What Books are by Your Bed?

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

1. Biology of Belief: Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles by Bruce Lipton, on the new science of Epigenetics and how Mind/Matter and thought has profound effects on our biology, our lives, and the collective lives of our species.

 

2. A Guide to the Good Life (The Ancient Art of Stoic Joy) by William B. Irvine, on the wisdom of the stoic philosophers and the relevance for today. Can't wait to read-I think Stoicism is little understood, but has profound relevance for the modern Taoist.

 

3. Possessing Me: A Memoir of Healing by "SFJane" Alexander. Basing my interest on Jane's posts here, this will be an incredibly interesting and important read. I may just have to read it next (once it arrives).

 

4. The Emotion Code- How to Release Your Trapped Emotions for Abundant Health, Love and Happiness by Dr. Bradley Nelson.

 

5. The Essential Marcus Aurelius -Translated and Introduced by Jacob Needleman and John Piazza.

 

6. You Shall Know Our Velocity by Dave Eggers.

 

7. Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation by Andreas Moritz.

 

8. Qi Gong for Total Wellness- Increase Your Energy, Vitality, and Longevity with the Ancient 9 Palaces System from the White Cloud Monastery by Dr. Baolin Wu. This is a re-read for me, it's really amazing for a Qi Gong book.

 

9. Street of Crocodiles and Other Stories by Bruno Schulz. A modern masterpiece of writing.

 

10. The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov. I love Russian writers and Russian Literature! This had really great reviews on Amazon.

 

And embarassingly, I have many more...I wish I could take a year off just to read!

Edited December 15, 2010 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[al.]

1. fourth uncle in the mountain by marjorie pivar

 

2. the power of limits by gyorgy doczi

 

3. the rainbow and the worm by mae-wan wo

 

4. mind over matter; higher martial arts by shi ming

 

5. seeking the spirit of the book of change by zhongxian wu

 

6. the toebone and the tooth by martin prechtel

 

too many books, not enough time!

[Taomeow]

Not in His Image: Gnostic Vision, Sacred Ecology, and the Future of Belief, by John Lamb Lash

 

And that's it. I don't keep a long list of books to read -- if I want to read a book, I read it.

 

I read very fast, and few books cover to cover -- 99% of all books published are too long, for commercial reasons. Most novels are really short stories. Most short stories are really one-page essays. Most one-page essays are really one-liners. I treat them as such.

 

Not so with reference literature of the dense kind. E.g., TCM Materia Medica and my herbal books and the like are re-read till they are all in a dog-eared state.

[Sunya]

Taboo of Subjectivity by B Alan Wallace -- it's a good critique of how modern science conflates consciousness to the physical (it's just brain stuff). I got it after I argued with someone who loves Daniel Dennet and says we understand consciousness because of optical illusions :blink: The point being, the nature of consciousness is entirely subjective and cannot be reduced to an it

 

Painting on the Sidewalk with Water by Joan Tollifson. Talks on Nonduality, very intense book that I can only read a paragraph at a time because it just rips apart ego like a lawnmower cutting grass. Very direct.

 

Buddhist Practice on Western Ground - written by a Buddhist psychotherapist and talks about how Buddhism differs from Western values and ideals, and how that can be applied to therapy

 

The Silent Question by Toni Packer - another mindscrubbing book. Toni was Joan's teacher and they both come from a very direct nondual perspective

 

Clarifying the Natural State - Mahamudra practice manual

[al.]

 

I read very fast, and few books cover to cover -- 99% of all books published are too long, for commercial reasons. Most novels are really short stories. Most short stories are really one-page essays. Most one-page essays are really one-liners. I treat them as such.

