by Dr. Eben Alexander There is, some say, in God a deep but dazzling darkness. Black but holy darkness of the Core. Many universes, love lay at the center. Evil was necessary because without it free will was impossible and without free will there could be no growth, no forward movement, no chance for us…
Category: Bibliotheca
Your Deceptive Mind: A scientific guide to critical thinking skills (Notes)
Great Courses by Steven Novella, M.D. Maximize probability of being correct while being open to new ideas. Be on guard with controversial subjects frequently covered in media, such as: psychics ESP tricks UFO’s/ghosts/Big Foot astrology – false patterns, data mining pseudoscience conspiracy theories cults evolution deniers September 11 and Kennedy/Lincoln out of body experience (oxygen…
Failed It! (Notes)
Failed It!: How to Turn Mistakes Into Ideas and Other Advice for Successfully Screwing Upby Erik Kessels Your mistakes can change the world. Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better. Samuel Beckett Make mistakes every day. Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm….
Power of Nunchi (Notes)
by Euny Hong Nunchi is the art of creating round pleasant atmosphere in which everyone benefits: subtle art of gauging other people’s thoughts and feelings to build harmony, trust and connection art of reading a room and understanding what others are thinking and feeling context – body language, facial expressions, tradition, who else is in…
Mysticism (Notes)
Mysticism is antidote to fundamentalism. Rick Dorbin MAPS Not just believe in God but through direct experience come to know God. By deepening contact with Real Self that dwells in God. (Unknown) Mystical experience is typically described as dissolution of one’s ego followed by a sense of merging with Nature or universe. Noetic quality –…
Dr. Brene Brown (Notes)
Scarcity Elements Shame prone culture {scarcity thrives in shame prone culture of deep scarcity (never enough)} painful belief we are unlovable we are flawed and unworthy of love & belonging we experience shame as trauma shame based fear of being ordinary Comparison vulnerable to scarcity Disengagement Oppositie of scarcity isn’t abundance, it’s wholeheartedness, which at…
Thomas Merton (Notes)
Very simple way of prayer…centered entirely on attention to the presence of God Adoring God as indivisible and infinitely beyond our comprehension Direct seeking of the face of the invisible, which cannot be found unless we become lost in God who is Invisible (from Hidden Ground of Love) Contemplation is becoming aware of how I…
Mindfulness Revolution (Notes)
Edited by Barry Boyce Mindfulness means mind is fully attending to what is at hand, what you’re working on, person you’re talking to, surroundings you’re moving through. Attention Non-judgmental Receptive awareness Respectful Pay attention to breath Practice cultivating nonjudgmental awareness in day-to-day life Mindless means to stray from awareness of present moments. Autopilot
Education (Notes)
“Real education prepares one to think critically and comprehensively, argue effectively and find one’s singular, irreplaceable calling in life and the skills to pursue it. It prepares us for self-reliance, not for dependency on others’ approval, on social institutions, or on ready-made ideologies.” Grace Llewellyn, Guerrilla Learning: How to Give Your Kids a Real Education…
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome (Notes)
A Memoir of Humor and Healing by Reba Riley Thanks to my friend Katie who recommended this book. To be honest, I didn’t like the book at first. The author comes from an extremely evangelical, Pentacostal background where even her dolls spoke in tongue. Too weird to relate. But I skimmed through the book and…