Showing posts with label alan watts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label alan watts. Show all posts

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion Review

Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion
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Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion Review_Behold The Spirit_ is one of the most clearly written, profound, and enlightening books on theology I have ever read. This book represents the ideal combination of profundity and readability - never again will you say that a book must be difficult to read just because it deals with extremely complex and deep subject matter. Like most of Alan Watts' books, _Behold the Spirit_ is an absolute pleasure to read, yet competently deals with universal metaphysical questions which have troubled man for many centuries. For instance, Alan Watts talks at length about the problem of what God was doing before He created the universe. Was He just sitting there alone? The answer can be found in the book.
To me, this type of theological question is quite fascinating. I appreciated the unorthodox and critical approach Watts took in examining a wide range of theological and general metaphysical issues. In other words, this is not an evangelical or fundamentalist Christian book; it is a critical and sceptical examination of Christianity and man's belief in God. I highly recommend this work to anyone, and if you only want to read one or two of Alan Watts' most important works, they should be _Behold the Spirit_ and _Psychotherapy East and West_. These two works represent the solid core of Alan Watts' philosophy. They are rigourous, profound, and comprehensive psychological works which are also remarkably succinct, miserly, and readable. With Alan Watts, you can obtain large amounts of elightenment in a short amount of time, with minimal aggravation and headache.Behold the Spirit: A Study in the Necessity of Mystical Religion Overview

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Cosmic Consciousness Review

Cosmic Consciousness
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Cosmic Consciousness ReviewThis study is from the early days of the psychiatric profession when its practitioners could still write seriously of spiritual and mystical matters without being ostracised or ridiculed as "unscientific." Briefly, the author personally experienced a sudden episode of enlightenment and rapture that, while it was only of brief duration, changed his outlook on life forever. He spent the rest of his life, he was in his mid-thirties at the time, trying to figure out what had happened to him, and if there were any others.
What he found was that such sudden occurances of enlightenment, these epiphanies, had been occuring to mystics, philosophers, writers, and artists all through recorded history. Not only that, but they were occuring with increased frequency as time went on. Bucke concluded that this marked an evolutionary trend. Carried out to its logical conclusion, he postulated that one day "cosmic consciousness" as he termed it, would be as common in the human race as self consciousness currently is. He based this on the manner in which the ancestors of man slowly climbed from the simple consciousness of animals to an almost universal state of self consciousness.
Having experienced a simular event in my mid-thirties (remember, it happens to varying degrees), I found this book to be immensely personally relevant- as it has proven to be to many of us for over one hundred years now.Cosmic Consciousness Overview

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Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling Review

Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling
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Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling ReviewI first encountered the words of Wayne Dyer 5 or so years ago on PBS. I liked what I heard. Though nothing he says is original, I did like the way he presented it.
The first book of his I read was "There's A Spiritual Solution to Every Problem", the book on which the first lecture I watch on PBS was based.
I was inspired by, and enjoyed that book. As I did the next two or three. But recently, and especially with this latest volume, he simply repackages his older books in a different form. Ironic for a book about inspiration.
I want to be clear that I have no intrinsic problem with some of the concepts he talks about. But this book, and his lectures, and overall attitude lately, as opposed to my first exposure to him, are becoming quite the turn off.
In this volume, there were somevery glaring examples of either contradiction, strict unfairness, and at times, ego...despite Dyer's commitment against the ego.
I also found it very repetative, but I realize he warns of that early on. However just because something is acknowledged, does not mean it should be accepted.
The following items bothered me the most, and I would be interested to learn if others readers agree with these bothersome items.
-The oft mentioned assumption that he is personally the reincarnated spirit of St. Francis of Asissi.
-He is not very supportive of his friends. To him it seems that to even be in the presence of an unhappy person insults him. His reason being that since life is perfect and nothing wrong EVER happens to us, being unhappy or scared of something is simply a low energy, and one thathe is unwilling to stand inthe presence of. He even mentions a story of a good friend of his who started to be worried about the leaness of his business. He had legitimate concerns about going under. Not thoughts of evil or suicide or anything, just some natural worry when the finances did not look good.
Dyer, in the book, tells us "just about the time I was no longer willing to be exposed to this sort of thing..." Meaning that in his perfect life, there are no accidents, and so, he did not want to be around his supposed friend, because being a little scared or worried is ungodlike. He ignores the fact that in order to help people, especially friends, you have to be in the midst of bad things sometimes. He often quotes Mother Teresa. Yet if shehad told all of those sick people to simply "think about what you were doing when you first became sick, and stop doing it!" she would not bethe saintwe recognize her as today.
-Secondly, multiple times in just about every chapter, he plugged one or more of his other books, books by colleagues, or books published by Hay House. It is allright to acknowledge your previous works, or those of others, but the frequency with which he does so in thisvolume is disingenuous at best. Product placement, at worst.
-I call one's attention to page 106 of the book. Dyer's "12 Step Program to Simplicity." Items 10 and 11.
Item 10 calls for us to "Eschew Debt" and to live within our means...not purchases or buying things we do not absolutley need, in order to live the life we agreed with God to havebefore we were born.
The very next item, number 11, instructs us to "forget about cash value." He proceeds, on the very same page, to tell us that we should not look at the dollar signs when we are "inspired" to do something like take a trip, eat a nice dinner out on the town, or be comfortable. How can one eschew debt, and yet ignore the dollar value of an item they are inspired to posess?
-Pages 110-113. The Ram Dass Story.
This is among the more insulting parts of the book. He tells the story of one ofhis mentors, and reproduces a letter he has posted on his (Dyer) own website. In it, Dyer tells of how gentle and wonderful Dass hasbeen, and how important this "dear friend" has been throughouthis life, especially since coming to live in Maui in the twilight of his life.
Then, Dyer has the audacity to solicit you and I for money to help buy Dass his own house! In Maui!
This book "eschewing" the ideaof possesions, money, and doubting that the universe will take care of everything you ever could want, is asking us to pay for his mentor's housing conditions, simply because Dyer thinks he is "a wonderful man".
How about this...Dyer isso fond of "giving something of yourself everyday..." how about cutting into your millions of dollars and cutting a check for your hero to own his own house? You can afford it, I cannot. Or if you cannot swallow that, cut him a check large enough to coverhis moving expenses out of Maui (one of the most expensive places on earth to live), and to a location far more affordable. If what is said about Dass is true, he should be happy anywhere he can find to live. They arrogance of a millionaire asking for donations to save his "mentor" who lives just down the street from him was nearly enough to get me to stop reading the book right there.
Furthermore, the entire business bore little relevence to the rest of the chapter, which was ostensibly about "Faith Banishes all doubt".
Unless you can sucker the general public into buying your guru a home in Maui.
-The name dropping throughout the book. He studied with, worked with, talked to, helped the luggage problems of...fill in the blank with celebrity X. The encounter with Renee Zellwegger outlined on pages 144-146 (complete with photo copy of a note she gave him) is the most glaring example of this.
-His mentioning more of the great things he did "in spirit", such as throwing away a mashed up burger he saw on the floor of a McDonald's, page 150 or so. I love how picking up a burger being trampled is heroic, but heneeds ourhelp in paying for his guru's home....
My point is made. There are other things, but honstly, I do not feel like looking for the page number, as I would have to skim the book again.
I am finding Dyer to be more annoying as time goes on. By his own advice about annoying people, I should send himthoughts of love. I would do so, in proportion to how much this book annoyed me, but I also have a day job.Inspiration: Your Ultimate Calling Overview

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