What is this Life

philosophic inquiry into life and meaning

...if truth were not for man the desire for truth would not be as a burning unrest in his heart...

Resources and Links

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(TAT) Truth and Transmission Foundation http://www.tatfoundation.org/ Blurb from their site: "TAT Foundation, established by Richard Rose as a place of genuine friendship, offers a direct approach to the spiritual search and help for the spiritual seeker." This is a great group of sincere seekers, meetings currently in WV 4 times a year and there are satellite groups too.
SearchWithin.org http://www.searchwithin.org/index.html Resources for the Sincere Seeker. SearchWithin is committed to offering rare resources for the sincere spiritual seeker who is earnestly looking for the True Self. Here, you will find unique reading material and other resources for seekers who are serious about discovering something meaningful—something deeper in life. We offer no dogmas, no enchanted formulas, and no sales pitches. Read these pages with an open mind and an open heart, and you may catch a glimpse of something deeper within... Lots to read and download of advice for the path of a seeker.
Richard Rose http://www.richardrose.org/ "There is a path to Truth. From ignorance to relative knowledge. From relative knowledge to an awareness of the limitation of such knowledge. And finally, we pass from that which we recognize as loosely associated intelligence to a reality of Being." -Richard Rose Information on Richard Rose (1917 - 2005), a great spiritual teacher from West Virgina, USA.
The Headless Way http://www.headless.org/english-welcome.htm The Headless Way offers you a practical, user-friendly way to see Who you really are. This method was developed by the philosopher Douglas Harding. At the heart of this approach are the Experiments - awareness exercises that guide your attention directly to your deepest identity. Website of Douglas Harding's Headless Way about his discovery that he has no head and what that really means.
Mystic Missal http://www.mysticmissal.org/ A Door to Ways and Means on the Spiritual Path. The Search for Spiritual Truth can be an elusive and exhausting battle. The need for self-definition and self-knowledge is rare and seldom valued in today's society. In other words, we need all the help we can get. Through this site I hope to offer a few simple and effective tools for turning one's life into a living prayer: ways and means on the practical road to the Divine. Missal: a book containing all that is said or sung at mass during the entire year. This site contains many good Tricks and Traps, Advice, Prayers, Articles, and a Blog of a former seeker.
Poetry in Motion Films http://www.poetryinmotionfilms.com/ Blurb from their site: "Our Mission: To create inspiring and challenging films that explore the spiritual, philosophic, and metaphysical dimensions of life." A friend's site who makes spiritual documentaries which convey the searching of life's questions through those who have realized the answers as well as those still searching.
SpiritualTeachers.org http://www.spiritualteachers.org/ Ratings of spiritual teachers, guidelines for choosing a teacher, reviews of spiritual movies and books, discussion boards, and links to other spiritual sites. Shawn Nevins, once a student of Richard Rose (no longer a seeker, now a finder), created this site to give back a useful perspective about teachers and the spiritual path.
Spiritual Friends Locator/Discussion http://spiritualteachers.proboards.com/ This board is intended for anyone with a sincere interest in a spiritual path or teacher and is not limited to those interested in spiritual teachers reviewed at Spiritualteachers.org. Only members may post. A discussion board/forum for locating others in your area with a spiritual interest or talking about spiritual teachers.
The Listening Attention http://home.mindspring.com/~bferge/index.htm In the spiritual search, the quest for true self-definition, we soon come to the realization that our best efforts, and even our very selves, are mechanical and reactive. No matter how subtle or astute our meditation may be, we will never realize nirvana by using yet another facet of samsara. A different level of seeing is needed, a pure awareness that is not itself a product of the world or mind, but primary to the reaction pattern we call ourselves. A looking which is attentive, yet not reactive. A listening which is not affected by circumstance and the constant changes of the mind. Such an attention would lie outside of time and space, beyond circumstance, yet be aware of them as well as itself. Such a Listening Attention would also be directly connected to the formless inner realm of our True Self, and provide a Gateway to Within.
Self Discovery Portal http://www.selfdiscoveryportal.com/ What's behind the sense of "I am"? Who's living, and who's facing death? Who or what am I, essentially? Will some part of me continue on after death? Is there an unchanging, eternal part of me? Am I a part of some unchanging, eternal essence? -Art Ticknor These questions are explored at this site with lots of useful information, advice, and systems for "capital S" Self discovery.
First Know Thyself http://www.firstknowthyself.org/ This website is an umbrella for groups meeting throughout the world of those who are seeking to truly understand themselves; to first know themselves. List of self-inquiry discussion groups inspired by the teachings of Richard Rose and his students.
Conquest of Illusion http://home.earthlink.net/~grharmon/conquest.htm by Dr. J. J. van der Leeuw, a really great book about perception, reality and the Absolute. This book is remarkable for its very clear exposition of the nature of illusion and the need to pierce its veil and find the reality that exists at every moment of time. "We always seek in the wrong direction," says Dr. van der Leeuw, "we always want more time; we demand even endless time in our quest of immortality. Yet the infinitely greater Reality is ever ours to enter if we but will."
HowdieTalks http://howdietalks.com/ Blogs and articles by Howdie Mickoski. He talks about the ancient wisdom that the world has lost and many other spiritual topics. Also excerpts (whole chapters) from his books. Worth a read.
Albigen.com http://www.albigen.com Links to The Most Rapid and Direct Means to Eternal Bliss by Michael Langford, TAT Foundation, Recordings and Transcripts of teacher Clara Llum, and Albigen.net: a listing of groups and sites as well as blogs of students and teachers of the Albigen system as started by Richard Rose.
