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Your favorite books that youve learned alot from ?
(Remember) Be Here Now by (Baba) Ram Dass. Absolutely life changing, for me, anyway.
I read it, I guess I didnt understand it. What did it teach you?
and I prefer you guys mention books and than briefly describe them or else I wont have any interest in them
This book is a difficult book to recommend to people because one will either "get it" or not. Not because the message is particularly difficult to get, (its not, really) but because one needs to view the book as an actual "journey" to understanding the message. (If that makes any sense! LOL) It was written back in the very early 70's (I think 1971?) ... right around when the whole Woodstock/Hippie/drug experimentation/ search-for-spirituality age pretty much hit its peak for a few years...
The book itself is filled with art. Lots of drawings and little doodles in margins, between words or phrases, or smack dab in the center of pages. The words on the pages were often not written in a linear pattern from left to right. Sometimes the words spiraled from the center of the page outward- or sometimes inward. Sometimes the words were written in hand script, sometimes mechanical type, sometimes small, even tiny, sometimes large, even huge! Reading the book according to how it (each page, each word) was written; emphasizing in your head the large words/thoughts; following the spiral as if following a path (of words) towards reaching or understanding something. There was a reason for writing/drawing/spiraling the words the way they were written. It was really a matter of applying more than ordinary reading comprehension to the text of the book- one had the 'experience' of reading the book and 'getting' the messages.
Overall, the messages in the book were simple, and yes, very "Buddhist" like. Practicing Mindfulness. Setting aside expectations. Acceptance. Selflessness. Love, Love, Love for all things great and small. Respect for the Earth. Setting aside fears. Eliminating judgement. Respect for humanity..... and so forth.
I was taken by complete surprise the first time I sat down to read Be Here Now. Even though I was told by friends (further along the spiritual path than I was at the time) ahead of time how to read the book with the understanding that it WAS a journey... and not just a book to read.
I planned ahead so that I could immerse myself into this book and read it carefully and completely in one sitting. I have no IDEA how long that took. Two hours? 4 hours? More than that? No clue. I laughed, cried, got the chills, nodded in complete understanding, felt absolute Awe and inspiration, and yes, felt a little baffled here and there as well. But it was a life changing experience, for sure.
I have since read the book two more times; many years after that first reading. Knowing what to expect, I wasn't as gobsmacked as the first time, but I was still impressed and very much spiritually refreshed just the same.
Thats crazy, I wish I read it the right way. I feel like I missed out.
Tara Brach - Radical Acceptance Read it at a time in my life when I truly believed I would be consumed by something, and it helped me realize that accepting each moment without wishing for another could change every aspect of my thinking and behavior. Think it would be pretty great for you.
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federicaSeeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubtModerator
Well, personally, I didn't mind (at all) explaining to @heyimacrab my take on a book that he/she has read but didn't get anything from.
Not sure I understand why such an interjection was needed.....
If you were to follow all of the OP's posts, and the extreme intensity to which he feels compelled to perfect every nuance of his practice (you only have to read earlier responses of his in this very thread) then I think you'd understand better.
I am a complete beginner and I am really enjoying Always in Tao by Brian Taylor. He has a very light hearted, even humorous writing style while still teaching the fundamentals (I'm just getting into it, so far he's just discussing attention and mindfulness).
I like that I can read this and feel that it's ok if I don't grasp it all right away.
Comments
And that second link, I have no idea what that is.
Read it at a time in my life when I truly believed I would be consumed by something, and it helped me realize that accepting each moment without wishing for another could change every aspect of my thinking and behavior. Think it would be pretty great for you.
I like that I can read this and feel that it's ok if I don't grasp it all right away.