Showing results by author "David Lane" in All Categories

Describes the famous 14 dreams of Queen Trishala, the mother of Mahavira, one of the key spiritual figures in Jainism.

I bring up the subject of Gumby and the spiritual claims surrounding him because I am often asked in class about the verdicality of certain metaphysical claims that abound in religious mythologies. My usual rejoinder is that we don’t want to enter into “Gumby Land” when doing philosophy since most of these kinds of questions (how many angels can sit atop an empty coke top?) are literally non-sense (in the precise definition of that term as first coined in the 17th century).

This book explores the philosophical work of Patricia Churchland and her groundbreaking studies in neurophilosophy, a field she helped to create. Includes a critical analysis of her latest work on near-death experiences and some of her controversial findings. Also included is a special interview conducted by Professor Meredith Doran dating back to 1990 which details Churchland's work on consciousness and the brain.

This is the first in a series of very short books focusing on mystics of the world. Charan Singh was one of the most well-known masters of shabd yoga in the 20th century. For nearly 40 years, Charan Singh served the needs of millions of spiritual seekers. This audiobook contains excerpts which come from a series of unpublished letters by Charan Singh, focus on overcoming the desires and attachments of the lower mind and attuning one’s attention to the inner sound current during daily meditation.

This book contains a critical essay/preface on the cultic nature of censorship in Roman Catholicism by David Christopher Lane, professor of philosophy at Mt. San Antonio College. The main body of the book is on the Roman Catholic Index of Forbidden Books, which banned such texts as Kant's Critique of Pure Reason and all books by David Hume. This text includes a list of banned books up to 1966. This is a fascinating glimpse into Catholic apologetics about how they justified censorsing books that are now considered classics.

This book contains brief stories about famous Hindu myths, including Ganesha, Garuda, and Rama. It also includes two pertinent excerpts on advaita vedanta or non-dualist thinking from one of its earliest exponents and one from a famous modern sage, Ramana Maharshi.

Human interest in the nature of consciousness dates far back to our ancestral past. However, it is only in the last century or so that researchers and philosophers have been able to tackle the problem in a more scientific way. This is primarily due to our increasing understanding of human physiology and how our brain functions. The following essays briefly explore the life and work of pioneers in the field of consciousness studies.

Using surfing as a key and guiding metaphor, this audiobook explores why being "psychic" has nothing to do with paranormal abilities. Rather, it is a person's focus and attention to subtle details that makes all the difference. Explores Mike Stewart's low pressure theory in connection to surfing and other related issues.

One of the first critical studies ever done on the hidden history of Paul Twitchell and Eckankar. It was first completed as a term paper when David Lane was only 20 years old as an undergraduate student at CSUN. Later, it evolved into a very controversial book which caused a worldwide stir in the Eckankar organization. Contains extensive documentation on how Paul Twitchell created a fictional mythology about himself while denying his association with certain spiritual teachers.

Was Sathya Sai Baba, the world-famous guru from India who just recently died, really an avatar of God, or was he merely a sleight-of-hand magician who deceived millions with his tricks? This critical study provides overwhelming evidence to suggest that Sai Baba was not what he claimed to be.

Lord Dunsany was Edward Plunkett's pen name, and he was a very successful author of numerous books, plays, and short stories. He possessed a remarkable imagination and created fantastical landscapes peopled with unique characters. To listen to his short stories is to be transported to another time and to another place and, in the midst of it all, to be enthralled by the marvel of it all.

This audiobook focuses on how artificial intelligence can actually help education in the long run. Instead of censoring ChatGPT and DALLE-2, we should instead incorporate such in our high school and college courses.

Listening to the inner sound to achieve higher states of consciousness has a long history and can be found in different religious traditions around the world (ranging from Gnostic Christianity to Islamic Sufism to Tibetan Buddhism). In this presentation, we will explore the originations of shabd yoga and trace it over time (in its various manifestations) up until the present day. In so doing, we will want to learn how listening to the inner sound is theologically interpreted in varying cultures on distinct continents.

This small audiobook includes a remarkable 1990 interview with the famous professor of philosophy, Patricia Churchland, from the University of California, San Diego, who produced the groundbreaking book Neurophilosophy. Conducted by Meredith Doran and edited by David Christopher Lane. Also includes an essay by Professor Lane on the multi-level perspective on consciousness.

This is a brief narration commemorating the life and work of Acharya Sushil Kumar (1926-1994), the great Jain monk who spread the teachings of "ahimsa" (non-violence) worldwide.

I am fortunate to be able to publish Baba Faqir Chand's satsangs as presented to Harjit Singh Sandhu and skillfully translated by Pulkit Bose. First as a series in Sach Khand: The Journal of Radhasoami Studies and now in book form. These talks that were given in London, England, in 1980 are genuinely remarkable for their utmost clarity and penetrating insights into the nature of spirituality. Baba Faqir Chand is unique amongst masters, since he was exceptionally honest about his experiences and what he learned from them over the course of his long life.

This book is an abbreviated selection from the original 1910 book, The Master as I Saw Him, written by Bhagini ("Sister") Nivedita. Although there are now a number of newer publications of this classic (due to the fact it is now in the public domain), I thought it might be helpful to come out with an abbreviated edition, which focuses on the first quarter of the book. It is my hope that this short volume may serve as but an introductory glimpse into the life and work of one of the truly outstanding exponents of Indian philosophy and spirituality.

According to Steven Pinker in his new book, Enlightenment Now, the best time is precisely now. The only thing holding us back is waking up to it. Lest we forget, we are the lucky 8 billion who have been favored to be born human. We are, in sum, winners in the Darwinian lottery of life. This audiobook provides an illustrated glimpse into Pinker's idea that things have gotten better on planet Earth. Also provides new insights into a concept called "The Meta-Person Project".

According to Littlewood's Law of Miracles (based on the theory of large numbers and probability), you should expect something truly unusual to happen every 35 days - so strange, in fact, that it will look like a miracle. This book explains how the improbable is probable by focusing on desultory decussation (where two random events from an interesting intersection - a synchronicity) and Littlewood's work in number theory at Cambridge University in the last century. Also explains such concepts as apohenia and patternicity.

This audiobook contains two interviews of Baba Faqir Chand, the great sage of the Punjab, which were originally published in India in 1978. They were conducted by Professor Mark Juergensmeyer and his research assistant at that time, David Lane. Also included is a new interview with Professor Bhagat Ram Kamal, who is now the spiritual leader at Faqir Chand's ashram, Manavta Mandir. This audiobook provides an insight into Faqir's radical philosophy on spirituality.