By Ben, on July 16th, 2010%
Photo by Ben | Copyright 2009 Dreaming Life
Last night I went to an introductory Buddhist class here in my town.
I had a great time!
And as can be expected, the experience got my brain cells moving around and you know I love it when that happens…
I have been having a slow yet steady love affair with Buddhism for quite some time now. I feel that the theories laid out in the Buddhist philosophy, or religion, if you prefer, mostly make sense.
To cut to the chase, I think that the Buddhist framework for identifying the causes of suffering and removing those causes . . . → Read More: So I Went To This Buddhist Class Last Night … Part I
By Ben, on November 12th, 2007%
Control Your Dreams takes in a much wider scope than, say, the wonderful books on lucid dreaming written by Stephen LaBerge.
Authors Jayne Gackenbach and Jane Bosveld tackle lucid dreaming at many, many different angles. While they explore the basic concepts of dreaming, what dreams are, interpretation, and techniques for working with your dreams on up to controlling your dreams via lucid dreaming, they go far beyond this.
The authors talk extensively on the connection between dreams and lucid dreaming to positive visualization, the power of the mind to heal the body, the similarities between meditation and the dream state, near-death and out . . . → Read More: One of the Best Books On Lucid Dreaming… (that you’ve probably never heard of)
By Ben, on August 17th, 2007%
The nontheistic aspect of Buddhism intrigues me because I have a hard time identifying with anything that strikes of theism.
I’ll grant you that the idea of God existing, an omnipotent creator of all that is, is at least an interesting explanation worth pursuing. This theory might not be right, but it’s not a totally crazy idea to start with and pursue. (Intelligent design does have that “common-sense” feel to it, right?)
But many people (billions, actually) believe not only the above bit about God existing, but that we humans have the ability to know and understand the mind of God and . . . → Read More: Co-Dependence, Casuality and God from a Buddhist Perspective
By Ben, on July 26th, 2007%
If everything that happens is a result of karma…
…then why should you have compassion for someone who was murdered?
Let’s get to a real world example:
If Daniel Pearl’s throat was slit ear to ear by Muslims extremists, according to the concept of karma, quite literally, wasn’t he was getting exactly what he deserverd? Wasn’t this the karmic fruition of his previous actions?
Is this what all Buddhists are really saying? If not, then what am I missing?
This is where the jump from embracing the benefits of meditation to embracing faith-based ideas like reincarnation and karm quickly leads to dangerous ideas!
. . . → Read More: If everthing that happens is a result of karma…
By Ben, on July 18th, 2007%
Tonight I attended a Buddhist meetup discussion on the concept of the mind, and how the mind is actually seperate from the brain. Here’s some thoughts I jotted down while I was there. Please add your comments.
Note: Meetup allows you to organize events based around a common interest. Anyone can start or attend a meetup. There’s topics for everything, everywhere. Check it out.
….
I was disheartened by the discussion on reincarnation when it was referred to as a bottleneck to get through to progress through Buddhist principles.
Despite what someone might think by visiting this blog and seeing . . . → Read More: Some Thoughts on Buddhism
By Ben, on April 29th, 2007%
By Ben, on April 22nd, 2007%
Yesterday I was at Whole Foods drinking a Yuengling and reading The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche in the outside cafe. This book is the best I’ve found so far on Buddhism – especially because it intertwines an understanding of quantum physics and neuroscience into a Buddhist framework for understanding the mind and the nature of reality. I love it!
Anyhow, I found this gem of a passage that I want to share where the author compares lucid dreams to our experience of reality while awake.
On page 82, we learn that:
Continue reading An excerpt from the The Joy of Living by Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche
By Ben, on February 5th, 2007%
Can you guess where the quote below comes from?
I’ll give you a hint: he’s a famous religious figure.
“Given that one of the primary characteristics of consciousness is its subjective and experiential nature, any systematic study of it must adopt a method that will give access to the dimensions of subjectivity and experience.
A comprehensive scientific study of consciousness must therefore embrace both third-person and first-person methods: it cannot ignore the phenomenological reality of subjective experience but must observe all the rules of scientific rigor. So the critical question is this: Can we envision a scientific methodology for the study of consciousness . . . → Read More: Science & Religion: having my cake and eating it, too…
By Ben, on January 19th, 2007%
Disclaimer: emphasis on the word speculation.
It wasn’t too long ago that I realized that expanding consciousness is the same as eradicating consciousness. When one exclaims a feeling of oneness with the universe they are paradoxically expanding their consciousness at the expense of their individual sense of self. Meditation, rhythmic dancing, etc all lessen the connection to ones self in order to feel a sense of self that has expanded to encompass all that is around them.
In a recent discussion on life after death with a shamanic acquaintance of mine, he tells me that dying is to life as sleeping is to . . . → Read More: Philosophical Speculations on Life, Death, Reincarnation, and Consciousness
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