The Library
Philosophy, Society, Science
Credos
belief, thinkers, perspectives
Sanctuary
Music, audio, a place to be still
“Two men looked out of prison bars — one saw mud, the other stars.”
Frederick Langbridge
“The unexamined life is not worth living.”
Socrates
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle
Four Pieces to Begin With
Recommended from this room
Marvellous discoveries have been made since Great Thinkers first contemplated the stars! You have the benefit of ...
Contentment is a tremendous boon. It is a springboard for those extra-special moments of bliss which we cannot ...
Reflection is a tool of the mind helping better decision-making. It can affect your everyday thinking and attitude ...
Treat yourself as a subject worthy of contemplation. If you think about who you are, you are on the way to ...
Credos 1
Modern Thinkers about the human condition
Little of what follows is as easy as it might seem.
Reflection is a mental or cerebral state of mind. Mental ...
Don’t you want to be more rounded, successful and clever. Of course you do! Everything in this institute tends in ...
Eastern Meditation has it's handbooks, it's rituals, it's methods, its's mantras. So too there is advice galore ...
Credos 11
Mysticism & The Unseen World
Some Meditation sects in the East kick-start sessions with a bout of belly-laughing to ginger participants into a happy mood and generally imbue their thinking with a sense of proportion.
In secular terms Doubting Thomas may be more justified in his doubts than in scripture. Treat with caution many ideas of the new way of looking at the World.
ATTITUDES OF MIND and FEELING
THAT CAN BE ENHANCED BY OCCIDENTAL MEDITATION
TRAITS, ACTUATING PRINCIPLES, ...
Why should ‘one size fit all’? What are you thinking when you reflect? Can your own thoughts be prescribed for you by anyone else? Are they the same as thoughts that anyone else may have in a similar context or are they more personal to you? This is a subjective voyage. One individual’s ideas during one sitting are here. Do you think in the same way?
There are many paths to enlightenment and many meanings of that word. You wish to Reflect? Stand tall on your right to do so! It is an allowable, rewarding way to spend time. You do not need to Meditate in the way that is a trend unless it speaks to you. There are teachers and traditions from the West to draw upon.
"Hi there Eve, fancy a tipple? So what d'ya think the institute is all about?"
"I'll try and ...
We can think about why we think what we think and think how best we can think. The best means to the best ends begins in the best thoughts. Watch the observer – you – and give ‘him’ the best advice you can. The process points up the purpose. It is as true for reflection itself as for anything else.
ACTION STARTS WITH THOUGHT. Do you start to ‘act’ – in this sense – in the right mental space? Do you learn ‘on the job’ of life? Are there viable short cuts? Is yours an approach to take into account as many as possible useful factors? School yourself to reach your best way of taking decisions.
The theory behind the Institute of Reflection is expounded in this essay.
Credos 111
What is Important to You?
Little of what follows is as easy as it might seem.
Reflection is a mental or cerebral state of mind. Mental ...
Don’t you want to be more rounded, successful and clever. Of course you do! Everything in this institute tends in ...
Eastern Meditation has it's handbooks, it's rituals, it's methods, its's mantras. So too there is advice galore ...
Credos 1V
Spiritual Matters
Little of what follows is as easy as it might seem.
Reflection is a mental or cerebral state of mind. Mental ...
Don’t you want to be more rounded, successful and clever. Of course you do! Everything in this institute tends in ...
Eastern Meditation has it's handbooks, it's rituals, it's methods, its's mantras. So too there is advice galore ...
Credos V
Poet’s Corner
Routines of skipping along aisles
Humdrum clockwork doings
Picking up goods : those existential ...
A question that comes up
Time and again ; 1 : What is it ?
In many an idle moment, I ask
This, Frank. Then ...
I am never lonesome or lost
When I see, from outside, those two birds
Come and are sat, daily, on my ...
Your Turn
What is important to you?
This room is not just a reading room — it is an invitation. The Institute welcomes contributions from those who have thought carefully about what they believe and why. If you have something to say, we would like to read it.