You’re invited to a FREE weekly group, entitled, “A Western Path to Eastern Wisdom.” We’ll meet online, via Zoom, every Sunday at 2:00 PM, beginning in January and continuing indefinitely, in the months ahead. These 2 hour & 30 minute meetings will be lead by Dr. Mark Dillof, philosopher and mystic, and director of the Academy of Mystical Illumination. In addition to being life changing, these meeting are likely to generate in you wonder, awe, and cosmic laugher, the type that liberates us from life’s oppressive heaviness.

What, though, is the Western path to spiritual awakening? It neither involves Eastern practices, such as meditating, chanting in Sanskrit, or yoga, nor religious practices such as mystical prayer or contemplation. Rather, it involves doing that which westerners are best at, namely thinking. Ah, but not the type of abstract, inauthentic thinking they teach at colleges! Rather the Western path requires existential thinking, also known as thinking with your gut. Equipped with this power, you’ll learn to illuminate the negative dimension of your life, i.e., your suffering, as it finds expression in your everyday life, especially your interests, desires, conflicts, and anxieties. 

You’ll also learn to decipher the symbolic and mythic dimension of your experience, because so many of our inner and outer conflicts find expression on the symbolic level of cognition. Take the domain of eating; you’ll see that even your craving, for example, for potato chips, can be a valuable clue to who you are and what life is all about. The foods that you detest also offer valuable clues. Indeed valuable clues to your worldview can be found in everywhere, from your favorite film to how you wear your hair, from your hobbies to your conflicts at work. Apropos is what the psychologist C.G. Jung rightly said, “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious.” Thus, rather than searching outward, we should to shed light upon the darkness within. If you go far enough in that direction, you reach the Great Doubt that leads to the non-dual perception that precipitates spiritual awakening, (Self-realization, or enlightenment.)

In addition to learning the secret language of symbols & myths, you’ll also learn how to alchemize your suffering into light, the dialectics of the finite & the infinite, the art of twofold awareness, and more!

If you’re interested in learning more about the Dr. Dillof and his amazing mystical academy, here is the link: www.mysticalilumination.com.

If you wish to enroll in the FREE weekly Sunday seminars, you can do so by going to: https://www.mysticalillumination.com/booking-calendar/free-open-group-meetings

Enrollment is limited and is now beginning to fill up. If you’re very interested, you should do so as soon as possible. If you have any questions, you can email Dr. Dillof at: mark@mysticalillumination.com.

Hi,

Please check out the following philsophical stairway to God. If you make it to Level Seven you get to enjoy the privilege of a one on One, face to Face interview with God Himself!!!

Check out the contents of the Levels and see if youre interested!!

I'd like to humbly dedicate this work to Mahatma Gandhi on his birthday (02/10/24), thank you, Guruji.

Thanks, All the best!!!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1GLPiSGHxgBYnDWRpR5A7GHj-GpVUPDQr2zWlwAG-P1o/edit?usp=sharing

Hello. My name is Dr. Susan Hannan and I work as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Lafayette College in Easton, Pennsylvania. I am conducting a research study on individuals who have recovered from (or learned how to manage successfully) experiences of psychosis and/or mania without long-term use (less than 3 consecutive months) of prescribed medication (e.g., antipsychotic medication). I am particularly interested in speaking with people who have recovered from their psychosis and/or mania by finding meaning in their experience (e.g., finding a sense of purpose, increased spirituality, deepened connection to people/animals/the universe, etc.). The study involves a 45-minute virtual interview, and participants will be compensated with a gift card for their time. You must be at least 18 years old, speak English, and live in the United States. If you are interested, please click on the following link to complete a brief questionnaire in order to determine your eligibility: https://lafayettec.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_1Zl52DiyJAfYBJc

Inspired by a post on r/taoism I have created a newsletter that sends a brief and actionable Taoist reflection every day.

The reflection will feature:

-A Quote
-A Summary of the idea
-An actionable way to incorporate the reflecion in your day

Hoping to share and educate! https://dailydao.co.uk/subscribe

Would be interested in feedback!

Hello everyone!

I recently launched a YouTube channel combining my theology studies and my love of culture: Théoculture. I've just posted a video on Avatar and the climate worship, inspired by Gaia Hypothesis and Eastern religions / philosophies, and how James Cameron’s ecological thinking integrates those elements in his cinema.

Here's the link : https://youtu.be/cKK-9xJmRHY

Video is in French, but you can activate the English subtitles. Enjoy

True value-

In my experience, one of the most crucial lessons one should learn early on in order to further their spiritual development, is that of true value…, this is particularly important seeing as we live in a largely materialistic world. The idea that money is value is a spiritually diminishing mindset that has been programmed into the worlds populace for a very long time now, money is only of any “value” at all because the system that is in play on this planet, makes it so we cannot survive without it… and this is of course very intentional.

