Feeding My Ignorance -- Library

A follow up, in a way, to Science and Spiritual Practices.

Once again back to this recurrent theme of the interplay between spirituality and science.

A new author for me, but it is clear from the recent books on this list that there is a bit of a theme going on.

Haven't got far enough into this book as I write this to pass judgement, however in as much as it is - once again - espousing the idea that consciousness is a big subject that we would do well to understand better then it is likely that I will find much that I like. It is pretty much certain that we can currently say that NO ONE actually knows what consciousness is or how it works - so anyone expressing any ideas on the subject runs the risk of ridicule or worse. I suspect that - for many - the idea that there is something "out there" that in some way connects us and that our own consciousness is more than simply "what goes on inside our heads" will be a bit much to handle.

I know that "younger me" would have been tempted to simply dismiss all psi as mumbo jumbo. Now I am not so sure - no, I would go further than that - I am sure that some of the so called "extra sensory perception" that has long been the preserve of the "bizarre" does have a real basis in fact.

Looking forward to reading the rest of the book.

Anyone who has trawled through this large list of "books I have read" will notice that there are some authors who appear frequently - Neal Stephenson, Terry Pratchett, Robert Harris - and others - and amongst the 'serious" books are many by Rupert Sheldrake. There is a lot of repetition and cross-over within his books - but that is not surprising as what he is really outlining in all of them is his journey towards a very original worldview - and one that I, for one, can take on board as being not too far from my own.

Of course. there is a significant risk of bias here - specifically confirmation bias - in that I enjoy reading his books - and get a lot from them simply because they help reinforce my own ideas of "how the world works". Fortunately, he has the education and the science to back up his ideas - something which to a large extent I rely on others for.

This book explores seven spiritual practices and shows how they are relevant - whether or not you count yourself as a religious person. It can be difficult in today's society to espouse the idea that you are a spiritual person - many would ridicule that idea. What Sheldrake tries to show is that many actions and behaviours which are practiced by people on all parts of the religious spectrum from the most devout to the most sceptical are driven by "spiritual" needs. To combine some of the practices in a 'worldly' example - many people make 'pilgrimages' each week to support their football team where the take part in the set of 'rituals' which form part of the event and they 'sing and chant'as part of the crowd and are 'grateful' for every win that their team delivers - some may well off some form of 'prayer' when one their players steps up to take a penalty.

I could probably have worked in the other two - 'connecting with nature' and 'relating to plants' but I decided that I had probably pushed the envelope far enough.

A book to be recommended though.

I read this very quickly - and it was both thought provoking and slightly disappointing! The central thesis resonates strongly with my own outlook which can be found throughout the blog entries that there are lots of interconnections in our lives that we know little about - I could link to some of the specific entries that explore this but it permeates so much - whether it is external events that impact on our lives or ourselves unwittingly causing a change for someone else there are lots of "unknowns".

Unfortunately, in my view, although the book supported this view it didn't add very much to my ideas - that was the disappointing bit - but it did at least give five illustrations of how there can be parts of "our story" that we don't know about.

Typical Dan Brown page turner. Good to read, easy to read - not too taxing!

This was a book that my daughter had to read as part of her university work and she suggested I might like it. It was unlike just about any other book I had read (although perhaps a sort of lightweight "Remembrance of Things Past". As the story unfolded I did eventually become "hooked". It was never going to be a real page-turner - but an enjoyable read - and it shone a light on many 'difficult' aspects of life - much bigger things, perhaps than the specifics introduced within the story.

Not my usual sort of book, I guess - however it was fascinating how the author broke through his own 'failings' and found a way to be a great and loved teacher.

An author (and fellow Scot) that I hadn't come across before - seems like his mindset and worldview may well be extremely similar to mine!

Been trying to decide which Sheldrake book to read next - saw some good videos that led me to this one. Haven't read much of it so far, but it seems to be more to my taste than the previous book of his that I read.

Having got to the end, this is a marvellous book - it will enter my own personal Hall of Fame - that is for sure.  Do I believe everything he writes?  I don't know.  Do I understand everything?  Almost certainly not.  However, the idea that Science should be treated as fallible in, in my view, perfectly reasonable.  There is no good reason why there should be special rules to protect Science.

I will, once I have digested the book, post something in the main blog.