silent thunder Posted May 19, 2020 Just now, Taomeow said: Please stay tuned then, it's still on my night stand. The other ones took precedence because of you know what. But its time is coming. Awesome... that's like waiting for Solstice Eve... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted May 19, 2020 On 4/24/2020 at 8:31 AM, RobB said: Blimey, this could take a while... Tempting... 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted May 21, 2020 On 5/18/2020 at 4:58 PM, silent thunder said: I'm quite curious to hear any thoughts you'd be willing to share on this. Getting back to you with the book report. It's excellent. I picked it up somewhere secondhand-books (as was my habit before the look-don't-touch times) based on nothing in particular except a shen qi feeling (physical books can have that, which is why I always prefer them, given a choice ), and now I finally read some of it all the way to the blurbs on the back cover and discovered there's one by Albert Einstein, who wrote a letter to the author in 1953 (the book first came out in 1952) praising it and expressing gratitude. So looks like we're in good company. It pretty much teaches one to orient oneself in the sky with clarity, simplicity and common sense I haven't seen in other books on astronomy, which mostly left me frustrated because the way constellations are presented therein for recognition, whether traditional or modernized, always seemed arbitrary, confusing and, with few exceptions, not particularly helpful. This one is different and fun. And has some surprises for a taoist too -- e.g. I knew (of course) that Ursa Major rotates around the Polaris and drags a good chunk of the overall taoist cognitive paradigm with it, but I had no idea that Cassiopeia rotates right across from it in the same pattern. Together they are like end points on the spikes that hold the umbrella of the sky open ('heaven is round' -- Ta Chuan) and the North Pole Star is like the leak-proof center point of that umbrella (wiki tells me it's called a ferrule) sitting on top of its shaft... which actually made the ancient concept of the axis mundi as clear to me as no amount of pompous mystical pronouncements ever did. So, if you like to look at the sky, this book can help you recognize and comprehend what it actually is that you're looking at. 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted May 21, 2020 1 hour ago, Taomeow said: I picked it up somewhere secondhand-books (as was my habit before the look-don't-touch times) based on nothing in particular except a shen qi feeling This is how most of my books seems to jump into my lap these days. and exactly how I came to ask you about this book. That cover veritably sings to me. Thanks so much for your time, particularly now. I'm an avid Star Hound from my earliest daze, so I'll be looking for my copy. And for the record... Second hand book stores are perhaps the greatest hover points for me since discovering one across the street from our home while attending University back in the 80's. Collette was the bookstore Cat and the Captain of the Idea Ship, who chaparoned those of us who meandered the maze of shelves across two sprawling levels. I spent countless afternoons in one of the reading nooks they provided with Collette as companion close by, smiling and nodding her approval, or sniffing in mild contempt on occasion. It was over a year of regular perusing, before I finally meandered into the furthest back corner of the second floor shelving units to uncover... their secret door to the third level of rare and specialty books! Never found the door to Narnia, but probably for the best... I've had work here to do. Thanks again friend. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheGrayJediKnight Posted June 18, 2020 I presently have these books on my nightstand, kept on top of my prayer mat: "Become the Force" "The Four Dragons" "White Moon on the Mountain Peak" "The Bliss of Inner Fire" "The Book of Joy" I'm also recently reading or re-reading: "Enter Mo Pai" "Nei Kung: The Secret Teachings of the Warrior Sages" "The Magus of Java" "Neolithic Shamanism" Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Daniel Posted June 23, 2020 (edited) Books on my nightstand, I have 4, a very bizarre blend, imho. Guanzi vol 1. The Tanya ( a Chassidic text by the Alter Rebbe Schneur Zahlman of Liadi ) The Dictionary of FreeMasonry Dragons of Autumn Twilight, the classic Dragonlance fantasy paperback from my childhood. I'm re-reading it. Edited June 23, 2020 by Daniel 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Nintendao Posted June 23, 2020 On 6/12/2020 at 10:29 AM, ऋषि said: 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted July 21, 2020 (edited) I'm on this paragraph: "What, then, were the procedures? Reading alchemical texts, the first thing one discovers is that there is very little unity of opinion on the subject. Transmutation consisted in the following set of operations: purification, solution, putrefaction, distillation, sublimation, calcination, and coagulation. However, the order and content of them is unclear, and not all alchemists employed all the techniques. Circumstances (...) always seemed to alter the methods. Hence what is agreed upon in terms of procedure is very general, consisting only of the basic outlines. (...) The very delicacy of the procedure meant that it could be thrown off by the slightest mistake. Furthermore, it was central to the tradition that each student must learn this complex procedure by himself. There was no standardized recipe that could be handed on, but rather an elaborate practice that required a profound commitment. The variable factors were thus legion; failure rather than success was the rule." Edited July 21, 2020 by Taomeow 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted July 31, 2020 Put this one down for a while but have picked it back up. Very exotic and inspiring. 