualification will go, so people might unbeknowingly hire a paedophile, or they might stalk churches posing as parishoners to get close to children. Many large churches are being proactive about it). Further, most Catholic abuses happened in the 1970s, and the rush of news about it came with people in their 30s and 40s coming forward after living with guilt. The rest essentially occur at the same frequency as sexual abuse in schools and in civil administration (e.g. Policemen and Firefighters).
It's a fallacy to assume that one's religious actions, such as celibacy or abstinence, increase or decrease the amount of sexual abuse in a congregation or denomination.
Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion
Page 181:
'Originally conceived of in the 1960s by Charles and Ava Berner, Scientologists and teachers in California, "study technology.' was co-opted and launched by Hubbard as his own during a series of lectures he delivered at Saint Hill in 1960. Over the years, it would become Scientology's main form of indoctrination and a central facet of the church's ongoing strategy to use what, in a mainstream context, might seem valuable, or even progressive,* to draw people deeper into Scientology's alternative universe. It was based on three principles: students learn at their own pace, use physical examples — pictures, marbles, or clay models — to help work out complex concepts, and need to focus intensely on vocabulary, never skipping an unfamiliar word without looking it up in the dictionary. Anyone who wanted to move up the Bridge was required to master study technology, which was defined to Scientologists as a method of 'learning how to learn."
At the Dallas mission, students busied themselves with studying what seemed to be ordinary concepts like affinity or communication, and then with modeling them in clay, a process known as "clay demo". To make sure they understood every Avoid and concept they read, they were instructed in a process known as 'word clearing,' which entails relearning the definitions of even basic words, such as a or on. There are nine distinct types of word clearing, some done with an E-meter, some without; the most rigorous is called "Method 9," or M9. This required students to work with a partner, reading aloud from a book or, more often, from Hubbard's policies, in alternating paragraphs. Each time one partner blinked, twitched, yawned, or simply mispronounced a word, the other was required to stop, yell "Flunk!," and instruct the person to go back and find the word he or she didn't fully grasp, look it up, and then use it in sentences until the partner felt the confusion had been "cleared." Then the partners would resume reading aloud. Some critics of Scientology maintain that study tech, particularly its word-clearing and clay-demo processes, is harmful, as it essentially breaks down the entire semantic and thought structure of the individual, reducing a person to an almost childlike state. Lisa, however, loved her Scientology studies. She felt smarter, more competent. To her friends, she expressed a sense of being in control for the very first time in her life. Scientology was an adventure, and the people she met through the church were bright, friendly, easy to talk to, and united in the sense of being on a mission of self-discovery. "Nobody else that [Lisa] knew of with the exception of the woman that she worked with was involved in Scientology," said Carol Hawk. "Her family was not aware of what Scientology was ... and to be honest, I'm not sure Lisa was either. At the point, she was very young, and she was very excited about the process of learning about it, and feeling like she was doing something for herself!
Lisa began spending long hours at the mission, forgoing personal pastimes like country-western dancing, once her favorite activity. She stopped drinking and smoking pot; she also left off attending parties and family functions. Her vocabulary changed. People were "terminals". Cars, houses, clothes, jewelry, and other physical or material goods were "MEST" — matter, energy, space, and time. A person with a positive attitude was "uptone". Someone who worked hard and did well was "upstat." She was a 'thetan, and her life was not singular — she had lived many lifetimes, she informed her old friends.
Lisa's odd behavior worried Hawk. "I would say, 'Who are these people, these auditors. They're not psychologists, they're not doctors ... what happens if you're in this auditing session and this person who has no formal training gets you to a place that you can't handle?
But Lisa was sanguine. "Oh, they know how to handle any kind of situation. They know exactly the right questions to ask."
"It got to the point where we weren't really communicating because you are just kind of looking at her thinking, 'What are you talking about?'" Hawk recalled. One by one, friends drifted away. By 1984, virtually everyone left in Lisa McPherson's life was a Scientologist.'
>Journalist Janet Reitman’s Inside Scientology: The Story of America’s Most Secretive Religion, out this month
Its an article about this book https://www.amazon.com/Inside-Scientology-Americas-Secretive-Religion/dp/0618883029
she doesn't know anything about the CoS that isn't already out there. the problem is that if she were a member of the CoS (not sure if she is/was) then through the auditing process she would reveal lots of personal skeletons in the closet in order to be "clear", everything from secret sexual thoughts to every lie you've ever told. the CoS then uses this as leverage against members who quit. Not many people are strong enough to allow all their dirty laundry to be aired out in public.
For a fascinating read, check out the book Inside Scientology:
http://www.amazon.com/Inside-Scientology-Americas-Secretive-Religion/dp/0618883029/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1341483367&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=inside+scientology
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860
haha.. just finished this in the evening..
