Dune. Specifically the parts about how a human can choose their reaction to an external event. And the ability to overcome fear. Man's Search For Meaning. Again, overcoming the worst situations and finding joy anywhere. How to Practice. Understanding what you are feeling and why you are feeling it. Emotional Intelligence. How the amygdala sends signals to the brain, why it does that, and how to recognize your negativ…
Ask HN: What book changed your life?
201–210 of 539 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#202If you're gonna ask what's my current religion well I've been asking myself that ever since.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#203https://twitter.com/naval/status/1002103360646823936
The Economic History of the Jewish People
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#204Earlier quoted context omitted.
I agree. I would also add continues to change my life. I read the Bible every day and am constantly amazed how relevant ancient wisdom is today. In recent years teaching from Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament taught me how to understand my work. There is such a lot of nonsense on HN and the net about success. So many are pursuing a pipe dream. Below helped me to work hard, enjoy what I have, and not be concerned abou…
Man, I tried reading the bible, maybe some pages are to be skipped, I couldn't keep after 5 ... too many "don't have sex with your cousin's wife unless her father owned a goat" logic.
If you put it in that context, then it's not that much sillier than stuff like "Owning a pet lobster in Maine is illegal when that lobster is pregnant" kind of laws. (true law btw)
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#205It's a bunch of very straightforward advice that I would never have gotten to on my own and which is _really_ hard to put into practice, but so worth it when you do.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#206Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#207Peak by Erickson and Pool There is no innate talent - it takes practice and repetition to build those capabilities Scary
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#208I know it's trite to say it, but in my early 20s reading Atlas Shrugged helped me regain my bearings. And, no, it did not turn me into Peter Thiel.
Never read Atlas Shrugged, but I had to read The Fountainhead for English in high school and it was really transformative. It helped me suss out flawed philosophy and gave me a sense of skepticism when being told what to think by authority (my English teacher at the time thought Ayn Rand was the second coming of Christ). I remember offering different perspectives when discussing the themes of the novel and basically…
The Fountainhead is far from a perfect novel and certainly the "great man" theory is flawed. But the exposition of the inherent failure of collectivism to improve society is probably its greatest strength, and rings more true today than ever.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#209Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#210Earlier quoted context omitted.
I was very skeptical about this book, and even while reading along I'd get the feeling of "uh, this is way out there wacko", but I decided to just take it at it's word and follow along. And now I am able to briefly enter a state of complete acceptance and feel pure love flowing through me, like the perfect hug from a perfect being that understands me in every way. The first time I actually teared up a bit, the feelin…
It's the God-focus that immediately turned me off to Eckhart. I've had plenty of people recommend him, and own a copy of the power of now, but I can't get past the feeling that there's a hidden agenda. I'm all about being present and experiencing the world through different lenses - I like new ideas and I'm open to thinking differently, but that higher power thing just puts every synapse I have on high alert.
"You used the word Being. Can you explain what you mean by that?
Being is the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death. However, Being is not only beyond but also deep within every form as its innermost invisible and indestructible essence. This means that it is accessible to you now as your own deepest self, your true nature. But don't seek to grasp it with your mind. Don't try to understand it. You can know it only when the mind is still. When you are present, when your attention is fully and intensely in the Now, Being can be felt, but it can never be understood mentally. To regain awareness of Being and to abide in that state of “feeling- realization” is enlightenment." Ch. 1 The Greatest Obstacle to Enlightenment
There it is. That's what he considers to be God. Mind you, those are just the words he chose. He mentions that words are merely signposts. Think of pointers in programming languages.
"If you are unable to look beyond such interpretations and so cannot recognize the reality to which the word points, then don't use it. Don't get stuck on the level of words. A word is no more than a means to an end. It's an abstraction. Not unlike a signpost, it points beyond itself. The word honey isn't honey. You can study and talk about honey for as long as you like, but you won't really know it until you taste it. After you have tasted it, the word becomes less important to you. You won't be attached to it anymore. Similarly, you can talk or think about God continuously for the rest of your life, but does that mean you know or have even glimpsed the reality to which the word points? It really is no more than an obsessive attachment to a signpost, a mental idol." Ch 6 Look beyond the Words