What's your favorite book on consciousness and enlightenment?

[Inliytened1]

I'm currently reading The End of Your World by Adyashanti and it's amazing so far.

 

[Aaron p]

I don't read books lol. I might have to start tho. I know that books can be very good if you get very good books, logical. I tend to not want to think about spirituality too much, doing so creates more and more ideological beliefs about what it is that your meant to be doing. My philosophy is this, (concerning enlightenment) if you know what you need to know (the bare bones) then you shouldn't add more knowledge to it. I keep as little knowledge as possible. Completely surrender to the confusion. I feel like this is the way "I" will progress fastest.

[Zigzag Idiot]

I like Adyashanti on YouTube. Haven't read any of his books yet.

  Two very readable 'spiritual classics', Robert deRopp's THE MASTER GAME

https://www.amazon.com/Master-Game-Pathways-Consciousness-Classics/dp/0895561506

 

Chogum Trungpa's Cutting Through Spiritual Materialism

https://www.amazon.com/Cutting-Through-Spiritual-Materialism-Chogyam/dp/1570629579/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545284975&sr=1-5&keywords=chogyam+trungpa

 

[GabeN]

gotta be the Book of not Knowing by Peter Ralston, i keep getting back to it from time to time

[Inliytened1]

Thanks guys i will check these out.

[MikeB]

On 19/12/2018 at 10:36 PM, Inliytened1 said:

I'm currently reading The End of Your World by Adyashanti and it's amazing so far.

 

I enjoyed End of Your World. Reading Ken Wilber No Boundary right now. I feel like I'm leveling up as I go through it. It's one of my favorite reads ever. Some of my other favourites are audio books by Eckhart Tolle,  War of Art by Steven Pressfield,  Science of Enlightenment by Shinzen Young. So many.... 

[Joseph Maynor]

The Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

Edited December 23, 2018 by Joseph Maynor

[VioletFlame]

@Joseph Maynor No way dude!!! 

I'm currently reading one of my all time favorite books for like the 3rd time. This is called the Tao of Jung and your book is mentioned more than once in here!!

I would travel and walk around everywhere with that little book in my hand...it's absolutely beautiful, I find myself in the point of tears while reading it.

[Jeff Zhang]

@VioletFlame thank you, can you share with us What in this book evokes you such resonance? 

[GabrielWallace]

There are indeed too many beautiful gems of condensed wisdom out there to choose one. I'd rather make a whole necklace out of them and allow them all to sparkle in their own glorious way - which is what Leo has been doing with his book list.

A few that have really guided me or at least resonated with me (which may or may not do the same for you, since we're all in different parts of this maze) include:

• The collected works of Zhuangzi
• Tao Te Ching, by Laozi
• Hero With A Thousand Faces, by Joseph Campbell
• On the Taboo of Knowing Who You Are, by Alan Watts
• Symbols of Transformation, by Carl Jung
• The Teachings of Don Juan, by Carlos Castaneda

[VioletFlame]

@Jeff Zhang Sure, I'd love to share this with you.

Well, I spontaneously found this book in a thrift shop in Ireland a while ago and fell in love with it immediately, devouring and embodying it. Read it front to back, and then gave it to an amazing beloved friend of mine. It sort of compiles various Jung teachings in one little travel sized book. I have not read the Tao Te Ching yet at this time, but this book, The Tao Of Jung, includes multiple beautiful passages and quotes from the I Ching and Lao Tzu and how it clearly relates to Jung and how inspired he was by the wisdom of Taoism and how much it parallels with the Tao's teachings. It's a simple read and a great introduction to Jung and his life as well for those who are interested in learning about him.

The nature of both their philosophies is about the integration of opposites; non-dualism, as well egocide and the transformation of the false self & the true self, the realization that darkness gives birth to light, the depths of inner space, eternal abyss, and void, etc. It also has many incredible non-dualistic poetry that hits me hard and gives me chills every time.

"The Tao is dark and unfathomable,
How can it make her radiant?
Because she lets it."

Most of all what makes this book so special for me personally is the amount of synchronicities and connections I've experienced whenever this book is in my hands or nearby. I will share with you some of these experiences, I am excited to share some of them, there are too many to share all at once, I would blow this whole thread up.

This book for me carries intense sacred energy, it's like strange, it definitely has a mind of its own.

Synchronicity #1: I recently bought it again because it was calling to me and ever since I received it, whenever I take a shower and the steam hits the bathroom mirror, this similar version of the symbol of "The Tao" that is on the cover of the book appears on the mirror. I do not know where or how it got there and it doesn't look as elaborate or exact as the symbol on the book, but it sure as hell looks similar to it, enough for me to recognize it. It resembles an ancient looking eye. Almost like a mixture of the Tao symbol and the Eye of Horus.

