Showing results by author "David Lane" in All Categories

This audiobook contains distinct essays on Darwinian epistemology, the future of shabd yoga, Ken Wilber's Atman Project, Clarence Darrow's agnostic philosophy, and the debate between Richard Feynman and John Lilly over the reality/non-reality of out-of-body experiences. Excerpt from one of the chapters: I think it is important to distinguish methodological naturalism from a philosophically absolutist position, since trying to ground all things down to the empirical realm and testable realm is a practical process and doesn't necessarily mean that nothing else exists beyond what we can scientifically discern.

In this partially autobiographical book, Professor David Christopher Lane, PhD., a long-time skeptic of religion and the paranormal, explains why he meditates and why he believes it is extremely beneficial to human well-being. Includes a detailed section on how to meditate using an ancient technique called shabd yoga (listening to the inner sound) without resorting to mythological concepts or overlays.

Beginning with two autobiographical essays about Professor David Lane's book addiction and his 40-plus years of exposing cults, this volume includes critical essays on Andrew Cohen, a spiritual teacher who was forced to resign only to repackage himself several years later; the new age philosopher, Ken Wilber, and his "integral" theory; a skeptical analysis behind why Donald Trump was elected; the future of books in light of virtual reality headsets such as Oculus Rift; and insights on the religious visions of Sri Ramakrishna and the role of guru "transparency".

Explores whether or not consciousness has a physical basis. Utilizes the work of Ramachandran, Feynman, Wilber, Churchland, and Gerald Edelman.

Detailed description of the inner meditation journey in surat shabd yoga, as given out by the Radhasoami gurus at Agra and Beas. Presents how one goes within using the light and sound within one's own consciousness and how to ascend to higher regions of awareness.

This book explores the succession of Sawan Singh, the famous "Great Master" of Radhasoami Satsang Beas. Focuses on the controversy generated by Kirpal Singh who claimed that he was the rightful successor, even though Sawan Singh had named Jagat Singh in a notarized will. Presents a point by point critique of Kirpal Singh's claims.

Can science ultimately explain consciousness? This little book explores the subject from both a purely physicalist perspective and also from an Eastern philosophy angle.

The Radhasoami tradition has almost since its formal inception in 1861 in Agra, India, attempted to explain its practices and teachings as a higher form of spiritual science. But in so doing, Radhasoami has developed its own unique understanding of how science operates which at times is at odds with more conventional definitions of how to systematically study nature.

Lord Dunsany was Edward Plunkett's pen name, and he was a very successful author of numerous books, plays, and short stories. He possessed a remarkable imagination and created fantastical landscapes peopled with unique characters. To listen to his short stories is to be transported to another time and to another place and, in the midst of it all, to be enthralled by the marvel of it all.

Many critics consider "Rain" to be Maugham's finest short story and it has proven to be wildly successful for an essay that is less than 16,000 words, eventually earning him over a million dollars. What makes the story standout, besides its exotic setting in the South Pacific, is the archetypal conflict between the pull of the flesh and the pull of the spirit.

I first encountered the mystical logic of Nicholas of Cusa when I read S.L. Frank's magnificent (and underappreciated) volume, The Unknowable. I was both mesmerized and haunted by Cusa's koan-like summation of his philosophy when he wrote, "The unattainable is attained by its unattainment." As Socrates and other mystic-philosophers before him, Nicholas of Cusa had realized through mathematics and geometry that infinity cannot be comprehended by that which is finite.

It is not too often that a brilliant scientist is also a wonderfully gifted writer. Sir Arthur Eddington was both. Brought up as a Quaker (he was a pacifist during World War One), Eddington was by all accounts a brilliant mathematician and physicist, who eventually became a professor of astronomy at Cambridge University. Sir Arthur Eddington is perhaps most famous for partially confirming Albert Einstein's theory of relativity back in 1919.

This book covers four distinct areas concerning the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Taken as a whole, it provides a new way of looking at Jesus and early Christianity.

This book presents a glimpse into the fascinating life and work of Baba Faqir Chand, the famous "unknowing" sage of India. Faqir explains in vivid details how gurus do not know about the miracles and visions attributed to them. He also explains the secrets behind surat shabd yoga practice and provides a detailed description of how to transcend visionary phenomena.

The true story of how a young boy at the age of 15 discovers a Perfect Coke at Fedco in Van Nuys, California, in the summer of 1971. Describes how any object can potentially serve as a hierophany, which is an ordinary object that serves as conduit for the transcendent. Touches upon Jorge Borges' famous short story about the Zahir, a talisman that conveys far more than its intrinsic worth. Includes implications drawn from physics, probability theory, and mysticism.

This diary covers the period between 1999 and 2001 and discusses science, philosophy and religion via the lens of surfing. Penned by David Christopher Lane, a longtime professor known for his critical books on cults, this book takes a very personal look at the deep questions of human existence coupled with seasoned (and at times humorous) observations of day to day life. Lane uses surfing as the guiding metaphor throughout the text.

This audiobook contains four original papers that are fundamental to our understanding of modern biology, including Mendel's "Experiments in Plant Hybridization", Wallace's "On the Tendency of Varieties to Depart Indefinitely from the Original Type", Huxley's initial review of On the Origin of Species, and Watson and Crick's groundbreaking paper, "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids". Professor David Christopher Lane explains why these papers are so elemental in the history of science.

This little book explores the projective nature of consciousness by using various rides at Disneyland to explain how awareness works as a virtual simulator.

This little book focuses on two famous spiritual leaders: Adi Da and Paul Twitchell and how devotees of each try to defend their actions. The author then presents a counter-critique to their respective defenses. Also included is a brief essay on Ken Wilber's transcendental sociology, as well as a spirited defense of a neuroscientific approach to understanding consciousness.

I have had the wonderful privilege of introducing Einstein's theory of relativity to thousands of college students in my Introduction to Philosophy courses at Mt. San Antonio College and in my upper division course on Science and Religion at California State University, Long Beach. Although Einstein's concept is difficult to grasp at first, given enough time and study it becomes easier to understand over time.