The best Occult & Paranormal books: Reddit reviews

From 3.5 billion Reddit comments

Just a heads up, the paperback version on the Amazon link doesn't appear to be the Hays translation. I ordered after seeing your post (thanks!) and used this link:

https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/0812968255/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Might want to edit in smile. before your link as well so charity gets some $$$. :)

Two things.

1. Ordering tons of stuff to keep yourself in the MLM is called being Garage Qualified.

2. There is a book called Why People Believe Weird Things: Pseudoscience, Superstition, and Other Confusions of Our Time, by Michael Shermer. He makes the point that people involved in conspiracies, cults, etc., aren't stupid. They aren't usually poorly educated. It is an interesting read, and your library probably has a copy.

I read it years ago, and it has kept me humble - none of us are above being sucked in by dangerous beliefs or people.

There have been thousands of reports from reliable and reputable people within the military, NASA, astronomers, scientists, pilots and lay people from around the world over the past few decades that have no reason to lie (in most cases they report the incidents despite ridicule and potentially damaging their careers), backed up by evidence

NY Times reporter Leslie Kean, who broke the most read story on NY times last year about the 2004 incident that the pentagon were looking in to, has written an incredibly well-researched book about the phenomenon with exhaustive details featuring first person reports from across the globe. It is worth reading before you make up your mind about the occurance https://www.amazon.co.uk/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307717089

True the field attracts cracked types and more often than not videos that we see on youtube are hoaxes and poor ones at that, but look beyond the bullshit and read actual articles from the French and Chilean government who research such incidents and it will astound you.

The Americans shape the global attitude to the phenomenon - possibly because it shows their incapacity to handle and understand at - and that attitude is one of dismissiveness and ridicule. Fair enough too, if you are the global superpower with complete autonomy over the skies, you don't want to admit you've got a situation you cannot explain. Better to investigate it privately and publicly ridicule it

Ultimately we have no idea what it is, could they be a modern myth as CJ Jung hypothesised in his book "Flying Saucers: A Modern Myth of Things Seen in the Skies", similar to religious visitations through the years but seen through the prism of our scientific world view, or could they be interdimensional beings as French computer scientist Jacques Valle posits.

fuck knows, but it is interesting just a pity you can't talk about it without being seen as a lunatic.

If you read The Satanic Bible you quickly notice LaVey did indeed borrow a lot of his ideas from social darwinists and people like Ayn Rand. Which, after looking it up, is a major gripe the satanic temple (as opposed to church) has with him. And an understandable one.

LaVey was often going out of his way to be shocking, and more than anything he envisioned Satanism as a kind of nihilistic inversion of everything Christianity claims to preach. So if Christians claim you should be forgiving then Satanists claim you should treat people who hurt you with contempt, if Christianity says be charitable then Satanists say don't give anybody anything they don't deserve, etc etc.

Follow this attitude to its logical conclusion and you get a bunch of pseudo-authoritarian dickheads masquerading as libertarians. Which is one reason that, despite enjoying The Satanic Bible as a read, as an actual ethical system it's pretty fucking shallow. He makes some great points about religious hypocracy and the absurdity of treating normal human emotions as something dirty and evil. But that's really kind of it. It's one thing to criticize, if you can't come up with something better than who cares?

It's a damn sexy book though. Like, god damn, that cover...say what you will about LaVey that motherfucker had some style.

Sure - he was a psychologist at Harvard and a friend of Timothy Leary - but you probably knew that already. The best way to learn more about his philosophy is to read his first book, Be Here Now. https://www.amazon.com/Be-Here-Now-Ram-Dass/dp/0517543052

First, a quote: "Never let the future disturb you. You will meet it, if you have to, with the same weapons of reason which today arm you against the present." - Marcus Aurelius

Second, seriously, buy the book of wisdom about him. I promise you it's on the shelf with dog-eared pages of every successful person you'll ever meet.

Third, don't worry about the world ending. It's not, it won't.