Nice list, I will try to check out some of these books. Here are other books I'd like to read:
Life after Life by Dr. Raymond Moody - it's about NDE like you mentioned in your post: https://www.amazon.com/dp/006242890X
and here is a book about reincarnation and many past lives of clients that a psychiatrist interviewed: https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860
Do you believe in reincarnation? It's something I've become interested and have started reading more about it.
I'm spiritual, but do not believe in any religions/dogma, probably for the same reasons you don't. But you seem too smart to be a total atheist. This book is pretty interesting:
https://www.amazon.com/Many-Lives-Masters-Prominent-Psychiatrist/dp/0671657860/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1502404354&amp;sr=8-3&amp;keywords=reincarnation+brian+weiss
I hadn't heard of this story before, but wow! Love it! Good, quick read, and very, very insightful. Have you ever read "Many Lives, Many Masters" by Dr Brian Weiss?
I was reminded of this before I got a little more into your story when you (I?) said that we were all the same person in different parts of our "life" (greater life, not physical life).
If nothing else, as I'm not sure you'll be back to check the thread, thank you for starting out my Thursday on an inspiring note. Cheers!
You don't need religion to accept the possibility that we live in a greater spiritual context.
Check out this article:
The Science of Reincarnation: U.Va. psychiatrist Jim Tucker investigates children’s claims of past lives
Check out these books:
Extraordinary Knowing: Science, Skepticism, and the Inexplicable Powers of the Human Mind, by Elizabeth Lloyd Mayer
Glimpsing Heaven: The Stories and Science of Life After Death, by Judy Bachrach
Journey of Souls: Case Studies of Life Between Lives, by Michael Newton
Destiny of Souls: New Case Studies of Life Between Lives, by Michael Newton
Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives, by Brian L. Weiss
Soul Survivor: The Reincarnation of a World War II Fighter Pilot, by Andrea Leininger, Bruce Leininger, and Ken Gross
In my experience - atheism is not science, it's denial.
https://www.amazon.com/Muhammad-Man-Prophet-Adil-Salahi/dp/0860373223
There are a lot of decent books recommended below, but this one I feel is very under the radar to a lot of people. If you want a book that reads more easily, and less like a encyclopedia, this is the one. Warning, it is a long one, and may take you a couple of weeks, but it reads like a novel and provides context to all parts of his life.
I read this one by Adil Salahi
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/0860373223/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?qid=1452040266&amp;sr=8-14&amp;pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&amp;keywords=muhammad+prophet
The Subtle Body: An Encyclopedia of Your Energetic Anatomy
Autobiography of a Yogi
The Field,
The Intention Experiment, The Bond
Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah
You can do your own research about this, it's not too hard to track down the roots of what grew into american pop yoga from wikipedia. There are multiple books too about original yogis. It is true, some of their work is physical related, but it is not at all how westerners think of it. This book is a good place to start to understand why yoga is the way it is in America today, and also a lot of experiences and stories from India. People in this subreddit may have passing knowledge of this sort of thing, like myself, but if you seek the truth, there is plenty of already written material that covers what you're asking.
Gratitude is very powerful. Are you familiar with Yogananda?
Autobiography of a Yogi (Self-Realization Fellowship) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0876120796/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_UrH0CbZT74B9G
There are a lot of miracles claimed in this book, and when I have time later I'll take a look and see if I can provide a good example. The book, by the way, is considered a "classic" in the spiritual world, and the author a supposedly authentic guru or spiritual master. So it should be a good source for something to discuss.
Sure.. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Muhammad-Life-Based-Earliest-Sources/dp/0946621330/ref=pd_sim_sbs_b_1 for a detailed biography.
https://www.amazon.com/Life-Work-Muhammad-Critical-Lives/dp/0028643712 -> This is a kind of summarized version of history.
This one but it's a bit melodramatic for my tastes.
93 - You will do best to look in Kaczynski's Perdurabo ... Churton's book might also be good. In his Confessions, he mentions being in New York in chapter 23, and chapter 77 through chapter 80 (adn probably a few more).
I personally have no memory of AC staying in Albany. Frankly, the best way to figure it out is to see if the envelopes are actually real (that is, they exist and aren't forged).
https://www.amazon.com/Perdurabo-Revised-Expanded-Aleister-Crowley/dp/1556438990
This really contains the best, most authoratative research on all aspects of Crowley. It's also available as an ebook. A lot of info on the internet involving Crowley and Abramelin is sensationalized and not very trustworthy (hooray for the internet!). This is an actual scholarly work.
This seems like the perfect time to promote this great book i just finished reading:
Caught in the Pulpit: Leaving Belief Behind https://www.amazon.com/dp/1634310209/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_OFZpDbR7MY9GG
Great book and I’m sure anyone in this sub would enjoy it
> Or perhaps the atheist isn't probing to the bottom of the glass.
