Hi Stellar,
And a very warm welcome to the forum.
Don't forget to check out
Tips and advice for Newbies and the
Forum Guidelines.
You might also want to read through the
Diet and Health, the
EE-Breathing Program threads and the
Recommended books by QFS. If you can't find them in your local library, you can check out the
QFS library. You also might be interested in the
Knowledge and Being video made by Laura. It serves as an introduction to some of the concepts discussed here on the forum.
In the meantime, it's a good idea to bookmark the Cassiopaea
Esoteric Glossary and the
Cassiopedia, as they are very useful references that can be used when you encounter concepts/terminology that you may not be familiar with. They should be consulted before posting questions on the forum.
The ideas of
Gurdjieff are integral to this forum. If you're not familiar with Gurdjieff, you can read some basic information about his
4th Way teaching, generally referred to here as "the Work", by clicking on the links in this paragraph. It is a method of self-examination recommended to and practiced by most members of this forum, as a way of seeing ourselves, others, and the world around us from the perspective of
OBJECTIVITY, rather than through the distorting prism of our own
SUBJECTIVITY -- i.e., our emotional issues,
programs, mechanical behaviour,
buffers,
sacred cows, and
wishful thinking. The Work benefits from active participation in a group/network like this, where others also involved in the Work can provide feedback and act as a
mirror in which we can see ourselves more clearly. Two concepts that are important to this forum are
strategic enclosure and
external considering.
You'll also find frequent references on the forum to the "Big Five" psychology books, which are extremely helpful tools towards acquiring a basic understanding of your own "machine". Should you decide to explore those books at some point in the future, Laura suggests that they be read in the following order:
The Myth of Sanity by Martha Stout;
The Narcissistic Family by Stephanie Donaldson-Pressman & Robert M. Pressman;
Trapped in The Mirror by Elan Golomb;
Unholy Hungers by Barbara Hort; and
In Sheep's Clothing by George K. Simon.
Please note that the health issue is also an important matter if someone wants to clean his own "machine". So, after reading the diet and health section, if you want to go further, we encourage you to read some good books about that. Here's the recommended books :
The Ultra Mind Solution (Mark Hyman) ,
The Ultra Simple diet (Mark Hyman),
Detoxify or Die (Sherry Rogers),
What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Autoimmune Disorders (by Stephen B. Edelson and Deborah Mitchell), and
Beating and Treating Fibromyalgia and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (by Rodger Murphree). They synthesize much of the information pretty nicely.
Note that there are some "off limits" areas to the forum that you will be able to access as soon as you reach the minimum 10 post. So keep the
noise down and start posting. You will also not be able to edit or delete your post till you reach a minimum of 50 post. In that respect it pays to use the "Preview" button prior to posting your message so that you can see how your post will look to others.
Finally, there is so much information on this forum that before beginning a new thread or asking a question on a subject, it is recommended to use either the quick search function at the top of the page or the more advanced
search function on the menu function.
Looking forward to your participation.
P.S.: Also, if you're not aware of it, the
Signs of the Times news page is a excellent place to get your news. ;D
