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{ 45 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi there L. Ron:
Came upon you via book reviews at Amazon.com, and watched the vid. on your website. I’m wondering if you could point me to the single best book on meditation.
I have gone through the ringer re: spiritual teachings/practices from EST to TM to ashtanga yoga, Eckankar, etc., and am now studying Vedanta. Am taking a jnana approach with meditation. Am tired of seeking and think it’s about time I found out how to wake up.
Best,
Ray Swanson
Vancouver, Canada
Ray, I have not come across any good Jnana meditation texts. Eventually I’ll write one. Although I highly recommend Ramana Maharshi’s Self-enquiry, neither Ramana nor anyone else has done a good job elaborating this method.
Although I also practice Self-enquiry, the method I prefer, and teach, is Plugged-in Presence — and I elaborate this method (which mirrors Dzogchen, Kashmir Shaivism’s Divine Means, Adi Da’s Divine Communion, and the mystical Eucharist) in my book “Electrical Christianity.”
Ordering “Electrical Christianity” today. Really like this blog site. Thanks.
Hey Ron,
I just replied to one of your reviews on Amazon for Adyashanti’s ‘The Way of Liberation’, but figured it might be more appropriate to write here as well.
Why do you say that the brains of men are more unbalanced than those of women, producing both more geniuses and retards? What are your sources?
Though the interviewer in this video was horrid (seemed much more interested in building his own credentials / patting his own back than bringing out a substantive conversation from you), it was interesting to see how you carry yourself outside of Amazon reviews.
My first reaction to you was akin to a gag-reflex (you’re not one for subtlety, though that’s not necessarily a bad thing), but it occurred to me that my response might have been a result of prior conditioning.
There’s a part of me that’s intrigued by your message, and I look forward to reading Electric Christianity.
D. Daniel, there is a lot of information available on the differences between male and female brains. If you Google the subject, you’ll find it. In “Beyond the Power of Now” I cited the research of psychiatrist Glen D. Wilson, author of “The Sex Divide,” who elaborates on why women aren’t geniuses (or total retards), like men.
Hi Ron,
To start this off, I want to say I highly admire and respect you for having studied so many traditions and sought to understand them in depth. It is a goal I aspire to, and it’s reassuring to see people who have accomplished this. I believe most of the world’s religions have a beauty and richness underneath the surface, and it’s riveting to explore them while finding the parallels.
I have a question about your comment concerning men and women. It seemed, initially, that you were presenting men as being superior to women. If you could please clarify this position, it would be appreciated.
My opinion is that the male and the female have equally important roles, albeit in different ways. I’ve observed alongside you that the New Age community has a strong leaning towards Yin. This is out of balance, and truly effective spirituality seems to require a relative equilibration of Yin and Yang (I was pleased to see how you elegantly alluded to this in your Electrical Christianity/Spirituality model).
Further, it can be seen that male proclivities are more highly valued in Western Industrial societies, whereas female strengths appear more valued in Eastern and Indigenous cultures (I’m being very general, here). For example, more men are viewed as geniuses, but at what? Initiating, inventing, innovating, conquering, leading, reasoning… Women tend to be great at fostering community, nurturing, empathizing, relating with, and communicating. What is labeled “genius” or “intelligence” is most often a function derived from what is strongly valued in a particular culture, or even zeitgeist. A mathematical wiz would be loved in Silicon Valley, but if he had no social skills, would be considered somewhat “dumb” by Aborigines, for example.
Of course, this is a much more complex topic. I believe that true genius actually results from a close link with Divine Consciousness, something I’d like to research experimentally. I am simply illustrating that, even if men and women have different mental processes, it might be an oversimplification to say that one is better than the other.
As a last note, I’d also like to point out that women have historically been oppressed and not always allowed to share the limelight with men. The sociocultural and environmental factors that limited them is certainly a confound in assessing the relative mental strengths of women. Vestiges of this still exist, though thankfully not as strongly as before. So, it is very possible that there could have been a great many female geniuses, more than records account for, who simply did not have the opportunities or courage to become popular.
Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to read and consider my message. I’m curious and eager to learn more of your thoughts on this.
Sincerely,
Andrew
Andrew, I love women and in no way want to denigrate them. But our politically correct society makes it almost verboten to point out the real differences between the sexes. And because there is now a distinct bias against yang male energy, particularly in the spiritual field, I make it a point to give props to positive masculine traits/powers.
Even though women have had equal opportunity with men for many years now, females are still far less likely to be geniuses than men. Simply put, they lack the testosterone and brain chemistry to produce zeitgeist-transcending discoveries and inventions.
In my field of esoteric, gnostic spirituality, men totally dominate. There are no females writing spiritual philosophy on the level of a J. Krishnamurti, Sri Aurobindo, Ken Wilber, Adi Da, Ramana Maharshi, et al. And no one is discriminating against them, preventing them from doing so.
I was involved in the computer field and the sportsbetting field. Both are totally dominated by men, and no one is preventing women from being involved. I could go on and on, but I’m sure you get the picture. The bottom line is that the differences between the sexes are rooted in biology, and cultural gender bias plays little role in the fact that men can be geniuses (and retards), while women are far more likely to be neither.
Ron, I think this reply is a little misguided. For example women have NOT had equal opportunity with men for “many years now”. Do the research and you will find that to be a false statement. We are far from equal in the workspace. Whilst women aren’t prevented from entering certain jobs like computing, banking and music production for example, they are discouraged because these industries are dominated by men who can intimidate and can literally make a woman’s life hell. Why would women want to work alongside sexist men who want to undermine their every move? We have a long way before Patriarchy falls and is replaced by equality but it’s shocking to read statements like yours. You obviously haven’t spoken to many women about this. Do the research…and please let’s not be misinforming people about genius…women are just as likely to be geniuses as men. Come on……enlighten up!
Interesting that Ron didn’t reply, as far as I can tell. In Australia, there is a certain Socialist political party which insists on equal representation between men and women. Nothing to do with who may be the best candidate but everything to do with the erroneous idea that there are no differences whatsoever between men and women.
Naturally they lose every election.
There are and have been women writing on the level of Aurobindo and Ken Wilber. Beatrice Bruteau, Helena Blavatsky, Alice Bailey – to name a few. If you don’t think so, then you haven’t studied their work (i.e, The Secret Doctrine or Bailey’s 2-volume Esoteric Psychology or A Treatise on Cosmic Fire). There is also Francia LaDue’s 3 volume: Teachings of the Temple, (containing very profound esoteric Christianity and esoteric cosmological books – including much about ELECTRICITY in connection with spiritual evolution ). Annie Besant was prolific too. These women, aside from Breateau, were theosophists, but even outside that stream there are countless top-notch female scholars of religion and metaphysics. Not to mention in the sciences. Sure, there are sex differences, but men have no edge over women when it comes to Gnosis. If anything it is the reverse. Spritual wisdom is the domain of SOPHIA.
Patrick, I’ve read Besant, Blavatskty and Bailey, and, like K, I hardly consider Theosophical Society literature to be impressive.
Yes, there are some female scholars of religion, but none that are topnotch, like, say, Bernard McGinn in Christian Mysticism or Paul Muller-Ortega in Kashmir Shaivizm.
L Ron,
I sent you an e-mail last week at an old e-mail address of yours, but it bounced back, so I decided to
google your name online. Am looking forward to reading your recent works. You were most generous to let me see an early, notebook-bound version of an early work back- -way back- -in the day.
Hope you are well
It’s been a while- -a decade or more.
Cordially, Lennie P
Hey, Lennie, great to hear from you. In fact, I was thinking of getting hold of you when my novel — “Kill Jesus: The Shocking Return of the Chosen One” — is published (no later than September). This novel (my first attempt at fiction) is so good, I want everyone I know to experience the pleasure of reading it. You can email me at lrongardner@hotmail.com.