 

 

Ah, I hear what your saying, but this is a bit of a sweeping statement no? Although if you really boil things down to it, not a great deal needs to be said in the first place (all you really need is a smile and a twinkle!) but I think it needs to be pointed out that the structure of our language has evolved in such a way that it inhibits real storytelling- no one has the time anymore! This makes it hard to make the space to allow real musicality in our speech and our stories, let alone the ones we can put down to paper (eg omg i hv no tm 4 ths)

 

the beauty of poetry lies not just in the essence, but in the form, the rhythm and tone; it's a shame to skip over this...

a

[KoolAid900]

Gampopa, Jewel Ornament of Liberation

Drikung Dharmakirti, Adivce on the 5-fold path of Mahamudra

Ponlop Rinpoche, Mind Beyond Death

[sean]

a path with a heart by jack kornfield

the power of focusing by ann weiser cornell

the great stillness: tao meditation volume 2 by bruce frantzis

lao-tzu's taoteching translated by red pine

meditating with the body by reginald ray

 

sean

[Taomeow]

Ah, I hear what your saying, but this is a bit of a sweeping statement no? Although if you really boil things down to it, not a great deal needs to be said in the first place (all you really need is a smile and a twinkle!) but I think it needs to be pointed out that the structure of our language has evolved in such a way that it inhibits real storytelling- no one has the time anymore! This makes it hard to make the space to allow real musicality in our speech and our stories, let alone the ones we can put down to paper (eg omg i hv no tm 4 ths)

 

the beauty of poetry lies not just in the essence, but in the form, the rhythm and tone; it's a shame to skip over this...

a

 

Right.

 

I didn't skip though, I've been reading books since I was 3 and classics at 7... I'm just at the "next stage" by now.

 

Most of the poetry I love, I know by heart (many hours' worth of reciting if I ever invested them...). Books full of music that I haven't read yet in the two languages I can hear the music in are rare and far between. When I get really, really serious about my Chinese studies, I'll return to the state I was in at 7, like a good lil' taoist. I will read for the music again... (that's how I learned English -- by falling in love with the music, savoring every word... Some of them were like a bell tolling inside when I said them... "llllonnnnnellllyyyy... sacrrrrillllege... abanbanbanbanbandondondondon....)

[FreeTheStig]

Perfect Brilliant Stillness: David Carse

 

The Revolution A Manifesto: Ron Paul

 

Sex, Ecology, Spirituality: The Spirit of Evolution : Ken Wilber

 

Fiberglass Boat Repair Manual: Vaitse

 

In search of lost time: Marcel Proust

 

The Trillion Dollar Meltdown, Easy Money, High Rollers, and the Great credit crash: Charles Morris

 

 

Currently picking my way through each of them. I tend to move through them slower in the winter and generally just accumulate a couple hundred pounds of books to be packed onto the boat. Where I'll spend my summer reading about a book a day while waiting for fish to hit the net.

[strawdog65]

The i ching workbook by: roger green

 

China: people,place, culture, history by:DK books

 

The complete works of Lao Tzu, by: Hua-Ching Ni

 

Chronicles of Tao, by: Deng Ming-dao

 

Tao the watercourse way, by: Alan watts

 

Everyday Tao, by: Deng Ming-Dao

[balance.]

Biopiracy - the Plunder of Nature and Knowledge -- Vandana Shiva

The Heart of Understanding - Thich Nhat Hanh

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? - Philip K. Dick

[Encephalon]

I'm trying to connect my nei kung practice, and my ongoing study of anatomy and physiology, with my mental and emotional experience. So I'm going to finish "The Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman. And I guess I'm going to actually finish three other titles similarly linked: "Music, the Brain, And Ecstasy" by Robert Jourdain, "The Web of Life" by Fritjof Capra, and "Music and the Mind" by Anthony Storr. Trying to make my guitar practice a spiritual path as well (and chicks dig it).

 

Before bed, The Dhammapada and The Miracle of Mindfulness.

 

Ongoing - One Breath at a Time: Buddhism and the Twelve Steps by Kevin Griffin and The 12-Step Buddhist by Darren Littlejohn.

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Welcome back, Sir Blasto! Edited December 16, 2010 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[Franklin]

right now

 

 

 

one straw revolution- Masanobu Fukuoka

 

man nature woman- alan watts

 

think on these things- Krishnamurti

 

 

franklin

[Encephalon]

Welcome back, Sir Blasto!

 

Good to be back, thanks!

