10 Books to Rapidly Expand Your Consciousness
posted by Tinh Man | February 18, 2011
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IcerocketI'm sure just about all of us here on Evolver could agree that we are in the process of expanding and evolving our consciousness, collectively and individually. This list of books has been instrumental in helping me expand my own consciousness, and therefore add a higher vibration to the collective. These ten books cover a wide variety of topics, from a variety of perspectives and belief systems. A few of the books are speculative, a few of the books are "fictional," and more yet still are based entirely on the scientific method. The reason some fictional books have been included is because ficitional stories can penetrate to the heart and soul far more easily than non-fictional works. But developing the intellect is equally as important. We are, after all, multi-dimensional beings and so we must not neglect any aspect of our existence if we truly want to evolve and expand our consciousness.
1. Be Here Now -- (Ram Das)
2. The Field: The Quest for the Secret Force of The Universe -- (Lynn McTaggart)
3. Vasistha's Yoga -- (Swami Venkatesananda)
4. True Love -- (Thich Nhat Hanh)
5. Anastasia -- (Vladimir Megre)
6. Half Asleep in Frog Pajamas -- (Tom Robbins)
7. Ishmael -- (Daniel Quinn)
8. Autobiography of a Yogi -- (Paramahansa Yogananda)
9. Way of the Shaman -- (Michael Harner)
10. Sacred Journey of the Peaceful Warrior -- (Dan Millman)
Comments
nice list
— Feb 19, 2011
be here now was awesome, the field was a great intro, and the way of the shaman was good - think people here could utilize the method of shamanic drum journeying much more - just get a track of straight drumming, 200 beats per minute so it's entraining to 4.5 hz theta range. Then lay down, go down a hole in the earth, a pond, a cave, swirl around and out through the bottom into the shamanic underworld, meet the spirits, go flying, ask questions, dance, anything you can imagine! It's quite useful.
Here's a recount of one of my journeys, with pictures and drumming: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCJ-jgXoKNU
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior was made into a movie that was pretty good!
Have To Explore
— Feb 19, 2011
I will have to explore this experience further but too, it reminds me when I traveled through Cuba and met up with a group of indigenous people of Cuba in Santiago de Cuba. I was fortunate enough to be invited to what was essentially a family gathering for a young girls birthday though this did not stop their potent ganja from being freely passed around. As the night progressed the drums beat their tribal rhythm that became increasingly louder and faster, progressively weaving their hypnotic rhythm. I was compelled to mimic their rhythm and began to dance amongst the people there and slowly the spell of the drums took me over so much so I think I naively crossed or was being taken-over somehow because at a point it seemed all hell broke loose. The elders mostly women, somehow sensed what was happening and as I remember it - as the women grabbed me and pulled away, I was crying profusely and sweating equally as much all the while being swabbed and comforted back to reality by the women who speaking in Spanish which I presumed, were telling me to sit quite. All the while I was asking: what had happened? It was quite the experience that to this day I am still trying to come to grips with and frankly, am wanting to revisit the people, land and experience as I travel this road of life experiences.
LOVEly List
— Feb 19, 2011
Be Here Now, I loved, but can't say that I really got it when I read it, but I enjoyed it's fun, poetry and it's collage of images.
The Field had a profound effect on me: "perfect coherence is an optimum state just between chaos an order." Superradiance is a process of global coherence and if it is true of microtubules in the body, it is true of consciousness in the world. Once coherence was achieved self-transparency is generated causing light to penetrate matter!
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior shows the power of subjective enlightenment over reality - try this at home kids.
I just checked out God & Buddha from the library and not only does Deepak manage to clearly convey what Vedanta philosophy is in under ten minutes, but they also get into this conversation about the different levels of consciousness and opened it up in a way that was thoroughly accessible and exciting. Can't recommend enough this DVD for understanding consciousness.
http://www.amazon.com/God-Buddha-Dialogue-Deepak-Chopra/dp/B0000C23DQ
I'd also like to throw into the mix two books that align with the practice of Bhakti Yoga:
http://www.amazon.com/Traveling-Speed-Love-Sonia-Choquette/dp/1401924026
http://www.amazon.com/Secret-Power-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/1439181780/ref=sr_1_1...
This is Heaven on Earth.
A great list!
— Feb 20, 2011
Thanks for sharing Tinh Man ~
Loved that you included Tom Robbins in there with Yogananda, Milman, Quinn, Harner. The two I haven't read I will ~ thanks for the heads up.
Into this list I would add two:
Joanna Macy's World as Lover, World as Self. That has to be one of the most profound books I have ever encountered.
http://www.parallax.org/cgi-bin/shopper.cgi?preadd=action&key=BOOKWAL
And Thomas Berry's Dream of the Earth.
Both of these books, and their authors, are extraordinary in every way.
Eric
Conscious Music for Personal Evolution
www.ericgeoffrey.com
i would recommend eckhart's
— Feb 20, 2011
i would recommend eckhart's new earth as well
or any osho!
anything light to recommend?
— Feb 21, 2011
I've been consuming book after book for the past couple of years and am up to my eyeballs in the shift...I've read the Tom Robbins novel, any other recommendations for something expansive-yet-light-and-maybe-even-hilarious?
Anything by Kurt Vonnegut
— Feb 22, 2011
Slapstick by Kurt Vonnegut, especially so
"Among animals, I am the lion." -- Lord Krishna
3 good ones
— Mar 09, 2011
"Dark Night, Early Dawn", Christopher Bache (mind-expanding )
"Subtle Worlds: An Explorer's Field Notes", David Spangler (full of insights; a distillation of 60 years of engagement with the subtle dimensions)
"The Bushman Way of Tracking God", Bradford Keeney (a mojo book, heart-opening, soulful, magical)
"The SACRED (whatever that means) is surely related (somehow) to the
BEAUTIFUL (whatever that means)..."
Gregory Bateson
...and two more
— Mar 14, 2011
"Inner Journey Home: Soul's Realization of the Unity of Reality", A. H. Almaas
http://www.ahalmaas.com/Books/inner_journey_home.htm
***
Amazing book about the inner organic alchemy of growth and healing...
Into Wholeness: The Path of Deep Imagery, Stephen Gallegos
http://www.moonbearpress.com/books/intow/index.html
"The SACRED (whatever that means) is surely related (somehow) to the
BEAUTIFUL (whatever that means)..."
Gregory Bateson
"Lucid Living"
— Mar 13, 2011
Lucid Living: "a book you can read in an hour that will turn your world inside out"
http://www.timothyfreke.com/lucid.php
"The SACRED (whatever that means) is surely related (somehow) to the
BEAUTIFUL (whatever that means)..."
Gregory Bateson
fictional penetrating the heart
— Mar 22, 2011
This topic is an ecstatic revelry, joining insight into our collective consciousness. This list should be kept up, maybe a formal list with categories. I like the idea of having a working reading list of transformative books.
As for the fiction category, albeit this one has some autobiographical moments. I would add
Shantaram by Gregory David Roberts
Mind expanding category
Poker without Cards by Ben Mack
a bit subversive, kind of a schroedinger's cat, paradox busting book.
The Illuminatus Trilogy
— Mar 23, 2011
The Illuminatus Trilogy and/or Prometheus Rising by Bob Anton Wilson definitely needs to be added to the list
Alan Watts work as well