We are forced to spend so much time worrying about money, that we have hardly any time at all to do anything beneficial for ourselves such as develop as a spirit or even just to realize that the state of the world is not at all what we think it is. Anything that is truly valuable, is slowly weened out of our lives or limited so much that we can hardly enjoy it or take from it anything of true value. Sayings such as “money makes the world go round” are subconscious “architects” who further build upon and solidify the negative mental constructs that we are fed through psychological programming from every direction.

In my time learning to manifest, I discovered that once you learn to “see through the money” and call it out for what it really is, which is just a piece of paper that is made out to be “god” when it's not at all…, once you realize this, then there is a sort of respect gained from the universe and higher self…, making it much easier to manifest money/wealth, from having a much more in depth understanding of what value truly is (something I have experienced with great clarity).

Let us not forget the things in life that are of pure and true value. Things such as Love, respect and the urge to better ourselves, others and the world…, these amongst the many other truly valuable parts of life which bring us growth, love and balance. Do not let yourself struggle due to lack of money, but at the same time do not put it on a pedestal…, remember that money and value are two very different things.

Much Love

Gage Timothy Kreps Ramirez

Let's look back at some memorable moments and interesting insights from last year.

Your top 10 posts:

• "Meet my cat, Ego" by u/humxnprinter
• "For anyone interested in learning more about Advaita Vendata 🙏"
• "There is nothing to chase. You are Whole as you are." by u/Infinito_paradoxo
• "Absolute Determinism and the unknowable randomness. The naive free will. (Philosophical Taoism)" by u/Infinito_paradoxo
• "How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the Modern World" by u/ElliceBailey
• "How Zen made its Way to the West" by u/n5tonhf
• "The Bhagvad Gita – Join an online Reading Group for this Foundational Text of Indian Philosophy – meetings every Friday, open to all, no background required" by u/darrenjyc
• "What is Art if not Everything? Any ritual is an art form. Art is Love and a great way to forget oneself, because Art contemplates the Union of the observed and the observer" by u/Infinito_paradoxo
• "A place to discuss philosophy, psychology and religion" by u/eternalised
• "Contemplation" by u/0ranssi

So I've been working on concepts trying to adequately describe the mysteries and have been posting aphorisms here and elsewhere to convey the feeling to the best of my abilities. You may have seen some videos / audiobooks about it already and so I want to praise your patience with me. This is the last entry about the book 'Infinity and Paradox'. You can get it free today here if you wish. It is a 2 hour read. If you do read all of it and if you like it (or if you don't) leave a feedback. I'd love to know. It was written originally in the Portuguese language, so if someone is a native Portuguese speaker, the Portuguese version will also be free next Saturday here.

An entry from the last chapter:

" Happiness is elusive, it is shy.
Happiness cannot be conquered, it is too powerful.
Happiness is not built, it is too grand.
Happiness is a mirage, we see it more in others.

That's why Happiness is like a butterfly,
for the butterfly dodges because it is shy.
The butterfly is powerful because it flies
with the wind.
The butterfly is huge because it looks down
on the drama of the people.
The butterfly is a mirage because it is beautiful
but far away.

With its big blinking eyes,
whoever is in Silence is where it stands. "

The audiobook's last chapter (TTS voice) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fc57qS2wLI

"I watched a pigeon walking on the ground.
I really wanted to be the pigeon for a change.
I wanted to look through its eyes and take flight.
Do an aerial stunt and fly high, up there,
and see all the little things below.

But I realized, this is me
being the pigeon, being human.
That imagination is nothing more
then to be things being human.
In particular, the own self.

Well, if I were Truly the pigeon,
that is, the pigeon being the pigeon,
would it have the human desire
to do such an aerial feat?

To be the pigeon,
it's enough that I don't want to control it.

Indeed! The only things that take me seriously
are the things I imagine."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AaRB3PmibKY

I would like to invite you to a philosophy discord server. For teachers, students, and autodidacts.

The purpose of this discord chat is dedicated to the engagement of philosophical discourse and the exploration of ideas in the history of philosophy. Our main goal is to become more knowledgeable about historical thinkers and ideas from every philosophical domain through interpersonal dialogues. We are not a debate server. Argument is a method used by philosophy, but this isn’t to be confused with debate. The latter is competitive in nature, whereas the former is a cooperative endeavor. Philosophy is a group project that aims to determine what is true, and this server is a place for this activity.  Here is the invite link for those who are interested: https://discord.gg/BHzbXDVwHR

Invite link is hopefully permanent, so you won't have to worry whether the link is working if you're reading this sometime in the future.

See you all there!

Zen/Buddhism/Eastern Religion QUESTION I read a story several years ago. I can not find the source. It was in the Zen section of a bookstore. A nun goes to live in an abbey when she was 16 after her grandparents died. Two monks come to the abbey and they ask the Master a question. He turns to ask her. But she is in the corner preparing tea. She does not reply to the Master's question. The Master turns to the two monks and says "she understands better than either of you"... I hope someone can tell me the source/book/author of this story.