[Makyea]

Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allen Poe

Hmong! CIA's Secret Army (Play)

Acting

The Rapture of Canaan

 

I read my books on rotation throwing new ones in when I can. I've read 2nd two books 3 times already haha

[sean]

aligned, relaxed, resilient - will johnson

hara - karlfried graf durckheim

becoming the lotus - martin faulks

wild swans - jung chang

the words of my perfect teacher - patrul rinpoche

the post-american world - fareed zakaria

 

sean

[sifusufi]

Bikram Yoga: Bikram Choudry

 

Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy: Eric Yudelove

 

In Search Of The Hidden Treasure: Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

 

Bagua Linked Palms: Wang Shujin

 

The Music Of India: Reginald & Jamilia Massey

 

Rumi Wisdom: Timothy Freke

 

The Book Of Sufi Healing: Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

Bikram Yoga: Bikram Choudry

 

Taoist Yoga and Sexual Energy: Eric Yudelove

 

In Search Of The Hidden Treasure: Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan

 

Bagua Linked Palms: Wang Shujin

 

The Music Of India: Reginald & Jamilia Massey

 

Rumi Wisdom: Timothy Freke

 

The Book Of Sufi Healing: Shaykh Hakim Moinuddin Chishti

 

 

I freaking love Timothy Freke.

Edited February 4, 2011 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[Cloudhand]

I have the Tao Te Ching by Jane English and my mentor Gia Fu Feng, Tai Chi and I Ching the Way of Centering By Gia Fu Feng and The Book of Bean Curd Boxing its by a internet author, Beat Zen by Allan Watts my other mentor. And I like all the beat poets Ginsburg, Kerouac, Snyder and my own books that I wrote on Tai Chi which is on-going and my Book on Stick Fighting that I did with Jason Elkins. Move Slowly, Cloudhand PS; Bean Curd Boxing is by Paul Read a great guy.

Edited February 4, 2011 by Cloudhand

[Dainin]

I also have far too many waiting to be read, and have pledged a moratorium against adding any more books in 2011 (Trying to "cut through spiritual materialism!). Here are a few in my stack:

 

Hardcore Zen: Brad Warner

 

Realizing Genjokoan: Shohoku Okumura

 

Reality: Peter Kingsley

 

Total Health the Chinese Way: Esther Ting

 

Four Hour Body: Timothy Ferriss

 

Yoga Beyond Belief: Ganga White

 

Chants of a Lifetime: Krishna Das

 

Living with the Himalayan Masters: Swami Rama

 

Introduction to Sufism: Eric Geoffrey

 

Awakening the Sacred Body: Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche (Last purchase of 2010!)

 

I'll still buy some DVDs and CDs in 2011 though...can't go completely cold turkey just yet!

[manitou]

Your Healing Hands; Polarity Experience (Richard Gordon)

 

Astral Dynamics (Robert Bruce)

 

Seeking the Spirit of the Book of Change (Master Wu)

 

Complete Guide to Marijuana Horticulture (Jorge Cervantes)

 

The Mystic Warriors of the Plains (Thomas Mails)

[adept]

1. The Tibetan Book Of Living and Dying - Sogyal Rinpoche

 

An awesome book that has challenged my conditioned beliefs. Utterly captivating.

 

 

 

2. The Writings Of Nichiren Daishonin

 

Not by my bed as this is online.

Edited February 5, 2011 by adept

[TheSongsofDistantEarth]

'Cutting for Stone' by Abraham Verghese

 

'Huna' by Serge Kahili King

 

'Awareness- Insights for a New Way of Living' by Osho

 

'The Miracle of the Breath' by Andy Caponigro

 

'The Shadow Effect-Illuminating the Power of Your True Self' by Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford and Marianne Williamson

Edited February 5, 2011 by TheSongsofDistantEarth

[Yuen Biao]

4. mind over matter; higher martial arts by shi ming

 

Out of curiosity what do you think of this book? I've read it twice and think it is without doubt one of the most complex studies on Taijiquan but yet also the simplest and logical to comprehend!

 

My teacher spent a few years learning from Shi Ming and although I never met him I have studied a little with one of his top students in Beijing.

 

On my bedside table I currently read:

 

Don Quixote

'My Journey in Mystic China' - John Blofeld.

'The Book of Tea' - Kakuzo Okakura.

Edited February 5, 2011 by Yuen Biao