What are your favourite books about philosohpy/metaphysics/life?

Hey everyone!

Just wondering what are some of your favorite books about life after death, life in general, healthy and spiritual living, and whatever you would recommend to any ATS user.

Thought it would be a cool idea to have a thread were everyone can post/discuss their favorite reads

The book that first really got me on the path to search for the truth was Whitley Strieber's "Communion". Whether or not he is truthful, or delusional is besides the point, the message he conveys is one that really stuck to me, and one that got me on the path that eventually led me here.

My highest recommendation is Michael Newton's "Journey of Souls", and "Destiny of Souls". Those two books totally changed the way I looked at life, and I have been able to really become a much more positive person after reading them.

I also really enjoyed Neale Walsh's "Conversations with God" series. Those really were touching books, with an amazing message that everyone should hear.

Another amazing read is Michael Talbot's "The Holographic Universe". A great theory about everything, with much science and metaphysical subject matter.

The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra
The Invisible Landscape by Terence McKenna,
Heaven and Hell and The Doors of Perception by Aldous Huxley
The Quantum and the Lotus by Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan
Life 101 by Peter McWilliams,
The Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu
The Rig Veda by Anonymous Indian Philosophers

And yes, Michael Newton's Journey of Souls is absolutely wonderful!
Now that I think about it, a song that poses very interesting topics is the amazing Sol Niger Within by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects. It's well worth the thirty-three minute listen!

[edit on 19-12-2009 by Lifthrasir]

Originally posted by Lifthrasir
The Tao of Physics by Fritjof Capra
Life 101 by Peter McWilliams,
The Tao Te Ching by Lao-Tzu
The Rig Veda by Anonymous Indian Philosophers

Then, a song that poses very interesting topics is the amazing Sol Niger Within by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects. It's well worth the thirty-three minute listen!

[edit on 19-12-2009 by Lifthrasir]

also

The secret of the golden flower

Prometheus Rising was an interesting read .

Prometheus Rising by Robert Anton Wilson is a guide book of "how to get from here to there", an amalgam of Timothy Leary's 8-circuit model of consciousness, Gurdjieff's self-observation exercises, Alfred Korzybski's general semantics, Aleister Crowley's magical theorems, Sociobiology, Yoga, Christian Science, relativity, and quantum mechanics amongst other approaches to understanding the world around us.

en.wikipedia.org...

A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys

He's not that well known, but he was a beautiful writer, and his work encompassed everything you mentioned having an interest in. From the aforementioned book, some thoughts on love:

"What in any woman renders a union lasting is the power of letting her man see that she likes him extremely in addition to loving him. What in any man renders a union lasting is this element of the rational-irrational “Don Quixote” in his mind and soul. And wherein consists this Don Quixote element? It consists in an act of the imaginative will; an act of the man’s soul that is actually creative; an act by means of which he sets up his particular Dulcinea del Toboso in an indestructible and imperishable niche. The act of the imaginative will to which I refer gives a man, in fact, the power to treat his woman, in her lifetime, as if she were dead . . . which is the rarest essence of human relationship and the supreme triumph over matter of the human spirit" (310).

Originally posted by Monts
Hey everyone!

Just wondering what are some of your favorite books about life after death, life in general, healthy and spiritual living, and whatever you would recommend to any ATS user.

Thought it would be a cool idea to have a thread were everyone can post/discuss their favorite reads

There is only one book that has ever explained the nature of consciousness in a way that will literally alter your perception of reality and Enlighten you.
It is The Knee of Listening, and its companion book, The Method of the Siddhas.

They are available online for free at:
www.beezone.com...

reply to post by RRokkyy


Sorry for going off topic but I got to tell yah , thats one kick a$$ avatar you have LOLOL

second line

reply to post by Monts


Conversations With God by Neale Walsh is a great read! Other terrific reads are:

1.) The Bible

One doesn't have to be religious in order to appreciate the sheer art and poetry of this collection of mythologies. Whether one is religious or not, that this book is a collection of mythologies is undeniable. Myths are works created to instruct and offer lessons to life through entertaining ways. No doubt this book can be beneficial in its instruction and very entertaining.

2.) Poetics by Aristotle

Of all his works this is my favorite of his. While it addresses primarily the mechanics of art, it profoundly simple in its assessment and adds to the rich tapestry that is humanity.

3.) Politics and Ethics by Aristotle

A basic primer into the workings of civilization and human morality

3.) The Art of War by Sun Tzu

This book is predicated on the tragedy of war and its inevitability due to the human condition. It is not a praise of war but a profound respect for the very real tragedies induced by war. Sun Tzu attempts to create principles of strategy that would greatly reduce the tragedies of war.

4.) Tao Te Ching by Lao Tzu

A book fundamental to Taoism, it offers many in insights in to Tao meaning the "way" or "path". The Tao is an Eastern philosophy designed to describe the true nature of of nature. The Tao precedes the universe and will exist long after the universe is gone, according to the Tao and the Tao Te Ching is an excellent primer into this philosophy.

5.) The Story of Civilization by Will and Ariel Durant

An eleven volume set that encompasses the great civilizations since time immemorial it is packed with history, philosophy and remarkable insights and any person who reads this work is richer for it.

6.) The Importance of Living by Lin Yutang

Maybe the best way to describe this remarkable book is by quoting the author himself. Here are just a few gems from that book:

“Only those who take leisurely what the people of the world are busy about can be busy about what the people of the world take leisurely”.

