Here’s what’s in my pile of books these days:
The Yoga of Jesus, Understanding the Hidden Teachings of the Gospels, by Paramahansa Yogananda
In this remarkable book, Paramahansa Yoganada reveals the hidden yoga of the Gospels and confirms that Jesus, like the ancient sages and masters of the East, not only knew yoga but taught this universal science and God-realization to his closest disciples.
Compiled from the author’s highly praised two-volume work, The Second Coming of Christ: The Resurrection of the Christ Within You, this insightful and compact book transcends the centuries of dogma and misunderstanding that have obscured the original teachings of Jesus, showing he taught a unifying path by which seekers of all faiths can enter the kingdom of God. (Self-Realization Fellowship, 2007)
“Jesus went very deep in teachings that appear on the surface to be simple — much deeper than most people understand . . . . In [his teachings] is the whole science of yoga, the transcendental way of divine union through meditation.” ~Paramahansa Yogananda
Inner Engineering: A Yogi’s Guide to Joy, by Sadhguru
The practice of hatha yoga, as we commonly know it, is but one of eight branches of the body of knowledge that is yoga. In fact, yoga is a sophisticated system of self-empowerment that is capable of harnessing and activating inner energies in such a way that your body and mind function at their optimal capacity. It is a means to create inner situations exactly the way you want them, turning you into the architect of your own joy.
The wisdom distilled in this accessible, profound, and engaging book offers readers time-tested tools that are fresh, alive, and radiantly new. Inner Engineering presents a revolutionary way of thinking about our agency and our humanity and the opportunity to achieve nothing less than a life of joy. (Harmony, September 20, 2016)
The Socratic Method: A Practitioner’s Handbook, by Ward Farnsworth
Drawing on hundreds of quotations, this book explains what the Socratic method is and how to use it. Chapters include Socratic Ethics, Ignorance, Testing Principles, and Socrates and the Stoics. Socratic philosophy is still startling after all these years because it is an approach to asking hard questions and chasing after them. It is a route to wisdom and a way of thinking about wisdom. (Godine, October, 2021)
Loserthink: How Untrained Brains Are Ruining America, by Scott Adams (creator of Dilbert)
Even the smartest people can slip into loserthink’s seductive grasp. This book will teach you how to spot and avoid it–and will give you scripts to respond when hollow arguments are being brandished against you, whether by well-intentioned friends, strangers on the internet, or political pundits. You’ll also learn how to spot the underlying causes of loserthink, like the inability to get ego out of your decisions, thinking with words instead of reasons, failing to imagine alternative explanations, and making too much of coincidences.
Your bubble of reality doesn’t have to be a prison. This book will show you how to break free–and, what’s more, to be among the most perceptive and respected thinkers in every conversation. (Portfolio, November, 2019)
How to Destroy Western Civilization and Other Ideas from the Cultural Abyss, by Peter J. Kreeft
Kreeft presents relevant, philosophical data that can guide us, divided into 7 categories: epistemological, theological, metaphysical, anthropological, ethical, political, and historical. He then explores these categories with classic Kreeft insights, presenting 40 pithy points on how we can implement the data from these categories to help save civilization and more importantly, save souls. (Ignatius Press, March, 2021)
The Parasitic Mind: How Infectious Ideas Are Killing Common Sense, by Gad Saad
There’s a war against truth… and if we don’t win it, intellectual freedom will be a casualty.
The West’s commitment to freedom, reason, and true liberalism has never been more seriously threatened than it is today by the stifling forces of political correctness.
Dr. Gad Saad, the host of the enormously popular YouTube show THE SAAD TRUTH, exposes the bad ideas—what he calls “idea pathogens”—that are killing common sense and rational debate. Incubated in our universities and spread through the tyranny of political correctness, these ideas are endangering our most basic freedoms—including freedom of thought and speech.
The danger is grave, but as Dr. Saad shows, politically correct dogma is riddled with logical fallacies. We have powerful weapons to fight back with—if we have the courage to use them.
A provocative guide to defending reason and intellectual freedom and a battle cry for the preservation of our fundamental rights, The Parasitic Mind will be the most controversial and talked-about book of the year. (Regnery Publishing, October 6, 2020)
A Hunter-Gatherer’s Guide to the 21st Century: Evolution and the Challenges of Modern Life, by Heather Heying and Bret Weinstein
We are living through the most prosperous age in all of human history, yet people are more listless, divided and miserable than ever. Wealth and comfort are unparalleled, and yet our political landscape grows ever more toxic, and rates of suicide, loneliness, and chronic illness continue to skyrocket. How do we explain the gap between these two truths? What’s more, what can we do to close it? (Portfolio, September 14, 2021)
NOTE: the above summaries and reviews are either from the book’s jacket or copied from Amazon.