William Samuel and Friends http://www.williamsamuel.com/ A gathering of folks from all walks of life, people of all religious and philosophical outlooks, Eastern and Western. We are neither a group nor an organization. We are unbeholden and unattached to leaders or an intermediary. The Seminal Idea of Truth is capable of standing on its own. We spend no time worshiping the fountain, rather, we drink the water...
Access to Insight http://www.accesstoinsight.org/ Readings in Theravada Buddhism. What is Theravada Buddhism? / Buddhism FAQ / Befriending the suttas / Self-guided tour of the Buddha's teachings / Tipitaka: Modern translations of more than 1,000 important suttas from the Pali canon, indexed by sutta, subject, proper name, and simile.
At Home with the Inner Self by Jim Burns http://www.gatesofthemind.com/At%20Home%20With%20the%20Inner%20Self%20-%20J%20B%20.htm "KNOW THYSELF" Perhaps it is best said at the outset that we consider ourselves to be at the earliest beginnings of man's first true awakening. We consider the problems of the world to be rooted in the fact that each individual person has not yet discovered the nature of his own consciousness. The grand awakening, should it ever come, would be one in which every individual person is brought to realization and complete, clear awareness of their own internal workings...
Hermetic Philosophy & The Mystery of being http://www.plotinus.com/ Essays and exercises on Eastern and Western Hermetic, Esoteric and Mystical Philosophies to awaken Cosmic Consciousness and unfold Primordial Wisdom. When we express ourselves with words, thoughts or feelings, we are under the impression that it is our mind and intellect that generate our thinking. It is true that we do have "thoughts" and use our "intellect" projecting around us "thought-forms" and psychic expressions of all kinds... But, all of these are passing illusions and realities, projections of our ego desires and wishes.
G.I. Gurdjieff http://www.gurdjieff.org/ A source of informed essays and commentary on the life, writings, and teachings of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. Mr. Gurdjieff was an extraordinary man, a master in the truest sense. His teachings speak to our most essential questions: Who am I? Why am I here? What is the purpose of life, and of human life in particular? As a young man, Gurdjieff relentlessly pursued these questions and became convinced that practical answers lay within ancient traditions. Through many years of searching and practice he discovered answers and then set about putting what he had learned into a form understandable to the Western world.
Before I Die I Want To... http://beforeidieiwantto.org/ Hearing hundreds of different answers to this question from hundreds of different people makes one wonder: What make some people more aware of their own mortality than others? What motivates people to take action in their lives? What values do we hold as a society? And what values do other societies around the world find important? The Before I die I want to... project was inspired by a combination of factors: (1) the “death” of the Polaroid, (2) a psychologist’s tool called safety contracts, and (3) a passion to get people to think about (and act upon) what is really important in their lives through this simple, straight-forward question.
The Rosicrucian Fellowship http://www.rosicrucian.com/ The Rosicrucian Fellowship is composed of men and women who study the Rosicrucian Philosophy known as the Western Wisdom Teachings as presented in The Rosicrucian Cosmo-Conception. This Christian Mystic Philosophy presents deep insights into the Christian Mysteries and establishes a meeting ground for Art, Religion, and Science. Good advice and information for the spiritual aspirant, free books describing their complex system.
SecretZen http://secretzen.com/ SecretZen is a place for you to share your deepest secrets with the world, anonymously. Each PhotoSecret bears an intimate and powerful secret - at times inspirational, shocking, funny and poetic - told through pictures and words.
The Occult.bz http://www.theoccult.bz/ A popular bittorent site with downloads (read/listen/watch) of all sorts of spiritual, occult, and other teachings. Interesting if your into secret, hidden, lost, etc, knowledge. Sign-up's required but worth it.
Spirituality on Screen http://www.spiritualityonscreen.org.uk Christian site about movies and their key issues raised. Excellent 'study guides' which dig into deeper values in the movies and how they relate to Christianity. From the site: Films are a great place to encounter God. Because good films, like all good stories, explore the important issues of life - love, loyalty, duty, reconciliation, relationships, forgiveness, revenge, manipulation etc. etc. - they can be an ideal way for us, too, to explore those themes for ourselves.
JustPerception.net http://justperception.net/ And Nautilus, in a nutshell, can be defined in this way – Ignoring. Or rather: Ignore what you are not until it kills you. Website of David Scoma, who Nautilus system aims at helping the spiritual seeker discover for themselves what is True.
A Guide to Psychology and its Practice http://www.guidetopsychology.com/topics.htm A nice site about psychology that goes back to the root of psychology as a study of the mind rather than a study of behaviors and reactions. From the site: "PSYCHOLOGY is often described in textbooks as “the science of behavior.” Clinical psychology, which tries to solve the problems and symptoms individuals encounter because of their behavior, is in part a science; but in its study of the mind—especially the unconscious—it often moves away from pure science and becomes a philosophy and an art. The unconscious, after all, is, well, unconscious and therefore unknown to conscious reason and scientific research, so it has to be encountered through language and dreams."
Spiritual Books Worth Reading http://home.earthlink.net/~grharmon/ Spiritual reading is the search for wisdom that has been written in words. The search for enlightenment, satori, the absolute, Truth, Self, nirvana, God, are all subjects that are beyond language. Special writing skills are required to convey anything of value to the reader. To save you time in finding the most understandable of authors in this nebulous area, this list has been assembled.
Truth Realization: Thoughts on Life and Spirtual Realization http://edwardtraversa.x10hosting.com/ The main purpose of this site is provide pointers to something that is ineffable in nature; what people call spiritual enlightenment though that term in itself is misleading... Blog of Edward Traversa with many great articles and advice.