manitou

Which books sit on your nightstand?

Recommended Posts

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

 

If you like this, you may also like:

 

13490893.jpg

 

 

 

 

I'm currently reading Ted Chiang - very talented!

He wrote the story from which the movie Arrival was developed.

 

41160292._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg

  • Thanks 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 hours ago, ऋषि said:

I love this book.  Its not an exaggeration for me to say that it was life-changing.  There are so many deep insights to be found within it.

 

On 2/9/2020 at 12:31 AM, Earl Grey said:


I have that book too.

 

Quite scary with the part on tulpa.

 

Have either of you read the book she co-wrote with her son Lama Yongden?

The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhism?

 

Her presence and message delivered in that book rolled through me like thunder to deep effect... indeed the right words at an auspicious moment.  Ripe soil.  The ramifications and reverberations continue to dissolve old paradigm structures.  Quite a gift.  Not a little unpleasant either (where resistance to shedding skin is present).

 

I'm reading the magic book, just for more of her words and her presence.  I've no longer any gravity or interest in descriptions of sorcerer's abilities, nor the supra-natural skills of high level practitioners... it's Alexandra's demeanor, that is cutting through the words like light through fog for me. 

 

Her presence is palpable in her words as few other authors I've ever read.

Strong resonance.  Her one word message in Secret Oral Teachings coalesced years of emerging insights for me.

 

Like i said... quite the respect crushy on Ms David-Neel.

 

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
2 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

 

 

Have either of you read the book she co-wrote with her son Lama Yongden?

The Secret Oral Teachings In Tibetan Buddhism?

 

Her presence and message delivered in that book rolled through me like thunder to deep effect... indeed the right words at an auspicious moment.  Ripe soil.  The ramifications and reverberations continue to dissolve old paradigm structures.  Quite a gift.  Not a little unpleasant either (where resistance to shedding skin is present).

 

I'm reading the magic book, just for more of her words and her presence.  I've no longer any gravity or interest in descriptions of sorcerer's abilities, nor the supra-natural skills of high level practitioners... it's Alexandra's demeanor, that is cutting through the words like light through fog for me. 

 

Her presence is palpable in her words as few other authors I've ever read.

Strong resonance.  Her one word message in Secret Oral Teachings coalesced years of emerging insights for me.

 

Like i said... quite the respect crushy on Ms David-Neel.

 

 

Haven't heard of it, but the next time I'm in the US, I will pick up a copy. 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
7 hours ago, steve said:

 

If you like this, you may also like:

 

13490893.jpg

 

 

 

 

I'm currently reading Ted Chiang - very talented!

He wrote the story from which the movie Arrival was developed.

 

41160292._UY630_SR1200,630_.jpg

I'm considering purchasing these... but am curious.

 

Are these books devoted to supra-natural phenomenon?  Or are they focused on insight and character?

 

The only thing drawing me to the Magic and Mysteries book is how it reveals the character of Ms. David-Neel in how she deals with the people and nature she's engaged with.

 

The supra-natural elements in any conversations have lost all gravity for me any longer it seems...

 

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

A Step Away From Paradise documents a journey a group of people made trying to find a hidden spiritual land that only rarely reveals itself to the mortal world. There are supernatural elements but it is very much about the people and life in the wilds of Himalaya. 

Exhalation is fiction leaning toward fantasy/scifi but very intelligent.

I didn't mean to link the two, just making one recommendation and sharing something I'm currently reading and enjoying.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
1 hour ago, steve said:

A Step Away From Paradise documents a journey a group of people made trying to find a hidden spiritual land that only rarely reveals itself to the mortal world. There are supernatural elements but it is very much about the people and life in the wilds of Himalaya. 

Exhalation is fiction leaning toward fantasy/scifi but very intelligent.

I didn't mean to link the two, just making one recommendation and sharing something I'm currently reading and enjoying.

Thanks for the descriptions.  Ordering both :)

 

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Read this one a little while ago but don't think I posted about it here...

tentacle.jpg

Edited by steve

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Revisiting one of the more influential books of my younger life.

Reading this book in college made me want to learn Russian, to read it in the original.

 

 

“In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet, and say to us, “Make us your slaves, but feed us.””

Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

 

“They were like two enemies in love with one another.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

 

“Do you know I've been sitting here thinking to myself: that if I didn't believe in life, if I lost faith in the woman I love, lost faith in the order of things, were convinced in fact that everything is a disorderly, damnable, and perhaps devil-ridden chaos, if I were struck by every horror of man's disillusionment -- still I should want to live. Having once tasted of the cup, I would not turn away from it till I had drained it! At thirty though, I shall be sure to leave the cup even if I've not emptied it, and turn away -- where I don't know. But till I am thirty I know that my youth will triumph over everything -- every disillusionment, every disgust with life. I've asked myself many times whether there is in the world any despair that could overcome this frantic thirst for life. And I've come to the conclusion that there isn't, that is until I am thirty.”
― Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

 

“What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov

 

“Without a clear perception of his reasons for living, man will never consent to live, and will rather destroy himself than tarry on earth, though he be surrounded with bread".”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Grand Inquisitor

Edited by silent thunder
  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 03/03/2020 at 5:19 PM, silent thunder said:

 

 

“What is hell? I maintain that it is the suffering of being unable to love.”
 

 

Just Wow to that one!! Unforgettable quote. Thanks ST.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
4 hours ago, oak said:

 

Just Wow to that one!! Unforgettable quote. Thanks ST.

Agreed.

That book had a deep and profound effect on me as a young man.  Formative impact.

I'm anticipating what it will be like revisiting it with 30 years of added experience to bring to it.

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
On 3/5/2020 at 1:04 AM, silent thunder said:

Agreed.

That book had a deep and profound effect on me as a young man.  Formative impact.

I'm anticipating what it will be like revisiting it with 30 years of added experience to bring to it.

 

The Brothers Karamazov was amazing,

I was also profoundly affected by Crime and Punishment, maybe even more so.

It touched a very dark and personal place.

What a master of his craft!

  • Like 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

My favorites of all time!

 

Crime and Punishment

War and Peace

A Tale of Two Cities

 

 

Apparently my tastes are bipolar to the core....

  • Like 1
  • Haha 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I'm still not reading of late, no gravity for it.

But the books keep leaping into my lap while doing other things.

 

So, for my gal...

 

The Ten Thousand Doors of January

The Bear and the Nightingale

The Starless Sea

Edited by silent thunder
fixed the first title, added 'ten thousand'
  • Like 2

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites
14 minutes ago, silent thunder said:

I'm quite curious to hear any thoughts you'd be willing to share on this.

 

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. 

  • Thanks 1

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites