🧠 Consciousness Studies

Explorations of the deepest question in philosophy and neuroscience: what is awareness, and how does subjective experience arise? These books sit at the intersection of science, philosophy, and wonder.

A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal

by Terje Simonsen • 2020

A century of psi research, from lab telepathy to military clairvoyance, that science dismissed.

3.88

106

🔬 Parapsychology History 👻 Anomalous Phenomena ⚖️ Paranormal Skepticism 🌍 Cross-Cultural Psi 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology

A Short History of (Nearly) Everything Paranormal

A century of psi research, from lab telepathy to military clairvoyance, that science dismissed.

by Terje Simonsen 2020

3.88

106 ratings

🔬 Parapsychology History 👻 Anomalous Phenomena ⚖️ Paranormal Skepticism 🌍 Cross-Cultural Psi 🌌 Transpersonal Psychology

Everybody's Guide to Natural ESP

by Ingo Swann • 1991

Why remote viewing pioneers ditched words and started sketching, unlocking the ESP everyone has.

4.25

191

🧠 Psychic Development 🔭 Remote Viewing ✏️ Psychic Drawing 🔬 Parapsychology ⚛️ New Age Science

Everybody's Guide to Natural ESP

Why remote viewing pioneers ditched words and started sketching, unlocking the ESP everyone has.

by Ingo Swann 1991

4.25

191 ratings

🧠 Psychic Development 🔭 Remote Viewing ✏️ Psychic Drawing 🔬 Parapsychology ⚛️ New Age Science

Wider Than the Sky

by Gerald M. Edelman • 2004

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

3.65

421

💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience 🎨 Qualia Debate 🦴 Embodied Cognition 🔀 Brain Complexity

Wider Than the Sky

The mind is not a program. Consciousness is built by neural selection, not by running code.

by Gerald M. Edelman 2004

3.65

421 ratings

💭 Philosophy Of Mind 🧬 Evolutionary Neuroscience 🎨 Qualia Debate 🦴 Embodied Cognition 🔀 Brain Complexity

Anesthesia

by Kate Cole-Adams • 2017

Anesthesia works. No one knows how. And some patients are awake, paralyzed, and remember everything.

3.20

396

📚 Medical Humanities 🏛️ History Of Medicine ⚖️ Medical Ethics 🔗 Mind-Body Connection 💔 Medical Trauma

Anesthesia

Anesthesia works. No one knows how. And some patients are awake, paralyzed, and remember everything.

by Kate Cole-Adams 2017

3.20

396 ratings

📚 Medical Humanities 🏛️ History Of Medicine ⚖️ Medical Ethics 🔗 Mind-Body Connection 💔 Medical Trauma

Behind the Mirror

by Konrad Lorenz • 1973

Space, time, causality: not mental inventions but biological adaptations to a real world.

4.01

163

🧬 Philosophy Of Biology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌍 Cultural Evolution 🗣️ Language And Thought 🐾 Animal Cognition

Behind the Mirror

Space, time, causality: not mental inventions but biological adaptations to a real world.

by Konrad Lorenz 1973

4.01

163 ratings

🧬 Philosophy Of Biology 🧠 Evolutionary Psychology 🌍 Cultural Evolution 🗣️ Language And Thought 🐾 Animal Cognition

Source

by Joseph Jaworski • 2011

Stillness opens a creative field effort cannot reach, and what comes back rewrites leadership.

4.26

133

🫡 Servant Leadership 🏢 Organizational Change 🧘 Contemplative Practices 🐝 Collective Intelligence 🔄 Systems Thinking

Source

Stillness opens a creative field effort cannot reach, and what comes back rewrites leadership.

by Joseph Jaworski 2011

4.26

133 ratings

🫡 Servant Leadership 🏢 Organizational Change 🧘 Contemplative Practices 🐝 Collective Intelligence 🔄 Systems Thinking

Supernatural

by Colin Wilson • 2011

A skeptic's tour of the paranormal evidence that defies explanation.

3.79

🕵️ Paranormal Investigation 🔮 Psychic Phenomena 🌙 Altered States 👻 Spiritualism History 🔬 Psi Research

Supernatural

A skeptic's tour of the paranormal evidence that defies explanation.

by Colin Wilson 2011

3.79

71 ratings

🕵️ Paranormal Investigation 🔮 Psychic Phenomena 🌙 Altered States 👻 Spiritualism History 🔬 Psi Research

The Stone Reader

by Peter Catapano • 2015

From the New York Times: 133 philosophers debate mind, morals, God, and the good life.