Any woman could write what you do because you are a complete idiot. Many women have written profound and creative books at a level that you won’t be capable of for another few hundred lifetimes…
Would you care to name even one woman who has written anything as profound as the Bible, Bhagavadgita or the Dhamapada.
What about Hamlet? Or the Sonnets?
Or created such art as The Mona Lisa, Botticelli, music such as Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven et al.
Of course, they were all oppressed, except for Teresa of Avila, Julian of Norwich, Mother Teresa.
Certainly in the back end of the 20th century women are 100% oppressed in the West to the degree that the so called feminazinmovement has come to a grinding halt where even Germaine Greer has resigned in disgust.
Ron, it appears that it’s mostly men who are noticed as genius writers and artists…but don’t forget most would have done nothing at all notice-able, if it weren’t for a Muse in their sorry ass lives.
You need HELP, the burden is on you to move beyond ad hominem and attempt to deconstruct what I write.
I have nothing against women and I would love acknowledge great female spiritual writers – if there were any. The fact that I love and praise Ayn Rand’s writings proves I have no anti-women
agenda.
Ron, I love the writings of Teresa of Avila. She was both a teacher of John of the Cross and his student.
Bernard, I’m not a big fan of the writings of Teresa of Avila or of St. John on the Cross.
Would you care to elaborate on why you don’t care for the writings of St Teresa and John of the Cross? Thanks
I don’t find them as spiritually demystifying and enlightening as other Christian mysticism teachings.
Mara, I don’t see modern American society as forcefully patriarchal at all. Modern civilized nations will readily elect female leaders and acknowledge female super achievers. (For example, plenty of brilliant men have no problem following Ayn Rand’s teaching.) But in the dominant professions of science, engineering, technology, and finance, which shape society and culture, men totally dominate. No one is keeping women from becoming a Gates, Jobs, Dell, Zuckerberg, Branson, Bezos, Buffet, or Hawking; it’s just that they generally lack the necessities to do so.
My POV hardly makes me a misogynist; it make me a politically incorrect realist. I love and appreciate women! And if they can somehow start demonstrating the genius and success of male super achievers, then I will be at the front of the line to acknowledge it and congratulate them.
Wow… you have a very limited definition of what ‘genius’ is ! And a one- sided idea about what is best for the world ( super achievers….really?)
Armon, you’re welcome to educate us on what genius is, and describe how women’s seminal achievements in that area have trumped men’s. The world awaits your response.
Thanks for your warm welcome on this site, Ron.
You undoubtedly know all about the root of the word Genius , and how it has evolved over time.
People are still discussing though if it would be more accurate to speak of ‘having a Genius’ ( or Iuno 😉 ) or ‘being a Genius’ . And whether or not Genius is something you are simply born with or can achieve over time ( with a lot of perspiration and concentration) .
Either way , the concept refers to creativity, creation, bring into being , so I would say there is quite a lot of Genius going on on our planet. It also depends on what type of creations are valued most highly in a certain period whether or not we call a person a genius.
Your choice of words for example shows what is your take on the world : ‘ dominate, dominant, to trump, super achiever’ . Perfectly fine, but it’s not what I choose to focus on.
I’m not so much interested in this men- women thing, that is already changing gradually , as gender will probably get less and less important in the future . For now I would say it is a good thing when more women don’t choose the old way of having a relationship and get children , but instead focus on their talents , without wasting time and energy on keeping their family together.
(I’m sorry my English is not perfect, it’s not my mother tongue )
Hello Mr. Gardner,
Please pardon my English as my mother tongue is French.
First of all, it does not seem to be a mere coincidence finding you (by the way, I found you thanks to your Amazon review on “MCTB” of Mr. Ingram.).
