Author: Andrew Taggart
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There’s No Such Thing As A Previous Experience
1. There’s no such thing as a previous thought or a previous experience for that matter. 2. You can’t experience a previous sensation. There’s only the sensation arising now. You can seemingly remember an allegedly past sensation–but that’s something I’ll come to shortly. 3. Likewise, you can’t experience a previous thought. You can seemingly have…
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Superimposition: Understanding ‘How The Sausage Is Made’
Dear A., The Pith Jnana yoga could be said to be a deconstruction of our conceptual model. 1. Since consciousness knows itself by being Itself, it is self-evident. Accordingly, it requires no “proof,” no “rational proof.” 3. The only reason it seems to be veiled is due to superimposition. 4. Through deep understanding, we first see through…
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Atheism Is A Great Help To Religion
✦ How are atheistic critiques a great help to mystical understanding? ✦ And what subtler way of knowing goes beyond all concepts? ✱ In this video essay, I discuss Michael Buckley’s excellent book Denying and Disclosing God: The Ambiguous Progress of Modern Atheism. In particular, I examine ★ how one common argument for atheism starting…
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How Self-help Gets Confused With The Nondual Teaching
One of the most common confusions made by those on a nondual spiritual path like that of Advaita Vedanta is to presume that waking up entails the change of experiences that one “has.” The idea is that the Sage doesn’t “have” certain kinds of experiences–like negative thoughts or feelings–while those who are ignorant do. This…
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How Did Staunch Protestant Reformers Unintentionally Birth Secularism?
In this talk, I discuss the historian Brad Gregory’s fine book Rebel in the Ranks: Martin Luther, the Reformation, and the Conflicts That Continue to Shape Our World. In particular, I answer the following questions: ★ How did a secular society arise accidentally from a profoundly religious movement? ★ What is secularism and why does…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 