3.83

453

🌍 Public Philosophy 🔬 Philosophy Of Science ⚖️ Moral Philosophy 🧬 Evolutionary Ethics 🏛️ Political Philosophy

The Stone Reader

From the New York Times: 133 philosophers debate mind, morals, God, and the good life.

by Peter Catapano 2015

3.83

453 ratings

🌍 Public Philosophy 🔬 Philosophy Of Science ⚖️ Moral Philosophy 🧬 Evolutionary Ethics 🏛️ Political Philosophy

Beyond the Robot

by Gary Lachman • 2016

A philosopher who used the occult, crime, and desire to map consciousness most people never reach.

4.42

109

🧠 Intellectual Biography 📚 Existential Philosophy 🌱 Human Potential 🔍 Phenomenology 🔮 Occult Philosophy

Beyond the Robot

A philosopher who used the occult, crime, and desire to map consciousness most people never reach.

by Gary Lachman 2016

4.42

109 ratings

🧠 Intellectual Biography 📚 Existential Philosophy 🌱 Human Potential 🔍 Phenomenology 🔮 Occult Philosophy

The Super Natural

by Whitley Strieber • 2016

The strangest thing about alien abductions? They look exactly like ancient religious experiences.

3.93

552

👽 Ufo Encounters 🛸 Alien Abduction 🔬 Materialism Critique 🌙 Divine Feminine 🌑 Apophatic Mysticism

The Super Natural

The strangest thing about alien abductions? They look exactly like ancient religious experiences.

by Whitley Strieber 2016

3.93

552 ratings

👽 Ufo Encounters 🛸 Alien Abduction 🔬 Materialism Critique 🌙 Divine Feminine 🌑 Apophatic Mysticism

The Secret of the Yoga Sutra

by Rajmani Tigunait • 2014

The mind is not the self. Suffering begins the moment it claims to be.

4.46

171

🧘 Yoga Philosophy 📜 Classical Yoga ☸️ Eastern Philosophy 🧘‍♂️ Meditation Practice 🍃 Non-Attachment

The Secret of the Yoga Sutra

The mind is not the self. Suffering begins the moment it claims to be.

by Rajmani Tigunait 2014

4.46

171 ratings

🧘 Yoga Philosophy 📜 Classical Yoga ☸️ Eastern Philosophy 🧘‍♂️ Meditation Practice 🍃 Non-Attachment

Alien Dawn

by Colin Wilson • 1998

UFO accounts seem engineered to be dismissed. Taking that absurdity seriously reveals deeper puzzle.

3.81

193

👽 Abduction Phenomena 🌾 Crop Circles 🏛️ Ancient Astronauts 👺 Trickster Phenomena ⚛️ Quantum Mysticism

Alien Dawn

UFO accounts seem engineered to be dismissed. Taking that absurdity seriously reveals deeper puzzle.

by Colin Wilson 1998

3.81

193 ratings

👽 Abduction Phenomena 🌾 Crop Circles 🏛️ Ancient Astronauts 👺 Trickster Phenomena ⚛️ Quantum Mysticism

The Embodied Mind

by Francisco J. Varela • 1991

No inner pilot exists. Your body enacts a world, and the self evaporates under sustained attention.

4.14

1k+

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🤔 Phenomenology 🧘 Buddhist Philosophy 🔄 Enactive Cognition 🏛️ Philosophy Of Mind

The Embodied Mind

No inner pilot exists. Your body enacts a world, and the self evaporates under sustained attention.

by Francisco J. Varela 1991

4.14

1k+ ratings

🧠 Embodied Cognition 🤔 Phenomenology 🧘 Buddhist Philosophy 🔄 Enactive Cognition 🏛️ Philosophy Of Mind

The Masters of Limitation

by Darryl Anka • 2020

Why Earth's brutal lessons make it the universe's best school for soul growth, from an ET observer.

4.71

529

👻 Channeled Teachings 👽 Ancient Astronauts 🌐 Parallel Realities 💭 Beliefs Create Reality ⚖️ Universal Laws

The Masters of Limitation

Why Earth's brutal lessons make it the universe's best school for soul growth, from an ET observer.

by Darryl Anka 2020

4.71

529 ratings

👻 Channeled Teachings 👽 Ancient Astronauts 🌐 Parallel Realities 💭 Beliefs Create Reality ⚖️ Universal Laws

All Things Are Full of Gods

by David Bentley Hart • 2024

Physicalism cannot explain a single conscious thought. The case for mind as reality's foundation.