“Time is useful because it is not being used."

This is a great book that stresses the wisdom of living life leisurely if one hopes to gain wisdom. Great advice from a great sage.

7/) The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

While Ayn Rand clearly lacked a spiritual exuberance, what she lacked in spirituality she made up for in an unbridled praise of the individual. No philosopher or writer before or since has endeavored to defend and validate the power of the individual as much she. Since the advent of publishing the only book to ever sell more copies than hers is the Bible and that book surpasses her sales by far...well, maybe the Harry Potter books have done so recently as well and just might catch up to the Bible, but Rand's book remain extremely popular and profoundly affect the peoples lives who read them.

8.) Jonathan Livingston Seagul by Richard Bach

Short, sweet and straight to the point it is yet another ode to individuality and the power of will and the dreams that drive them.

9.) The Hero of a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell

It was Campbell who realized the remarkable similarity to myths across the world and their lasting power were so because of what these myths endeavored to accomplish with their message. This book chronicles the hero's journey and breaks it down into its universal and essential stages. The mythic hero is intended to inspire each of us to be heroic ourselves. If we dare to rise up to the challenge, Campbell's book explains clearly the stages we can expect to go through and what exactly that means.

10.) Any Works by... William Shakespeare

This man has pretty much said all there is to say and no one has ever said it better. From Kings and Queens to fools and paupers, all impart pearls of wisdom in the most poetic and astonishing ways. Can't ever loose by reading Shakespeare.

Great thread, thank-you.

Almost all works of Plato. Aristotle's "Poetics" and "Metaphysics".
Erasmus of Rotterdam - "The Praise of Folly"
Rene Descartes - "Meditations on First Philosophy"

German idealism:
Immanuel Kant - especially "Prolegomena to any Future Metaphysics" and "Critique of Pure Reason".
Hegel - "Phenomenology of Spirit"
Nietzsche - almost all his work
Marx - his notion of history (it is spread over few books so better way is to use some anthology)
My favorite is E. Husserl especially later work and his last "The Crisis of European Sciences and Transcendental Phenomenology: An Introduction to Phenomenological Philosophy"
Also Heidegger is interesting.

Next: Kierkegaard, Levinas, Foucault, Derrida, Lacan, Gramsci, Agamben, Hakim Bey, ...

I do not like analytical philosophy very much but it is part of western philosophical cannon so also must read ...

Too much to list.

Definitely have a read of Plato's Symposium. If anything, you'll learn a lot about love and just how complicated it is.

Enjoy.

Originally posted by Lifthrasir
Now that I think about it, a song that poses very interesting topics is the amazing Sol Niger Within by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects. It's well worth the thirty-three minute listen!

[edit on 19-12-2009 by Lifthrasir]

and SOUL BURN!

reply to post by Monts


"The Perfect Matrimony" - Samael Aun Weor
"Taoist Secrets of Love - Cultivating Male Sexual Energy" - Mantak Chia
"The Secret Teachings of All Ages" - Manly P Hall
"Dyanishwari" - Sant Jnanandeva

The Zohar

Originally posted by Lifthrasir
Now that I think about it, a song that poses very interesting topics is the amazing Sol Niger Within by Fredrik Thordendal's Special Defects. It's well worth the thirty-three minute listen!

[edit on 19-12-2009 by Lifthrasir]

and SOUL BURN!

reply to post by Monts


"Taoist Secrets of Love - Cultivating Male Sexual Energy" - Mantak Chia
"The Secret Teachings of All Ages" - Manly P Hall
"Dnanishwari" - Sant Jnanandeva
The Zohar

The Law of One..............

Oh, Being zen was good, as was Zen and the martial arts.

Also, Mutant message from down under was a great book whether it was truth or just inspiration, a really poignant and sweet message.

A path to love by deepak chopra was a great book on relationships and on being human, as were
The four agreements by don miguel ruiz (toltec nagual shaman)
The voice of knowledge (also don miguel)

And if you liked the holographic universe by talbot, you absolutely must read "the Field" by lynne mctaggart. Its much the same stuff and subject, but where the HU was done in the 70's, the field has todays research and studies added to it, kind of like an update to talbots work.

Ah!! how could I forget "the prophet" by khalil Gibran?!

All the other books are parables. The KOL is not.

On Parables
by Franz Kafka

Many complain that the words of the wise are always merely parables and of no use in daily life, which is the only life we have. When the sage says: "Go over," he does not mean that we should cross over to some actual place, which we could do anyhow if the labor were worth it; he means some fabulous yonder, something unknown to us, something too that he cannot designate more precisely, and therefore cannot help us here in the very least. All these parables really set out to say merely that the incomprehensible is incomprehensible, and we know that already. But the cares we have to struggle with every day: that is a different matter.

Concerning this a man once said: Why such reluctance? If you only followed the parables you yourselves would become parables and with that rid yourself of all your daily cares.

Another said: I bet that is also a parable.

The first said: You have won.

The second said: But unfortunately only in parable.

The first said: No, in reality: in parable you have lost.





[edit on 20-12-2009 by RRokkyy]

reply to post by Jean Paul Zodeaux

I was wondering who would post "Jonathan" first! lol
And also Bach's ILLUSIONS:the adventures of a reluctant messiah
All of Scott Peck's work but especially "The Road Less Traveled" and "People of the Lie"...

Here is a link to a thread of mine where people reviewed books on the subject. I think you might find some useful suggestions in there.

www.abovetopsecret.com...