You're living in literally (literally) the safest, most prosperous time in all of human history. You're fine. Shit is fine.

Get of social media. You're being mislead by dumb people saying dumb things about stuff they don't, nor ever will, understand.

You're just being subjected to the information overload fallacy. That's all.

You think what your read is real. It's not. Example, gun violence in America has fallen to all time historic lows, but reporting on gun violence in the last 20 years has increased 300%. So people think there's some crisis now, when it's the safest it's ever been.

You're fine. The planet is fine. The US is fine. Go enjoy life.

I would also read the book series on “Life between Lives” starting with Journey of Souls these books scientifically prove afterlife with thousands of regression therapy patients saying exactly the same things that happen between lives. Soul groups, reincarnation and the progression of our souls over many lifetimes to learn lessons in each life.

These books changed my life and helped to take away my fear of death.

You cant but help to love Bill Cooper.... and how he destroyed Star Trek for me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GChemEEDRNM&index=1&list=PL5llvwa-5byTu0wrp9AU_SuC6hK4yKr66

If you read the reviews on his book on amazon, people are woke

https://www.amazon.com/Behold-Horse-Milton-William-Cooper/dp/0929385225/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1522958362&sr=8-2&keywords=behold+a+pale+horse

It's actually fascinating because it's a Global Phenomenon and once you read books that have actual testimony and in 2 instances radar data of cases it's clear that something is going on. Objects that can travel over 13,000 MPH since 1940s. Objects that seem to be originating from the Ocean and not space.

There you go

I don't think it's what qcumbers think it is, though.

1: Amazon or call your local bookstore to see if they have one in stock. My Barnes and Nobles only carries one at a time to prevent people from vandalizing it.

2: You can say Hail Satan to anything. I said it multiple times today, my wife and I say it when something cool happens or something works out in our favor. Essentially it is the vocal equivalent of "praise god", but since we don't believe in god or Satan and we praise ourselves, saying Hail Satan is like "yay me" or an affirmation.

As far as Lucifer, one of the titles for Satan, no we(LaVeyan) do not worship Lucifer. Luciferians on the other hand revere Lucifer as a liberator character but also a deity who they do not worship.

If you have more questions I would be glad to answer them through PM at any time. :)

The story of the Nimitz is weird as hell and once you read the book from Leslie kean who released the 2017 NYT ufo article it becomes even more clearer that every single country on this planet has had their own military encounter. This book has 2 instances of military pilots shooting at the objects

Why People Believe Weird Things by Michael Shermer, while not specifically about the coC or Christianity, is a great read on, well, exactly what it says.

Michael Shermer was also on an episode of Mr. Deity some years ago and made some interesting points on skepticism and faith. edit: And honestly, go look through the Mr. Deity Youtube channel. It's an interesting, often satirical look at organized religion and the dumb things people do in the name of religion, featuring: Mr Deity (god), Jesus, Lucy (satan), and Larry (god's PA).

But really, if you are interested in learning more these two are absolutely where to start:

• [Book] UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record

• [Documentary] The Phenomenon

Both of these highlight some of the most compelling and still unexplained cases in modern UFO history from around the world. Everywhere from Iran to Zimbabwe to Alaska to Chicago O'Hare Airport.

From the Church of Satan FAQ:

Can I get a free copy of The Satanic Bible? Where can I download it?

>No, we don’t proselytize so we don’t send out free books or pamphlets as do other religions. The publisher of this book, HarperCollins/Avon, has not released an eBook version, so if you do find an electronic file of this book it is not authorized and is violating the copyright.

The book is for sale on Amazon and is inexpensive.

I have this version. It is great. Whenever I read a passage from it I have to sit back and think for a while because it blows my mind.

OP, I think you will benefit from reading it. It uses plain English. Here it is on amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255

The Meditations, fortunately, have been widely published and are almost certainly available in your native language.

