March 2015 Book of the Month Radical when it was first written in 1977, Stalking the Wild Pendulum offered the reader a revolutionary image of the human mind and the universe. We at TTSM hope our July 2012 book pick reignites the passion for consciousness studies first inspired by Bentov more than thirty five years ago. In his creative first book, Itzhak Bentov paints a provocative image of the universe as comprised of sound vibrations, light rays, subtle energies, and packets of consciousness. He also discusses his ideas that our brains are actually thought amplifiers, not thought’s source; that the universe is a hologram, as is the brain; that we can instantly reclaim any information ever known; that our bodies mirror the universe, down to the working of each cell; that…
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Oneironautics – A Field Guide to Lucid Dreaming
February 2015 Book of the Month Do you dream? Of course you do. Everyone does. When someone says that they don’t dream what they’re really saying is that they don’t remember their dreams, not that they didn’t have any. In a dream we still have access to all our five senses: we can see, touch, taste, hear and even smell in dreams. Sometimes a dream is so real that it’s indistinguishable from waking reality. What if it were possible to go to sleep tonight and wake up inside one of your dreams? Think about it. If you knew that you were dreaming, the possibilities would be endless, right? Maybe you’d fly across the ocean, reunite with a past love or relative, talk with dream characters, or explore new talents you…
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The Translucent Revolution by Arjuna Ardagh
January 2015 Book of the Month For more than a decade, Ardagh has studied what he believes to be a profound revolution in human consciousness. This shift in awareness is marked by what he calls “translucents” — individuals who have undergone a spiritual awakening deeply enough that it has permanently transformed their relationship to themselves and to reality, while allowing them to remain involved in ordinary life. The Translucent Revolution tells the story of hundreds of individuals just like you who display characteristics of “translucence”. These individuals continue to quietly work and play at life with more happiness, more satisfaction and increased purpose.
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Autobiography of a Yogi by Paramhansa Yogananda
December 2014 Book of the Month Autobiography of a Yogi is recognized around the world as a literary and spiritual classic. Written in 1946, the book sets forth not only the recounting of an extraordinary life but a fascinating introduction to the spiritual thought of the East. In addition to sharing many amazing anecdotes from both his childhood and adulthood, Paramahansa Yogananda highlights stories from his many encounters with other highly awakened, spiritually evolved individuals and tells of the miracles connected to them. As the founder of the Self Realization Fellowship, Yoganada developed a complete philosophy and way of life dedicated to creating a greater understanding of the true power that resides within.
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Figuring It Out
When I first read the following quote, it really stuck with me. Mahatma Gandhi said, “A man is the sum of his actions, of what he has done, of what he can do, nothing else.” I think why this impacted me is because of how relatable it is to the way people’s lives are looked at sometimes: a series of actions or experiences and expectations. Interestingly, through Molly Beauregards Consciousness, Creativity and Identity class and making sense of my own feelings about it, I feel Gandhi might have been wrong. I have been told for a long time that people are who they are because of the situations they have gone through in their lives. I heard over and over variations of Gandhi’s words. And I believed this too. It made enough sense. I could rationalize…
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Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse
April 2014 Book of the Month “A good book on your shelf is a friend that turns its back on you and remains a friend.” ~Author Unknown This book is an old friend. Molly and Chelsea have decided to read it together this month. Please join!! Written in 1922 by Hermann Hesse, Siddhartha, is a gem of a book. The story recounts the spiritual journey of self awakening that a man named Siddhartha undergoes during the time of Buddha. This classic novel grabs the readers heart and opens it to the infinite potential of who a man can become.
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You Are Creativity in Action
“At this time, I can’t think of anything more meaningful than taking meaning apart.” Meyer Vaisman I teach a class called “Consciousness, Creativity and Identity” at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Michigan. I think this is very funny. My students seem to think I know what I am talking about. However, you can’t really teach someone to be creative. We are all simply creativity in action. My academic background is in sociology. I love sociology. My students, well, they put up with sociology but what they truly love is stories. So, I do my best to weave together stories and sociological definitions. Sometimes, I am very successful, sometimes not so much but we have fun muddling along together and occasionally we share an “aha” moment that leaves us…
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Jesus loves you, don’t be tough guy…
Jesus loves you, don’t be tough guy says man walking his bike this morning across the cross walk. Coffee. He smiles. I realize the words are for me. There are things to be happy for. December is Strange. Even just a little bit of sun- shine warms the heart. Feeling good is contagious and I feel good. Here is what I’d like to do more than anything: clean the sidewalks. I’m only me so it’d be difficult but that’s OK. It’s disgusting how a person can spend so much time on themselves and so little time on the environment they interact with but that’s OK. Everything starts somewhere including people. Mindset: TODAY IS A GIFT. Mindset : GOOD VIBES. I find it hard to believe that anyone would ever look…
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Specialization vs Meaning — What is Education Really About?
“Meaninglessness inhibits fullness of life and is therefore equivalent to illness. Meaning makes a great many things endurable – perhaps everything.” Carl Jung There has been much written on the impact of specialization in academia. Certainly, it is well documented that modern culture requires specialization. We see this in all disciplines and we recognize the difficulty of connecting all of the abstracted dots. My own field, sociology, with its emphasis on the social construction of reality and deconstruction of thought has certainly led the pack when it comes to denying a unified perspective capable of offering meaning to the masses. And, of course, when education becomes an instrument for individual careerism, it no longer inspires students in broad sweeping terms. In my mind, education should be about ideas and connection.…
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Nourish Your Garden AND Cut Your Trash — Composting!
“How to Make Compost in Your Apartment” In my experience with composting I have noticed that there are two general types of composting techniques. The first, and what I am most familiar with, is what I would call a “bottomless pit”. Composters with a bottomless pit may store a container in the kitchen where they collect food scraps throughout the week (or day, depending on how much time you spend in the kitchen) that they then dump into the bottomless pit, only to be topped by the next batch in a few days…indefinitely. If this is all you have available to you, by all means have a bottomless pit. Better that it doesn’t end up in the landfill! (Things you can compost make up 40 percent of the garbage in…