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) Fall of Gods. I was a kickstarter supporter for this piece. Bought it for my mythology collection and for my son to peruse on a long road trip to Oregon last Summer. It's a High Fantasy Norse mythological tale told in graphic novel style. Fun tribute to the Old Norse Hero tales. Though wholly predictable, the Art is of exceptional quality and detail. As a picture book, it's outstanding. It was not a hit, with my son, my gal, or myself at the time and sat unperused until yesterday... Though I'm appreciating it now. Seems all I have gravity to read these daze, is a bit of poetry and picture books... C'est la vie. Edited July 31, 2020 by silent thunder 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted August 1, 2020 (edited) Just put this one on my Kindle And this one: Edogawa Rampo is a pen name derived from the Japanese way to say Edgar Allan Poe. Edited August 1, 2020 by Taomeow 5 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) I'm on my second reading of Vasistha's Yoga. I've mentioned this one before on this thread. The second reading is even more exquisite than the first reading, because I understand more now. I first heard of this tome in an interview with Fareed Zakaria, who mentioned this book. Apparently he is on a pretty serious path of his own, if this book is any indication. The quote on the back says 'For aspirants of the highest beatitude, the Yoga Vasishtha is like nectar. . It is a storehouse of wisdom.' (Swami Venkatesananda) I couldn't agree more. You can open this book randomly to any one of the 725 pages - and the wisdom contained in such a succinct manner is astonishing, to me. The soul of this book is to the bone, and it will carry you to as close as we can get to that which can't be described. Edited August 20, 2020 by manitou 1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) While searching up quotes of Herman Hesse on the anniversary of his passing a couple weeks ago... several quotes I encountered leapt out at me and resonated piercingly. All from the same book, Demian. I'd never heard of it. Got it for my gal for Second Christmas. She's not started it yet, but I'm anticipating good things... Quote excerpt from page 2: "I must not call myself one who knows. I was a seeker and am still, but I seek no more in the stars or in books; I am beginning to listen to the promptings of those instincts which are coursing in my very blood. My story is not pleasant, it it not sweet and harmonious like the fictitious stories. It smacks of nonsense and perplexity, of madness and dreams, like the lives of all men who do not wish to delude themselves any longer. The life of everyone is a way to himself, the search for a road, the indication of a path..." woof! Edited August 20, 2020 by silent thunder added the quote 4 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
thelerner Posted August 20, 2020 On my phones Kindle app I'm unusually spiritual lately. The Heshang DDC translation and a book by one of Wang Liping's serious western students- The Taoist Alchemy of Wang Liping by Nathan Brine 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Encephalon Posted August 23, 2020 Just finished - https://www.amazon.com/Murderers-Mausoleums-Riding-Between-Beijing/dp/0618799915 Just started - https://www.amazon.com/Hope-Circuit-Psychologists-Helplessness-Optimism/dp/1610398734/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+hope+circuit&qid=1598160732&sr=8-1 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doc benway Posted September 9, 2020 On 2/9/2020 at 2:39 AM, silent thunder said: Magic and Mystery in Tibet: Alexandra David-Neel wow. What a presence she must have been! She's becoming something of an archetypal hero for me. Her presence, through the paper is vibrant and palpable. I'm welcoming her as an honored guest in my home She's been good for me, though her first words came like thunder and radical shift... it's the welcome thunder of nourishing rain. This is my second foray into her process and experiences... and so far it's more glancing and topical. Though I'm but knee deep in... yup... got a sincere respect crushy on Ms David-Neel Reading this now, she is powerful! 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
silent thunder Posted September 9, 2020 1 hour ago, steve said: Reading this now, she is powerful! Wow, I just experienced a massive cascade of energy and resonance at being re-minded of my first experience of her in The Secret Oral Teachings of Tibetan Buddhist Sects. It's quite apparent now that she's among one of a very few people, whether in person or through books/videos, that have impacted me on this deep a level... I'm kind of stunned processing it honestly. It was wholly unanticipated, her impact on me. My assumption was that the book would be kind of a 'dangle a carrot' and then turn out to be a light read on a fascinating topic that likely wouldn't reveal anything of substance given the time it was written and the state of secret teachings... and I approached it rather smugly as maybe eliciting a neutral sort of 'nice stories' response. HA!@ There are no accidents. Had I encountered this book even seven years ago, I would likely have had just that experience... but encountering it when and how I did, my arrogance leaving me wonderfully disarmed and unguarded... several passages pierced me utterly and continue to roll through me like silent thunder. Not diminishing with time... amplifying. Rereading my response I chuckled. To part of my mind, it reads like a wide-eyed fanboy, lost in hyperbole... but my exuberance is fueled by raw gratitude. Gratitude and astonishment at the depth and breadth of the impact... at the timing of my encountering it and her being willing to share in the first place and me being unguarded. Like warm oil penetrating parched wood, or water saturating soil. Or like a trickling of water that engenders an avalanche. (ack lol... there i go all fanboy gaga again... ) So glad you posted this when you did... thanks mate. synchronicity... 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted September 9, 2020 12 hours ago, silent thunder said: Wow, I just experienced a massive cascade of energy and resonance at being re-minded of my first experience of her in The Secret Oral Teachings of Tibetan Buddhist Sects. I just read that one. 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
manitou Posted September 9, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Taomeow said: I just read that one. With you, Creighton, and Steve recommending this one, I just had to order it. I love the fact that she's a metaphysician from that period of time that was so crucial - the late 1800's through the early 1900's. I'd never heard of her - and I've read all of Manley Hall's, Helena Blavatsky, and Mary Baker Eddy. Can't wait to read this lady! Edited September 9, 2020 by manitou Too hard to explain 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Taomeow Posted September 9, 2020 24 minutes ago, manitou said: With you, Creighton, and Steve recommending this one, I just had to order it. I love the fact that she's a metaphysician from that period of time that was so crucial - the late 1800's through the early 1900's. I'd never heard of her - and I've read all of Manley Hall's, Helena Blavatsky, and Mary Baker Eddy. Can't wait to read this lady! You've read all of Helena Blavatsky? I'm impressed! I had "The Secret Doctrine" in four volumes on my shelf for years and I don't remember finishing even one of the volumes, due to the density of the material more than anything else. I wound up donating the whole thing so it doesn't sit there shaming me for my lack of perseverance every time I glance at the shelf! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