So you think members of the royal academy do not probe science to the bottom of the glass? Numbers for America were very similar to this recent British study
> Or perhaps their pride moves them away from God.
That is not impossible but unrelated to the claim.
The claim was very simple in that it says:
It didn't address any reasons for this supposed outcome. This claim is easily verifiable by just measuring the religiosity of people (self declared label plus concrete practice) and looking if it goes up when the science background is stronger (professors compared to students, quality of the publishing within the professoral group etc.)
> make science their god
If you define god as "that which occupies the most important place in our live", then you could say such things. Otherwise this sentence just doesn't make sense, does it?
That's one more example of strategic ambiguity typical of theologians and priests who do not actually believe but have to maintain a Christian image outwardly. Almost all the atheist preachers interviewed for this book use that tactic.
Inside Scientology by Janet Reitman. Extremely well written and researched... and 100% creepy.
Lawrence Wright's "Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief" is the most-recent must read book on this pernicious organization.
It's a good complement to Janet Reitman's "Inside Scientology: The Story of America's Most Secretive Religion" which was published just a couple of years ago.
No, he never played professional baseball at all. Lynn Packer (a nephew of Boyd Packer) wrote a pretty comprehensive book on Dunn. Highly recommend it.
https://www.amazon.com/Lying-Lord-Paul-Dunn-Stories-ebook/dp/B019JEYNS2
Yep. I just finished reading the whole Koran, for the second time, this time in chronological order while simultaneously reading Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources (this is great way to understand the context of each revelation).
Anyone who thinks that ISIS is not straight out of Islamic Scripture, just has not read it. Muhammad beheaded enemies in captivity -- not because people were not willing to pay him ransom for them -- but simply because he figured they might be trouble later. Minus the camels, ISIS looks just like Mo's life: slaves, beheading, the whole nine yards.
What you have heard is a likely combination of misinformation, misunderstandings, and out of context information with a dash of truth thrown in for believability (plus some stuff that so weird you can't make it up). I suggest you start with one of these books (in order of objectivity):
> allows it's members to attack critics
The video you probably saw recently isn't attacking a "critic". While I don't believe he should be harassed at all, this is a guy who was a top executive that left, wrote some books that makes the rest of top management looks like total assholes, and basically wants to reform the whole movement from the outside. Normal critics, members, and ex-members don't get treated like this. No one is going to knock on your door for posting critical stuff on reddit, for example.
> No one person's religion is "the right way"
This is one of Scientology's core moral values - "Respect the Religious Beliefs of Others"
> the rich are going to get more rich in this religion
not really, not many people are making a lot of money from it even toward the top. It's mostly going into bank accounts, real estate, buildings, improvements of services, and other churchy things. The one guy at the very top lives a pretty CEO-like lifestyle but I doubt many others are getting rich other than the organization itself - and I'd argue that even it isn't super rich. Things like the setup ot Bridge Publications, the church's publishing arm, cost a huge amount of money.
> put those funds back into the fucking community, instead of wasting it on new churches, make new homes and schools for the poor
Then donate to organizations that build homes and schools instead of a church. The aims of a church are to further the spread the religion. Churches that build schools and houses are usually doing so with spreading their religion as their real agenda. There are plenty of secular non-profit organizations that build homes and schools for the poor as their primary concern that tend to be much better at it.
Its also worth pointing out that donations to the Church of Scientology are typically not outright donations. They are almost always for some service or material good, such as a book or lecture series on CD. There isn't really a concept of 'tithing' in Scientology and indeed the idea of getting something directly back when you give someone money is kind of part of the culture of the church.
If you aren't aware of his work, take a look at Stephen Batchelor's Confessions of a Buddhist Atheist. Critchley's Faith of the Faithless might also be useful for you to cut through some of the cognitive dissonance you might be experiencing when balancing an atheistic standpoint with other ontological traditions. Take what is useful from the tradition to reduce the level of suffering you experience. The Buddha doesn't care; he's dead.
This is the book that helped me.
They talk about wise ones here.
Many Lives, Many Masters: The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient, and the Past-Life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives https://www.amazon.com/dp/0671657860/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_R2CpDbARDBQG7
Many Lives, Many Masters. Crossing over into my twenties and realizing I wasn't invincible caused me concern, to the point of obsessing about death and being fearful of the unknown. This book helped quiet my fears.
The footage in this video was stitched together from a travel documentary made over 7 years.
The man has taught and practiced healing for decades, with multiple westerners finding him, training under him, and writing about their time.
https://www.amazon.com/Magus-Java-Teachings-Authentic-Immortal/dp/0892818131
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/14409262-seeking-the-master-of-mo-pai
All you're doing is pointing to something that isn't in the video and saying "look that makes this fake" without even attempting to explain how he does all this fakery with two documentarians and 3 scientists (two and a medic) trying to find a fraud.
Feel free to look up the scientists, very real and highly unlikely to have been "in on it".