Moreover, I have been studying the Trivium for weeks and I also do connect with your ideas, including for instance your views on women (this kind of debate is too much often turning emotional on their side, which is not a surprise at all), except the Objectivism of Ayn Rand ;=)
I also love women and cherish them for qualities men often lack but all this is polluted by the egalitarianism sold to masses. I would recommend http://www.savethemales.ca in that perspective.
I am also a Catholic having tried AYP for two years, then a little bit of Vippassana / Zhan Zhuang to sort out the dizziness/overloading issues resulting from AYP’s practices.
Finally, I am an engineer and often consider spirituality as “Physics”.
But maybe I am wrong on my above statements (in the way that we might share some). But, to me, nothing happens by chance.
This is why I ordered our book “Electrical Christianity”.
Hi Laurent,
Thank you for your comment. It does sound like we share some common POVs. Given that you’ve studied Objectivism and are an engineer, I think you’ll find “Electrical Christianity” an interesting read. I look forward to your feedback after you read it.
What’s the point of this interview if Ron can hardly speak..And asking about mediocre new age authors..
Fern, you’re right about this interview. In 2018, I will start doing YouTube videos, and look to be interviewed on different shows.
Ron, I hope you’ll read this..I read your Amazon reviews (I’m following you, never followed anyone before, as I hate being a follower?) and they resonate with me. If I were to write reviews on some of the books you’ve written reviews on I’d write exactly the same words…
Anyway, I’d like to have your wise advise on kundalini ‘problems’ which I’ve been struggling with for a long time?
Please, please, let me know if I can contact you privately..I don’t wish to share my story with whole planet.
Love from me ❤
I’ll be contacting you later today by email.
Why do people like this stuff? I like it, why, I do not know.
It seems to me we should like the classical things: content about relationships, money or health.
Do you think the motivating factor is wishing for eternal life? And bliss, that seems important too.
I truly had fun watching this.
I have ideas, but not any one to discuss them with. I have studied science and mythology and want to talk.
The ideas specifically relate to matter, energy (black holes and pocket universes), and mind, soul, Divinity, etc. It kind of hurts not to express these thoughts.
I gotta disqualify something – I just googled “pocket universe” and it appears it already has a definition different from what I intended. My definition was like unto inside the timeline of a black hole there would be another universe – operating at a different time spread. Sort of an alternate timeline perhaps, ad infinitum – branches on a tree so to speak. Now my term, pocket universe, needs a novel name. Ideas welcome, and for that matter, is there a forum that likes silly ass stuff? You know, caring about eternity and dumb things but in a scientific way?
Please do more interviews and write more books. I loved ‘Electric Christianity.’
Luke, thank you. “The Power of Now Meditation Guide” will be published this year, and no later than next year I’ll finish and publish my books on Zen and Dzogchen. At that point I’ll consider starting to do YouTube videos.
Hello Ron. I did get introduced to you via a review of someone else’s work. … Salvadore Poe. The interview with Toth was all about ‘us and them’…not very interesting. I wish to invite you to Joseph Chilton Pearce’s work….his idea about the difference between intelligence and intellect.
And to finish….I looked up the word “pedant” and there was a picture of me….and it was not very attractive.
p.s. I heard a young female at the British Parliament (their youth parliament) who said, ” We all know that getting it wrong is part of getting it right.” The invite is to share when you were wrong and not to spend much energy finding and retelling where and when others’ get it “wrong”? all the best to you Brother. at
Hi Anthony, I think that my pointing out where others get it wrong serves to educate many. I possess unique insight and knowledge, and one way to apply this is to critique others in the field of spirituality. Others are free to attempt to point out where I get it wrong. Because I don’t live in a glass house, I have no problem throwing stones.
