Sam Harris' Waking Up. My time on Earth is best partitioned into before and after I started the project of spirituality without religion (the book's subtitle).
Ask HN: What book changed your life?
311–320 of 539 posts
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#312- Most books by Roger Zelazny. The guy code write with a few words, he could paint an amazing picture. Chronicles of Amber, Lord of Light, Isle of the Dead, etc...
- And a trashy Candyman , https://sciencefictionruminations.com/2020/05/10/book-review..., not the one everyone is used to, this was so mind boggling to a 13 year old....
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#313How to Talk to Anyone: 92 Little Tricks for Big Success in Relationships by Leil Lowndes
This book helped me handle introductions, small talk, and getting to know people better at a deeper level with so much less anxiety than I ever had before.
The biggest lesson I learned was to try and give the “spotlight” of who’s talking and what the subject is back to others frequently. It’s a simple concept, but the book is helpful in clarifying why it’s important and how to do it.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#314Isaac Asimov's Guide To The Bible. An agnostic atheist historian analyzes the history of every line of every book in the bible. Asimov is a good writer and he makes the bible a fun read.
>agnostic atheist I don't think I've seen these words used together. I've always understood the difference to be that an atheist is as sure in his beliefs as the religious zealot, each with the same amount of proof backing their opinions up. An agnostic realizing this lack of proof simply says "I don't know".
Atheism is a rejection, non-acceptance, or indifference to theism, which boiled down to its essence is just a non-acceptance of deities being the creator or essence of reality. One can be atheist and hold hard-line rationalist views about the nature of reality, but one can also have spiritual beliefs and be atheist.
Agnostics believe that in some way, metaphysical intelligences are involved in the creation or fabric of the universe, but the very nature and depth of this involvement is in varying degrees indecipherable, unknown, and not-yet-known. Agnosticism doesn't require either the acceptance or rejection of theism.
Put together it technically means the person doesn't believe in a theistic god but holds agnostic views about broader metaphysical concepts.
More colloquially I've noticed a lot of people use the atheist agnostic / agnostic label interchangeably to indicate they haven't made their mind up one way or the other, but it's possible to be either atheist agnostic or theist agnostic.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#315Earlier quoted context omitted.
My suggestion: Start reading in Matthew. Once you get through, go back to Genesis and Exodus. Leviticus is a harder read, but worthwhile because it provides so much context for the rest. But if need be, skip to Judges- it's an action packed book, and I genuinely enjoy it, as I do Ruth. If you get stuck on Chronicles, skip to Ezra. Esther is an especially wonderful book! What I'm really trying to say is: The Bible isn…
I'd like to suggest: 1)include Acts with Matthew for initial reading 2) get people to Samuel and Kings ASAP. You probably need to read genesis and exodus first, but after that, David seems like the archetype of God-fearing Jew, and you need to know his story.
To be clearer: I meant to start reading the entire Bible at Matthew- not reading JUST Matthew.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#316Earlier 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.
ahahahah that quote killed me
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#317Earlier quoted context omitted.
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.
Yeah I'm also slightly confused by those comments. I tried reading it from start to end, and it wasn't that enjoyable. It was mostly lost listings of names about peoples grand grand parents... and things that didn't really fit what was say two sentences ago. Am I missing the "proper" way of reading it? But if there is, that would eventually just leave to cherry picking...
1. Luke and Acts
2. Genesis and Exodus
3. (1 and 2) Samuel and (1 and 2) Kings
There are lots of answers to this question floating around the thread. Maybe mine will be helpful:
First of all, so much of the Bible references and builds on itself that it's a battle to establish the initial framework of knowledge so you can try to fill everything in.
The most important question of Christianity is, as Jesus put it, "who do you say that I am?" Start working on this with a Gospel (either Mark, more focused on a clear message; of Luke, more of a detailed narrative). (Matthew was written for a Jewish audience, so the perspective isn't as helpful, and John is just different in ways that make it better saved for later.) After this, read Acts, which finishes the story begun by the gospels. If you pick Luke, then you have the advantage that Luke and Acts have the same author.