Synchronicity #2: I astonishingly left it at work the other night and texted my co-worker/fellow Jungian friend to let her know, however she fell asleep and was not yet aware that it was left there. That night I had an eerie yet familiar dream that it was there but for some reason it was moving around the shop on its own, similar to the way a planchette moves along a spirit board. That very next morning she called me saying I left it there and she couldn't believe she had this dream seeing the book behind the counter with my name written on it. Pretty crazy right??!

The most incredible synchronicity involving this book yet was what happened only yesterday:

I went to work and (with no exaggeration) as soon as I picked it up with excitement, I started explaining to someone about it and suddenly, precisely as I was describing these synchronicities, this beautiful customer approached me asking questions about it and all this..Let me tell you something right now, this girl was the spitting image of my beloved friend whom I gave this book to, whom I miss dearly. Her energy was uncannily similar, and the way she spoke and carried herself..it was mad. But the weirdest thing of all was that she is also from Romania, like my friend, and her name was Naré. My friend's name is Nera!! How fucked up is that?! It was absolutely amazing haha. We ended up having a beautiful, rather long, fulfilling and emotional conversation. And while I was experiencing this synchronicity... I was explaining all this to her, and she was telling me about hers which she also had in that moment, it was highly energetic, and we were immediately expressing how amazing it was to meet each other, and as soon as she said her name I melted and got teary eyed, and she got fucking teary eyed and we just hugged and connected immediately. ❤️

So yeah this book, man my goodness hahaa

[lmfao]

On 20/12/2018 at 8:17 AM, GabeN said:

gotta be the Book of not Knowing by Peter Ralston, i keep getting back to it from time to time

this.

Although I'm not a fan of books on non-duality in general. 

"Anyone who tells you he has some way of leading you to spiritual enlightenment is like somebody who picks your pocket and sells you your own watch...." - Alan Watts

[Privet]

The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa

[ZZZZ]

On 12/20/2018 at 3:17 AM, GabeN said:

gotta be the Book of not Knowing by Peter Ralston, i keep getting back to it from time to time

I'm still working on this as well. Very systematic and thorough. I feel like it's less useful now that I've had certain breakthroughs, but he still gives great examples and brings up things that would have slipped past my awareness. 

[Brittany]

I don't have a favorite book but I am currently reading "A Course in Miracles".

Every day, this book is giving my ego a smack in the face and kick in the gut. LOL

The writer basically is trying to attack the ego from every angle that it can. haha It's like a war zone for the ego.

I heard a lot about it but never expected the book to be this good.

There are so many hidden karate chop moves in this book that when I tried to read this book in the past, I completely overlooked them. It is not a good beginners book.

I am fascinated with any author or creator who sees the moves of the mind with such clarity.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Brittany

[Anton Rogachevski]

The Zen Teachings of Bodhidharma

It's almost as amazing as Tao Te Ching. If you want to see real basic Zen, there's no other source.

[Zigzag Idiot]

4 hours ago, Brittany said:

I don't have a favorite book but I am currently reading "A Course in Miracles".

Every day, this book is giving my ego a smack in the face and kick in the gut. LOL

The writer basically is trying to attack the ego from every angle that it can. haha It's like a war zone for the ego.

I heard a lot about it but never expected the book to be this good.

There are so many hidden karate chop moves in this book that when I tried to read this book in the past, I completely overlooked them. It is not a good beginners book.

I am fascinated with any author or creator who sees the moves of the mind with such clarity.

Me too. 

Heres a link to the urtext

http://a.courseinmiracles.com/#gsc.tab=0

 

also another favorite specifically about the 'mechanics of consciousness'

STALKING THE WILD PENDULUM by Itztok Bentov - Definitely,,,, a favorite book Title.

https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=stalking+the+wild+pendulum

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by Zigzag Idiot

[Zigzag Idiot]

Another good one

Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience

Legendary psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi's famous investigations of "optimal experience" have revealed that what makes an experience genuinely satisfying is a state of consciousness called flow. During flow, people typically experience deep enjoyment, creativity, and a total involvement with life. In this new edition of his groundbreaking classic work, Csikszentmihalyi ("the leading researcher into ‘flow states’" —Newsweek) demonstrates the ways this positive state can be controlled, not just left to chance. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience teaches how, by ordering the information that enters our consciousness, we can discover true happiness, unlock our potential, and greatly improve the quality of our lives.

https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Psychology-Experience-Perennial-Classics/dp/0061339202