Hi Ron, I think that some form of Libertarianism with Democratic capitalist socialism like in Canada or Scandinavian countries might help. When you look at Dr. Samuel Dickman who joined Katie Phang to discuss the stunning study he co-authored that found 64,000 women and girls became pregnant due to rape in states with abortion bans after Roe v. Wade was overturned, you have wonder about care for women in those red states. Politically, you talk of Marxism and fascism both turn into police states run by sociopathic narcissists and you have a point. But Rand Paul says U.S. backing Ukraine in NATO played role in Putin attacking Ukraine . If you are a sociopathic narcissist dictator you invade. Yes, welfare programs reduce poverty rates by half or more. Then again, those studies also suggest that most of the gains took place in the early years of those programs and that the marginal gains of additional spending in recent years have been minimal.But marginal gains a better than no gains. Respectfully, Peter
Hi Peter, I am diametrically opposed to all forms of leftism (statism), including Democratic socialism. Canada is a blatantly fascist regime under Trudeau. Watch the Dave Smith YouTube channel at YouTube, and get educated on libertarianism. And read “The Ayn Rand Lexicon.”
L Ron. You’ve clearly read a lot of books and “know a lot of things about a lot of things“. But for anybody who’s trying to get into a battle with you here clearly they’re going to lose because you’re somebody who never loses. This is why I trust you. I’m not trying to back any kind of weak sauce man who’s going to show anything less than genius level intellectual sparring.
Being a genius yourself it’s evident that this is a site devoted to connect with folks who will eventually succumb To the recognition of Your superiority and bow down to your incredible genius and expertise. Hear hear! If only we all could learn more from you and be more like you in this world.
Anybody who has yet to discover just how incredible L Ron is, I encourage you to his about me section on the website so that you too can learn what an incredible intellect and person he is – in theory and in practice – in all of these religious traditions. For it is his expertise and all of these and other traditions that allows him to offer us these cutting edge insights, which just Are exemplified through the way that he interacts on this platform, including his elitism, cynicism, And as evidenced by his bachelorhood, heterosexuality, love of and all of his gratuitous critiques and viewpoints.
For he truly is the embodiment of these spiritual teachings he knows so well. Take a quick look or listen around and you’re really feel it. L Ron I hope you start a church or community so that we can all start to worship you in the position that you truly deserve. 👏🏽
Hilarious. Seriously, it’s kind of a curse getting continual unique insights and seminal perspectives. I’ll be 73 in July, and, unfortunately, I won’t live long enough to write all the books that are brewing in my mind. If I didn’t feel I had unique and profound Dharma knowledge to offer, I wouldn’t be spending my time writing.
Regarding the book “beyond the Power of Now” by r gardner.
Perhaps mr gardner has not considered that eckhart tolle is doing (speaking) EXACTLY as he is u being guided to do by the Holy Spirit. Using the name Jesus “in the old days” turned me away from anything that came after, obviously due to the behaviors of his supposed followers, hence was i led to help through other “terminologies”.
I am not rating the book. I cannot rate a book i have not read (or actually any other for that matter – who am i to say what helps another on wherever he/she is on her path? Is that not the definition of arrogance?)
All these opinions, ‘eh? (Chuckle…)
Eckhart Tolle is speaking EXACTLY as one would expect from a fogged-out, Oprah-Windbag-approved pop guru.
its amusing men are held as some high and mightly. 99.9999% did jack ass and will do jack ass in their lives (including many here). that’s just objective reality. even with this new age spirituality, yoga, meditations.
also, most breakthroughs are by autistics. if not for them we’ll still be in caves, and maybe these modern attempts are exactly that, escape the world and go to caves and meditate. and none of the ppl who changed the world did any of these spiritual stuff!
more things change, more they stay the same
Sam, you are 100% correct that spirituality (even to the point of full Enlightenment),does not seem to lead to lead to or correlate with genius or great accomplishments in relation to the real world. I make this point in my book “Beyond the Power of Now.” In fact, if you read my reviews of the writings of “gurus,” and spiritual teachers, you will see that I think most of them are fogged-out thinkers, certainly not capable of great non-spiritual break-throughs.