Read Genesis. There's so much to unpack in this huge book. Jordan Peterson released lectures on many stories of Genesis as early podcasts of his; they do a good job of presenting the stories in the modern day, and are probably his best work, far better than recent work.)
Exodus. It is narrative and explains God's relationship with the Jewish people.
If you want to keep digging into that story, you could go next to Joshua and Judges. But I recommend next reading 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. They're the story of David, who is the archetype of a God-fearing, yet only human, Jew.
As to a "proper" way: slowly, carefully, repeatedly, with humility, and with help.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#318I think the only book I can recall having a direct impact on my conscious awareness was The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle[0]. The book is very easy to read and quite enjoyable with everything that it includes. I definitely recommend to check it out. [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Power-Now-Guide-Spiritual-Enlightenme...
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…
I can remember having a similar experience the first time I read it. Although I saw value in it, it seemed weird. I later recommended it to people who found it just too bizarre or radical to get through.
Coincidentally I just finished the audiobook again today. I couldn't count how many times that makes. With all other things that seemed significant to me, they mostly fell by the wayside of my changing experiences or perspectives. The Power of Now is the only book that has seemed _more true_ every time I've read it, and at every stage of my life.
It's lucky that Eckhart is alive to narrate the audiobooks, as his voice almost in and of itself conveys the meaning of his writing.
I am glad it helped you. Truly it is the most life-changing book I've read.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#319Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Nihilism then?”. The Bible unabashedly says “yes, if you don’t have God” I am not trying to argue theology here, just giving another perspective. I was raised an an observant Catholic household, and I went every week from ages 5-19 and missed only a few times due to illness. But I never believed, I just don't have a spiritual bone in my body. None of what you quoted from Solomon about the impermanence of our materi…
Humanism might he the term that you are describing. The idea that a deity is not needed to find meaning and derive morality.
What's the term for when the pursuit of knowledge is regarded as the highest morality? That's where I mostly get my meaning at least.
Re: Ask HN: What book changed your life?
#320The Stormlight Archive (series) by Brandon Sanderson has probably changed my life the most. I don't think I've enjoyed a book as much or have had one mean as much to me as I've have with this series. The series is incredibly inspirational since despite being a high fantasy novel. In fear of spoiling the plot, I'm being vague: it tracks the stories of (multiple) people who go through difficult life situations and lear…
Thanks for being vague, I just started The Way of Kings last week. I've read Elantris and the first Mistborn trilogy from Sanderson. I'm roughly half way into this first book of The Stormlight Archive and I've already come to the conclusion that this likely is my favorite of his work. I very much agree with your thoughtful sentiment. I've been wondering if the story of Joseph from the Bible had influence on Kaladin's…
I've also read nearly every other Sanderson book after Stormlight. While they're still quite good, none of them quite compare to the depth or significance of the Stormlight Archive.
I'm not Christian and as such am not familiar with Biblical stores, but I would be inclined to agree that the messages Sanderson conveys in Stormlight could perhaps be derived from those stories. However, something that strikes me is that Sanderson mentions faith and religious conflict in all his novels, but seems to transcend a singular true faith (eg. in portraying Jasnah's atheism, I've seen people mention her reasons for rejecting God are surprisingly accurate to what real people believe, and Sanderson attributed that to spending time on atheist forums to understand their beliefs better).
> the book definitely has me feeling inspired and motivated thus far.
I found Rhythm of War to be the most (read: exceptionally) inspirational and motivational of the four novels (followed by Words of Radiance) , so I would wager that there will be much more in terms of inspiration in the following novels. And good luck with your reading journey! The Stormlight Archive was truly a wonderful experience to read (and I've re-read it since then) and I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
"Life before death. Strength before weakness. Journey before destination."