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Most books by Bob Wilson, particularly Prometheus Rising, which set off a world of self-discovery when I picked it up first in high school. Nowadays, on weird
by SirensOfTitan 5y ago
Most books by Bob Wilson, particularly Prometheus Rising, which set off a world of self-discovery when I picked it up first in high school.
Nowadays, on weird books or ideas, I’d say:
* The technique of Focusing by Eugene Gendlin
* Shinzen Young’s writing on his See-Hear-Feel noting meditation technique
* Or, similar to focusing but much, much weirder: Jack Willis’s Reichian Therapy for Home Use (available free on the internet)
Every single book here has its own issues, but they all elaborate on listening to the body, and the subtle ways we hold stress in our bodies. They’ve helped me understand too that there’s a difference between being emotionally fat and emotionally expressive: the former is like a McDonald’s meal, the latter like a fine dining meal.
I’ve struggled with generalized anxiety all my life, and this stuff has really helped me deal with it without pushing it away. On the actual real reduction-of anxiety I still feel fairly clueless.
- jdmoreira 5y agoI was not expecting to see Robert Anton Wilson on HN. Glad I did though!
- apis_nearctica 5y agoThanks for the suggestions, I think I will get some very good use out of these. For real reduction of anxiety you might be interested in reading about Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which I think would fit well with the resources you mentioned. It’s an evidence-based therapy with a focus on mindfulness and meditation. A big part of what it taught me is how to unconditionally accept my unpleasant emotions which paradoxically leads to experiencing less of them. That’s easier said than done of course but ACT gives exercises and concrete advice for how to get there. The book I liked is called A Liberated Mind, a self-help book by the creator of ACT, Steven Hayes.
- 100011_100001 5y agoPrometheus rising was such an instrumental book for me. At that point of my life I was dabbling into the occult which is why I ended up getting the book. In made me realize that there are multiple side to any story and you can easily get stuck in echo chambers that re-inforce your own pre-conceptions. Ironically it's the book that drove me away from the occult. It also create a lot of uncertainty in my life, which at times even today, 20 years later bothers me. I am never 100% sure about anything, because it's all a "maybe". It has also led to a constant evolution of my thinking process because I am always open to new ideas and mindsets. I remember the last section of the book was totally unrelatable to me. Still own the book, I should probably re-read it, twenty years later.