Bram Adams

music

Black Representation in Metal

Some great metal musicians who *happen* to be black.

meditation

The Cheap Way to Flight From the Self

“What is meditation? What is abandonment of the body? What is fasting? What is the holding of breath? It is a flight from the Self, it is a temporary escape from the torment of Self. It is a temporary palliative against the pain and folly of life. The driver of

hxh

You'll Have to Judge for Yourself What's Going on in There

It is not for me to judge another life. I must judge for myself. I must choose and reject. (Location 329)

meditation

Siddhartha and Gon Have a Lot in Common

“But you did want. Listen, Kamala, when you throw a stone into the water, it finds the quickest way to the bottom of the water. It is the same when Siddhartha has an aim, a goal. Siddhartha does nothing; he waits, he thinks, he fasts, but he goes through the

love

The Art of Lovemaking

She taught him that lovers should not separate from each other after making love without admiring each other, without being conquered as well as conquering, so that no feeling of satiation or desolation arises nor the horrid feeling of misusing or having been misused. (Location 592) “Maybe,” said Siddhartha wearily.

anime

Only an Open Minded Fool Can Approach Their True Self

I had to become a fool again in order to find Atman in myself. (Location 877) A man must consent to look to a foolish, innocent, adolescent part of himself for his cure. The inner fool is the only one who can touch his Fisher King wound. (Location 159) Only

favorite

Siddhartha and the River

Siddhartha looked into the river and saw many pictures in the flowing water. He saw his father, lonely, mourning for his son; he saw himself, lonely, also with the bonds of longing for his faraway son; he saw his son, also lonely, the boy eagerly advancing along the burning path

deep-life

Words Are Powerful Tools to Evoke State Transitions

Words do not express thoughts very well. They always become a little different immediately they are expressed, a little distorted, a little foolish. (Location 1328) The Values Document cannot be fully distilled into words, but words can serve as a key-value store for the feelings the values are meant to

psychology

The Anthropomorphic Urge to Otherize

Govinda said: “But what you call thing, is it something real, something intrinsic? Is it not only the illusion of Maya, only image and appearance? Your stone, your tree, are they real?” “This also does not trouble me much,” said Siddhartha. “If they are illusion, then I also am illusion,

reading

Enlightenment and the Resistance

Was it then still possible to live? Was it possible to take in breath again and again, to breathe out, to feel hunger, to eat again, to sleep again, to lie with women again? Was this cycle not exhausted and finished for him?(Location 781) In a way, enlightenment makes

exercise

Slow Consistent Workouts

So after you start the program, why not try that and say, “I am a bodybuilder.” Or say something similar that resonates with you more, like “I am a body sculptor,” “I am a strength athlete,” or “I am a fitness athlete.” You may not look or feel like one