Billy Carson - Forbidden Knowledge | SRS #93

The Richest Man in Babylon by George S. Clason is a compilation of pamphlets offering financial advice that were distributed by banks and insurance companies in the 1920s. The book presents timeless principles for managing your money in the form of “Seven Cures for a Lean Purse” (how to acquire wealth) and “Five Laws of Gold” (how to preserve and grow wealth).

The simple principles are illustrated by parables set more than 4,000 years ago in the wealthy city of Babylon. Clason’s message is that if you work hard, save, live within your means, and invest wisely, you can become wealthy.

What can you learn from 5,000 years of history? Are we in truly novel times, or do we face the same problems that the Romans and Egyptians faced 2,000 years ago?

Will & Ariel Durant, Pulitzer Prize winning historians, are famed for writing The Story of Civilization, a massive 9766-page, 11-volume treatise of the entirety of Western history. They compiled the most important recurring patterns in this book. Ray Dalio, founder of the world’s largest hedge fund Bridgewater, considers this one of his 3 must-read books.

Learn how human nature hasn’t changed over thousands of years, how societies cycle between inequality and redistribution like a heartbeat, and why eventually all civilizations fall.

For millennia, humans struggled with three serious problems—famine, plagues, and war—which led to the deaths of millions of people and to the rise and fall of global empires. People coped with these problems and answered life's questions with religion. However, in the modern era, we no longer rely on prayer—we’ve mostly overcome these three problems through the development of technology and medical knowledge.

In Homo Deus, Yuval Noah Harari, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, envisions a future in which technology replaces humanist ideals and liberal government. Dissecting the concepts of religion, immortality, and technology, Harari argues that the world of the future may be run by advanced algorithms and artificial intelligence, not human beings.

Do people who turn their backs on religion leave something crucial behind? Atheist philosopher and scientist Sam Harris thinks they do. He argues that those who reject the contemplative aspects of faith traditions are missing out on the contentment that comes from seeking transcendental states of mind, which has historically been the domain of religion.

Harris is known for encouraging skeptics to confront religion. In 2017’s Waking Up, he lays out a reason-based approach to spirituality that’s rooted in what science and meditation teach about the workings of the human mind.

In this guide, we’ll explore Harris’s definition of spirituality, what neuroscience says about the nature of consciousness, and Harris’s argument that while consciousness is real, your sense of self is an illusion. We’ll examine what spiritual enlightenment looks like from a secular worldview, its implications for self-improvement, and what science and theology have to say about consciousness, the soul, and the mind.

Dive into the mind-bending realms of consciousness and quantum mechanics with Shawn Ryan and thinker Sean Webb on the "Shawn Ryan Show." In an episode that balances on the precipice of science and spirituality, the duo embarks on an exploratory journey that promises to expand the boundaries of what you believe is possible. Webb recounts mesmerizing narratives, from the seemingly prophetic insight into the location of a submarine to the groundbreaking studies that hint at our preconscious ability to perceive future events.

The conversation seamlessly transitions to discussing the interplay between genetics, meditation, and even the potential of remote viewing—each topic shedding light on the profound capabilities of the human mind. Furthermore, Ryan delves into the potential impact of nutritional supplements on well-being, while Webb shares personal accounts, adding a tangible authenticity to these extraordinary concepts. For those intrigued by the enigmatic powers of the mind and the scientific quest to unravel its mysteries, this episode of the "Shawn Ryan Show" featuring Sean Webb is an invitation to step through the looking glass into a world where the future seems just a thought away.

Although we live longer today and have more material wealth than ever, many people feel anxious rather than happy. In Flow, psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi offers an antidote. People are happiest when they feel in control of their inner thoughts and feelings and experience a “flow state”: a sense of enjoyment, purpose, and meaning.

Csikszentmihalyi explains: how controlling and ordering your consciousness brings flow and enjoyment, which personality characteristics produce flow, and how to find flow in your work and relationships.

In 1981, the course of Dr. Brian Weiss’s career changed dramatically when one of his therapy patients, “Catherine,” suddenly recalled details of her past lives while under hypnosis. Though Weiss, like many scientists, is a natural skeptic, his experience with this patient convinced him that reincarnation is real, human souls are eternal, and there are spiritual “Masters” providing help and guidance from beyond the veil.

In this guide, we’ll explore some of the past lives that Catherine recalled under hypnosis and dig into the lessons that spiritual “Masters” delivered. Throughout the guide, we’ll round out Weiss’s account by providing outside evidence both for and against the possibility of reincarnation.

What’s out there in the vast reaches of space? Are we alone in the universe? Renowned astronomer Carl Sagan offers some insight into these questions and many more in his widely acclaimed book, Cosmos.

Sagan is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author and perhaps the greatest astronomer of our age. In this book, he provides a comprehensive description of the science, philosophy, and history of astronomical discovery, from ancient Ionia to the time of the book’s publication in 1980.

In this guide, we’ll delve into Sagan’s theories about the possibility of interstellar travel, the search for extraterrestrial life, and man’s quest for understanding the mysteries of the universe. As we go along, we’ll update the information with the most recent scientific discoveries and provide perspectives from other experts in related fields.

Most people lead fragmented and unhappy lives full of suffering, driven by a variety of conflicting impulses even as they yearn to be true to their real selves. But fortunately, there’s an infallible expert on the subject of who you really are: you. You’re the only one with firsthand knowledge of what it’s like to be yourself.

In The Untethered Soul, spiritual teacher Michael A. Singer, founder of the Temple of the Universe meditation center and a pioneering figure in the world of medical software, teaches you how to use your direct self-knowledge as an intuitive tool for spiritual awakening. Combining powerful principles with practical techniques, he shows you how to free yourself from false identities and live an enlightened life of peace, joy, creativity, and divine love.