Book picks similar to
Reality, Art and Illusion by Alan W. Watts


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Breakfast with Buddha


Roland Merullo - 2007
    Six days on the road with an enigmatic holy man who answers every question with a riddle is not what he'd planned. But in an effort to westernize his passenger--and amuse himself--he decides to show the monk some "American fun" along the way. From a chocolate factory in Hershey to a bowling alley in South Bend, from a Cubs game at Wrigley field to his family farm near Bismarck, Otto is given the remarkable opportunity to see his world--and more important, his life--through someone else's eyes. Gradually, skepticism yields to amazement as he realizes that his companion might just be the real thing. In Roland Merullo's masterful hands, Otto tells his story with all the wonder, bemusement, and wry humor of a man who unwittingly finds what he's missing in the most unexpected place.

Meditations


Jiddu Krishnamurti - 1979
    He taught that the only way to peace on earth is the transformation of the human psyche—and that there is no path to this transformation, no method for achieving it, no gurus or spiritual authorities who can help. The transformation is a truth each of us must discover within ourselves. This classic collection of brief excerpts from Krishnamurti's books and talks presents the essence of his teaching on meditation—a state of attention, beyond thought, which brings total freedom from authority and ambition, fears and separateness. This doubly expanded edition features even more of the great teacher's wisdom than the original version, and also includes some never-before-published material.

Signs: The Secret Language of the Universe


Laura Lynne Jackson - 2019
    She possesses an incredible gift: the ability to communicate with loved ones who have passed, convey messages of love and healing, and impart a greater understanding of our interconnectedness. Though her abilities are exceptional, they are not unique, and that is the message at the core of this book. Understanding "the secret language of the universe" is a gift available to all. As we learn to ask for and recognize signs from the other side, we will start to find meaning where before there was only confusion, and see light in the darkness. We may decide to change paths, push toward love, pursue joy, and engage with life in a whole new way.In Signs, Jackson is able to bring the mystical into the everyday. She relates stories of people who have experienced uncanny revelations and instances of unexplained synchronicity, as well as others drawn from her own experience. There's the lost child who appears to his mother as a deer that approaches her unhesitatingly at a highway rest stop; the name written on a dollar bill that lets a terrified wife know that her husband will be okay; the Elvis Presley song that arrives at the exact moment of Jackson's own father's passing; and many others. This is a book that is inspiring and practical, deeply comforting and wonderfully motivational, in asking us to see beyond ourselves to a more magnificent universal design.

The Way to God


Mahatma Gandhi - 1999
    Originally published in India in 1971, The Way to God reveals the essence of Gandhi's ideas on faith, love, meditation, service, self-control, and prayer. A simple guide to daily religious practice, it is relevant to readers of every faith.

Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion


Peter Kreeft - 2005
    Is there a God? How can we explain the presence of evil? Do humans, or human souls, live on after death? Is there a hell? The following lectures examine these eternal questions and present the most compelling arguments for and against God's existence, the seeming conflicts between religion and science, and the different truth-claims of the world's most popular religions. By delving into the major characteristics of world religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism, mankind's association with the many different varieties of religious practice is brought to light. Above all, Faith and Reason: The Philosophy of Religion lays the groundwork for a rational approach to pursuing questions of faith - and at the same time provides a better understanding of religion's ongoing importance in the realm of human experience.

Learning to Walk in the Dark


Barbara Brown Taylor - 2014
    Doesn’t God work in the nighttime as well? In Learning to Walk in the Dark, Taylor asks us to put aside our fears and anxieties and to explore all that God has to teach us “in the dark.” She argues that we need to move away from our “solar spirituality” and ease our way into appreciating “lunar spirituality” (since, like the moon, our experience of the light waxes and wanes). Through darkness we find courage, we understand the world in new ways, and we feel God’s presence around us, guiding us through things seen and unseen. Often, it is while we are in the dark that we grow the most.With her characteristic charm and literary wisdom, Taylor is our guide through a spirituality of the nighttime, teaching us how to find our footing in times of uncertainty and giving us strength and hope to face all of life’s challenging moments.

The Essence of Self-realization: The Wisdom of Paramahansa Yogananda


Paramahansa Yogananda - 1990
    A few of the chapters include The TruePurpose of Life On Meditation How to Pray Effectively The Law of Karma The Lesson ofReincarnation and Ways in Which God Can Be Worshiped. Filled with lessons and stories thatYogananda shared only with his closest disciples, this volume offers one of the most insightfuland engaging glimpses into the life and lessons of a great sage. Much of the material presentedhere is not available anywhere else.

A Little History of Religion


Richard Holloway - 2016
    Richard Holloway retells the entire history of religion—from the dawn of religious belief to the twenty-first century—with deepest respect and a keen commitment to accuracy. Writing for those with faith and those without, and especially for young readers, he encourages curiosity and tolerance, accentuates nuance and mystery, and calmly restores a sense of the value of faith. Ranging far beyond the major world religions of Judaism, Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, Holloway also examines where religious belief comes from, the search for meaning throughout history, today’s fascinations with Scientology and creationism, religiously motivated violence, hostilities between religious people and secularists, and more. Holloway proves an empathic yet discerning guide to the enduring significance of faith and its power from ancient times to our own.

