Getting into Spirituality - Where to Start?

[Dave Kaminski]

What's a good starting point to getting into this whole ordeal? Is there a book which explains anything on a basic level, aka transcending physical reality for dummies?

I'd like to learn as much as possible from this forum, and this is one section I have a lot of learning to do.

[Antarananda]

Do you consider yourself more intellectual or more emotional? You can then choose a path which is more congruent with your inner drives. In the meantime, please feel free to check out my blog and the various links it contains.

[Dharma]

You're going to get a bunch of different answers since you left the field wide open.

These are not easy starters, but are most accurate, IMO:
Subjective Reality This is Steve's link but you can Google for others
The Seth Material
including these books:
The Nature of Personal Reality
The Individual and the Nature of Mass Events

Also learn a little bit on chakras, so you'll get the lingo.

I'd skip the Law of Attraction, it's really popular around here but it's buggy.

On edit: Don't know if you were kidding or not, but steer clear of any practice that has you transcending the physical body.

[Alvin]

Transcending physical reality?

The field is really wide open, Dave. What gets your interest really? The mysticism of the Far East or the magicks of the West (a gross generalization, I know). Are you looking for religion or kooky-weird spiritual stuff?

I'd suggest keeping your eyes open, and your wits about you, as this field is full of incredible and uncredible people.

Of course, being closer to Buddhism, I'd suggest the books by the Dalai Lama

[Dave Kaminski]

Yeah it was a bit of a joke.

I'd say I'm more intellectual, consciously; however I'm probably more emotional subconsciously?

I've seen The Secret etc., I know a bit about LoA and want to delve deeper into this whole lucid-dreaming lightworker deal. Seems EXTREMELY interesting.

[Acting Like Godot]

Start with sitting very, very still, in a quiet place, and observing your own thoughts. Notice how your thoughts are not you; how they are as illusory as clouds drifting across your mental sky.

Ah, the first baby steps to enlightenment.

[impaul99]

I found books by Deepak Chopra give a good starting point with some very practical advice intermixed with the "science" behind the spirituality. Since Deepak is a doctor he knows how to explain things from a scientific point of view most of us will understand.

Wayne Dyer and Eckhart Tolle are good as well but they require a lot more belief already there.

Another book that I really liked, very similar to "The Secret" is called "The Science of Getting Rich". "Ask and It Is Given" is good if you liked "The Secret".

If you post what you're looking to get out of your spirituality first, I could recommend specific books / places to look. If you like story based books, The Celestine Prophecy, The Way of the Peaceful Warrior, The Monk that Sold His Ferrari are all good and deal with certain aspects that you would consider "Spiritual".

-Paul

[helgi]

It's probably good to start with something like Eckhart Tolle's work, which is fairly simple and doesn't have any specific religious baggage; the simpler the teaching, the better. You could have a look at this Eckhart Tolle video to get you started.

There is of course lots of valuable wisdom to be found in various traditions/religions, but then it's probably best to sample different teachings to avoid getting stuck in the particulars of each one.

Some more teachers for you to look up: Carlos Castaneda, Ram Dass, Gangaji, J. Krishnamurti and Byron Katie.

(edit: and if Eckhart Tolle et al. are too new-agey for you, I agree with impaul99 about looking for ones with a 'practical application' first)

[Athena]

Yes to Dyer and Chopra, and David R. Hawkins too.

Dyer is good for understanding basics. His language is really gentle and accessible. Sacred Self, Power of Intention, Spiritual Solution are all good (some of the material throughout his body of work is repetitive, so good to select a few strong ones)
(he also has a really nice speaking voice, his books in audio format are good to listen to)

Chopra is good for understanding mind, body, universe; Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire, and 7 Spiritual Laws are good to start.

Hawkins - Power v Force, Transcending the Levels of Conscoiusness - good for understanding things on a social / global level.


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wouldn't recommend starting with Eckhart Tolle.. his work is kind of negative/ pain-based and a little dark.

I would start with clearer, more empowering authors first.


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hope you enjoy your reading!!

[Shaden]

I suggest the power of now by Eckhart Tolle for a very accessible take on contemporary spirituality.

[impaul99]

I have found "The Power of Now" really hard to read. Not because I can't read (I've read at least 300+ books in the last 12 years) but because it doesn't flow for me. His second book, the name of which escapes me now (Something like 'A New Earth') flowed much much better for me and I read it cover to cover. His Power of Now book just didn't make sense in some parts and then he kept moving onto the next thing while the first thing was still unclear.

I don't know why, but The Power of Now just isn't an easy read for me. Someone else I know also had a tough time with it as their first book and went to reading Chopra and Dyer and found them much easier to get into.

Eckhart Tolle and Steven Covey are tought authors for me get through. I find their writing very dry for some reason.

[Acting Like Godot]

Eckhart is brutal, in a sense.

He takes you to an absolute truth, and then wherever you go, he takes you back to it.

The simple truth is that nothing matters except where you are and what you're doing right now. So pay attention to where you are and what you are doing right now.

That's it.

Recently I tried a new meditation exercise. Basically you sit still and observe your own thoughts. When a thought of the past (ie a memory) appears in your head, you tap your left hand on your leg - this can be a little startling, because you'd already be in fairly deep state. When a thought of the future (ie a fantasy) appears, you tap your right hand on your right leg. Again the sensation could be a little startling.

After a while, you realise - no, you experience - how ridiculous your thoughts are. Most of the time, you are either thinking of the past (which really need not dictate any of your decisions of how you want to live today) or of the future (and many of those thoughts are silly fantasies of bad things that will probably never occur - ie worries and anxieties).

Your thoughts drift and drift, and you are rarely in the only place you can ever really be - here and now.

That's what Eckhart is telling you. Be in the here and now.

Easier said than done, of course.

[Alvin]

Originally Posted by Acting Like Godot

Eckhart is brutal, in a sense.

He takes you to an absolute truth, and then wherever you go, he takes you back to it.

The simple truth is that nothing matters except where you are and what you're doing right now. So pay attention to where you are and what you are doing right now.

That's it.

Recently I tried a new meditation exercise. Basically you sit still and observe your own thoughts. When a thought of the past (ie a memory) appears in your head, you tap your left hand on your leg - this can be a little startling, because you'd already be in fairly deep state. When a thought of the future (ie a fantasy) appears, you tap your right hand on your right leg. Again the sensation could be a little startling.

After a while, you realise - no, you experience - how ridiculous your thoughts are. Most of the time, you are either thinking of the past (which really need not dictate any of your decisions of how you want to live today) or of the future (and many of those thoughts are silly fantasies of bad things that will probably never occur - ie worries and anxieties).

Your thoughts drift and drift, and you are rarely in the only place you can ever really be - here and now.

That's what Eckhart is telling you. Be in the here and now.

Easier said than done, of course.

Sounds like a fun meditation

Originally Posted by helgi

Some more teachers for you to look up: Carlos Castaneda, Ram Dass, Gangaji, J. Krishnamurti and Byron Katie.

If you're intellectual, you'll enjoy Krishnamurti, very heady and thought-provoking stuff.