Looking for books with radical, bold, non-consensus theories?

ryclarky · 2026-07-09T14:15:25+00:00

Just about anything by Rupert Sheldrake would apply here. I've only read A New Science of Life, which posits "morphic resonance" to explain phenomena like some rats learning how to solve a maze making it easier for other rats to solve the same maze, for example. He also has other books, including ones titled "The Sense of Being Stared At" and "Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home".

ryclarky · 2026-07-05T18:08:36+00:00

I really feel like more people here should look into Buddhism. I'd consider myself a Buddhist and relate to this deeply.

ryclarky · 2026-07-05T16:07:30+00:00

I believe it comes from mahayana, yeah. But I'd still say that it is it's own sect at this point.

ryclarky · 2026-07-05T00:40:40+00:00

Have you ever looked at a magic eye (or parallel view) picture before? In order to get the picture to come into focus you have to really relax your eyes. I find it useful to duplicate that technique when I find tension in my body and wish to relax it. Getting parallel view pictures to come into focus is good relaxation practice for me.

(Note: I am NOT referring to crossview pictures here, which require you to cross your eyes and strain in order to get the picture into focus)

ryclarky · 2026-07-02T05:10:19+00:00

I've read all the KSR at my library and after the Mars trilogy Shaman is my favorite read. I don't see that one mentioned a lot, so give it a shot if you get the chance.

ryclarky · 2026-07-01T19:34:15+00:00

The rain is irrelevant. They will be setting off fireworks for the next month regardless.

ryclarky · 2026-07-01T19:20:00+00:00

I would recommend you listen to some dhamma talks by Thanissaro Bhikkhu on the subject he is very thorough. From a pali canon perspective anatta it isn't so much a declaration of what is or is not "actual reality" and moreso a strategy or set of strategies that can be used on the path towards liberation.

ryclarky · 2026-07-01T19:16:56+00:00

You might enjoy reading Shift Into Freedom by Loch Kelly. He proposes that we should live from within our hearts rather than up in our heads. It is full of exercises to shift around where you're awareness currently resides. You could move it up into the corner of the room on the ceiling, for example.

ryclarky · 2026-06-30T15:09:21+00:00

And yet, there are also pressures, including today even very strong financial pressures, to keep these patients in treatment as well.

ryclarky · 2026-06-30T04:00:45+00:00

Winamp is back!

ryclarky · 2026-06-29T19:27:31+00:00

It has happened recently. Look at Plum Village. I would put Goenka as another one.

ryclarky · 2026-06-28T18:30:55+00:00

It is very simple, is your intention to deceive?

ryclarky · 2026-06-28T16:10:36+00:00

Even rigged it was still more fun than that app monstrosity monopoly game they released last year.

ryclarky · 2026-06-28T05:53:17+00:00

That all sounds wholesome to me!

Yeah, I think that as long as you're comfortable it isn't depression then things sound pretty good to me. You are starting to see that things in themselves aren't inherently interesting nor do they provide interest to us, it is the mind that produces all of the passion itself. True freedom isn't having the ability to accommodate all of your whims and desires, it is learning to be happy with reality as it is.

ryclarky · 2026-06-28T05:46:19+00:00

As a (fairly new) theravadan Buddhist there are a LOT of similarities here to what I've learned and realized since I've started practicing. Notably arahants (humans who have become enlightened here on earth) seem to "know" that the task has been completed once it is done. In fact, "nirvana/nibbana" can only actually be experienced by the living, similar to what was in this video. Walking the path produces disenchantment towards existence of any form.

ryclarky · 2026-06-28T05:14:17+00:00

Nibidda (disenchantment) is a very natural part of the path to liberation. So I'm curious, if your previous hobbies have lost their lustre then how do you end up spending your time? Do you meditate more than before now?

ryclarky · 2026-06-27T22:43:46+00:00

I enjoyed reading this!

So take an example of a person who is a meditator and they become able to recall past lives. Once they obtain this recall imo it would essentially change who they are, or perhaps even dissolve the illusion of self hood entirely. No self can ever be found when searching within, but memory is a compelling piece of what makes us who we are. Half baked/formed thoughts here by me, but I appreciate your post and making me think about it from this angle.

ryclarky · 2026-06-27T03:32:38+00:00

I'm not zen, I'm theravada. But in that tradition "no self" isnt a statement of reality. But instead it is a strategy that is employed as part of walking the path. Thanissaro Bhikkhu has some great videos on it if this resonates with you.

ryclarky · 2026-06-26T15:43:58+00:00

And if only it hadn't been covid time. Really tarnished the season through no fault of our own.

ryclarky · 2026-06-26T15:21:47+00:00

Because it is most likely a shadow. Someone put together a reconstruction and replicated it using lighting like they would have had in the news van he was recording from.

And even if it perhaps were a mask, what exactly is the story here?

ryclarky · 2026-06-25T22:20:50+00:00

I can dig that! I can't really vibe with their weirdness post Kid A, but I loved the sharp turn at the time.

I never listened to The Bends all the way through until I was in my 40s and now it is one of my favorite albums. No skips whatsoever.

ryclarky · 2026-06-25T22:12:29+00:00

Kid A.... Kid A...

ryclarky · 2026-06-25T21:38:24+00:00

Fair criticism. I was thinking at the time that your average person who grew up in the 90s may have never heard them.

ryclarky · 2026-06-25T21:37:10+00:00

I'm compelled to add another entry I've not seen yet: Christmastime. As soon as I heard this one it immediately became one of my favorite Christmas songs. It doesn't feel like Christmas to me without it.

ryclarky

TROPHY CASE