The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times


Pema Chödrön - 2001
    Here Pema provides the tools to deal with the problems and difficulties that life throws our way. This wisdom is always available to us, she teaches, but we usually block it with habitual patterns rooted in fear. Beyond that fear lies a state of openheartedness and tenderness. This book teaches us how to awaken our basic goodness and connect with others, to accept ourselves and others complete with faults and imperfections, and to stay in the present moment by seeing through the strategies of ego that cause us to resist life as it is.

God's Problem: How the Bible Fails to Answer Our Most Important Question - Why We Suffer


Bart D. Ehrman - 2008
    Surprisingly, though, the Bible does not have one answer but many "answers" that often contradict one another. Consider these competing explanations for suffering put forth by various biblical writers:The prophets: suffering is a punishment for sinThe book of Job, which offers two different answers: suffering is a test, and you will be rewarded later for passing it; and suffering is beyond comprehension, since we are just human beings and God, after all, is GodEcclesiastes: suffering is the nature of things, so just accept itAll apocalyptic texts in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament: God will eventually make right all that is wrong with the worldFor renowned Bible scholar Bart Ehrman, the question of why there is so much suffering in the world is more than a haunting thought. Ehrman's inability to reconcile the claims of faith with the facts of real life led the former pastor of the Princeton Baptist Church to reject Christianity.In God's Problem, Ehrman discusses his personal anguish upon discovering the Bible's contradictory explanations for suffering and invites all people of faith—or no faith—to confront their deepest questions about how God engages the world and each of us.

Mystery Babylon: Unlocking the Bible's Greatest Prophetic Mystery


Joel Richardson - 2016
     Mystery Babylon is an in-depth look at the prophecy of Revelation 17 and 18. Richardson dissects the longest prophecy in the New Testament – the final chapters of the Bible – in order to make sense of these deeply elusive and profoundly controversial passages. At once a queen, a prostitute, and a cold-blooded killer, this great harlot waves a golden cup filled with blood. Adorned in purple and scarlet and gold and precious stones, she seduces the kings of the earth with luxury. Most commonly known, perhaps, is that she rides a beast with seven heads and ten horns. Her title is Mystery, Babylon the Great, the mother of all harlots and of the abominations of the earth. From the early days of Christianity, believers have struggled to understand the mystery of the great harlot. Scholars and students alike have arrived at many different conclusions. In his characteristically easy-to-understand style, Richardson works through the history of Christian interpretation of Mystery Babylon, weighing the strengths and weaknesses of each view, making a powerful case for a solution to this prophecy that will rock the prophecy world. Divided into three parts Mystery Babylon Richardson exposits Scripture in part 1, examines the more common positions in part 2, and invites the reader to a powerful conclusion in part 3. Keep both your Bible and your mind open as you read this book not simply with an intellectual curiosity, but with much prayer and a truly contrite and trusting heart, believing indeed that the Lord will open up his secrets to all “those who fear Him” (Ps. 25:14).

Meditations on Living, Dying, and Loss: The Essential Tibetan Book of the Dead


Graham Coleman - 2008
    In Meditations on Living, Dying and Loss, Graham Coleman, the editor of Viking?s acclaimed unabridged translation of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, collects the most beautifully written passages, ones that draw out the central perspectives most relevant to modern experience: What is death? How can we help those who are dying? And how can we come to terms with bereavement? New to this edition are Coleman?s introduction and his brilliant and incisive essays, which preface each chapter and provide the seeker entrée to these ancient insights. With introductory commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama and a highly praised translation by Gyurme Dorje, this succinct but authoritative volume will convey the profundity of the original to those hungry for a better understanding of this life and the next.

Going on Being: Buddhism and the Way of Change


Mark Epstein - 2001
    Before Mark Epstein became a medical student at Harvard and began training as a psychiatrist, he immersed himself in Buddhism through experiences with such influential Buddhist teachers as Ram Dass, Joseph Goldstein, and Jack Kornfield. The positive outlook of Buddhism and the meditative principle of living in the moment came to influence his study and practice of psychotherapy profoundly. "Going on Being "is Epstein's memoir of his early years as a student of Buddhism and of how Buddhism shaped his approach to therapy, as well as a practical guide to how a Buddhist understanding of psychological problems makes change for the better possible. "Going on Being "is an intimate chronicle of the evolution of spirit and psyche, and a highly inviting guide for anyone seeking a new path and a new outlook on life.

Soren Kierkegaard


George Connell - 1990
    PRESENTED BY KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTS AND NARRATED BY CHARLTON HESTON. A 2-AUDIOTAPE CASSETTE AUDIOBOOK. APPROX. 3 HOURS TIME.

Closer to God Each Day: 365 Devotions for Everyday Living


Joyce Meyer - 2015
    But in order to lead a fulfilling life, you have to make time daily for what's most important -- your relationship with God. In Closer to God Each Day, Joyce Meyer, #1 New York Times bestselling author, outlines practicals ways to develop your intimacy with God. Joyce shares powerful Scripture and personal illustrations that will help you experience the peace that is gained through closeness with Him. You'll be inspired each day to make better decisions, live more effectively, and lead the joyful life God has planned for you.