When you read Leslie Keans book it becomes clear that it’s simply impossible for it to be Russian and Chinese.

https://www.amazon.com/UFOs-Generals-Pilots-Government-Officials/dp/0307717089/ref=nodl_

Motivated reasoning plays a strong role in why people persist in believing in bad ideas, even well after they should've discarded them. And faith itself is a powerful amplifier of motivated reasoning. If you already believe in an idea; and the entire idea of faith is to get people to believe in certain ideas strongly; every thought you have about that idea is filtered through layers of motivation and complexes of belief about the world.

When inside a system of beliefs, you see the world very differently than when outside it. That's the entire purpose of systems of belief.

There's a decent book that covers this sort of topic in detail; from people believing in scams, cults, pseudo-science, to holocaust deniers. Why People Believe Weird Things, by Michael Shermer. One insight I pulled from the book is: smart people aren't necessarily less likely to believe in false ideas, or to divest themself of bad beliefs. Smart people are more capable, after all, of coming up with intelligent-sounding reasons to believe in bad ideas. So it's really important to learn skills to test your ideas, and to find trustworthy sources for your information.

https://www.amazon.com/Satanic-Bible-Anton-Szandor-Lavey/dp/0380015390/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=The+Satanic+Bible&qid=1610576444&sr=8-1

You can also buy it from satanme.com which has other books you can look into.

There's a book called "Be Here Now" by Ram Dass. He was a another harvard professor who explored psychedelics and went to India. The middle (brown paper) section of the book is hand illustrated and is meant to be read while tripping. It is by far the best book I've ever tripped on and I'm not the only one. Here is the Amazon link if you're interested.

Beyond a Pale Horse would be a great read right now. How do I convince you guys?

It would be highly topical though!

The experiences documented in The Spirit Molecule involve aliens a lot of the time

https://www.amazon.co.uk/DMT-Molecule-Revolutionary-Near-Death-Experiences/dp/0892819278

I read this in the 90s and found it to be very entertaining. It’s got plenty of pseudo science and even more conspiracy theories.

Behold a Pale Horse https://www.amazon.com/dp/0929385225/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_9SFGHM9NTZYJC2G04KBK

In 2001, the author was killed in a shootout with deputies in Arizona … https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_William_Cooper

Man, that's laziness. Typing your request literally takes more effort than going to Amazon and searching for "Satanic Bible". Not to mention you have to wait around for your request to be filled, IF it's filled.

In Chrome (assuming you're already an Amazon user, since you requested the link):

• Click New Tab button or CTRL+T

• Type "am" and Amazon.com pops up (because it was already in my browsing history)

• Hit TAB and search for "Satanic Bible"

• Hit Enter

****** Lo and behold, SEARCH RESULTS! ******

• Click top result for Satanic Bible

That was 17 key presses and a couple mouse clicks.

Edited for late night spelling

Jim?

Hays tr.: https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255

Hard tr.: https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-selected-correspondence-Oxford-Classics/dp/0199573204

Links go to the American Amazon store.

Beyond a Pale Horse would be a great read right now. How do I convince you guys?

https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255/ref=asc_df_0812968255/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=353874173411&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9634390251336673880&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt...

I got the paperback edition just cause I like having physical copies of things, but I think the kindle one is free

I have this one and found it quite easy to follow: https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=meditations+marcus+aurelius&qid=1627377611&sprefix=meditations&sr=8-1

Marcus Aurelius - Meditations - He's a Roman emperor, but his thought practices are heavily based on Greek Stoicism.

Plato's Republic - This one is more about the discipline required from individuals for society to thrive as a whole, but he's a Greek philosopher, so it's an interesting read in that regard. Plato thought that Sparta's militaristic-discipline style of society was really neat, which is evident in this book.

The Hays translation of Meditations might work for you: https://www.amazon.com/Meditations-New-Translation-Marcus-Aurelius/dp/0812968255

Written in a more modern writing style but keeps a lot of the insights intact. Like you I have trouble reading philosophy books for attention reasons but this one worked for me 🙂