Category: philosophical counseling
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Ramakrishna Cuts Through The Divine Mother
The Sword Of Discrimination Reaching the end of his rope, Ramakrishna said to Totapuri, his Vedantic teacher: “It is hopeless. I cannot raise my mind to the unconditioned state and come face to face with Atman.” “What?” Totapuri replied. “You can’t do it? But you have to!” Searching about excitedly, he picked up shard of…
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Yogic New Thought: Problems & Directions
My wife Alexandra and I are currently writing a book entitled Yogic New Thought. New Thought is a largely American “metaphysical religion” that began in the second half of the nineteenth century and that continues, mainly in pop cultural form, today. To simplify to an extreme: the basic tenet of New Thought is a thought…
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Yogic New Thought: A Reappraisal And Interpretation
John S. Haller Jr., in his book The History of New Thought: From Mind Cure to Positive Thinking and the Prosperity Gospel (2012), regrettably misses the mark. A secular humanist tasked with studying the history of American religion and medical humanities, he lacks a good ear with regard to what was actually attractive about New…
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Rugged Spirituality
Have you ever wanted to be pushed—I mean really pushed, pushed really hard? I have. But not to do more pushups or to climb harder. I wanted to be pushed inward, to be directed to keep going toward the truth. I meditated and philosophized for countless hours, but I never found that pusher, that mentor,…
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A Defense Of The Prosperity Gospel
John S. Haller Jr.’s treatment of “the prosperity gospel” in his book The History of New Thought: From Mind Cure to Positive Thinking and the Prosperity Gospel (2012) shows all the marks of the contemporary academy’s small-mindedness. Of course, it would be easy to say, with Haller, that the 1920s (“the roaring twenties”) effected a…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 