4.33

364

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 💡 Philosophical Idealism 📖 Critique Of Physicalism ⛪ Natural Theology 🕉️ Perennial Philosophy

All Things Are Full of Gods

Physicalism cannot explain a single conscious thought. The case for mind as reality's foundation.

by David Bentley Hart 2024

4.33

364 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 💡 Philosophical Idealism 📖 Critique Of Physicalism ⛪ Natural Theology 🕉️ Perennial Philosophy

Rationality in Action

by John Rogers Searle • 2003

Between reason and action is a gap no cause can close. Free will lives there.

3.67

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔓 Free Will Debate ⚖️ Practical Reasoning 📝 Analytic Philosophy 🗣️ Speech Act Theory

Rationality in Action

Between reason and action is a gap no cause can close. Free will lives there.

by John Rogers Searle 2003

3.67

64 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔓 Free Will Debate ⚖️ Practical Reasoning 📝 Analytic Philosophy 🗣️ Speech Act Theory

Miracles of Mind

by Russell Targ • 1999

Remote viewing is real. A CIA physicist proved it. The same mechanism makes distant healing real.

4.09

🔬 Parapsychology Research 👁️ Remote Viewing 🔮 Extrasensory Perception ✨ Spiritual Healing 🌐 Holographic Universe

Miracles of Mind

Remote viewing is real. A CIA physicist proved it. The same mechanism makes distant healing real.

by Russell Targ 1999

4.09

91 ratings

🔬 Parapsychology Research 👁️ Remote Viewing 🔮 Extrasensory Perception ✨ Spiritual Healing 🌐 Holographic Universe

Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind

by Marcel Kuijsten • 2016

Your inner voice is barely 3000 years old. Before it, humans heard gods.

3.93

🏺 Cognitive Archaeology 📜 History Of Consciousness 👂 Hearing Voices 🙏 Cognitive Science Of Religion 💬 Metaphor Theory

Gods, Voices, and the Bicameral Mind

Your inner voice is barely 3000 years old. Before it, humans heard gods.

by Marcel Kuijsten 2016

3.93

69 ratings

🏺 Cognitive Archaeology 📜 History Of Consciousness 👂 Hearing Voices 🙏 Cognitive Science Of Religion 💬 Metaphor Theory

Creative Evolution

by Henri Bergson • 1907

Life is not an accident but a creative current, invisible to minds built for solids.

4.10

1k+

🌊 Process Philosophy 🧬 Philosophy Of Biology ✨ Vitalism ⏳ Metaphysics Of Time 🔬 Critique Of Scientism

Creative Evolution

Life is not an accident but a creative current, invisible to minds built for solids.

by Henri Bergson 1907

4.10

1k+ ratings

🌊 Process Philosophy 🧬 Philosophy Of Biology ✨ Vitalism ⏳ Metaphysics Of Time 🔬 Critique Of Scientism

Aping Mankind

by Raymond Tallis • 2011

Brain and genes can't contain a mind: the fatal gap in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology.

4.04

213

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind ⚖️ Mind-Body Problem 🕊️ Free Will 🎯 Intentionality 👤 Human Uniqueness

Aping Mankind

Brain and genes can't contain a mind: the fatal gap in neuroscience and evolutionary psychology.

by Raymond Tallis 2011

4.04

213 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind ⚖️ Mind-Body Problem 🕊️ Free Will 🎯 Intentionality 👤 Human Uniqueness

The New Science of the Mind

by Mark Rowlands • 2010

The mind extends through body and tools because it reveals rather than calculates.

3.69

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition 🌐 Extended Cognition 📜 Phenomenology

The New Science of the Mind

The mind extends through body and tools because it reveals rather than calculates.

by Mark Rowlands 2010

3.69

45 ratings

🧠 Philosophy Of Mind 🔬 Cognitive Science 🏃 Embodied Cognition 🌐 Extended Cognition 📜 Phenomenology

Phi

by Giulio Tononi • 2012

How to measure a soul: why a camera distinguishes more than a brain, yet cannot see.

3.89

944

🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🧍 Neuroscience Of Self 🎨 Qualia And Experience 💻 Computational Neuroscience ✨ Modern Panpsychism

Phi

How to measure a soul: why a camera distinguishes more than a brain, yet cannot see.

by Giulio Tononi 2012

3.89

944 ratings

🤔 Philosophy Of Mind 🧍 Neuroscience Of Self 🎨 Qualia And Experience 💻 Computational Neuroscience ✨ Modern Panpsychism

The Way of Miracles

by Mark Mincolla • 2021

The energy shift that healed a doctor's paralysis, and the daily practice that opens it.

