Category: philosophical counseling
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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…
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Expanding The Curriculum Of The Direct Path Teaching
When I think of the direct path teaching, especially as it’s carried into the West in the twenty-first century, I’m inclined to see four areas in need of focus: This, then, would be a very sweet and comprehensive experiential study.
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The Direct Path Deconstructs Your Conceptual Model
The version of Advaita Vedanta termed “the direct path” refers either to Ramana Maharshi’s teaching or to Sri Atmananda’s. In this case as well as in others, I’m referring to the latter. One simple way of thinking of the direct path teaching is to see that all it’s doing is deconstructing your conceptual model. Being…
Andrew Taggart, Ph.D. 