Showing results by author "Andrea Diem" in All Categories

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.

This small booklet explores the latest theories of consciousness as developed by Michio Kaku, Christof Koch, and Michael Shermer, with a special focus on a new form of scientific animism, where animals and other life forms are now recognized to have awareness and the capacity to feel pain and suffering. Part of a presentation for the Dayalbagh Studies on Consciousness in Agra, India.

This audiobook explores the ancient Indian concept of Maya. Utilizing the latest research in neuroscience and physics, this work explains why Maya (or the notion of illusion) is an important concept and better understood today in light of science, even though ancient rishis had glimpsed its importance thousands of years ago.

This book is a brief introduction to the Jain religion, including a close look at its inception and how it evolved over time to its present day status. Special attention will be given to how Jain ideals such as ahimsa and anekantavada (the doctrine of non one-sidedness) can serve as a much needed and welcome panacea to the world's strife and misery. Although Jainism is perhaps the smallest of the world's religions, what it has to offer humankind is of inestimable value.

This is an informative and easy to understand introduction to the academic study of religion. Touches upon such topics as "Where did religion come from?" to "What is the social function of religion?" Covers such notable theorists as Ninian Smart, Peter Berger, and Mark Juergensmeyer. Excellent for the general listener as well as the scholar. Also useful as an introductory text for both high school and college courses.

This is an introductory text to the Sikh religion. It covers the early Sant tradition and the 10 Sikh Gurus starting from Guru Nanak to Guru Gobind Singh. Covers the evolution of the Sikhs until the present day, touching upon the evolution of the Sikh community and its emergence as a world religion. Professor Andrea Diem, PhD, has been studying Sikhism for over three decades and is current with the latest scholarship on the religion.

The following essays focus on consciousness, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, artificial intelligence, computer science, virtual and augmented reality, and more. Each chapter stands on its own and doesn’t require prior knowledge about the subject, though having a background in philosophical and scientific thinking is a plus. These essays, with a few exceptions, were originally published in Europe on the Integral World website during the past decade.

This audiobook explores various agnostic ideas and statements from such luminous thinkers are Bertrand Russell, Clarence Darrow, Thomas Henry Huxley, Joseph McCabe, etc. With contributions by professors Andrea Diem-Lane and David Christopher Lane. From the Foreword: "When Spencer Tracy, playing Clarence Darrow in the movie Inherit the Wind, takes the Bible in one hand and On Origin of Species in the other and clasps them together side by side to illustrate how science and religion can work together, one is led to assume that Darrow was indeed a theist evolutionist".

This audiobook contains a series of essays that provide arguments for a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle. We have included several chapters from books published in the 19th century which shows that the idea of a non-meat diet is not new in America, even if it has never been widely adopted. Keep in mind that these earlier writings didn’t have the scientific knowledge at their disposal that we have today.

This is a critical look at the extensive plagiarism of Gary Olsen and his spiritual group, MasterPath. Gary Olsen was a one-time follower of Eckankar but broke off and formed his own teachings, largely based on Eckankar and Radha Soami. This small book provides extensive documentation on why and how Gary Olsen appropriated copyrighted materials for his numerous books and discourses. Also included are original letters by Gary Olsen explaining why he plagiarized and an official apology from him back in 1995.

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

Comparative studies often reveal similarities between greatly different cultures, even if those cultures are geographically separated by thousands of miles or historically distinct by thousands of years. This has been especially true in religion where similar ideas have been propounded by tribes or clans that have on the surface no contact historically or geographically with one another. For the phenomenologist, this kind of transcultural link or synchronicity is important because it raises the question of how religious ideas emerge and develop over time.

One of the most significant discoveries of modern science is that the world we perceive around us is not as it appears. Rather, neuroscience, evolutionary biology, and quantum physics have demonstrated that our day-to-day reality is a relative construct built upon a scaffolding of information bits that betray their real origins and causations.

The new field of evolutionary philosophy, unlike its aborted predecessors of the past, is primarily concerned with understanding why Homo sapiens are philosophical in the first place. It is not focused on advocating some specific future reform, but rather in uncovering why humans are predisposed to ask so many questions which, at least at the present stage, cannot be answered.

This introductory text focuses on how and why new religions and cults arise. Special chapters on meme theory, Nietzsche, and Ken Wilber. The author argues that the human quest for meaning is inexhaustible and therefore new religions emerge to fulfill this need. Dr. Andrea Diem-Lane is a Professor of Philosophy and has taught courses in religion for nearly 25 years.

The idea that the world is an illusion that betrays its real origin has a long tradition and can be found in the writings of Hindu rishis, early Greek philosophers, and Christian Gnostics. What is perhaps surprising is to find such a rich literature on the subject in neuroscience and quantum physics. The latest, and perhaps most provocative, idea to gain some currency in varying scientific disciplines is the hypothesis that the universe is the result of a computational simulation....

This is a collection of seven mini books on the following mystics: Ramana Maharshi, Charan Singh, Rai Salig Ram, Nicholas of Cusa, Dara Shikoh, Jagat Singh, and Baba Faqir Chand.