4.35

🧬 Energy Healing 🧠 Mind-Body Connection 💊 Placebo Response 🔥 Emotional Alchemy 🕯️ New Thought

The Way of Miracles

The energy shift that healed a doctor's paralysis, and the daily practice that opens it.

by Mark Mincolla 2021

4.35

37 ratings

🧬 Energy Healing 🧠 Mind-Body Connection 💊 Placebo Response 🔥 Emotional Alchemy 🕯️ New Thought

Magic Medicine

by Cody Johnson • 2018

How the world's most feared drugs became the most promising medicines for trauma and depression.

4.13

156

🍄 Psychedelic Medicine ⚖️ Drug Policy Reform 🛋️ Psychedelic Therapy 💧 Microdosing 📜 History Of Drugs

Magic Medicine

How the world's most feared drugs became the most promising medicines for trauma and depression.

by Cody Johnson 2018

4.13

156 ratings

🍄 Psychedelic Medicine ⚖️ Drug Policy Reform 🛋️ Psychedelic Therapy 💧 Microdosing 📜 History Of Drugs

Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss

by Dennis McKenna • 2023

A psychedelic prophet, his scientist brother, and the Amazon meltdown that bound them forever.

4.52

🍄 Psychedelic Culture 🌿 Shamanism 🌀 Altered States 🎭 Jungian Psychology 🌱 Ethnopharmacology

Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss

A psychedelic prophet, his scientist brother, and the Amazon meltdown that bound them forever.

by Dennis McKenna 2023

4.52

31 ratings

🍄 Psychedelic Culture 🌿 Shamanism 🌀 Altered States 🎭 Jungian Psychology 🌱 Ethnopharmacology

The Beauty of Life

by J. Krishnamurti • 2023

The effort to meditate is the very thing blocking the silence you seek.

4.39

🌀 Nondual Awareness 🔍 Self-Inquiry ☸️ Eastern Philosophy 🌿 Sacred Nature 💀 Death And Impermanence

The Beauty of Life

The effort to meditate is the very thing blocking the silence you seek.

by J. Krishnamurti 2023

4.39

28 ratings

🌀 Nondual Awareness 🔍 Self-Inquiry ☸️ Eastern Philosophy 🌿 Sacred Nature 💀 Death And Impermanence

The Web of Meaning

by Jeremy Lent • 2021

Separation is a myth. Science is catching up to what ancient traditions have always taught.

4.26

568

🌍 Deep Ecology 🔗 Systems Thinking 🌿 Indigenous Wisdom 🤝 Evolutionary Cooperation ⚠️ Ecological Collapse

The Web of Meaning

Separation is a myth. Science is catching up to what ancient traditions have always taught.

by Jeremy Lent 2021

4.26

568 ratings

🌍 Deep Ecology 🔗 Systems Thinking 🌿 Indigenous Wisdom 🤝 Evolutionary Cooperation ⚠️ Ecological Collapse

Time Travel

by Frederick Dodson • 2020

Time travel is a consciousness skill. Train it through precognitive dreams and remote viewing.

4.07

🕰️ Time Travel 🌙 Precognitive Dreams 👁️ Remote Viewing 🔗 Synchronicity 🔮 New Age Spirituality

Time Travel

Time travel is a consciousness skill. Train it through precognitive dreams and remote viewing.

by Frederick Dodson 2020

4.07

15 ratings

🕰️ Time Travel 🌙 Precognitive Dreams 👁️ Remote Viewing 🔗 Synchronicity 🔮 New Age Spirituality

Living Magically

by Gill Edwards • 1995

You choreograph your own disasters and triumphs, down to the last detail. Here is the score.

4.16

164

✨ Reality Creation 🧒 Inner Child Healing 🎭 Ego Work 🧲 Manifestation Techniques ⚛️ Quantum Mysticism

Living Magically

You choreograph your own disasters and triumphs, down to the last detail. Here is the score.

by Gill Edwards 1995

4.16

164 ratings

✨ Reality Creation 🧒 Inner Child Healing 🎭 Ego Work 🧲 Manifestation Techniques ⚛️ Quantum Mysticism

The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader

by M.V. Nadkarni • 2016

The Gita's most radical idea for modern life: act fully, but detach completely from the result.

3.63

🕉️ Hindu Scripture 🇮🇳 Indian Philosophy 🎯 Selfless Action 🙏 Devotional Practice 😌 Stress Management

The Bhagavad-Gita for the Modern Reader

The Gita's most radical idea for modern life: act fully, but detach completely from the result.

by M.V. Nadkarni 2016

3.63

8 ratings

🕉️ Hindu Scripture 🇮🇳 Indian Philosophy 🎯 Selfless Action 🙏 Devotional Practice 😌 Stress Management

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