More diversion from the serious business planning ...after "Who Am I And If So How Many?" another philosopher examines the Self and finds it absent ... this time Yuval Harari in the sequel to "Sapiens, A Brief History of Humankind" sets off another fireworks display of cleverness in "Homo Deus, A Brief History of Tomorrow" ... both borrowing from the very clever Stephen Hawking of the much purchased, little read and even less understoood "A Brief History of Time" ... Harari is more accessible, being a popularising polymath ... and quite compelling with his storytelling, though some of his propositions are less than persuasive and his use of statistics perhaps underlining Disraeli's observation that there are "lies, damned lies and statistics".
Harari's dedication in Homo Deus, "To my teacher, S.M. Goenka (1924-2013), who lovingly taught me important things," intrigues and keeps the reader going through unfamiliar territory ... since Goenka is the founder of a contemporary version of Vipassanna, the main object of which is to still the mind, penetrate layers of delusion and discover the Truth ... thereby bringing peace to the world one person at a time ... a diversion from the diversion with fascinating information on the internet ... taking a nice loop back to the Retreat House Business Plan ... the techniques not much different from the Living Mindfully programmes described in Gary Heads' recent book ... except the residential component, which seem to enrich the experience ... meanwhile the challenge to the mind of Harari, whilst not comfortable, is embraced anyway ... too easy to follow familiar stories and build new castles in the air ...
Reports from the various schools for "The Art of Living" are helpful, though league tables on success are unlikely and probably unwise ... the balance between regulation and intuition as always key and if it was a car we might best keep intuition in the driver's seat .... from personal experience, the initial Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction programme was vital, Findhorn was enriching, walking the pilgrim trails deepening, embedding it all in daily practise grounding ... second hand experience from Vipassana suggests (from a small sample of two!) that ongoing practise is essential if the transformative experience is to be maintained ...
Daily routine ... sitting, walking, studying ... thinking and not thinking keeps things mostly grounded here in Stanhope ... thoughts wander occasionally to the camino ... and Nicola proposes a "Silent Walk Day" for A Place to Be at its new temporary base and the beautiful woods and fells around ... perhaps reviving the previously popular regular gatherings ... building the energy again for the Retreat House ....
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