These are a few that stick out to me; a good place to start, no particular order
- be here now, Ram Dass. Very dear to my heart, there is nothing else like it. there are also many hours of his lectures recorded for ur listening pleasure
- letters to a young poet, Rainer Rilke. letters he’s written; he discusses solitude, relationships, art, always with the undercurrent of spirituality
- book of hours, Rilke. love poems to god, I like the Barrows and Macy translation. I’m currently reading it
- new seeds to contemplation, Thomas Merton. Merton is a good one to read, he’s got lots of work; go pick through
- lord of the rings, Tolkien. i feel that it is a deeply spiritual text. the prose makes me cry, the reverence of Nature speaks to my heart
I like to listen to James Finley’s podcast turning to the mystics because my current interest is contemplative christianity.
Pete Holmes sometimes has interesting guests, as does Duncan trussel, who talk about spirituality from varying traditions.
I never felt a great affinity for Alan Watts but u could give him a listen
Related Recs
Agree to all the above.
In terms of resources, the deepak chopra 30 day meditation challenge is super helpful and easy to get into (I can send you the files for most of the days cuz it’s crazy expensive if you want)
People like calm and the apps, but also Tara brach has a ton of free guided meditations online (don’t love em but you might).
Also I do ananda marga meditation, which involved being connected to a teacher and getting a personal mantra which was transformative to my practice (and free unlike transcendental meditation) happy to connect you there as well :) here is a video intro to that !
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lo0X2ZdElQ4
Also I’m linking my favorite guided meditation 🧘♀️
Best of luck and feel free to hit me up w more questions ❤️
Mar 22, 2024
Echoing the value of rest💗 consider the 7 types of rest and see what areas might feel nice for you to incorporate into your day/week rn.
There are some great tools out there (esp. if therapy or doctors visits are inaccessible or just not the right path for you) to support mental health or creative practices. Some free/web available resources I trust are The Artists Way by Julia Cameron (caveat that this has some chat about spirituality, and for some folks that may not be a great fit, but super useful otherwise), Thinking Traps Tutorial by Dr. Raquel Martin or any of her free resources really, and symptom journaling generally. Would be glad to share both wider or more specific reccs if desired.
And just know it takes time but it's not forever that you'll feel dispassionate. Sending lots of gentleness and warmth to you.
Jan 23, 2025
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There are so many guided meditations out there (I have hundreds of my own out there on YT and Insight Timer) but when you’re just beginning the process, simply listen.
Sit outside in a comfy place and really focus on your ears and listening.
notice all the layers of sounds around you.
Then you can start noticing what you are seeing, even with eyes closed.
Then smell, taste, and simply feel.
And BREATHE. feel your lungs breathing and watch your breath the same way you watch waves. witness your own nature the same way you witness any other thing in nature.
Open all the senses to your unique perception of the world at this moment, which will always be unique and noteworthy.
There will be much noise in your mind saying lots of stuff maybe like “this is pointless” and the such, but each time you hear a judgey thought, flip it to curiosity-
“could there be a point to sitting here and opening all my senses”
There is a GREAT power in experiencing the world and your life as it is.
We aren’t meant to change everything or fix every problem with “love and light” through meditation.
We are just meant to remember, acknowledge, and accept that deep sense of awe and love that is beneath everything.
Beneath allllll the noise. that’s all there is.
We are meant to simply experience the wonder of whatever this wild wacky wonderful world is. it has been created in a marvelous way and we can join in the dance however we can 🪩
Mar 22, 2024
Top Recs from @sun
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Ripping into fruits on a hot summers day, juice dribbling down my exposed chest pooling at my feet. Sitting in cool river streams, a part of the natural world around me. Not a thought beyond the immediate. Stuff like that.
Jul 10, 2024
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I have many Ideas. I ponder over them like an obsessive collector; organizing, re-organizing, packing them into words so the meaning is captured, transferable. Most of my transformative experiences are unexplainable - how does one capture the depth of a still, silent night? The whispering of leaves in warm summer breezes. Vague feelings of wholism while sitting in the grass, photosynthesizing like plant ancestors - a fish swims without direction. Many call it god but the church is alienating; the word massacred and butchered beyond the recognition of what it once meant.
One idea I have kept unmolested by the opinions of others, is that these holistic experiences in nature, with friends, live music shows, where the pulse of life beats strongly, are everything. An anchor point for a life well lived. It’s not enough to just be in nature, alchemizing the circumstance missing the key ingredient. A couple of friends and I went on a trip to where the ocean went on forever, unbroken horizon. We were down by the water, sunset and glistening, warmth of the sun and sand beneath my feet. But it was nothing more than looking. I did not have access to this other way of being - locked out, truthfully, by being eaten alive by the stress of exams and stewing in the feelings of being unlovable. It is somehow within you; the trees and ocean reflect it back to me. A quality of self brought out by sincerity and solitude. It’s everything, reflected in everything worthwhile.
Apr 17, 2024