John Wellwood

http://www.johnwelwood.com/articles/TRIC_interview_uncut.pdf

https://www.scienceandnonduality.com/article/on-spiritual-bypassing-and-relationship https://www.atpweb.org/jtparchive/trps-16-84-01-063.pdf https://www.amazon.com/Toward-Psychology-Awakening-Psychotherapy-Transformation/dp/1570628238

Grounded Spirituality

In this courageous, groundbreaking book, author Jeff Brown takes us on the spiritual ride of a lifetime. The book opens with the author’s compelling journey through a variety of spiritual approaches. Through decades of dedicated exploration and discernment, Brown exposes the transcendent notions of spirituality that limit our human experience. In his fiercely authentic, no-holds-barred style, Brown reveals that what we view as ‘spiritual’ is often devoid of the gift that makes us most alive–our precious and unique selfhood. He demonstrates that true spirituality is a whole-being awakening, one that heartfully embraces our entire human experience: our feelings, our stories, our bodies, our relationships with others, and the earth that houses us.

Brown then engages in a riveting dialogue with a fictitious spiritual seeker named Michael. Their conversations unfurl in warmth and humor, threaded with cutting truth and inspiring realization. Hands-on exercises throughout provide a direct experience of a vital new model.

In Grounded Spirituality, the author lays down the tracks for an embodied way of being–one that leaves us ‘enrealed,’ integrated, and purposeful. Not awakened–but awakening. Not transcending our humanness–but finding meaning and spirituality within it, right in the heart of our imperfect daily lives. At long last, we can lay down our weary heads, burdened by the impossibility of transcending our human experience. Back to our roots, back into our bodies, back into all that makes us magnificently human. Home at last…

https://www.amazon.com/Grounded-Spirituality-Jeff-Brown/dp/1988648033

The Myth of an Afterlife

Because every single one of us will die, most of us would like to know what-if anything-awaits us afterward, not to mention the fate of lost loved ones. Given the nearly universal vested interest in deciding this question in favor of an afterlife, it is no surprise that the vast majority of books on the topic affirm the reality of life after death without a backward glance. But the evidence of our senses and the ever-gaining strength of scientific evidence strongly suggest otherwise. In The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life after Death, Michael Martin and Keith Augustine collect a series of contributions that redress this imbalance in the literature by providing a strong, comprehensive, and up-to-date casebook of the chief arguments against an afterlife. Divided into four separate sections, this collection opens with a broad overview of the issues, as contributors consider the strongest evidence of whether or not we survive death-in particular the biological basis of all mental states and their grounding in brain activity that ceases to function at death. Next, contributors consider a host of conceptual and empirical difficulties that confront the various ways of “surviving” death-from bodiless minds to bodily resurrection to any form of posthumous survival. Then essayists turn to internal inconsistencies between traditional theological conceptions of an afterlife-heaven, hell, karmic rebirth-and widely held ethical principles central to the belief systems supporting those notions. In the final section, authors offer critical evaluations of the main types of evidence for an afterlife. Fully interdisciplinary, The Myth of an Afterlife: The Case against Life after Death brings together a variety of fields of research to make that case, including cognitive neuroscience, philosophy of mind, personal identity, philosophy of religion, moral philosophy, psychical research, and anomalistic psychology. As the definitive casebook of arguments against life after death, this collection is required reading for any instructor, researcher, and student of philosophy, religious studies, or theology. It is sure to raise provocative issues new to readers, regardless of background, from those who believe fervently in the reality of an afterlife to those who do not or are undecided on the matter.

stripping the gurus

http://strippingthegurus.com/

Armed with wit, insight, and truly astonishing research, Geoffrey Falk utterly demolishes the notion of the enlightened guru who can lead devotees to nirvana. This entertaining and yet deadly serious book should be read by everyone pursuing or thinking of pursuing the path of guru devotion.

—John Horgan, author of Rational Mysticism

Stripping the Gurus is superb—one of the best books of its kind I have ever read. The research is meticulous, the writing engaging, and the overall thesis: devastatingly true. A stellar book.

—Dr. David C. Lane, California State University

This gripping and disturbing book should be read by anyone who finds themself revering a spiritual teacher.

—Susan Blackmore, author of The Meme Machine

Geoffrey Falk’s delightful but disturbing unmasking of religious prophets and preachers who command a vast following is a welcome contribution to the literature on the gurus and god-men of all religions.

—Dr. Narasingha P. Sil, Western Oregon University

No one involved in contemporary spirituality can afford to ignore this book. It exposes the darker side of modern spiritual movements, those embarrassing—sometime vicious or criminal—reports which the leaders of these movements prefer to hide. With wit and humility, and without abandoning the verities of religion, Falk has provided a corrective critique of groups that peddle enlightenment and transcendence. A must!

—Len Oakes, author of Prophetic Charisma

why i am not a buddhist

https://www.amazon.com/Why-I-Am-Not-Buddhist/dp/0300226551 https://muse.jhu.edu/article/770860

https://secularbuddhistnetwork.org/a-review-of-evan-thompsons-why-i-am-not-a-buddhist/

A conversation about cultural spiritual bypassing

https://www.buddhistinquiry.org/article/a-conversation-about-cultural-spiritual-bypassing/

Spiritual Bypassing and Dysregulation in the Nervous System

https://drronmanley.com/spiritual-bypassing-dysregulation-nervous-system/

Recovering spirituality: achieving emotional sobriety in your spiritual practice. Ingrid Clayton

derren brown

https://derrenbrown.co.uk/shows/messiah/ https://derrenbrown.co.uk/shows/fear-and-faith/

https://www.premierchristianity.com/home/derren-brown-the-miracle-maker-reveals-his-christian-past/3718.article

https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2020/oct/15/derren-brown-i-was-a-terrible-attention-seeker

https://www.skeptical-science.com/people/premier-christianity-interviews-derren-brown/